Northwest continues to lead on energy efficiency, helping address forecasted load growth from data centers & tech sector

September's Council meeting was held in Astoria, Ore.

As load forecasts show significant growth in the next five years due to electric vehicles, data centers, and the tech sector in the Pacific Northwest, new data shows key progress on a critical solution: acquiring cost-effective energy efficiency.

During its Sept. 10-11 meeting held in Astoria, Ore., the Council reviewed new data from regional utilities and Bonneville Power Administration that showed them on track, and potentially exceeding, energy efficiency targets set in the Council's 2021 Power Plan. The Regional Technical Forum, an advisory committee to the Council that sets standards to verify and evaluate energy efficiency savings, tracked the data through a survey of BPA, utilities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, as well as the Energy Trust of Oregon and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. The survey encompassed the entire four-state region - in urban as well as rural areas, and included public as well as private utilities of all sizes. Following review, the data was published online at the Council's website.

"With the load forecast increases that we've witnessed this year, this is an all-hands-on-deck moment for the Northwest's energy providers and power planners," said Council Vice-Chair K.C. Golden, who represents Washington. "The progress in acquiring cost-effective energy efficiency shows that everyone is rising to meet this challenge. We've also got more work to do. By continuing to work together, we can unlock even more benefits of energy efficiency - reducing demand on the grid and achieving additional savings on energy costs for Northwest residents, businesses, and industries."

The 2021 Power Plan gave the region a target of acquiring 750-1,000 aMW of cost-effective energy efficiency by 2027. The new data showed significant progress toward those goals. In 2023, the region acquired 160 aMW, following 148 aMW that was acquired in 2022. In 2023, half of the cost-effective efficiency was acquired in the commercial sector, 26% in the industrial sector, 19% in residential, and 5% in agricultural. More work and continued investment will be needed to ensure that the 2021 Power Plan's full targets are met by 2027.

In August, a Council study found that achieving these goals will be necessary to ensure the Northwest's grid has adequate resources to meet load growth over the next five years. Under a specific scenario, the Council's power system analysts found that only achieving the low-end of the energy efficiency target would create an adequacy risk for the region.

Energy efficiency will play a crucial role in the future of the Northwest power system because it effectively reduces power demand and makes forecasted load growth easier for power planners to address. The RTF tracks the costs and availability of thousands of energy efficiency measures. The Council evaluates which measures are cost effective, available, and best-suited for lowering demand, and includes them in its power plans for the Northwest.

"For decades, the Northwest has been a national leader in acquiring cost-effective energy efficiency," said Jennifer Light, the Council's Director of Power Planning. "As technology advances, so will energy efficiency. We expect to see continued improvement in efficiencies in heating and cooling systems, water heaters, and electronic devices. That saves homeowners and businesses money, but it also saves costs on the power grid. Add up enough of these measures and you can avoid the cost of building a more expensive power plant."

More information about energy efficiency in the Northwest:

• Since 1980, thanks to effective implementation of the Council's past power plans, the Northwest has saved more than 7,865 aMW through energy efficiency, or almost three times the average annual output of Grand Coulee Dam.
• That has avoided more than 24 million tons of CO2e in the Northwest, the equivalent of the amount of carbon sequestered in 29 million acres of U.S. forestland annually.
• That has also resulted in $5 billion in avoided energy costs in the Northwest.
• In 2024, energy efficiency is the fourth-largest energy resource on the Northwest power grid. It accounted for 10% of the grid's capacity, behind hydropower (46%), wind (17%), and natural gas (13%).

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