Full Title: Estimating the Economic Benefits of Productive Investments to Curb Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Arlington County, Virginia
Author(s): John A. “Skip” Laitner
Publisher(s): Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates under contract with ICF
Publication Date: October 24, 2019
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Arlington County’s workers, consumers, and businesses, and a variety of government operations at work in the region, will together spend an estimated $531 million in 2020 to meet their combined energy needs. As energy use and prices rise over time, this might average $604 million annually through the year 2050. The many payments made each day, or each month, enable people to:
• Cool and light their homes,
• Drive to work, listen to music or watch TV,
• Power the region’s many commercial enterprises,
• Have access to the Internet, and
• Pump and purify the water that is delivered to local homes, schools, and businesses every
day.
Although residents of and businesses in the county derive these and many other benefits from the energy services paid for in their energy bills, there is a significant opportunity to save money through an array of productive investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Based on an economic assessment of the 2019 Draft Arlington County Community Energy Plan these investments could drive an average energy bill savings of $245 million per year (see Figure 1 below). The combination of program efforts, investments and energy bill savings across the Arlington economy will also drive a net positive gain of 1,700 jobs within the county.