Residents and businesses across the country are saving energy and money thanks to smart state policies. Their stories help explain why some states climbed in our 2017 State Scorecard or maintained strong standings. This year for the first time, we included stories of individuals and communities in our state-specific score sheets. We found schools that improved lighting and taught students about sustainability, state facilities that secured more reliable electricity, and senior citizens who improved the comfort of their homes. These stories demonstrate the impact of energy efficiency policies and programs on our wallets, local economies, productivity, and quality of life.
Schools
Idaho was one of the most-improved states in the 2017 Scorecard, partly because utilities have increased spending on energy efficiency. In late 2016 the University of Idaho leveraged a utility rebate to convert more than 66,000 fluorescent lights to more-efficient LEDs (light emitting diodes). The program employed 22 students and installed higher-quality lights that minimize ultraviolet radiation and reduce the university’s carbon footprint. The project is expected to save the university more than $355,000 annually and reduce energy use by 5.6 million kilowatt hours. It had a side benefit as well. It showed Peter Handel, a student employed by the project, the value of energy efficiency and sparked his longer-term interest in the field.
Similarly, in southwest Oregon, the Medford School District used Energy Trust of Oregon incentives and services to upgrade lights, renovate and construct energy-efficient school buildings, and improve occupant energy consumption practices. The school district used this program as a tool for teaching students about saving energy.
Read More (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy)
Virginia has taken a first step toward joining the East Coast’s regional carbon-trading market, a move that would drive down the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and help reshape the power sector in the traditional coal state.
State regulators on Thursday unanimously approved a draft proposed rule that would cap emissions from Virginia’s electricity sector beginning in 2020 and reduce them by 30 percent over a decade. Under the proposal, Virginia would join nine other states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the nation’s longest-running mandatory carbon market.
Read More (Inside Climate News)
Improving energy performance in buildings is a key strategy for the City of Chicago, which has committed to upholding the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. This includes a 26-28% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025; the city is currently 40% of the way to meeting that goal. Because the energy used in buildings accounts for over 70% of the city’s current greenhouse gas emissions, reducing building energy use is essential to meeting this goal.
To that end, the City of Chicago is proposing new updates to its energy benchmarking ordinance . The current ordinance was established in 2013, and requires commercial and multifamily buildings of 50,000 square feet or more to measure and report on their energy usage. The ordinance covers roughly 23% of the city’s energy use and has reduced energy usage roughly 4%. All reported buildings currently receive an ENERGY STAR score or an Energy Use Index (EUI) rating, if a score is not available.
Read More (Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance)
In his inauguration speech, Trump promised that every decision “will be made to benefit American workers and American families.”
In energy, the reality is very different.
Since the president took office, the Trump administration has attempted to systematically dismantle nearly every energy program with direct benefits to American consumers, from efficiency standards to weatherization programs for low-income families. (This doesn’t include the billions in cuts to advanced energy programs designed to make America an energy technology leader.)
This could have wide-reaching economic consequences. A tally of top programs on the chopping block, such as Energy Star and appliance standards, shows that consumers will lose out on hundreds of billions of dollars in cost savings under Trump administration proposals.
Read More (Greentech Media)
“The Democratic Party’s victory on Tuesday in the governor’s race appears to have cemented the move toward climate regulations, with Lt. Gov. Ralph Northambeating Republican challenger Ed Gillespie,” reports John Siciliano, who covers energy and environment issues for the Washington Examiner, on Nov. 9.
Incumbent Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, had initiated a process to create a greenhouse gas system after President Trump decided to scrap the Obama administration’s climate change regulations this year [including the clean power plan rule].
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will begin presenting its draft greenhouse gas program next week to the state’s pollution board for approval to create the state’s first cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Read More (Planetizen)
Partisan fights in Washington can leave the impression that we’re hopelessly divided. The truth is there are plenty of bipartisan solutions to the energy and environmental challenges we face, and energy efficiency is near the top of the list.
America fails to capture some two-thirds of the power it generates, much of it through simple waste, according to federal data. In a recent survey, the United States was ranked eighth among 23 of the world’s top energy-consuming countries in efficiency, behind several European nations, China and Japan.
We shouldn’t accept that.
Energy efficiency is one of the most powerful resources we have for meeting our energy and environmental goals. It is also an enormous economic opportunity.
Read More (New York Times)
Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced an energy performance contract between the Virginia Department of General Services (DGS) and Schneider Electric to make energy efficiency improvements to multiple government buildings, including the Patrick Henry Building which houses the Governor, his Cabinet and staff. The project includes six state office buildings and will result in annual energy and operational savings of $245,000. Construction is scheduled to be complete in 2018.
“As I stated in my Energy Plan, reducing energy costs and consumption in state government has been a top priority for my administration,” said Governor McAuliffe. “This project will deliver facilities upgrades with no upfront capital costs to taxpayers, while reducing the amount of electricity the state uses and taxpayer dollars going to utility bills. I am pleased that these improvements are being made in the building that houses my staff, my Cabinet Secretaries, and numerous other dedicated state employees and look forward to these cost saving strategies to continue for years to come.”
The Virginia Energy Efficiency Council honored the work with an award at the organization’s annual awards ceremony Thursday evening at the University of Richmond.
Read More (Office of the Governor)
In three days, Virginians will go to the polls to elect the next governor of the commonwealth and a new House of Delegates. There are many important issues that will be facing our elected officials over the next four years. Among them is growing our economy. Focusing on advanced energy and the jobs it can bring to Virginia would be a good place to start.
Advanced energy is the sleeping giant of Virginia’s energy economy. Virginians probably don’t realize that the commonwealth ranks 10th nationally in the total number of advanced energy jobs, with 81,150 people employed in the sector, nearly as many as work in hospitals. More than 75,000 workers are involved in making homes and commercial buildings more energy efficient — as many as are employed in supermarkets and grocery stores. In electric power, solar energy employs nearly twice as many Virginians as coal, oil, and natural gas generation — more than 4,300, versus fewer than 2,400.
Read More (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
As consumers, we have been conditioned to expect efficient, seamless and customized interactions with our service providers — from our phone company to our bank. And we’ve become accustomed to these providers widening their net and delivering a broader array of services over time.
Take, for example, credit card companies. Ten years ago, they were a means to an end. A customer purchased what she needed on credit, and then paid the bill either when it arrived or slowly over time. Today, credit card companies have become a financial hub for many consumers — in addition to providing value added services, like points and rewards, they also provide security and monitoring, alerting customers when fraud is suspected or detected.
So, how have credit card companies successfully moved from a space based purely on transactions to one that is built upon a strong customer relationship? By using customer data to deliver personalization at each moment of the customer journey.
Read More (Greentech Media)
A new survey conducted by the Association for Energy Services Professionals finds customer participation in utility energy management programs is still fairly low — but is growing by double-digits in some service territories.
The study found that only 31% of the consumers had participated in a utility-run energy management program. Participation rates ranged widely, from 1% to 80%, with an average participation of 17%.
The survey, conducted in partnership with Essense Partners, is one of four that will be released this year. Other topics to be examined include: energy efficiency jobs, distributed energy resources, and the Internet of Things.
Read More (Utility Dive)
