AEE and KEEA Cite Opportunities for Savings, Economic Growth, Better Electric System in PA Under EPA’s Clean Power Plan

Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) July 30, 2014

Pittsburgh, PA, July 30, 2014 – As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) holds regional hearings on its draft rule for carbon emissions from existing power plants under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA) and Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) are highlighting the benefits in savings, economic growth, clean air, and job creation in Pennsylvania from EPA’s Clean Power Plan.

“EPA’s flexible approach to reducing carbon emissions can make Pennsylvania a model of energy efficiency,” said Brian Kauffman, Executive Director of KEEA. “Energy efficiency offers cost savings and jobs at the same time. We ask EPA to give energy efficiency full consideration in its final Clean Power Plan and call on the Commonwealth to make maximum use of this low cost, high benefit resource in Pennsylvania.”

“Advanced energy technologies like energy efficiency make EPA’s state targets easy to achieve,” said Graham Richard, CEO of Advanced Energy Economy. “With solutions ranging from efficiency to renewable energy to natural gas generation, reducing greenhouse gas emissions will not be difficult. Rather, it will become an opportunity to improve reliability, reduce costs, increase competition, and create new services for consumers.”

AEE and KEEA see EPA’s Clean Power Plan as a historic opportunity to modernize the U.S. electric power system for the 21st century. The EPA rule will drive investment in an electric power system that is sorely in need of it. By including a wide range of advanced energy technologies in the Plan, reaching state targets will be easy to achieve and exceed – with benefits for consumers and states.

Pennsylvania has the foundation for meeting at least 22% of the Pennsylvania emissions target in the EPA proposal through energy efficiency. Redoubling energy efficiency initiatives will help the Commonwealth reach the goal while also providing savings to Pennsylvania electricity customers and creating opportunities for Pennsylvania residents. Pennsylvania currently has roughly 10,000 jobs in energy efficiency, many of them already run through electric and natural gas utilities.

AEE is a national business organization representing companies offering a wide range of technologies and services that make energy secure, clean, and affordable. KEEA is a Pennsylvania independent energy efficiency trade association of 65 members and a state partner of AEE. AEE’s State Coalition consists of 15 partner organizations active in 23 states across the country.

KEEA is speaking and submitting written testimony at EPA’s Pittsburgh hearing on Thursday. AEE spoke and submitted written testimony at the Washington, DC, hearing on Wednesday. AEE partner organizations also offered testimony in EPA’s other regional hearings: Arkansas Advanced Energy Association in Atlanta; Interwest Energy Alliance in Denver.

A recent AEE report, Advanced Energy Technologies for Greenhouse Gas Reduction, details 40 separate technologies that improve the electric power system while also reducing carbon emissions. These include energy efficiency, demand response, natural gas electricity generation, solar, wind, hydropower, nuclear, smart grid, and energy storage. Many of these technologies are referenced by name in EPA’s draft Clean Power Plan. The report is available for download at: http://info.aee.net/epa-advanced-energy-tech-report.

About Advanced Energy Economy
Advanced Energy Economy (http://www.aee.net) is a national association of businesses that are making the global energy system secure, clean, and affordable. Advanced energy encompasses a broad range of products and services that constitute the best available technologies for meeting energy needs today and tomorrow. AEE’s mission is to transform public policy to enable rapid growth of advanced energy businesses.

About Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA)
The Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (http://energywisepa.org/keea) is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(6) corporation dedicated to promoting the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries in Pennsylvania. KEEA advocates on behalf of energy efficiency and renewable energy professionals on the local, state, and federal levels. By representing the interests of the clean energy industry in Pennsylvania, KEEA is growing the market for energy efficiency and helping the Keystone State secure a prosperous, sustainable tomorrow.
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