Study Says Californians Are Not Big Energy Hogs
California is among the five most energy-efficient states in the country and Texas is the most wasteful, according to an “Energy Hog Index” released Thursday by a Washington-based consumer group.
The index, issued by Public Citizen, ranked New York, Arizona, Vermont, California and Colorado as states that wasted the least energy, based on an analysis of per-capita energy consumption and renewable energy use.
Texas, the largest consumer of energy among the 50 states, ranked as the most wasteful, followed by Wyoming, Alaska, Kansas and Louisiana.
The group, founded by Ralph Nader, concluded that U.S. energy use would drop 35% if all states followed the examples of the least wasteful.
Jonathan Becker, an energy policy analyst with Public Citizen and the study’s primary author, said the index did not examine reasons for the differences. That will be the subject of subsequent studies.
But, he added: “The best states and the worst states all have diverse climates, population distributions, geography and size. What strikes us is that the best states are the ones that have made a serious commitment to energy efficiency, and they’re getting a payback now.”
Release of the index was timed to take advantage of public interest in energy issues since Iraq invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2 and precipitated a period of anxiety in energy markets.
The study was sent to governors of the 50 states with advice to push for strong energy policies to lessen reliance on imported oil from the Middle East. “Our message was that the federal government has dropped the ball right now on energy policy, so the states need to assume leadership,” Becker said.
The rankings were based on an analysis of per-capita energy and oil consumption and the degree to which the states use sources of renewable energy such as hydroelectric, solar, wind, geothermal and wood. Data was gathered from government and industry sources and covered 1988 and 1989, Public Citizen said.
Among the findings:
* Texas, with the nation’s third-largest population, used more energy than any other state. With 7% of the country’s people, Texas consumes nearly 12% of its energy.
* The five states that used the least total energy are in the Northeast--New York, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont--despite colder climates and longer heating seasons.
* Alaskans used more energy per capita than any other state--the equivalent of about 170 barrels of oil a year. New Yorkers used the least--about 34 barrels. The average U.S. citizen consumed about 56 barrels of oil a year.
* Washington state derived the highest percentage of its total energy from renewable sources: 53.54%. An Energy Department spokesman attributed Washington’s high percentage mainly to its high reliance on hydroelectric power.
* Kansas had the lowest percentage, 0.28%, from renewable sources. California relied on renewables for 13.44% of its total energy. Overall, renewable energy sources supply only about 10% of the nation’s energy and only 17 states get more than 10% of their energy from such sources.
The rankings pleased California Energy Commission officials, who saw them as a vindication of the state’s energy policies. “The citizens of the state of California ought to feel very good about this,” said one of the commissioners, Richard Bilas, in Sacramento.
He attributed the state’s energy efficiency to policies that encourage conservation, anticipate energy demand and spur the development of diverse energy sources.
In Texas, however, officials disputed Public Citizen’s charge that the state has a lax energy policy.
“That’s absolutely wrong,” said Garry Mauro, commissioner of the Texas General Land Office and a strong advocate of natural gas and other alternative vehicle fuels.
He acknowledged that no one office of the state coordinated energy policy but added that a number of state agencies actively encourage private research into conservation and alternative fuels.
He blamed the state’s inefficiency, in part, on an aging petrochemical industrial complex. “The majority of the petrochemical industry is in Texas, and a lot of the equipment we have is very old and has been here a long time,” he said. “As we modernize, I would hope we get much more efficient.”
In Washington, Energy Department spokesman Jamie Pound denied that the federal government has dropped the ball on energy policy.
“President Bush asked for an energy policy back in July, 1989, and we’ve been actively involved in the process of building one,” he said. “Clearly (the Middle East) crisis has focused public attention on the need for that policy, but it’s on track and scheduled to go before the President in December.”
ENERGY EFFICENCY AND WASTE 10 most efficient states: Per capita energy consumption* (Million BTUs) 1. NEW YORK: 199.7 2. ARIZONA: 252.6 3. VERMONT: 227.9 4. CALIFORNIA: 239.8 5. COLORADO: 271.9 6. NEW HAMPSHIRE: 219.3 7. NORTH CAROLINA: 296.2 8. WISCONSIN: 286.0 9. OREGON: 311.9 10. FLORIDA: 231.1 10 most wasteful states: Per capita energy consumption* (Million BTUs) 1. TEXAS: 564.0 2. WYOMING: 794.5 3. ALASKA: 987.5 4. KANSAS: 420.5 5. LOUISIANA: 787.3 6. INDIANA: 443.0 7. NORTH DAKOTA: 471.5 8. WEST VIRGINIA: 418.8 9. DELAWARE: 341.8 10: NEW MEXICO: 342.9 * Rankings based on per capita energy consumption, as well as per capita petroleum consumption and percentage of energy derived from renewable energy resources such as hydroelectric power, solar, wind, geothermal and wood.
