Hawaii residents can feel pretty good, or green, about the state’s effort to save energy, according to a new national study.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranked Hawaii 16th best in the country for state government policies and programs aimed at becoming greener users of energy.

The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, which evaluated a diverse list of criteria, said Hawaii did the best in the area of curtailing electricity use by achieving a 1.45 percent savings last year that was seventh best among all states and Washington, D.C.

But Hawaii lagged behind most of the nation in a few areas, such as state spending on efficiency programs (34th), and state-led initiatives that include providing financial incentives for energy efficiency (38th).

“We’re doing good, but there is a lot more potential and opportunity to do better,” said Brian Kealoha, executive director of Hawaii Energy, an organization that facilitates energy efficiency under authority of the state Public Utilities Commission. “I would say we’re doing pretty good. We want to do better.”

Massachusetts got the top score in ACEEE’s report, followed by California and Rhode Island. Wyoming got the worst score, just below West Virginia and North Dakota.

ACEEE said states collectively spent about $7.9 billion last year on energy efficiency in the utility sector, and saved close to 27 million megawatt-hours of electricity. The energy reduction represented a 7-percent improvement from what was achieved in 2016, the report said.

“Overall, plenty of signs are pointing to policymakers’ growing appreciation of efficiency’s economic and environmental benefits and its role in strengthening the grid and transitioning to a clean energy economy,” ACEEE said in its report.

Spending on energy efficiency was led by Vermont at $102 per capita. Hawaii’s per capita spending was $14.55, which ranked 31st. Alaska, Kansas and North Dakota spent nothing, the report said.

There were a few areas in ACEEE’s criteria where Hawaii scored no points. This included energy efficiency programs for low-income residents, requiring minimum energy efficiency levels for new appliances and rating new homes for energy efficiency.

The report said only 11 percent of new homes in Hawaii were rated, which was below the minimum 14 percent needed to earn a score. In Arizona, 54 percent of new homes were rated, the report said.

Kealoha said the reason Hawaii missed out on points for low-income resident energy efficiency programs is because programs that do serve low-income populations do not verify incomes. He said Hawaii has programs that target low-income housing projects. “We’re actually pretty strong in that area,” he said.

As for requiring minimum efficiency levels for new appliances sold in Hawaii, the Legislature considered but failed to pass a bill this year to adopt California standards.

The report noted that Vermont, which got the 4th best overall energy efficiency score, passed a bill this year that adopted efficiency standards for 16 products not covered by federal standards, including computers, computer monitors, faucets, shower heads, commercial dishwashers and portable air conditioners. Vermont consumer and environmental advocacy organization Vermont Public Interest Research Group said the new standards will save residents $210 million by 2035.

Hawaii did get credit for having an institution with an energy efficiency research and development focus, the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii, and for having a utility business model that addresses energy efficiency.

Hawaii also got points for the number of electric vehicles, having a complete streets policy, reducing vehicle miles traveled and integrating transportation and land-use planning.

One thing Hawaii was singled out for in the report was being one of six states that have a “green bank.” These are programs geared to expand clean energy using public financing that attracts private capital.

Hawaii’s green bank is GEMS, the Green Energy Money Saver or Green Energy Market Securitization program, that had committed to lend $73 million and had $55 million available as of June 30, according to the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority.