While the political landscape in Midwest states shows a growing reluctance to mandate utility spending on energy efficiency, some states are still gaining ground in reducing energy use by approaching it from different sectors.
The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy’s latest energy efficiency scorecard — a national grading system of states with the strongest efficiency policies in place — shows the Midwest region all over the map, from states in the top 10 (Minnesota) to dead last (North Dakota).
But advocates say the evolving criteria for grades mean more efforts are being taken into account beyond traditional statewide efficiency standards requiring utility investments. While states like Minnesota are still seen as having strong, years-long efforts, others are increasingly recognized for efforts in sectors like combined heat and power, transportation and building codes.
Read more (Midwest Energy News)
On October 4 we hosted the first in a new webinar series, kicking things off with “PACE in Virginia.”
Watch the “PACE in Virginia” webinar.
The webinar covers:
- An overview of the basics of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing
- Explanation of how Virginia compares to national programs and the opportunities and challenges in Virginia from a legislative and regulatory standpoint
- Discussion of funding Virginia received from the Department of Energy and a private foundation and how we will utilize the funding to increase market outreach and education to diverse localities across the Commonwealth
- Value proposition for property owners
- Specific examples that show how PACE works within the capital stack and current financing termsSpeakers:
Abigail Johnson, Abacus Property Solutions
Bill Greenleaf, Loan Officer and PACE specialist, Virginia Community Capital
Elyssa Rothe, Director of Policy and Market Development, PACENation
Abigail Johnson, LEED AP O&M, is the President of Abacus Property Solutions (“Abacus”) and founding partner in the new venture Atlantic PACE, a PACE project development and program administrative firm. In 2009, Abby founded Abacus to serve as a an independent real estate advisor to the commercial real estate industry in financing energy efficiency and clean energy projects using conventional debt, public/private incentives, and alternative financing vehicles such as PACE. Over the past three and a half years, Abby has focused her energy in growing the PACE market, both from the origination and underwriting standpoint to working with government and non-profit entities in establishing PACE programs. In particular, she was instrumental in establishing a commercial PACE program in south Florida (St. Lucie County) and in amending the flawed Virginia PACE legislation in 2015. She holds a Bachelor of Architectural History from the University of Virginia and a Master in International Economics and Management from L’Universita’ SDA Bocconi in Milan, Italy.
Bill Greenleaf is commercial loan officer at Virginia Community Capital. He started Virginia Community Capital’s energy efficiency and solar lending program for commercial buildings in 2015. Bill first started working to bring PACE loan programs to Virginia in 2009. In 2014 he established a business coalition which successfully secured passage of Virginia’s PACE legislation in 2015. He serves on the board of the Virginia Energy Efficiency Council. Mr. Greenleaf received his MBA in Finance from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, and his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Skidmore College.
Elyssa Rothe joined PACENation in January 2016 as Director of Policy and Market Development after working with Energize NY, NY State’s PACE program, for 4 years. She has spent her career working in the clean energy sector, primarily under several marketing and outreach contracts for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). She currently serves on the Board of Directors for 2 non-profit organizations in Westchester County. Elyssa graduated from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in Social Entrepreneurship, and received a Professional Certificate in Fundraising from NYU in 2014.
Can a green building make your company smarter? That’s what new research suggests, underscoring the ROI for green certifications — not just for optimizing the usual factors such as energy and water use, but for elevating workforce productivity.
It’s clear at Greenbuild 2016 this week that the health and wellness of workers indoors is becoming a high-level concern. No longer is human comfort something a corporation might consider from the kindness of its profit-seeking heart. Instead, evidence of a competitive advantage for fostering well-being speaks the language of the C-suite.
The early results of a new study dubbed COGFX are being buzzed about for finding 26 percent higher scores on cognitive tests for workers in LEED-certified buildings.
Read the full story. (GreenBiz.com)
A leading provider of supportive services to families in Ward 8 is constructing a new state-of-the-art headquarters with help from the District of Columbia’s Department of Energy and Environment’s DC Property Assessed Clean Energy (DC PACE) financing program. The Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative, Inc. (FSFSC), an anchor of the community for over 20 years, will use PACE financing at low tax-exempt rates to fund green building improvements for their new home in historic Anacostia. This is the first use of PACE with tax-exempt funds in the nation. This marks the fifth DC PACE deal closed under Mayor Bowser’s Administration, representing over $5.2 million in clean energy and water investments, with other major PACE deals in the pipeline.
The project includes the renovation of a vacant furniture store on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue into the new offices for FSFSC, which is currently located a few blocks from the site. The first floor will become the first “Busboys and Poets” restaurant and bookstore east of the Anacostia River.
Read the full story. (Urban Ingenuity)
Factories and other industrial energy users could make significant improvements in energy efficiency, saving money, cutting energy demand and reducing carbon emissions.
But the same measures that help homes and commercial businesses lower their energy use aren’t necessarily viable or attractive for industries, and energy efficiency isn’t always a priority for manufacturers dealing with myriad financial and technological challenges.
So the national non-profit Advanced Energy Economy Institute and other advocates are trying to push the issue of industrial energy efficiency to the forefront and to involve industrial users in policy and technology efforts, including through a series of roundtable discussions with industrial customers, utilities and other stakeholders in Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The next event in Illinois will be held on October 11.
The institute also held a meeting in Illinois in August in conjunction with the Clean Energy Trust and Northwestern University’s law school and Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern.
Read the full story. (Midwest Energy News)
E4TheFuture recently commissioned Tohn Environmental Strategies to perform a review and analysis of recent literature documenting residential building energy efficiency-related health impacts. Ellen Tohn’s research team* surveyed 25 studies that relate specifically to energy efficiency (EE) improvements. We will soon share these detailed results.
Our aim is to build understanding and access to relevant data that can support inclusion of health impacts as a public benefit of EE, while identifying where research gaps exist and/or where research can be improved and leveraged. Our goal is also to collaborate with others to explore new integrated approaches to improving indoor air quality that combines health and EE industry actions, in coordination with the U.S. DOE’s Roadmap for Integrating Health and Home Performance.
Read the full story. (E4TheFuture blog post)
During the past few months I have been energized by the great work happening to create the National Energy Efficiency Registry (NEER). More than 150 experts have been reviewing the NEER’s draft principles and operating rules to be released for public comment in the spring of 2017. You’re invited to learn more and get ready to add your voice!
What is the NEER?
If you haven’t heard yet, this is what all the buzz is about:
–Consider the market transformation that has been driven by Renewable Energy Credits (RECs).
–NEER will harness similar transformative power for energy efficiency by creating a transaction processing platform that allows EE Providers to document energy savings in a robust transparent manner to demonstrate progress toward energy goals and potential compliance with existing and future state and federal environmental regulations.
Read More (E4TheFuture)
The government is a lot of things. One of them is a building owner. Indeed, owning and operating facilities are two of the things it does most.
According the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), an arm of the government – at the local, state or federal level – owns about 14 percent of the commercial buildings in the United States. The breakdown is that about 4 percent of government buildings are federally owned, 24 percent are owned by the state and 72 percent are locally owned.
That’s interesting. What is even more interesting is that those buildings are far more energy efficient than non-governmental buildings, at least as of 2012. The EIA says that from 2003 to 2012 the government reduced the average energy consumption per square foot of the buildings it controlled from 105,300 Btus per square foot (Btu/sqft) to 81,200 Btu/sqft. Non-governmental commercial buildings also moved in the right direction – but not by as much. Energy intensity in these structures shrank by 12 percent, from 91,000 Btu/sqft to 80,000 Btu/sqft.
Read the full story. (Energy Manager Today)
Virginia manufacturers and industries would gain billions in benefits from better energy efficiency, while also cutting their carbon output, according to two new studies.
Jennifer Kefer, executive director of the Alliance for Industrial Efficiency, said its research found industrial energy efficiency could cut carbon emissions by 175 million tons nationwide in 2030.
“Process efficiency improvements, boiler upgrades, replacing chillers, insulation, even things as simple as lighting,” Kefer said. “Our report demonstrates very clearly that one can cut carbon while saving money.”
According to research from the Georgia Institute of Technology, industries in Virginia could save nearly $10 billion over a decade and a half
Read the full story. (Public News Service)
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the shift in American identity that we’re seeing pop off the pages of our Pulse studies. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of us who say buying/using eco-friendly products is an important part of our personal image. This shift in self-image coincides with another interesting shift, an actual shift in consumer behavior. As a researcher, I have had the privilege of spending multiple days with consumers from all walks of life from all over the country doing ethnographic research. I am always fascinated by the discrepancy between what people say they do and what they actually do. That’s why it’s so exciting that we’re seeing evidence of not just a shift in attitude but also a shift in behavior.
Behavior is the key difference this year. There is no doubt consumers’ behaviors are in the process of shifting. In this year’s Eco Pulse™ (soon to be released), we not only see that consumers’ attitudes and beliefs are strongly green, we also see consumers acting on those attitudes and beliefs. Ninety percent of our survey respondents think the average person should be taking concrete steps to reduce his or her environmental impact. Even more interesting is that consumers are putting their money where their mouths are. We are seeing indications of actual behavior change – changes in purchasing behavior based on the environmental record of manufacturers.
Read the full story. (The Shelton Group)
