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ACEEE study finds ICT helps increase energy efficiency

February 25, 2008—A new study shows that the innovative effects of information and communications technologies (ICT) have contributed to the economy-wide reduction of US energy intensity and the recent stabilization of overall levels of energy consumption.

The analysis by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) found that huge cost reductions and important new ICT innovations have worked together to drive the expansion and diffusion of new information and communications technologies without increasing overall energy consumption in the US economy.

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The path-breaking study, Information and Communication Technologies: The Power of Productivity, provides an innovative assessment of the relationship between ICT and energy productivity as well as working estimates of the net energy impact of ICT technologies.

The ACEEE study emphasizes the growing role of ICT applications in enabling new high-tech products and services, as well as spurring new investment and new ways of delivering energy services. The assessment indicates that for every extra kilowatt-hour of electricity demanded by ICT, the US economy increased its overall energy savings by a factor of about 10.

Data for the past 37 years indicate that the pace of energy efficiency gains has increased significantly since 1996, which was a watershed year in the expansion of ICT in Internet-based and other electronic applications. While US energy intensity declined 1.8 percent per year between 1970 and 1995, it declined at a more rapid rate of 2.4 percent between 1996 and 2006 as a result of the expansion and diffusion of ICT innovations as well as other ICT-related changes in the economy.

The researchers conclude that we have yet to realize the full potential of the productivity and efficiency gains available through technology. They say smart energy policies should maximize energy efficiency and promote the adoption of ICT applications that can reduce energy consumption and increase energy productivity in households, businesses and industry around the country.

Information and Communication Technologies: The Power of Productivity can be downloaded for free or purchased for $25 plus $5 postage and handling from ACEEE Publications.

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