Full Title: Motivating and Evaluating Energy Efficiency Policy
Author(s): Kenneth Gillingham, Amelia Keyes, and Karen Palmer
Publisher(s): Resources For the Future
Publication Date: November 1, 2017
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Description (excerpt):
This paper reviews the recent evidence on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency interventions. After a brief review of explanations for the energy efficiency gap, we explore key issues in the evaluation of energy efficiency, including challenges and benefits to randomized controlled trials and incentives faced by those performing evaluations. We provide a summary table of savings results by type of efficiency intervention. We also develop an updated estimate of the aggregate cost-effectiveness of utility energy efficiency programs of 2.86 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) net savings, but note that this estimate is based on utility-reported aggregate energy savings. Our review of the economics literature provides a mixed picture of the cost-effectiveness of specific interventions, with only some appearing to be highly cost-effective.