US sets outs vision for energy efficient 2025

In 2025, US citizens will have significantly lower energy bills thanks to energy efficiency measures that will make them more aware of their energy use, according to a major new report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DoE).

The National Action Plan Vision for 2025 is an updated version of a report first launched in July 2006. The document, originally designed to outline key policy recommendations on energy use in the US, has been revised with a 10-step programme to implement the plan.

The steps, designed to achieve blanket cost-effective energy use by 2025, include the establishing of new energy efficiency tests and measurement mechanisms, and the development of state-level policies to promote efficiency.

State of the art billing systems and advanced technologies such as smart grids and combined heat and power generation are also on the agenda.

Progress towards the goals will be measured every few years, but the report highlights steps that have already been taken to promote energy efficiency at a state level, noting that 29 states have fully established cost effectiveness tests for electricity use, while 24 have appointed an administrator for energy efficiency programmes.

The energy efficiency recommendations made by the document are particularly significant in the context of another recent report, which discussed the cost of controlling energy sources globally using military measures.

The Military Cost of Securing Energy, by the National Priorities Project, projected the cost of securing energy worldwide at between $209bn (£135bn) and $215bn in 2009, including portions of the budget for the ongoing actions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The report argued that the market price for energy does not reflect these costs, leading to an overconsumption, poor efficiency and a failure of the market.

"If the market price reflected the true cost, the quantity demanded by consumers would decrease, leading to more conservation, and making renewable, non-polluting energy alternatives more viable," said the report.