U.S. Cities Ranked By Energy Efficiency

According to an ACEEE report, Boston currently leads the way, with New York, Washington, DC, and San Francisco not far behind. Los Angeles, Washington, and Chicago show the most improvement since 2013.

1 minute read

June 2, 2015, 5:00 AM PDT

By Philip Rojc @PhilipRojc


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The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has released a new report on urban energy efficiency. The City Energy Efficiency Scorecard ranks 51 cities on the relative success of their energy savings programs since 2013 (when ACEEE released the first Scorecard). Analyzed across five policy areas, city programs were rated on how effectively they reduced end-use consumption through both direct and indirect means. 

Key findings include:

  • "Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Seattle are the most improved cities compared to the 2013 City Scorecard, with many showing double-digit improvements in their scores."
  • "Atlanta, the leading city in the Southeast, saw an improvement of 5 points, earning new points for local government operations, buildings policies, energy and water utilities, and transportation policies."
  • Room for vast improvement: "Boston was the only city to earn over 80 points, and only 13 cities earned more than half of the possible points."

Wednesday, May 20, 2015 in American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

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