Renewable Energy Installations in WI

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Despite growing economy, state uses less energy

From an article by Mike Ivey in The Capital Times:

Don't tell the people who get rich stringing overhead wires and building coal-fired power plants, but energy use in Wisconsin is trending downward.

A combination of milder weather, higher fuel prices and increased efficiencies sent overall energy use in the state down by 2.1 percent in 2006, according to the new Wisconsin Energy Statistics report.

And while the data for 2007 aren't yet available, the decrease in total energy use represents a major shift from the increases over the past decade. The decline came even as the state experienced a 1 percent gain in total employment and a 1.7 percent increase in the gross state product.

"Weather played a huge role but we'd like to think some of our energy efficiency efforts are paying off," said Jim O'Neal, an analyst with the state Office of Energy Independence.

Perhaps most significantly, electric sales in the state actually fell by 0.7 percent in 2006 following an annual growth rate of 1.7 percent over the past decade.

That's an important statistic to consider as Wisconsin policy-makers ponders whether to make expensive investments in new transmission lines and power plants. Much of the argument from the state's utilities for more electric infrastructure was based on predictions of 2 or 3 percent annual growth in electric use.

Whether the trend of lower electric use in Wisconsin continues into the future remains to be seen. Final 2007 figures won't be released by the state for several months.

But there's no question that more companies are making investments in energy efficiency.

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