WASHINGTON—The National Governors Association today announced that Minnesota and Tennessee have been selected to participate in a project to advance water and energy efficiency.
Approximately 13 percent of U.S. energy is used to pump, treat and deliver water to American consumers. At the same time, substantial amounts of water are used to extract, generate and transport energy, and to cool some types of power plants. The term “water-energy nexus” is used to capture the interdependencies of these two critical resources.
Coordinating state water and energy policies conserves limited resources and helps consumers save money. To lower the costs and environmental impacts associated with water treatment and use, states can adopt water management policies and programs that use energy more efficiently. Water efficiency programs can yield substantial energy savings and may do so at a lower cost than programs designed for energy efficiency alone.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Program, NGA will host policy retreats to help the two participating states identify and implement policies and programs to achieve greater savings of both water and energy.
NGA policy retreats help state teams focus on specific challenges, engage experts, facilitate tailored conversations about state opportunities and produce an actionable list of next steps.
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