States Lead on Energy Efficiency

To what extent should leadership on energy efficiency comes from states, rather than the federal government?

Both state and federal involvement is crucial. Electricity markets are regulated on a state by state basis (take for example the CA Energy Commission, which regulates CA), so it is important that states take energy policy seriously. At the same time, the energy use of each state affects that nation's collective economy, environment, and security, so strong leadership on the federal level is needed as well.

I'd like to see a strong federal policy on energy efficiency, that states can choose to exceed if they want to set more aggressive targets. However, right now, states are pushing ahead in the absence of significant federal leadership. Case in point:

According to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, states spend three times as much money on energy efficiency as does the federal government. The report, "The State Energy Efficiency Scorecard for 2006", can be viewed here.

Take a look at how your state is doing:

While the top 10 states spend $10.50-$22.54 per capita on energy efficiency programs, the bottom 25 states spend less than $3.75 per capita.

The energy challenge facing us is enormous, and we simply can't have states opt out. All states should emulate the success of the top 10 states, and the imminence of a stronger federal policy on energy efficiency will reward efforts that begin now.

I'll go into more detail on the various programs used soon.