You must know if if you have been reading this blog : albeit it is not as ” sexy “ as renewables, energy efficiency is simply a must as we embark our societies and economies on a journey towards sustainability.
Here is further proof as Cleantechnica notes : ” Energy efficiency retrofits (…) created a 387% return on investment (ROI), according to a recent report from the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA).”
” The SEEA energy efficiency retrofit effort spurred $3.87 million in economic input and 17.28 new jobs for every $1 million invested “
Investments that brings back nearly four times the money invested ? This is the kind of deal anybody is dreaming of !
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We have seen in countless other articles that weatherizing and retrofitting buildings brings great return on investment. Here is the intro of an article I wrote a while ago for Cleantechies :
According to a new study presented by the Renovate Europe Campaign, weatherizing European buildings in an important way could boost local GDP by up to 291 billion Euros ($370 billion) by 2017.
Furthermore, gross annual investments of €41 to €78 billion per year in the EU could bring ongoing annual returns of €104 to €175 billion.
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Here is another example of this, in an article I wrote about a study from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), which explained how the United States could consume 60 percent less energy by 2050 :
The advocated measures would also create two million jobs and save $400 billion (315 billion euros) per year, or the equivalent of $2600 (2000 euros) per household annually.
Evidence keeps on piling : energy efficiency is the best way to solve our triple crisis.
Let us hope the great results brought by this modest experiment – $20.2 million (14 million euros) from the US Department of Energy – will boost spending on energy efficiency. As Cleantechnica notes in the conclusion of its article, it very might well be the case :
Fortunately, SEEA’s retrofit program and the resulting ROI may be the start of a larger trend toward a more energy efficient-Southeast.
SEEA notes new efficiency rules and utility-run efficiency programs in Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as an additional round of SEEA-led energy efficiency grant programs as positive signs for 2014 and beyond.
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm for what’s happened at the state and local level, for very good reason,” said Danielle Byrnett of DOE’s Better Buildings Neighborhood Program. “The models the SEEA program consortium has proven show the tremendous return on investment that’s possible.”
Regarding employment, I had noted in a previous article that building retrofits indeed create 17 jobs per each million dollar invested. In comparison, investments in natural gas or coal only bring five or seven jobs per million dollars invested…
It is time more is made on energy efficiency as such measures could slash carbon emissions rapidly, cut energy spendings and imports as well as create hundreds of thousands of green jobs.