How Energy Efficient Is Missouri? Here's Where We Rank.

ST. LOUIS, MO — Missouri the 33rd most energy efficient state in America, according to a new report by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. The advocacy group, based in Washington, D.C., released its 12th annual scorecard Thursday, finding that while some states worked to retain their energy efficiency standards, lawmakers in other states actively worked against them, following in the footsteps of the federal government.

The report comes a week after a major study indicated climate change could be catastrophic by 2040, leading to wildfires, crop shortages, and mass die-offs of plant and animal life. The report concluded that we have about 10 years to get things under control before that future will be unavoidable. For more information on climate change, check out NASA's climate website.

While Missouri doesn't top the list, the Show-Me State jumped four spots from 2016 to 2017, according to the report, and now ranks between Wisconsin and Arkansas. Our absolute score also improved 2.5 points from the previous report.

Here’s our scorecard:

• Utility and public benefits programs and policies: 3/20 points
• Transportation policies: 2.5/10 points
• Building energy efficiency policies: 3.5/8 points
• Combined heat and power: 1.5/4 points
• State government initiatives: 4.5/5 points
• Appliance efficiency standards: 0/3 points
• Total score: 15/50 points

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The ACEEE said states are investing more money in efficiency and clean energy — likely driven over concern about climate change — even as the Trump administration loosens environmental rules. States spent just under $8 billion on energy efficiency in the utility sector last year, up from $7.6 billion in 2016, and saved nearly 27.3 million megawatt-hours. That’s a 7.3 percent increase in electricity savings and could power about 2.5 million homes for a year.

The state scorecards are based on more than 30 policy areas and metrics. Utility and public benefits programs and policies accounted for 40 percent of the overall score. A public benefits fund provides long-term funding for energy efficiency initiatives, typically via a small surcharge on electricity consumption collected on customers’ bills.

Massachusetts ranked No. 1 in the country for the eighth consecutive year while California and Rhode Island rounded out the top three. The report highlighted that Massachusetts launched a plan to set new three-year energy savings targets and approved $220 million to modernize its electric grid. The goal is to improve efficiency and reliability and pave the way for the deployment of smart meters.

California and eight other states rolled out updated plans that encourage people to buy zero-emission vehicles, while Missouri moved to incentivize the rollout of more electric vehicle charging stations. Furthermore, more states are pushing for zero-energy construction, referring to buildings that produce as much power as they use.

“States are stepping up on energy efficiency, including major new commitments in New Jersey, New York, and Virginia, helping to address the very limited activity from Washington, DC,” noted Steve Nadel, the organization’s executive director. “These efforts contributed to the 2.25 million-plus efficiency jobs last year in the United States.”

Here are the top 10 states for energy efficiency:

1. Massachusetts
2. California
3. Rhode Island
4. Vermont
5. Connecticut
6. New York
7. Oregon
8. Minnesota
9. Washington
10. Maryland

The authors praised New Jersey, Missouri, Colorado, Connecticut and South Dakota for improvements in their scores. New Jersey improved its ranking the most, jumping five spots to No. 18. The Garden State established new energy savings targets and made moves to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate cap and trade emissions compact.

On the flip side, Iowa fell the furthest, dropping five spots to No. 24, mostly due to newly signed legislation that imposes a restrictive cap on efficiency programs and allows customers to opt out of paying for some of them.

The group recommended several strategies to improve their scores. Among them, establish — and adequately fund — an energy efficiency resource standard (or similar energy savings target) and adopt more stringent building energy codes.

Read the full report here.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.