THE CHEAPEST, CLEANEST ENERGY THERE IS

Report: Energy Efficiency Holds Steady at 2.5 Cents per Kilowatt-Hour, Even as Costs of New Power Generation Rise; Why Energy Efficiency Should Be 'First Fuel' of Choice; Major Implications Seen for U.S. Climate Bill, Copenhagen Summit and State-Level Reviews of Sources for New Generation
September 23, 2009 (PR Newswire)

"Energy efficiency remains America's cheapest, cleanest, and fastest energy source for five years running. That's the conclusion of a new study that shows that the utility cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy efficiency has held steady or even slightly declined at about 2.5 cents over the last half decade, even as the costs for new coal, nuclear, and other supply-side energy alternatives have risen.

"Titled Saving Energy Cost-Effectively: A National Review of the Cost of Energy Saved Through Utility-Sector Energy Efficiency Programs, the new analysis from the nonprofit and independent American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) updates the organization's widely cited benchmark research of 2004 showing that the average cost of delivering energy efficiency programs in the U.S. was then 3 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh)."

click to enlarge

[From the report:] "In contrast, recent conventional energy supply-side options have typically cost between $0.07 and $0.15 per kWh -- about three to four times the cost of energy efficiency investments . . . In 2008, pulverized coal cost between $0.07 and $0.14 per kWh, combined-cycle natural gas cost between $0.07 and $0.10 per kWh, and wind cost between $0.04 and $0.09 per kWh . . . Furthermore, as energy supply-side resource costs are highly volatile, energy efficiency remains a financially stable, long-term investment. In the near future, this cost picture will likely be very similar."

click to enlarge

"…The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that in 2020 new conventional power plants including coal and nuclear will cost about $0.10 per kWh, or four times higher than current energy efficiency program costs.

"The new ACEEE report looks at energy efficiency programs from recent years in 14 states, with utility costs ranging from $0.016 to $0.033 per kWh and an average cost of $0.025 per kWh. ACEEE gathered data on energy efficiency program costs in 14 states -- California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin. The six natural gas efficiency programs covered in the report also saved energy cost-effectively -- spending $0.27 to $0.55 per therm, with an average of $0.37 per therm -- less than a third of the average residential retail price seen over the past five years…"