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A national report released Wednesday finds that New Jersey homeowners would save an average of $419 per year and over 19,000 sustainable jobs would be created in the state over the next 10 years if the energy and climate legislation currently pending before the U.S. Senate included stronger energy efficiency measures.

The report, entitled "Energy Efficiency in the American Clean Energy Security Act of 2009: Impacts of Current Provisions and Opportunities to Enhance the Legislation,'' was made public at the Statehouse by Environment New Jersey and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

"It's time to harness the power of American ingenuity to put thousands of people back to work and save New Jersey consumers and businesses money on their energy bills," said Wayne Richardson, president of Laborers' International Union of North America Local 55. "By supporting stronger energy efficiency components in the energy and climate legislation, our senators can bring home big economic results when their constituents need them most."

The report also found that energy efficiency policies in the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES), which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in June, would create over 12,000 new jobs in New Jersey, save the average New Jersey household over $258 a year, and reduce annual carbon emissions in the state by 8.5 tons by the year 2020. The efficiency provisions would also prevent 15 million metric tons of global warming emissions a year - the equivalent of removing the pollution from over 2.7 million cars from the road.

"We know that energy efficiency is the cleanest, quickest, cheapest way of reducing our energy use," said Doug O'Malley, field director for Environment New Jersey. "The easiest energy to conserve is the energy we don't use, and getting there hits the trifecta: we save consumers money, we create real green jobs and reduce emissions."

The groups called for policy improvements that they maintain would generate more than 569,000 clean energy jobs and save the average household $283 per year nationwide by 2020. The improvements would result in 48 percent more jobs and 32 percent more consumer savings than the efficiency measures in the House-passed bill. In addition these improvements would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 480 million metric tons in 2020, equivalent to taking over 87 million cars off the road for a year.

"Our country's future is at stake, said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "We can combat climate change, foster green jobs and save people money or we can keep investing in the problems of the past. This report shows there's a clear path to a clean and green future. The time is now to act."

"While the House bill is a critical first step in harnessing the power of energy efficiency, this report clearly shows that we can save even more money, create even more jobs and reduce even more pollution," said O'Malley. "Senators Lautenberg and Menendez should continue to lead the fight for common sense energy efficiency policies and jumpstart the transition to a clean energy economy."

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM