Adoption of new technology could lower total energy consumption of US by 2030 according to a study released today by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

The research study conducted by ACEEE entitled with Semiconductor Technologies: The Potential to Revolutionize U.S. Energy Productivity”, was commissioned by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)

The new ACEEE report finds that semiconductors already are the leading factor behind energy efficiency gains.

The report states: Compared to the technologies available in 1976, we estimate that the entire family of semiconductor-enabled technologies generated a net savings of about 775 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity in the year 2006 alone... [H]ad we expanded the size and scope of the U.S. economy based on 1976 technologies, it appears that the U.S. would be using about 20 percent more electricity than actually consumed in 2006. Stated differently, had we continued to rely on 1976 technologies to support the U.S. economy today, we might have had to build another 184 large electric power plants to satisfy the demand for goods and services.

The ACEEE study says that adoption of semiconductor-enabled technologies could lower electricity demand by 1.2 trillion kilowatt hours in 2030,

A 1.2 trillion KWh savings in 2030 means:

- 22% less electricity consumed than the reference case, and 11% less than today, even though the economy will be about 70% larger.

- 733 million metric tons less CO2 emitted in 2030

Even more if semiconductor enabled renewable energy (solar, wind) sources are included.

- 296 plants (600 megawatt) that will not be built by 2030

- $1.3 trillion in cumulative savings from 2010-2030

A consumption level that is 22% less then the Department of Energy’s base case and 11% less than today without such technologies, the U.S. would need an additional 296 large electric power plants, and consumers and businesses would need to spend an additional $126 billion.

SIA has proposed a number of public policies to accelerate adoption of technologies that would achieve the energy savings which includes tax incentives for adoption of energy-efficient products and components, federal support for research and development, and new energy-efficiency standards.

The complete ACEEE report and a one-page summary of SIA policy recommendations are available at: www.sia-online.org.

The full ACEEE report is available online at http://www.aceee.org.