The U.S. Department of Energy has updated its guidelines for property-assessed clean energy financing for homes, as residential property-assessed clean energy programs begin to blossom beyond California.
In a few short years, the residential PACE market has grown from nearly nothing to more than $2 billion. Most of the projects are in California, but there are also expanding markets in Florida and Missouri.
PACE programs allow investments in water- and energy-efficiency retrofits and distributed renewable generation to be paid back through property taxes, which lowers the risk for both lenders and property owners.
PACE financing can potentially open up a far larger swath of the energy-efficiency market than traditional programs have been able to. For example, in a few short years, PACE has become one of the largest loan programs by volume, according to Lawrence Berkeley Lab, with the Mass Save HEAT Loan program being the other leader.
The DOE guidelines are not binding, and are therefore limited — since they are essentially voluntary. Even if they were binding, they do not go far enough to protect consumers, some consumer groups argue.
Read more (Greentech Media)
LONDON: The COP22 climate conference, held in Marrakech earlier this month, marked a transition from high-level commitments to concrete actions to tackle the effects of climate change quickly, effectively and at scale. Accelerating adoption of Energy Efficiency (EE) technologies, and LED lighting in particular, have been identified as key elements in achieving the ambitious commitments under the Paris Agreement and transitioning to a low carbon global economy.
A series of key events during COP22, which was held from November 7-18, helped to further highlight the opportunities, as well as the remaining challenges, in scaling up EE technologies, and in particular LED lighting. The first such event ‘What do Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) need to succeed? Energy Efficiency’ was organized by the United Nations Environment Programme’s United for Efficiency project, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) on November 12.
The event highlighted how EE is the most sustainable, cost-effective, and accessible way of reducing carbon emissions whilst providing a wide a range of other social and environmental co-benefits. However, although many countries NDCs mention energy efficiency, they generally lack clear strategies and commitments on how to practically achieve the targets. By raising the profile of this issue, the session presented specific examples where governments and industry organizations have collaborated to successfully implement energy efficiency strategies for appliances and lighting systems.
Particularly in Africa, adoption of energy efficient lighting solutions both for grid connected as well as off-grid applications is key. Energy efficient lighting for Africa and beyond, an event run by UNEP and the Clean Energy Ministerial, highlighted the crucial role and potential for new policies to drive the transition to LEDs throughout Africa and save over 60 TWh annually by 2030, equivalent to thirty 500MW power plants. Additional benefits also include increased grid stability and the potential of connecting 20 million additional households with the electricity grid.
Read more (The Climate Group)
As another round of global climate talks has concluded, many observers wonder whether the 2016 election means the end of greenhouse gas regulation in the United States. More specifically, what happens to the Clean Power Plan?
Even before the election, the Clean Power Plan was already years away from being finalized. Implementation of the rule is currently stayed as it moves through the courts. Even if it sails through the courts unscathed and the original compliance schedule remains in effect, states would not have to meet their first targets for curbing power plant emissions until two years after the next presidential election (2022).
When it comes to environmental regulation, it’s best to take the long view. Rulemakings made pursuant to authority under the Clean Air Act are generally litigated and take years to develop. They often span across multiple administrations. Take the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, the Environmental Protection Agency program to limit emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide. It took decades to evolve. There were multiple years when the EPA didn’t act or the rulemaking just sat in courts.
Read more (ACEEE)
Hundreds of businesses such as Starbucks, General Mills and Hewlett Packard are asking President-elect Donald Trump to follow through on U.S. commitments to combat climate change. They argue it’s good for business.
More than 360 companies and investors made their plea in an open letter to Trump, President Obama and members of Congress. They called on Trump to “continue U.S. participation in the Paris agreement,” which he has threatened to scrap, and invest in the “low carbon economy at home and abroad.”
The signatories also include DuPont, eBay, Nike, Unilever, Levi Strauss & Co. and Hilton. They issued the letter Wednesday during a major U.N. climate conference in Marrakech, Morocco, where representatives of nearly 200 countries were gathered to hash out the details of the Paris climate deal.
Read more (NPR)
Energy efficiency is an area of climate action with “enormous untapped potential”, according to a new report released today by the Carbon Trust which underscores the urgent need for increased global investment…
Read more (BusinessGreen)
Christopher Haley finally has a place to cut his rocks.
The science professor at Virginia Wesleyan College jokes about it, but teaching his geology students how to prepare samples properly is an important part of education, he says.
It’s one of the reasons he is excited about the nearly 40,000 square foot Greer Environmental Sciences building opening on campus.
It’s about 60 percent complete and will be ready for use in time for the fall 2017 semester. It’s now closed to the elements, so any work done over the winter will be done inside.
The building is being paid for by an anonymous donor, and the cost also is not disclosed, but it will be the most significant building on campus since the Jane P. Batten Student Center, which was completed in 2002.
Along with a host of state-of-the art labs, study spaces and classrooms, the building itself will be a learning tool.
Read more (The Virginian-Pilot)
A panel of influential voices from across Virginia came together Tuesday to discuss climate change and public opinion, how it shaped the 2016 election, and policy efforts to reduce carbon pollution at George Mason University’s Center for Climate Communications.
The panelists discussed what 2017 – a critical year for climate action – may bring. The shift to a clean-energy economy in Virginia is already underway, driven by consumer demand and aided by market forces. Clean energy is cheaper than ever and public opinion strongly favors clean, renewable energy over dirty fuels like coal and fracked gas.
Read the full story. (Augusta Free Press)
Energy efficiency is a strong marketing point for home sales in the Fresno area, according to an analysis by real estate website Zillow.
In fact, out of 100 U.S. cities, Fresno ranks at No. 3 in terms of percentage of home listings with energy-efficient terms such as “solar panel” or “wind power.”
About 14.2 percent of Fresno home listings include such terms, according to Zillow. San Jose was No. 1 on the list with 24.1 percent.
The analysis also looked at the average carbon footprint of homes in each city, using data provided by University of California, Berkeley’s CoolClimate Network. Fresno’s average carbon footprint came in at 40.9 metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted by a typical household each year.
San Jose’s average carbon footprint was 53.4 metric tons.
“Climate change is top-of-mind in California, and whether homeowners are reacting to environmental ethics or high energy costs, they are most likely to market energy-efficient technology when selling their homes,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. “Between density and drought, Californians have a lot of reasons to find ways to make their homes more efficient – for the sake of the environment and their pocketbooks, too.”
Read more (The Business Journal)
After previously discussing what building codes are, how they are developed, and how they are adopted, we now explore the final, and perhaps most important, stage of the building energy code cycle: compliance. Compliance is where “the rubber meets the road” for energy codes. Without it, no energy is saved, and all the work done during the development and adoption phases is for naught.
BUILDERS AND DESIGNERS
The legal obligation to comply with the energy code (meeting all the applicable requirements) rests squarely on the professionals who design and construct buildings. On the residential side, homes are often designed by a licensed builder or other design professional (although this can vary depending in the complexity and customization of the home). While the builder may ultimately carry responsibility for code compliance, many subcontractors and trades play critical roles in ensuring compliance with the energy code. For example, lighting requirements may fall to the electrician, and tightening residential envelopes can affect a broad range of trades—from the foundation, to framing and insulation contractors, and even to the painting or finishing crews. In commercial buildings, the design team typically includes an architect and engineer, and is responsible for ensuring compliance with the relatively more complex commercial energy code requirements, from building shell and envelope features, to the internal electrical and mechanical systems.
Read more (Energy.gov)
Energy auditors across the U.S. are looking beyond leaky windows and outdated appliances in pursuit of a more holistic approach toward assessing building performance.
There’s long been a link between a building’s physical state, its energy consumption and the health of its occupants, experts say. Energy assessors are increasingly looking to tap into that intersection of needs in order to better serve their customers and to seek new funding streams.
“Over the course of the last 20 years, it’s always been energy or comfort that has driven the contractors and low-income weatherization programs … but at the same time, there were these … secondary benefits like comfort and health,” says Matthew Anderson, client relations director at the Building Performance Institute (BPI), which issues building performance credentials and standards for energy auditors and other assessors.
“While that was never really a major selling point, it was always noted that — in most cases — people were getting more comfortable [and] healthier.”
Read more (Midwest Energy News)
