July 27, 2001—The United States has reaped huge economic benefits from its investments in energy efficiency research and development, says a report released last week by the National Research Council (NRC). An NRC panel examined 17 energy efficiency projects that represented $1.6 billion in federal investment, or roughly 20 percent of the $7.3 billion that DOE has spent over the past 22 years. The panel estimates that the $1.6 billion investment yielded net economic benefits of $30 billion.
The projects that resulted in most of the economic benefit: compressors for refrigerators and freezers, energy-efficient fluorescent-lighting components called electronic ballasts, and low-emission (low-e) window glass that resists the transmission of heat through windows. The NRC also credits federal standards and regulations that incorporated the efficiencies attainable by these new technologies, ensuring that the technologies would be adopted nationwide.
For more information, contact the National Academies.
Based on a report from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network (EREN)
