WORC member groups responded to a new report released in October by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) ranking some western states among the bottom on their State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. Montana ranked 31st, while South Dakota, Wyoming, and North Dakota were rated the lowest for energy efficiency programs.
In their statement, North Dakota Ranks at the Very Bottom of States’ Energy Efficiency Efforts, Dakota Resource Council policy analyst Kyra Hill responded to the ACEEE’s ranking the state 51st in efficiency:
“The report highlights the enormous opportunity North Dakota has to make strides in energy savings. While the report seems to show that North Dakota does not appear to be all that interested in efficiency, we know that’s not the case. North Dakotans do not like to waste natural resources.
If Texas can make the list of ‘most improved’ states, North Dakota can. We can and should create the opportunity for significant energy savings by investing in efficiency efforts. After all, the cheapest and cleanest energy is the energy we don’t use.”
Ed Gulick, Billings architect and Chair of the Northern Plains Resource Council’s Clean Energy Task Force, said in their statement, Montana lags in state energy efficiency policies,
“Billings Public Schools has demonstrated that there are huge opportunities for energy and cost savings with energy efficiency technologies and energy conservation behaviors.
Why aren’t all businesses and institutions taking advantage of the opportunities? As other states have demonstrated, sometimes it can take a policy nudge before people take the step to investigate the opportunities. Mandatory energy disclosure has been a very powerful tool for driving market-based energy efficiency investments in other cities and states.”
ACEEE’s State Scorecard considers six policy areas in which states typically pursue energy efficiency: utility and public benefits, transportation, building energy codes and compliance, combined heat and power (CHP), state government–led initiatives around energy efficiency, and appliance and equipment standards.
For the complete list of state ranking, visit ACEEE’s State and Local Policy Database.
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