Aggressive energy saving policies would provide for ongoing economic stimulus, while cutting dangerous air and global warming pollutants, according to a new report released today by Environment Illinois.

The report—The Power of Efficiency: Opportunities to Save Money, Reduce Pollution, and Expand the Economy in the Midwest –details how existing energy efficient technologies, practices, and policies would stimulate our economy through saving Illinois families hundreds of dollars off rising utility bills, create new jobs, and help save our environment from the harmful effects of global warming. 

In releasing the report, Environment Illinois and several state legislators called on the Illinois General Assembly to pass common sense legislation setting minimum energy efficiency standards for new homes built here.

“As our power and heating bills rise, global warming pollution builds, and our economy slows, it is imperative that Illinois becomes as energy efficient as possible,” said Brian Granahan, an attorney for non-profit environmental advocacy group Environment Illinois. “Increased energy efficiency puts hundreds of dollars per year into the pockets of Illinois families from utility bill savings, stimulating our sagging economy.  Decreased demand for energy lowers energy prices.  Reduced power consumption lowers the mercury, smog, and global warming pollution emitted by our power plants.”  

The report outlines efficiency opportunities in three Midwestern states—Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa.  Detailed in the report are vast opportunities for increased efficiency in residential, commercial and industrial construction, retrofits of existing heating, cooling and lighting systems, and replacing inefficient appliances. For example: 

• Simply requiring all new residential furnaces to be 20% more efficient in Illinois would, by 2020, save 1,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas annually—enough to supply more than 100,000 homes;
• New Illinois homes built under the latest energy efficiency code would save homeowners up to $466 annually in utility bills over current practice;
• Saving energy leads to lower energy prices.  For example, if Midwestern states reduced natural gas consumption by 1 percent per year for five years through energy efficiency, wholesale natural gas prices would decline by as much as 13%.

Although the Illinois state legislature has given increased attention to energy efficiency in recent years, major opportunities for policy improvement remain.  While in 2007 Illinois passed ambitious energy efficiency targets for electric utilities, similar legislation has not yet passed for natural gas.  Illinois is still one of only a handful of states nationally without statewide energy efficiency standards for new residential construction.  

“I am proud of the progress we’ve made in Illinois,” said State Representative Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), “but many opportunities still remain.  And that begins with finally passing baseline energy efficiency standards for new homes.” 

“I will fight to ensure that Illinois stands among the nation’s leaders in energy efficiency and renewable energy production, but we can’t become a leader without first catching up to the pack.” 

Illinois also lags behind in the construction of new homes built to Energy Star specifications, a standard 15% beyond the model building code. 

While 57% of new homes built in Iowa in 2006 met Energy Star standards, that number was only 3% for Illinois. Energy Star homes require significantly less power and thus help curb global warming pollution, giving Illinois a tremendous opportunity for improvement in new residential construction.      

Improved energy efficiency would also stimulate Illinois’s economy.  “With our economy stuck in reverse, it is imperative that we take full advantage of the energy we already produce,” said State Senator John Cullerton (D-Chicago).  “Getting more bang for our buck means more bucks in our pockets—money ready to be spent on goods and services produced right here in Illinois.”   

“Whether you’re an economist or an environmentalist, vastly improved energy efficiency is a solution we can all agree on,” added Granahan.  “We hope that the findings of this report will compel lawmakers to take advantage of the opportunities to capture these benefits.”  

The advocates urged adoption of several policy tools to achieve energy savings, including:

• Passage of H.B. 1842 (or S.B. 0526), the Energy Efficient Buildings Act, which sets minimum efficiency standards for new home construction.
• Implementation of the recently passed energy efficiency standards for Illinois electric utilities.
• Expansion of the electric utility standards to include natural gas utilities.