When you reach for that candy bar this Halloween, don’t just count calories—count kilowatt-hours. Big candy manufacturers use a lot of energy to feed our sugar addiction, especially this time of year. The average American consumes about 22 pounds of candy per year, which is the weight of roughly 2,200 Hershey’s kisses.
That’s a lot of candy. “[We’re] good at making chocolate…but we’re not an expert in producing power,” says Winston Chen, the renewable energy manager for Mars Incorporated.
Thanks to energy efficiency, Mars soon won’t need to use as much power. As concerns about energy consumption, water depletion, and climate change rise, your favorite candy companies are taking energy-saving steps to improve their business models and meet their sustainability goals.
(Read more) American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Transportation in the U.S. is in the midst of a revolution.
The steadily increasing number of electric vehicles available provide cleaner options with lower operating costs. Autonomous vehicles, when they arrive, will undoubtedly reshape our daily routines. And ride-hailing and transit payment apps will continue to influence how many people interact with the transportation system. All of these technologies need to evolve in concert.
This transformation, if done well, offers a unique chance to move people and goods more conveniently and economically while reducing the significant energy consumption and emissions from the transportation sector.
Read more (Real Clear Energy)
Zero energy building codes are making inroads in Oregon, California, British Columbia, and other places, but a new ACEEE white paper reveals that they still face barriers to nationwide success, including a “solar-only” mentality.
From coast to coast, there’s considerable momentum for zero energy buildings, or ZEBs, which produce at least as much energy as they use over the course of a year. To make a building zero energy, designers first minimize the building’s energy use with high-efficiency walls, windows, HVAC equipment, and energy management systems. The remaining load is met with on-site renewable energy, typically solar photovoltaic panels.
Read more (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy)
Dominion Energy Share program benefits low-income residents
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Energy efficiency upgrades that cut costs for low-income Virginia residents were on display today at a tour of an affordable housing complex in northern Virginia. Held in recognition of National Energy Efficiency Month, the walk-through gave state Senator Richard “Dick” Saslaw and other Virginia officials a chance to see, first-hand, the direct benefits of efficiency programs expanded under the recently passed Grid Transformation and Security Act.
“It’s not often you can see such concrete, positive results of recent legislation with your own eyes,” said Chelsea Harnish, Executive Director of the Virginia Energy Efficiency Council (VAEEC). “But as Senator Saslaw saw today, residents of Rosedale Manor will soon have healthier, more comfortable homes – and lower energy bills.”
Rosedale Manor, a 96-unit affordable housing complex owned by the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA), is currently undergoing a complete weatherization retrofit, including new attic insulation and installation of efficient LED light bulbs, provided by LEAP (the Local Energy Alliance Program) using funds from the newly expanded Dominion Energy Share Weatherization program.
“We are thrilled to be able to reach more of Virginia’s low-income families,” said Lesley Crowther Fore, Executive Director of LEAP. “When a family starts saving money on their energy bills, it makes so many other things possible. For some Virginians, saving even a few dollars a month can mean the difference between a bag of healthy groceries or a bare cupboard.”
Rosedale is one of many Virginia affordable housing complexes benefiting from the Dominion Energy Share program, expanded under a bill passed in the last legislative session, the Grid Transformation and Security Act (SB966), which went into effect July 1. VAEEC joined LEAP to offer state and local decision-makers a hands-on opportunity to see how their efforts are helping low-income Virginians.
“We are honored to have VAEEC showcase the wonderful work LEAP is doing here at Rosedale Manor to make the community more energy efficient” said Mason District Board Supervisor Penny Gross. “This effort supports the county’s commitment to renewable energy and innovative energy technologies.” The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted its first ever Operational Energy Strategy earlier this summer. The strategy aims to reduce energy use in county buildings and facilities by 20 percent per square foot over the next 10 years.
Virginia is the most expensive state in the Southeast and the 11th most expensive in the country for energy costs for renters. While all utility customers share in the cost of energy efficiency programs through their monthly bills and all Virginians save money from reduced statewide energy consumption, utility programs traditionally only reach single-family, owner-occupied homes. Dominion’s Energy Share program is one of the few ways for residents of apartments and other multi-family homes to access all the benefits of energy efficiency.
About VAEEC:
Founded in 2012, the Virginia Energy Efficiency Council is the voice for the energy efficiency industry in the Commonwealth. We are a nonprofit headquartered in Richmond. Our members include Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, universities, nonprofits, local governments, state agencies, and utilities. The Council’s goal is to ensure energy efficiency is recognized as an integral part of Virginia’s economy.
About LEAP:
Since its inception, LEAP has established itself as a trusted leader in Virginia for home and business energy efficiency and renewables thanks to the relationships we have developed with our customers, contractors, local governments, and many other partners. As a trusted nonprofit, LEAP delivers direct education and services for improved energy performance to address climate change; create cost savings for families and businesses; healthier, safer, and more durable buildings; and local jobs and economic growth.
The Urban Land Institute’s Greenprint Center for Building Performance released a new report this week showing that the commercial real estate industry is making significant progress in reducing energy consumption.
This center, which is part of ULI’s Center for Sustainability and Economic Performance, is a global alliance of real estate owners, investors, and financial institutions committed to improving environmental performance across the global property industry.
Volume 9 of the Greenprint Performance Report tracked, benchmarked, and analyzed the performance of 7,950 properties owned or managed by Greenprint members by Greenprint’s members. Between 2016 and 2017, the members demonstrated a 3.3% reduction in energy consumption as well as a 3.4% reduction in carbon emissions and a 2.9% reduction in water use, according to the report.
Read more (Energy Manager Today)
Governor Ralph Northam’s new 2018 Virginia Energy Plan (VEP), released earlier this month, rounds out a busy year for clean energy policy in Virginia. It contains policy and program recommendations that will, if thoroughly implemented, deepen energy savings and expand clean energy in the Commonwealth. It proposes that the governor establish a goal to reduce energy consumption in state buildings 20% by 2022, continue robust energy savings performance contracting, and practice more-thorough energy data management. The VEP also proposes a cumulative statewide combined heat and power target and reinforces the value of state and private financing for customer energy efficiency programs. ACEEE is glad the VEP includes several recommendations we put forward in our comments. Now it is time to put them into action.
Read more (American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy)
Blockchain is generating a lot of buzz as a promising system to verify and track peer-to-peer transactions in the energy sector. It could have multiple applications although there is still debate about which, if any, will work well. What’s clear, however, is that companies are already exploring uses of blockchain to save energy. Let me tell you about three applications that show promise.
Companies including Walmart and Maersk are already using blockchain to track products along a supply chain. The technology records every transfer and financial exchange. This reduces processing and administrative costs (which can add up to 20% of overall shipping costs) as well as product spoilage. By matching shippers with carriers, it may also increase equipment utilization and decrease fuel consumption. According to the American Trucking Association, truckers in the United States drive more than 29 billion miles a year with partial or empty truckloads.
Read more (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy)
Many of us don’t spend much time thinking about how energy efficiency helps ensure our appliances aren’t wasting energy and that keeping our showers warm doesn’t cause our energy bills to soar. Modern technology ensures we usually don’t have to think about these things. However, many families feel the pinch once the monthly utility bills arrive, and one in five households reduce or forego other necessities such as food and medicine to afford those energy payments.
These facts are especially pertinent in October, which also is known as Energy Awareness Month.
Read more (Utility Dive)
The twelfth edition of the ACEEE State Energy Efficiency Scorecard gives a progress report on state energy efficiency policies and programs that save energy and produce environmental and economic benefits. The Scorecard uses data vetted by state energy officials to rank states in six categories—utility programs, transportation, building energy codes, combined heat and power, state initiatives, and appliance standards. The top states in this year’s Scorecard were Massachusetts, California, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Connecticut. The most-improved state was New Jersey; other up-and-coming states included Missouri, Colorado, and South Dakota. Energy efficiency is a growing resource in these states and others, with utilities spending more than $7.9 billion in 2017 for efficiency programs nationwide and saving 27.3 million MWh of electricity.
(Read more) American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
Energy Efficiency Jobs in America shows that energy efficiency (EE) jobs drive energy employment, representing nearly 35% of all U.S. energy-sector workers. One may assume that most of these opportunities are in major cities, as rural areas offer fewer job options in general. However, certain industries create a larger number of local jobs providing employment for Americans outside metro areas. These jobs can transform people’s lives and be fulfilling careers.
EE is one of these vital industries, offering 2.25 million jobs.[i] You may not realize, but EE jobs are everywhere. In fact, 99.7% of U.S. counties have energy efficiency jobs. Yes, 3,000 out of 3,007 counties employ EE workers.
(Read more) E4TheFuture
