Major Accomplishments: 1980-2008

ACEEE has been working to support the development of energy efficiency technologies, programs, and policies for nearly 30 years, and has acheived many significant accomplishments, including:
 

Equipment Standards

• Leading efforts to develop, promote, and negotiate appliance and equipment standards including standards adopted by Congress in legislation in 1987, 1988, 1992, 2005, and 2007. The more than 50 products now covered by federal standards will save about 10% of projected 2010 U.S. electricity use.

Utility Energy Efficiency

• Playing a major role in developing and implementing utility energy efficiency programs, which are now spending more tha n $2 billion per year and reducing U.S. electricity use by about 2.4%.

Federal Legislation

• Leading the development of energy efficiency provisions in the federal Energy Policy Acts of 1992 and 2005, the 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills, and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

State Consultation

• Assisting many states in adopting energy efficiency policies and programs. For example, we played a leading role in passing 2008 legislation in Maryland that commits the state to reducing electricity use by 15% by 2015.

Building Codes

• Helping to develop model building codes for new homes and commercial buildings, which have been adopted in the majority of U.S. states.

Combined Heat and Power

• Collaborating with many government officials, companies, advocates, and trade associations to advance programs and policies that encourage the use of combined and power systems (CHP) that cut energy waste in electricity generation by as much as half.

Transportation Efficiency

• Initiating the first transportation efficiency program by a non-governmental organization, contributing to the recent U.S. CAFÉ efficiency standards, and also leading initiatives on efficiency in freight movement and strategies for reducing vehicle miles traveled.

Supporting R&D

• Supporting strong research and development (R&D) programs at the federal and state levels, in order to develop the next generation of efficiency technologies and practices.

Publications

• Issuing more than 300 publications on energy-efficiency topics.

Conference Organizing

• Organizing 47 conferences, serving more than 15,000 attendees.

These steps, combined with contributions from our many allies, have helped slow the growth in U.S. energy demand since the 1970s. If energy use per dollar of Gross Domestic Product (adjust for imports) were the same as in 1970, the U.S. would have used about 80% more energy than it actually consumed in 2008. In other words, energy efficiency is now our number one energy resource, accounting for more than 70% of what energy use would have been, had earlier technology and market trends remained static.

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