Pew Commends Introduction of Shaheen-Portman Efficiency Bill

Washington—The Pew Charitable Trusts commended U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Rob Portman (R-OH), and their bipartisan co-sponsors on the introduction of the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act. The bill would spur the use of energy efficiency technologies in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of the U.S. economy and foster job creation.

Phyllis Cuttino, director of Pew's clean energy program, issued this statement:

“The Shaheen-Portman efficiency bill is an important step in making American businesses more competitive. Among its many provisions, the bill would strengthen the Department of Energy's role in fostering technical support and supply-side energy efficiencies in the manufacturing sector.

“Industrial energy efficiency technologies such as combined heat and power, or CHP, and waste heat to power, or WHP, which capture and recycle waste heat, dramatically reduce the cost of energy and provide greater resilience during extreme weather, natural disasters, or grid blackouts. Large manufacturers, refineries, hospitals, universities, and military bases are putting these highly efficient systems to work to ensure reliability, save money, reduce pollution, and protect customers.

“Many more facilities, particularly mission critical institutions that cannot afford to be offline, could take advantage of these capital improvements if Congress removes unnecessary restrictions and increases incentives.

“Policies supporting the expansion of industrial energy efficiency have garnered support from members of both political parties. The Senate should take up and pass the Shaheen-Portman bill as an essential first step in expanding the deployment of these proven and highly efficient technologies.”

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A recent study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found that the Shaheen-Portman proposal has the potential to save American consumers $14 billion by 2030 and support a net increase of 172,000 jobs by 2030.

The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Learn more at www.pewtrusts.org.