Washington, D.C., January 25, 2011 – The Alliance to Save Energy said today that energy efficiency initiatives are just the type of job-creating “smart investments” that President Obama is expected to call for in tonight’s State of the Union address.

“Cost-effective investments in energy efficiency will help fuel the recovery of our still-fragile economy, save consumers money and create clean-energy jobs, all while helping the nation maintain its competitive edge in technological innovation,” said Alliance President Kateri Callahan. “Energy saved is money saved and jobs created – it’s just that simple.

“Energy efficiency not only saves Americans money on everyday energy bills,” she elaborated, “it is a homegrown resource that creates jobs in America, makes our economy more competitive on the world stage and provides important national security and environmental benefits. The ENERGY STAR program, for example, saves $75 in energy costs for each federal dollar invested. In 2009, that came to about $150 per household and a whopping $17 billion overall.”

A recent study by The Pew Charitable Trusts estimates that between 1998 and 2007, the “clean‐energy economy,” including jobs in the energy efficiency field, grew 9.1 percent, compared to a 3.7 percent increase in traditional jobs. In Ohio, for instance, clean energy jobs grew 7.3 percent in the 10‐year period, while overall jobs in the state declined 2.2 percent. In New Mexico, clean energy jobs grew 50.1 percent, compared to 1.9 percent overall job growth; and North Carolina saw a 15.3 percent increase in green jobs, compared to 6.4 percent job growth across the board.

“We urge President Obama to continue championing advanced, job-creating, energy-efficiency technologies that deliver tangible savings for every American while retaining our nation’s leadership in sustainable products, programs and processes,” Callahan concluded.

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The Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, the economy and national security.

Learn about all our work at ase.org and how to save energy and money through energy efficiency at LivingEfficiently.org.