Energy Efficiency Programs Impacts Report

Energy Efficiency Programs Impacts Report

The Cold Climate Housing Research Center produced two reports showing the value of two energy efficiency programs offered by the state from 2008-2018: The Home Energy Rebate Program and the Weatherization Program. Over 10 years, the Alaska Legislature invested $629 million into these programs to help Alaskans save energy and make their homes more comfortable. During that time period, roughly 20% of occupied homes in Alaska received an energy efficiency retrofit through one of these programs. Highlights are included below.

The Home Energy Rebate Program provided up to $10,000 to homeowners who made energy efficient improvements to their homes. Over 10 years, the program:

• Decreased home energy use by 34% on average
• Created an estimated 6,789 annual jobs
• Stimulated $912 million in economic impacts, including direct (eg. construction contractors), indirect (eg. material suppliers), and induced effects (eg. all the new money circulating in the economy)

The Weatherization Program provided free energy efficient improvements to low-income homes. Over 10 years, the program:

• Decreased home energy use by 29% on average
• Created an estimated 5,460 annual jobs
• Stimulated $863.6 million in direct, indirect, and induced economic impacts
• Provided an additional $319.9 million in health-related benefits

Overall, the initial investment of $629 million created a total economic impact of more than $2 billion.

For details on which energy efficiency measures were actually implemented in homes through the Home Energy Rebate Program, see this project page.

For a peek at the numbers for the Home Energy Rebate Program, check out this interactive graphic:

Similar data for Weatherization program can be found here.