SIMPLE THINGS MATTER

Efficiency efforts could sharply cut growth in energy consumption, study says
Steve Lohr, November 29, 2006 (NYTimes via International Herald Tribune)

- Growth in energy consumption worldwide could be cut by more than two-thirds over the next 15 years through more aggressive energy- efficiency efforts by households and industry, according to a study released Wednesday by the McKinsey Global Institute…energy savings could be achieved with current technology and would save money for consumers and companies…suggested steps [include] the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs and solar water heaters, improved insulation on new buildings, reduced standby power requirements, and an accelerated push for appliance-efficiency standards.
- Those moves, among others, could reduce the yearly growth rate of energy demand through 2020 to 0.6 percent from a forecast annual rate of 2.2 percent…

- To take advantage of energy-saving opportunities, some product standards would have to be tightened and some policy incentives changed. Current regulations and fuel subsidies, for example, often favor consumption over efficiency. But many potential steps are not taken, the report says, because energy users lack information or do not value efficiency enough to change their buying habits…
- That is especially the case…if an energy-thrifty product has a slightly higher purchase price and the financial payoff for users takes a while. That helps explain the slow progress made by compact fluorescent light bulbs in the marketplace…the light spectrum has been corrected and compact fluorescents are only slightly more costly than conventional bulbs, yet they last 10 times as long and consume 75 percent less electricity. The overall financial advantage of using compact fluorescent bulbs is obvious and sizable, even if the initial purchase price is higher…

- Such shifts might go more quickly if electric utilities were encouraged to promote efficiency. Rate regulators see that utilities are compensated for producing energy, but rarely for conserving it. A few U.S. states, notably California, allow electric companies to pass through the costs of energy-saving programs, but they are the exceptions…