ACEEE PRESS BRIEF
SENATE TAKES SMALL STEPS TOWARDS ENERGY
EFFICIENCY
For further information, contact: Steven Nadel at 202-429-8873
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2002
Washington, D.C. (April
25, 2002): The energy legislation approved today by the Senate takes
several small steps to help Americans use energy more efficiently
but fails to approve more significant measures to reduce U.S. oil
consumption and cut energy costs, according to the American Council
for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
"We welcome the
tax incentives for new energy-efficient technologies and the
efficiency standards for certain consumer and business products
included in the bill," said Steven Nadel, Executive Director.
"However, the fuel economy of new passenger vehicles is at its
lowest point in more than two decades. As the Senate attempted to
put fuel economy standards back in gear, the auto industry stomped
on the brakes. The Senate not only failed to set meaningful
standards, but it took a step backward by exempting pickup trucks
from new standards and slanting the criteria for setting new
standards in favor of the Big-3 automakers."
Nadel also
criticized the Senate for voting for a small increase in air
conditioner efficiency, rolling back a larger increase set by the
Clinton Administration. He also found fault with the lack of any
efficiency provision in the electricity title, noting that "the
majority of states that have adopted electricity restructuring
legislation have included provisions to encourage energy-saving
programs, but regrettably the U.S. Senate chose to be among the
laggers and not the leaders."
After the
passage of the Senate bill, ACEEE released a new analysis (view it
here)
of the energy savings that will result from the Senate bill over the
2003–2020 period, concluding that the bill will reduce U.S. energy
use over this period by about 1.6%. At current energy prices, these
energy savings will reduce consumer and business energy bills by
more than $300 billion cumulatively over this 18-year period. Tax
credits will provide about 44% of the total energy savings and new
efficiency standards about 37%. By 2020, ACEEE estimates that the
electricity savings from the bill will reduce peak electric demand
by the equivalent of about 335 typical new power plants (300
megawatts each). Oil savings are much more modest, amounting to less
than 0.25% of projected U.S. oil use over the next 18 years.
Relative to a
previous ACEEE analysis of the House-passed energy bill, the Senate
bill will save nearly 40% more energy over the 2003–2020 period. Key
improvements in the Senate bill are additional equipment efficiency
standards, additional tax credits, and a program to encourage
industrial facilities to make voluntary energy efficiency
commitments. On the other hand, the House bill does not include some
of the onerous hurdles for new passenger vehicle fuel economy that
are in the Senate bill, instead letting the Department of
Transportation set new standards based on existing law. The House
bill does not include an electricity title, leaving this issue to be
addressed in a conference between the House and the
Senate.
"Overall,"
concluded Nadel, "the Senate bill avoids making difficult decisions,
leaving the United States exposed to future energy crises. We fully
expect Congress to again have to tackle energy issues later this
decade."
View ACEEE's
analysis of energy-efficiency savings from Senate energy bill
— updated May 7, 2002
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About ACEEE:The American Council
for an Energy-Efficient Economy is a non-profit organization
dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting
both economic prosperity and environmental protection. |