Many states with large rural populations are not energy efficient, state-by-state study says

Many states with large rural populations are less energy efficient than states with fewer rural citizens, says an annual ranking released Wednesday by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE). North Dakota tops the list as the least energy efficient, followed by Wyoming, South Dakota, Mississippi, Alaska and West Virginia. The most energy efficient states are Massachusetts, California, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.

"The rankings account for each state’s electricity and natural gas efficiency program budgets, annual savings from efficiency programs, greenhouse gas emissions standards, electric vehicle registrations, transit funding and legislation, the strictness and enforcement of state building codes, use of combined heat and power, state financial incentives for energy efficiency and other factors," Bobby Magill reports for Climate Central. 

"Massachusetts has led the country in energy efficiency for four years in a row, mainly because the state has begun to save energy by setting annual electricity savings targets of up to 2.6 percent through 2015 and natural gas savings targets of up to 1.2 percent per year through 2015," Magill writes. "States at the bottom of the list have not made energy efficiency a priority." (Read more) (ACEEE map: Energy efficient rankings by state. To view an interactive version click here)