Energy efficiency could save America $1.2 trillion

us-flag-over-blue-skyAccording to a new study by Mc Kinsey, the USA could save up to $1.2 trillion (833 billion euros) by 2020 thanks to energy efficiency. Homes and businesses could cut by 28 percent their bills while industries could cut theirs by 20 percent.

The more data I gather, the more I believe America could become virtually carbon-neutral by 2020 with a smart grid, a continued push of renewable energies and energy efficiency measures.

The previous study from this prestigious consulting firm shown that halving global carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emissions  is possible by 2030.

Here is the presentation of the new study:

The research shows that the U.S. economy has the potential to reduce annual non-transportation energy consumption by roughly 23 percent by 2020, eliminating more than $1.2 trillion in waste – well beyond the $520 billion upfront investment (not including program costs) that would be required.

The reduction in energy use would also result in the abatement of 1.1 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions annually – the equivalent of taking the entire U.S. fleet of passenger vehicles and light trucks off the roads.

Such energy savings will be possible, however, only if the United States can overcome significant sets of barriers. These barriers are widespread and persistent, and will require an integrated set of solutions to overcome them – including information and education, incentives and financing, codes and standards, and deployment resources well beyond current levels.

In addition to the above central conclusion, five observations will be relevant to a national debate about how best to pursue energy efficiency opportunities of the magnitude identified and within the timeframe considered in this report. Specifically, an overarching strategy would need to:

  • Recognize energy efficiency as an important energy resource that can help meet future energy needs while the nation concurrently develops new no- and low-carbon energy sources ;
  • Formulate and launch at both national and regional levels an integrated portfolio of proven, piloted, and emerging approaches to unlock the full potential of energy efficiency ;
  • Identify methods to provide the significant upfront funding required by any plan to capture energy efficiency ;
  • Forge greater alignment between utilities, regulators, government agencies, manufacturers, and energy consumer ;
  • Foster innovation in the development and deployment of next-generation energy efficiency technologies to ensure ongoing productivity gains.

For more about this interesting study, please refer to the executive summary (PDF – 1.52 MB) or the full report (PDF – 6.37 MB)

[Photo credit : Flickr]

2 thoughts on “Energy efficiency could save America $1.2 trillion”

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