States Save Fuel and Create Jobs from 54.5 mpg Fuel Efficiency Standards

With landmark new automobile fuel efficiency standards expected to be released this month, NRDC teamed up with the BlueGreen Alliance to provide a state-by-state breakdown of projected jobs created, fuel saved by consumers and carbon pollution avoided.

The results are impressive. Individualstates will create tens of thousands of jobs and save billionsin fuel costs.

The benefits described graphically and in atable below are for the year 2030 and are the result of ramping up fuel efficiency over model years 2017 to 2025, from the equivalent of 35.5 miles per gallon to 54.5 miles per gallon. (If I included the current 2012-2016 standards, the fuel and pollution reduction benefits of the full 2012-2025 vehicle efficiency program would be more than twice the values listed here.)

A recent study by the BlueGreen Alliance found that an estimated 570,000 jobs would be created by 2030 nationwide. As I described in a recent post (More MPG = More Jobs), adding more fuel-saving technology to cars and trucks grows auto industry jobs. Also the fuel savings that consumers reap from fewer trips to the pump are spent in the wider economy, spurring job creation. The BlueGreen Alliance analysis is the source of the state-level estimates of the jobs created by 2030. (Note, however,that we don’t have to wait for 2030; see my colleague Roland Hwang’s blog about how fuel efficiency is powering job growth today.)

NRDC calculated the state-level annual reductions in fuel consumption, expenditures and pollution from the 2017-2025 standards in 2030. We updated our previous analysis (“Relieving Pain at the Pump,” April 2012) with the latest projections of vehicle mileage and fuel prices in the Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook 2012. The fuel savings map shows net savings to all consumers in each state, meaning it includes both the avoided fuel expenditures and the incremental vehicle cost of new fuel-saving technologies.

(Click on maps to open full-size in browser window.)


Jobs Created and Annual Consumer Savings of Model Year 2017 to 2025 Standards in 2030

 

State Jobs Created by 2030 Fuel Savings (million gallons) Fuel Savings ($ millions) Net Savings = Fuel Savings Minus Incremental Cost of Fuel-saving Technologies ($ millions) Carbon Pollution Reduction (Thousands of metric tons of CO2-equivalent)
Alabama 11,000 380 $1,615 $1,010 4,510
Alaska 1,200 45 $200 $105 555
Arizona 11,000 685 $2,920 $1,730 8,055
Arkansas 6,200 255 $1,055 $665 3,015
California 62,000 2,435 $10,405 $5,470 28,610
Colorado 8,500 385 $1,640 $935 4,530
Connecticut 6,600 235 $1,025 $580 2,760
Delaware 1,400 70 $295 $175 830
District of Columbia 470 30 $145 $85 405
Florida 31,000 2,095 $8,795 $5,345 24,585
Georgia 21,000 810 $3,410 $2,045 9,535
Hawaii 1,800 75 $320 $165 885
Idaho 2,600 120 $525 $305 1,450
Illinois 21,000 700 $2,945 $1,395 8,210
Indiana 12,000 365 $1,550 $740 4,325
Iowa 6,300 185 $790 $415 2,210
Kansas 5,300 180 $775 $420 2,160
Kentucky 9,900 360 $1,520 $960 4,250
Louisiana 10,000 360 $1,485 $925 4,250
Maine 2,800 95 $415 $235 1,120
Maryland 13,000 480 $2,030 $1,220 5,675
Massachusetts 12,000 450 $1,960 $1,115 5,280
Michigan 20,000 570 $2,415 $1,145 6,730
Minnesota 10,000 395 $1,660 $905 4,630
Mississippi 6,800 225 $965 $615 2,695
Missouri 14,000 410 $1,725 $940 4,810
Montana 2,000 70 $305 $170 840
Nebraska 3,500 115 $485 $260 1,350
Nevada 4,400 275 $1,185 $705 3,265
New Hampshire 2,900 105 $455 $265 1,235
New Jersey 18,000 520 $2,220 $1,120 6,100
New Mexico 3,900 135 $575 $330 1,585
New York 24,000 1,055 $4,505 $2,285 12,380
North Carolina 18,000 875 $3,675 $2,235 10,280
North Dakota 1,500 35 $165 $85 460
Ohio 21,000 635 $2,685 $1,245 7,475
Oklahoma 7,700 310 $1,270 $795 3,635
Oregon 6,400 290 $1,240 $665 3,415
Pennsylvania 21,000 720 $3,085 $1,540 8,485
Rhode Island 1,600 70 $325 $185 875
South Carolina 12,000 360 $1,520 $910 4,250
South Dakota 1,600 50 $210 $110 585
Tennessee 13,000 585 $2,460 $1,565 6,865
Texas 52,000 2,405 $9,865 $6,260 28,215
Utah 4,500 185 $805 $460 2,220
Vermont 1,400 45 $200 $115 550
Virginia 17,000 690 $2,895 $1,735 8,095
Washington 11,000 510 $2,190 $1,165 6,025
West Virginia 3,500 125 $540 $320 1,510
Wisconsin 10,000 335 $1,415 $670 3,950
Wyoming 1,400 35 $150 $80 415
U.S. Aggregate 570,000 22,930 $97,010 $54,920 270,130


Luke Tonachel is the New York-based Vehicles Analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

 
 

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