The New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC) today issued the following statement around the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, which ranked Massachusetts as the number one state in energy efficiency for the fourth year running with four New England states in the Top Ten. The State Scorecard serves as a benchmark for efforts on energy efficiency policies and programs each year, and encourages leaders to invest in clean energy development to promote economic growth. While applauding the region’s commitment to energy efficiency, NECEC urged New England’s future leaders to further embrace and expand the region’s clean energy policies to build on the sector’s current momentum.

“We congratulate Massachusetts for being ranked #1 for the fourth year in a row by the ACEEE State Scorecard and we also commend Rhode Island, Vermont and Connecticut as well as New York for finishing in the Top Ten,” said NECEC President Peter Rothstein. “Energy efficiency is the easiest, cleanest and cheapest way to meet our regional energy needs, save energy consumers money and create local jobs for the region’s economy. It is critical the next New England Governors commit to expanding innovative approaches to drive energy efficiency adoption by embracing new technologies, financing mechanisms and business models that can open the door to broader impact energy efficiency projects that scale across neighborhoods, communities and municipalities.”

According to the ACEEE report, Massachusetts and other leading states have laid the foundation for greater investments in energy efficiency programs by requiring gas and electric utilities to save a growing percentage of energy every year. While these savings targets are important, additional legislative work is needed across the region to ensure that these targets are met and constantly evolving to better ensure top tier energy efficiency. For example, the NECEC recommends the acceleration of the states’ annual electric savings targets to achieve at least 15 percent demand reduction by 2025.

Earlier this year the NECEC released Empowering New England with Clean Energy, an original white paper outlining a compelling vision for the potential for clean energy growth, and critical clean energy policies that the next governors must support to ensure that the clean energy sector continues on its current path to becoming New England's next dominant innovation industry. Read the report here. http://www.necec.org/other-module/news/news-reader/-2949.html

About NECEC (New England Clean Energy Council and the NECEC Institute)

NECEC is a regional non-profit organization representing clean energy companies and entrepreneurs throughout New England and the Northeast through programs and initiatives that help clean energy businesses at all stages of development to access the resources they need to grow. NECEC includes the New England Clean Energy Council, which is the lead voice for hundreds of clean energy companies across New England, influencing the energy policy agenda and growing the clean energy economy, and the NECEC Institute, which leads programs that support Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Cluster and Economic Development and Workforce Development. NECEC’s mission is to accelerate the region’s clean energy economy to global leadership by building an active community of stakeholders and a world-class cluster of clean energy companies.