Business and industry in some states clearly are more efficient users of electricity, and learning from the patterns could reduce overall electricity use by 30 percent in the U.S., according to a new study.
Success is dependent upon reducing the electric productivity gap, or the amount of domestic product generated for each kilowatt-hour consumed.
If the least productive states matched the electric productivity of the top 10 performing states by adopting best practices for energy efficiency, in excess of 60 percent of coal-fired electrical generation could be displaced, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute.
By this measure, New York, Connecticut, and California are among the most productive states, while lower-producing states include Kentucky and Mississippi.
To spur action, RMI created an interactive Web tool that shows the electric productivity of each state.
