Tag:

efficiency

What Do Rising Electricity Rates Mean to Clean Energy?

A political consultant once told me that Americans only vote for the environmental candidate if the economy is thriving. The nation’s financial house needs to be in order before voters will tend the garden.

Green energy advocates appear to have circumvented this tendency in recent years by promoting green jobs. The political formula is no longer the environment or the economy, but the environment and the economy.

But the strength of that link may soon be tested.

The Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions published a recent survey that found 85% of utility regulators expect electricity rates to rise this year, and they worry that consumers will revolt.

06/18/2010 0 comment

Energy Efficiency Green Building Renewable Energy

Energy Savings Tips for Commercial Buildings

written by Chuck Colgan, CA Center for Sustainable Energy

An abundance of technology upgrades offer ways to reduce energy use in commercial facilities.

Trimming energy consumption in commercial buildings is an objective in the campaign to curb fossil fuel use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that is attainable by upgrading mechanical systems with improved technologies.

There are choices for reducing energy use in almost all functional areas of a commercial facility, according to energy expert David Wylie, vice president of ASW Engineering Management Consultants of Tustin, Calif., “as long as owners are willing to look beyond initial costs to see the long-term gains in lower utility costs, less downtime and increased building equity.”

Wylie outlined the latest developments in technologies for commercial building energy efficiency in seven broad categories during a daylong workshop held at the California Center for Sustainable Energy in San Diego, Calif.

06/10/2010 10 comments

Green Building Renewable Energy

$2.5M Project by Heliene Canada: a Green Energy Act Milestone

written by

David Orazietti, Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Sault Ste. Marie, announced last month the approval by the Ontario provincial government of a $1,875,000 loan to Heliene Canada to launch a solar module manufacturing plant in the city. The financing is in accordance with the Green Energy Act – an ambitious bill designed to create a sustainable electricity system in the Canadian province. The loan will be disbursed to Heliene Canada through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC).

06/08/2010 0 comment

Energy Efficiency

EnergyStar Shakes-Up Enforcement

written by CleanTechies.com Contributor

Most Americans are familiar with the blue-and-white EnergyStar logo, which has an almost 20-year history of helping consumers “save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.” Jointly managed by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, the EnergyStar program encompasses more than 60 different products from refrigerators to computers. In the past year and a half, EnergyStar’s ability to ensure that products bearing the EnergyStar logo provide the intended energy savings has come under increased scrutiny. As a result, EnergyStar has announced new measures to strengthen the trusted EnergyStar symbol.

06/04/2010 0 comment

Energy Efficiency Renewable Energy

BP, Better Buildings and Bacteria-Bots

written by Yale Environment 360

The End of the World…Or the End of the World As We Know It? The Gulf oil nightmare deepened, as crude oozed deeper into Louisiana’s wetlands and British Petroleum sputtered in its attempt to “top kill” the leak. Yet as the Deepwater Horizon officially surpassed Exxon Valdez to become America’s worst oil spill, another, quieter event seemed destined to compete with it in the history books. Craig Venter created a bacterial cell that is, as he called it, “the first self-replicating species we’ve had on the planet whose parent is a computer.”

05/31/2010 0 comment

Energy Efficiency Green Building Renewable Energy

Green Cure For The Blues

written by CleanTechies.com Contributor

Now that it has passed the House of Representatives with flying colors (246 to 161), we are this close to making Home Star a reality. This is the plan, supported on both sides of the aisle, which would give United States homeowners rebates for energy efficiency improvements and cut energy consumption. Most importantly, Home Star will put many of the country’s construction folks and blue-collar wage earners back to work, so let’s get it passed in the Senate and on President Obama’s desk already!

The bill has unique bi-partisan support and is backed by one of the largest coalitions to hit Washington in years. In just a few months, the Home Star Coalition has signed more than 1,300 members. Supporters come from labor unions, the Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, contractors, retailers, utilities and regulators, to name a few groups.

05/28/2010 1 comment

Energy Efficiency Green Building Renewable Energy

Oh Behave – The Simple Economics of Sustainability

written by Matt Macko

After watching the video below from an old professor from college, I found myself with the sudden urge to blog on the topic of money,cash flow, and sustainability.

The video demonstrates how people feel about cash and the different types of cash. Needless to say, an interesting topic for everyone because we all have it and usually want more of it. But how does cash relate to sustainability and the decisions that are affecting our planet, our lives and our species.

My hypothesis: Feelings of cash correlate directly with assumptions of sustainability investments.

05/28/2010 0 comment

Energy Efficiency Green Building Renewable Energy

Energy Efficiency Can Eliminate India’s Electricity Shortage

written by Yale Environment 360

The widespread adoption of energy efficient light bulbs, fans, refrigerators, air conditioners, and irrigation pumps can overcome India’s electricity shortage by 2013 and significantly reduce the country’s rapidly growing carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new report. The study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory said such simple energy efficiency measures could add $608 billion to India’s gross domestic product by 2020 because they would eliminate the chronic energy shortages that frequently force businesses and factories to reduce production.

05/27/2010 7 comments

Energy Efficiency Green Building Renewable Energy

Energy Efficiency: To HOME STAR and Beyond

written by Mark Schrieber

Currently winding its way through the legislative hoops of Capitol Hill is HOME STAR, a highly touted piece of legislation by President Obama. The program is perhaps the most important piece of legislation, outside of the Recovery Act and will provide for direct energy efficiency incentives for homeowners.

HOME STAR’S potential benefit to homeowners is simple: money. There are two proposed tracks: Silver and Gold. Under the Silver Star track ($3,000 cap/homeowner), homeowners will be eligible for rebates from individual energy efficiency measures such as replacing air conditioning units, water heaters or adding insulation.

05/27/2010 0 comment

Energy Efficiency Green Building Renewable Energy

Carbon Neutral in Paris. What about Madison?

written by Shari Shapiro

What a difference the pond makes.

The E.U. passed strict energy efficiency regulations last week, requiring all new buildings constructed in Europe after 2020 to be virtually carbon-neutral. The goal, according to Reuters, is to reduce the 36% of GHG emissions attributable to Europe’s building stock:

“With buildings accounting for 36 percent of the EU’s greenhouse gases, improving their energy efficiency is also crucial for meeting the EU’s climate change goals,” said Turmes.

Contrast this approach to a recent veto by Wisconsin’s governor of a bill aimed at making a percentage of public buildings green. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported:

05/26/2010 0 comment

Energy Efficiency Green Building

Energy Sleuths in Pursuit Of the Truly Green Building

written by Yale Environment 360

The practice of “commissioning,” in which an engineer monitors the efficiency of a building from its design through its initial operation, just may be the most effective strategy for reducing long-term energy usage, costs, and greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. So why is it so seldom used?

In a different world, it could be a reality television show — “Buildings On Trial,” with a street-savvy engineer going into skyscrapers, factories, offices and other commercial buildings to find the dumb mistakes that make them waste energy and produce a disproportionate share of the nation’s global warming emissions.

And in almost every case, even new buildings proudly displaying a LEED “green building” plaque by the front door, the engineer would come back out with a list of energy hog culprits: Here’s the ventilation system fan installed backwards, so it blows full force into another fan blowing in the right direction. Here’s the control system set up so heating and cooling systems both work at once, like driving with your feet on the brakes and the accelerator at the same time. Here are the stuck dampers that prevent the building from drawing on outside air when the temperature is right.

05/21/2010 0 comment

Energy Efficiency Green Building Renewable Energy

How to Prepare for New California Energy Law

written by Chuck Colgan, CA Center for Sustainable Energy

The next wave of California legislation aimed at reducing the state’s energy consumption and meeting mandates for reduced greenhouse gas emissions is set to wash ashore in January 2011 when Assembly Bill 1103 goes into effect. Its approach has commercial building owners, facility managers and real estate brokers throughout the state scrambling to understand the new law and begin collecting the data necessary to get a high-performance energy rating and keep their properties competitive.

Unlike California’s stringent Title 24 building energy efficiency codes that regulate standards for commercial construction and renovations, AB 1103 comes into play when a building is sold, leased in whole or refinanced. Along with the usual financial and transaction disclosures, it requires that building owners provide 12 months of energy-use information, or energy benchmarking, using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager.

AB 1103 is one of the ways the state legislature is working to help achieve the greenhouse gas emission reductions mandated by the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, also known as AB 32. Commercial buildings account for more than 35 percent of electricity consumption in California and are significant contributors to the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

05/18/2010 3 comments

Energy Efficiency

Energy Use Drops; It’s Not Just the Economy

written by Elisa Wood

We’ve been hearing a lot about a drop in energy consumption as a result of the economic downturn. In fact, U.S. energy use per person declined last year to its lowest level since 1968.

Economic activity and energy use are directly linked. But lately, several reports have noted that the economic slowdown is not the only reason energy consumption is falling. Aggressive energy efficiency efforts also have impact.

That impact will be “major” in the years to come, according to the Energy Information Administration, the chief energy data collector for the U.S. government. The agency this week released its “Annual Energy Outlook 2010” with projections to 2035.

The federal report shows us decreasing energy use significantly if we employ best available efficiency technologies over the next 25 years – that is if we buy the most energy efficient appliances and build homes to the highest efficiency standards. Under this scenario, energy consumption could drop by as much as 27 percent. But if we stick to the status quo, homeowners will increase energy use by about 0.2 percent.

05/14/2010 0 comment

Energy Efficiency Renewable Energy

Economic Stimulus for the Rest of Us

written by

There has been a ton of money floating out of Washington the past couple of years. Much is going toward propping up state governments with budget shortfalls, helping those who cannot find work by extending unemployment benefits and COBRA health insurance coverage, and a ton of dough is going to the banks.

This leaves a lot of us wondering, where is my stimulus package?

As an avid reader of current events and a novice financial expert, my opinion is perhaps literally worth two cents. As a renewable energy professional who has spent the past two years learning about solar energy and energy efficiency through community college courses and technical schools, I can tell there is a lot of money going to the right places.

In addition to extending unemployment benefits, there is a good deal of money flowing into community colleges and renewable energy. For example, I was able to get reimbursed from my state, New York, for the classes I took on energy efficiency.

05/12/2010 0 comment

Newer Posts

Older Posts