Study: Energy Efficiency Could Boost South’s Economy

A new study says an aggressive strategy to replace aging equipment with more energy efficient products throughout the South would offset the need for additional power from coal-fired power plants in the region through 2020.

AP
Published: August 25, 2009
Updated: August 25, 2009

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ATLANTA (AP) - A new study says an aggressive strategy to replace aging equipment with more energy efficient products throughout the South would offset the need for additional power from coal-fired power plants in the region through 2020.

The study was funded by the Energy Foundation and the Turner Foundation and was conducted at Georgia Tech.

Advocates are taking the study to state legislators and regulatory agencies and hope it will bolster their calls for more incentives for energy efficient products.

The brunt of the energy efficiency upgrades would take place in the private sector. The study calls for homeowners and contractors to install heat pumps along with efficient window treatments and insulation.

It urges the commercial sector to embrace new lighting standards and more efficient cooling systems.