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

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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. Individual states will create tens of thousands of jobs and save billions in fuel costs.

The benefits described graphically and in a table 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.)

 

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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