Yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama announced his plan to offer working families a $1000 tax cut and improve energy efficiency in the homes of millions of Americans. This effort is designed to immediately create jobs and stimulate the economy. The economic recovery plan seeks to double production of alternative energy in the next three years and improve energy efficiency in millions of homes throughout the United States. But the President's message was echoed by so many across the nation this week -- read all about it:

New York: In Wednesday's State of the State address Governor David Paterson acknowledged that targeting energy efficiency in schools, hospitals and local governments will be key in realizing his ‘45' by ‘15' goal in which he hopes to create 50,000 new jobs. Paterson anticipates that New York will meet 45% of its electricity needs through improved energy efficiency and clean renewable energy by 2015. "Energy has become too expensive, too unpredictable, and too damaging to our environment. Our "45 by 15" program will not simply revitalize our economy; it will help protect our environment," Paterson said. Both National Grid and New York Independent System Operator have welcomed this initiative.

Maryland: Governor Martin O'Malley announced an $8 million initiative to scale up energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. The initiative would grant local government and nonprofits with grants and loans in 2010. The Maryland Energy Administration would manage the program with a portion of the proceeds from the state's carbon-emission credit auctions. Maryland anticipates a collection of over $94 million from auctions; this money would help fund energy efficiency, low-income energy assistance, rate relief for local energy consumers, and renewable energy efforts.

Governors are also joined by trade associations in tackling energy efficiency...

The Edison Electric Institute, (the trade association of the United States shareholder-owned electric utility companies, international affiliates, and industry associates worldwide), joined environmental and energy groups recently in requesting that Congress and the new administration prioritize energy efficiency in their efforts to revitalize the economy. The joint effort suggests that Congress pass an economic recovery package that would include $33 billion designated for state and local government programs designed to weatherize houses, schools, businesses and government buildings.

This effort, led by NRDC, EEI and others is a nationwide energy efficiency campaign designed to educate the public about energy efficiency; strengthen the nation's energy efficiency delivery infrastructure; expand efficiency-related manpower training and technology development; and secure improved building and equipment efficiency standards and tax incentives that reward builders and equipment installers who substantially exceed standards. This effort will require:

• an adoption of regulatory mechanisms that provide cost recovery for prudent utility investments in energy efficiency; an earnings opportunity tied to verifiable success in delivering cost-effective energy savings targets over time; and allow utilities to recoup fixed costs as power sales volumes decline, using mechanisms such as those adopted recently in Idaho and other states that rely on modest, regular rate adjustments tied directly to changes in overall electricity use.
• support of significantly enhanced utility investments in smart metering and smart grid technologies aimed at delivering new energy management tools to customers; promoting adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and other new technologies; and reducing the costs of integrating renewable electricity generation into resource portfolios.
• support of substantially higher levels of utility investment in joint research, development and deployment initiatives, including the Electric Power Research Institute.

So what does this all mean? Well, with the leading headline this morning being the record high unemployment rate of 7.2%, strengthening our foundation by increasing the efficiency of our existing infrastructure will require labor! Lane Burt, NRDC's energy policy analyst in our Washington, DC office was cited today in the New York Times article entitled "Efficiency Help Wanted" highlighting the job opportunities that exist in scaling up energy efficiency. The spectrum of jobs runs the gamut as there will be a need for everything from carpenters to accountants and staff to support this new volume of labor as well as technical schools to train the workforce.

Energy efficiency is not a new concept; it is not a new widget or technology per se and therefore lacks the panache of other alternatives in addressing our energy crisis.  Perhaps more importantly, energy efficiency requires education and a change in behavior. However it is cheap when compared to other alternatives. With a consistent commitment to these goals supported by adequate policies and funding, it is evident that although unsexy, energy efficiency has mass appeal and we will continue to "read all about it" in many headlines to come.