A diverse coalition of energy leaders put together by the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) recently unveiled a set of recommendations for “Doubling US Energy Productivity by 2030.” Chaired by Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) and National Grid U.S. President Tom King, the Alliance Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy calls for growing the U.S. economy through investments, modernization and education.

The Commission’s goal of doubling U.S. energy productivity (GDP/Btu) by 2030 was alluded to by President Obama in the State of the Union as was one of the Commission’s recommendations, an energy productivity “race to the top” type program. ASE acknowledged that doubling energy productivity is an ambitious goal and would require an annual improvement in energy productivity of 3.7% between now and 2030. So what could a two-fold increase in energy productivity do for America?

The Commission asked the Rhodium Group (RHG) to independently analyze the economic, employment, environmental, and security implications of doubling American energy productivity by 2030. The results indicate that the “Energy 2030” recommendations could put us on a path that could:

• Result in $327 billion annualized net savings in 2030;
• Add 1.3 million jobs;
• Cut average household energy costs by more than $1,000 a year;
• Save American businesses $169 billion a year;
• Increase GDP by up to 2%;
• Reduce CO2 emissions by one-third.

Is doubling U.S. energy productivity a realistic goal? Are these projected results of doubling productivity persuasive?