The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy placed Wisconsin at No. 17 in its annual ranking of each state’s energy efficiency over the past year, noting improvements as well as shortcomings in the state.

Wisconsin is back in the top 20 after dipping to No. 23 last year. The ranking is based on whether policies in place encourage energy efficiency, as well as other more general policies relating to issues like transportation, building codes and appliance standards.

University of Wisconsin professor Douglas Reinemann, an expert on rural energy systems from the biological systems engineering department, said Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy program is one of the big reasons Wisconsin is in the top 20.

When residents of Wisconsin pay their monthly electric bill, Reinemann said that money goes into a public benefits fund.

“Focus on Energy uses those funds to encourage energy efficiency through educational programs and incentive programs,” Reinemann said.

This program has been in place for years, but Reinemann said it has had a more cost-effective year this year than previously. The organization is under new administration, as Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. replaced the Madison-based Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corp. as the contractor overseeing the program, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported.

The report named Wisconsin as one of four “most improved” states over the past year, which is important for saving money and the environment, Reinemann said. He said conserving energy instead of generating new energy was much more cost effective for the state.

“From an economic standpoint it’s more cost effective to conserve than it is to generate,” Reinemann said. “It’s making the state more efficient, which is good for both the state’s long-term economy and in avoiding the environmental consequences of more generation.”

Satya Rhodes-Conway, an associate director with Center on Wisconsin Strategy, a University of Wisconsin-based national think-tank that deals with social issues including environmental sustainability, said the Focus on Energy fund has been beneficial. She said it has been a consistent way Wisconsin has been able to conserve energy for a number of years. At one point, she said, it was a national model for states around the country.

Now though, Rhodes-Conway said she believes other states have surpassed Wisconsin and implemented programs that are like Focus but that do a better job of promoting energy efficiency.

“I would be really surprised if there were anything in particular that Wisconsin did that changed something,” Rhodes-Conway said of Wisconsin’s new position in the ACEEE ranking. “I imagine it has more to do with what happened in other states.”

She said she is not aware of any new programs that have made big strides in promoting energy efficiency and that Wisconsin has not been making any particular extra effort to become more energy efficient over the last year.

Minnesota, which ranks No. 10, is the only Midwest state in the ACEEE ranking’s top 10. The most energy efficient states in the country according the ranking are Massachusetts, California, Rhode Island, Vermont and Oregon.

“There are a number of policies that other states are doing that Wisconsin hasn’t adopted,” Rhodes-Conway said.

She and Reinemann agreed that bringing about further change to promote energy efficiency would not only be beneficial to the environment but to the economy as well.