Study Finds Rich U.S. Energy-Efficiency Potential
Study Finds Rich U.S. Energy-Efficiency Potential
The potential for energy-efficiency improvements throughout the U.S. economy is huge and entirely within reach if annual investments increase fivefold, according to a new McKinsey & Company report.
The global consulting firm estimates that $520 billion in investments would reduce U.S. non-transportation energy usage by 9.1 quadrillion BTUs by 2020 - roughly 23 percent of projected demand. As a result, the U.S. economy would save more than $1.2 trillion and avoid the release of some 1.1 gigatons of annual greenhouse gases, an amount equal to replacing 1,000 conventional 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants with renewable energy.
“There’s more potential for energy efficiency in this country than anywhere else in the world,” said Kenneth Ostrowski, a senior partner at McKinsey. “If we do nothing, we will waste $1.2 trillion.”
If the United States applied all available efficiency technologies, the country would save more energy by 2020 than is used annually by all of Canada’s homes, commercial buildings, and industries combined.
Several McKinsey recommendations require simple changes. For example, if all U.S. office buildings turned off their computers at night, or at least switched to standby mode, trillions of BTUs of energy would be unnecessary.
Many measures would require substantial evaluations of the energy wastage from buildings or industries. Potential responses, such as duct sealing, would add insulation to areas where heated and cooled air leaks outdoors. Applying duct sealing to all residential homes would save about 500 trillion BTUs, McKinsey estimates.
McKinsey reached its conclusion after an analysis of 675 energy efficiency measures. The study was supported by utilities, environmental organizations, and the U.S. government…….
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