Energy conservation in South could save big.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

Energy-efficiency measures in the southern U.S. could save consumers $41,000,000,000 on their energy bills, open 380,000 new jobs, and conserve 8,600,000,000 gallons of water by 2020, maintains a study by the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. Moreover, the study concludes that investing $200,000,000,000 in energy efficiency programs by 2030 could return $448,000,000,000 in savings.

The researchers modeled how implementation of nine policies across the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors might play out over 20 years in the District of Columbia and 16 southern states. Policies considered include new appliance standards, incentives for retrofitting and weatherization, upgrades to utility plants, and process improvements.

The South is rich terrain for efficiency improvements. Without them...