If Congress wants to enhance the job-creating power of our national energy policy, it needs to look no further than energy efficiency. Strong federal energy efficiency policies would put hundreds of thousands of Americans to work quickly, in jobs to weatherize homes, retrofit buildings and conduct energy audits.

• According to a September study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), energy efficiency provisions in the American Clean Energy Security Act (H.R. 2454) with enhancements like establishing a 10 percent energy efficiency resource standard and requiring one-third of the electric utility allowances to be used for energy efficiency, could create more than 569,000 jobs nationwide by 2020 and more than 1 million jobs by 2030.
• A McKinsey study released in 2009 found that elevating energy efficiency to a national priority could produce 600,000 to 900,000 sustainable jobs.
• A study by The Pew Charitable Trusts showed that the “clean-energy economy,” which includes energy efficiency-related jobs, grew 9 percent, to 770,000 jobs, between 1998 and 2007. This growth is compared to a 4 percent increase in traditional jobs.
• In Ohio, for instance, clean energy jobs grew 7 percent in the 10-year period, while the total number of jobs in the state declined 2 percent during that period. In New Mexico, clean energy jobs grew 50 percent, compared to 2 percent overall job growth. North Carolina saw a 15 percent increase in green jobs, compared to 6 percent job growth across the board. (The Pew Charitable Trusts)

• A report from Entergy shows how energy efficiency standards can be a powerful source of economic development for low-income families. By creating jobs and confronting the energy crisis facing low-income households, energy efficiency is a cost-effective tool for fighting poverty.