May 1, 2006—From light bulbs to office water coolers, new appliance energy efficiency standards could save consumers and businesses billions of dollars, ease pressure on high energy prices, eliminate the need for as many as 40 power plants, and cut global warming pollution, according to a report just released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP).
Since 2004, ten states (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington) have established new energy-saving standards covering between five and thirty products, most through new state legislation.
According to the report, Congress took its cue from the states and made 15 of these state standards federal law in August 2005. For the new report, the authors looked beyond those products addressed by Congress in 2005 and found another 15 products for which near-term state standards make sense. Most of these newly recommended standards have already been adopted in one or more states.
Leading the Way: Continued Opportunities for New State Appliance and Equipment Efficiency Standards is available for free download from ACEEE, or a hard copy can be purchased for $45 plus $5 postage and handling. An online appendix of state-by-state impact data is available from ASAP.
