Energy policies score well

State ranked No. 6 in national report

By John Dodge | The Olympian • Published October 07, 2008

• Comments (0)

Washington state ranks sixth among the 50 states for adopting programs and policies that promote energy efficiency as the fuel of choice on the road to energy independence, according to a national scorecard released Monday by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy.

The nonprofit group evaluated the states on such things as building codes, transportation policies, appliance standards, utility energy conservation programs and financial incentives.

The state-by-state analysis found first-place California was followed by Oregon, Connecticut, Vermont, New York and Washington.

"States are using energy efficiency as the first line of defense against rising energy prices while increasing our nation's energy security, fostering economic prosperity and combating global warming," said Maggie Eldridge, the lead author of the ACEEE report.

Several measures are in the works in the region that could boost the state's future ranking, Olympia energy economist Jim Lazar said.

For instance, Initiative 937, approved by voters in 2006, requires the state's larger utilities to develop a plan by 2010 to begin acquiring all of the cost-effective energy efficiencies in their service areas. The state will join California as the only ones with the law, Lazar said.

Since the federal Northwest Power Act was approved in 1980, the region has achieved about 3,700 megawatts of energy efficiency, which is enough power to electrify Seattle, Portland and Boise for a year, the Northwest Power Planning Council says.

The council estimates that more than 3,000 megawatts of energy conservation from new technology, energy-efficient pumps, motors, lights and appliances, and other programs are still waiting to be captured.

"As the price of energy goes up, more energy-efficiency measures become cost-effective," Lazar said.

The Northwest Energy Coalition, a nonprofit clean-energy group based in Seattle, is about to launch a campaign called "Efficiency Works," project manager Kim Drury said.

"Energy efficiency is a resource that has delivered in the Pacific Northwest for nearly 30 years," she said. "We want to raise the profile of energy conservation and create even more demand for it."

Campaign goals include support for a 30 percent energy savings in new construction through changes in the state Building Code and increased production and sales of energy-efficient appliances, Drury said.

Washington, which also ranked sixth in 2007, lags behind Oregon in part because that state offers tax incentives for investments in energy efficiency, Drury said.

John Dodge covers the environment and energy for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5444 or jdodge@theolympian.com.