Citing investment in public transit, development of green jobs and green building codes and grants, a leading energy organization named the Bay State tops in the nation for energy efficiency.
“Massachusetts earned the No. 1 ranking by excelling in every aspect,” said Michael Sciortino, the report’s author. He said that the state has “the most advanced building codes and land use codes in the country.”
Massachusetts overtook California as the perennial leader of the State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, which was released Thursday by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
“Central to Massachusetts’ success is the continued implementation of the 2008 Green Communities Act, which laid the foundation for greater investment in energy efficiency programs,” according to the report.
An excited Gov. Deval Patrick said, “It’s nice to be No. 1 and we have earned it.”
“We see energy efficient in the commonwealth as our first fuel,” Patrick said. We “know the most economical fuel is that which we do not use.”
While Massachusetts earned the top marks, the report showed that the nation was improving overall.
Total budgets for electricity efficiency programs increased to $4.5 billion in 2010, up from $3.4 billion in 2009. Also, 24 states have adopted energy efficiency standards, which set long-term energy savings targets, according to the report.
