American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

Recently I wrote about how people in six Kansas towns had been motivated to cut their energy use through intertown competitions. The residents were largely skeptical about the science behind climate change but were moved to act by values like thrift and patriotism. In some cases towns reduced their energy consumption by as much as 5 percent over a year, considered a giant drop in this field.

So when the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy released its annual scorecard comparing states’ policies and benchmarks this month, I was disappointed to see Kansas so far behind in the pack. Specifically, it came in 46th.

My colleague John Rudolf pointed out to me that Kansas performed similarly to other states in the middle of the country and, in particular, states that voted Republican in the last three presidential elections. In fact, all of the Top 10 states in energy efficiency were blue:

1. California

2. Massachusetts

3. Oregon

4. New York

5. Vermont

6. Washington

7. Rhode Island

8. Connecticut

9. Minnesota

10. Maine

Those at the bottom of Energy Efficiency Scorecard were nearly all red:

41. Arkansas

42. Louisiana

43. Missouri

43. Oklahoma

43. West Virginia

46. Kansas

47. Nebraska

47. Wyoming

49. Alabama

50. Mississippi

51. North Dakota

I asked Maggie Molina, a research associate with the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, to explain. Here is her answer.

“There are many different factors that drive states to prioritize energy efficiency. Energy supply and infrastructure concerns — for example the Western electricity crisis in the early 2000s and electricity transmission congestion in the Northeast — have long been major reasons states invest in an energy demand reduction strategy.”

“Economic development has been a recent factor — with many state policymakers turning to energy efficiency as a way to create jobs,” she went on. “And yes, political and cultural factors are also at play, with some states turning to efficiency as an environmental protection measure. “

Yet Ms. Molina also emphasized that energy efficiency was “a bipartisan policy measure.”

“While many of the leading states in our scorecard are blue states, we also see red states ranking in the top half of the scorecard, like Utah (ranking 12th and “most improved”), Nevada (19th), North Carolina (24th) and Idaho (26th),” she wrote.

(Note: As a reader pointed out, North Carolina did vote Democratic in the 2008 election.)