Utah has experienced a clean energy surge in recent years. This is partly due to growing investments in wind and solar energy projects, which often make headlines – and rightly so. Yet, the unsung hero of the clean energy surge is energy efficiency.
Every day, energy efficiency cuts energy use and costs through households and businesses upgrading lights to LEDs, builders constructing highly efficient new homes, homeowners purchasing Energy Star appliances and the like. Energy efficiency has been particularly impactful for Utah residents with the amount of electricity used per capita declining by 9% during 2008-2017. The decline in electricity use per person has occurred at the same time as Utah’s economy has grown.