Connecticut and Massachusetts Have the Best Energy Policies

A report released by the Center for American Progress and Energy Resource Management Corporation put Connecticut and Massachusetts in the top ten states for energy efficiency in the country.   The top 10 states listed in order for having the best policies for energy efficiency include:

1. Connecticut
2. California
3. Maryland
4. Massachusetts
5. Pennsylvania
6. New York
7. Texas
8. North Carolina
9. New Jersey
10. Ohio

The Center for American Progress estimates that retrofitting just 40 percent of the residential and commercial building stock in the United States would:

• Create 625,000 sustained full-time jobs over a decade
• Spark $500 billion in new investments to upgrade 50 million homes and office buildings
• Generate as much as $64 billion a year in cost savings for U.S. ratepayers, freeing consumers to spend their money in more productive ways

With the construction industry hitting a huge slump with the recent economic downturn, the unemployment level among tradespeople has reached Depression –era levels.  The effect is takings its tolls across other related industries.  The Center for American Progress believes the US needs to focus on energy efficiency policies to confront the developing crisis in the construction industry.  The idea is energy efficiency retrofits can sustain demand for construction-related work, enhance productivity and stretch the American dollar.  But these retrofits will not happen without mobilizing energy efficiency legislation.  The states mentioned above have taken the lead in encouraging energy public policies as a good amount of other states are trying to emulate their success.