EPA Guide Promotes Clean Energy
EPA announced on Feb. 7 it has released a first-ever guide that lays out state-level policies that achieve clean, low cost energy. The Clean Energy-Environment Guide to Action details states' experiences with cost-effective clean energy policies and strategies that meet energy, environmental, and economic objectives. The guide covers energy efficiency, clean energy supply and clean distributed generation.
"This best practices guide can serve as a blueprint to help communities throughout the nation deliver their residents clean, reliable and low-cost energy," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson.
EPA issued the guide at the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) Energy Outlook Conference in Washington, D.C. "The guide to action will help us avoid recreating the wheel. We look forward to learning from the experiences of other states what works and which policies yield the biggest bang for the buck," said Sara Ward, director, Ohio Office of Energy Efficiency.
EPA estimates that if all states implemented cost-effective clean energy and environment policies, the expected growth in demand for electricity could be cut in half by 2025, and more demand could be met through cleaner energy supply. This translates into an annual savings of $70 billion in energy costs by 2025, while preventing the need for more than 300 power plants and eliminating greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 80 million vehicles.
The Clean Energy-Environment State Partnership also welcomed its 12th partner, North Carolina, at the conference. The state joins the 11 charter partners: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Under the Clean Energy-Environment State Partnership program, EPA assists states in developing and implementing a comprehensive clean energy strategy. The guide to action is part of a package of planning, policy, technical, analytical and information resources EPA provides to help state partners establish and implement sound action plans. EPA also tracks and disseminates successful state clean energy policies and provides opportunities for training and peer exchange.
For more information or to download the Clean Energy-Environment Guide to Action for free, visit http://epa.gov/cleanenergy/stateandlocal/guidetoaction.htm.
This article originally appeared in the 02/01/2006 issue of Environmental Protection.