Author: Mark A. BernsteinPublisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 9780833031969
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 51
Book Description
This report assesses the benefits of energy efficiency to the Minnesota state economy, its environment, and its citizens. Energy efficiency and its effects are difficult to measure directly. This analysis estimates energy efficiency through its effects on energy consumption and economic productivity (i.e., a form of energy intensity-the energy consumed per unit of output) while controlling for price, sectoral composition, and other factors. Furthermore, this study is limited to improvements in the use of energy in the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors and does not include, for example, the transportation sector. Conceivably, improvements in energy usage in the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors could yield a number of benefits, including economic gains, improved productivity, improved quality of service, higher reliability, reduced pollution, and lower costs to consumers. This report addresses three of these benefits: Effects on the gross state product of energy efficiency improvements in the commercial and industrial sectors; Effects on air emissions of the improved utilization of energy in the commercial and industrial sectors; Effects on households, particularly low-income households, of improvements in residential energy efficiency.