Three recent reports show a range of energy efficiency markets on the rise, with demand-side management investment at a record level and demand response, smart building and nanogrid all growing.
DSM spending, both gas and electric, reached a record $9.6 billion last year in the US and Canada, according to the Consortium for Energy Efficiency. The organization collected the data through its annual survey, this year of 361 utility and non-utility program administrators in 48 US states, plus the District of Columbia, and seven Canadian provinces.
Most of the money, $9.4 billion, came from utility ratepayer funds, like system benefit charges; the remainder was from non-ratepayer funds like wholesale capacity markets and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
By comparison, spending was $8 billion in 2012, which represented a six percent increase over 2011.
In the US, commercial and industrial efficiency programs continued to receive the largest share of electric energy efficiency money. Next came residential efficiency, demand response, and low income programs, according to the CEE report. More than half of the 2012 electricity funds were spent on customer rebates and incentives.
Demand response spending among those surveyed was $1.13 billion in 2012, up nine percent over 2011.
The free CEE report is here.
