Energy council: Mass. most energy efficient

WASHINGTON – The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has named Massachusetts No. 1 in its annual state-by-state, energy-efficiency scorecard. The survey marked the first time the state topped California in the ranking.
Gov. Deval L. Patrick, who was on hand for the announcement last week, credited his administration’s energy agenda, which includes the Green Communities Act of 2008 and other programs and policies aimed at saving energy and creating jobs.
California held the top slot on the national scorecard for the first four years of the ranking. The council ranked Massachusetts No. 4 in 2006, but the Bay State climbed to No. 2 in 2009 and held that slot for two years, before moving up to the top slot.
According to a news release, the council said that Massachusetts now has the most aggressive energy-efficiency targets in the nation. The council pointed to the effectiveness of the Patrick-Murray administration’s approach to creating jobs, helping so called clean-energy businesses thrive, improving energy security and lowering energy costs, and reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions.
The council calculated scores based on utility-efficiency programs and policy, transportation, building energy codes, combined heat and power projects, state government initiatives and appliance-efficiency standards. &#8226