Monthly Archives: September 2013

On-Bill Repayment In California: A Step Forward And A Missed Opportunity

By Brad Copithorne / Published: September 17, 2013

This commentary originally appeared on EDF’s California Dream 2.0 blog.

Yesterday, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) updated their June 25 proposed decision that included implementation rules for an On-Bill Repayment (“OBR”) program for public and commercial properties. An OBR program allows property owners to finance energy efficiency upgrades on their buildings and repay the obligations through their utility bills. Banks and other private investors provide the funding and borrowers get low interest rates because the obligations are an integral part of the utility bill and, under the EDF proposal, are fully transferable upon change in ownership or occupancy.

The CPUC’s revised decision contains many of the elements necessary for a successful program including making the OBR obligation an integral part of the utility bill through a tariff. Ed Wojtowicz, VP of Finance at Honeywell recently told me, “By integrating the financing charge into the utility bill, we expect that OBR will help many towns, cities and school districts approve money saving energy efficiency projects.” We have heard similar sentiments from other market participants and are optimistic that this OBR program will accelerate money-saving clean energy investments in municipal and school properties.

Unfortunately, our California utilities — PG&E, SoCal Edison and Sempra — have been fighting OBR tooth and nail for the past two years, as they fear that a successful OBR program would increase investment in distributed solar, potentially reduce utility control of energy efficiency programs and allow other companies to have access to the utility bill and customer relationships. Over the past three weeks, the utilities have had ten separate private meetings with CPUC commissioners or staff in an attempt to halt the OBR program.

Posted in On-bill repayment / Comments are closed

Natural Gas And The Methane Problem: Study Shows Climate Benefit Depends On Fixing The Leaks

By Dan Grossman / Published: September 16, 2013

Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is a powerful greenhouse gas – 72 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year time frame. The largest single source of U.S. methane emissions is the vast network of infrastructure and activity involved in the production, processing and delivery of natural gas. These emissions, if not controlled, pose a significant risk to the climate. In the near term, the opportunity to maximize the climate benefit of natural gas compared to other fossil fuels rests on whether methane emissions can be minimized.

A groundbreaking study released today demonstrates that some operators have been successful in deploying technologies and strategies to minimize methane emissions from production, creating optimism that we can make the natural gas climate bet payoff. However, we also know that such technologies and strategies are not universally deployed in the industry and, not surprisingly, other studies demonstrate much higher methane leakage rates.

We simply need to be vigilant to ensure that such production is done right.

The University of Texas study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involved taking direct measurements of actual methane emissions – as opposed to estimating emissions through indirect methods such as engineering formulas, as has often been the case in earlier studies. Measurements were taken at well sites in multiple geographic regions – including the Rocky Mountain West. It is the first of 16 studies EDF is participating in to assess the scope of methane leakage throughout the natural gas supply chain (from production on through to local distribution and key end users). Read More »

Posted in Methane, Natural Gas / Tagged Colorado | Read 1 Response

The Nuts And Bolts — Or Rather Watts and Volts — Of The Energy-Water Lingo

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: September 16, 2013

A glossary of energy and water terms

In recent posts I’ve discussed the need for energy and water planners to co-manage resources more comprehensively. But another significant barrier exists: language. Water and energy planners use different terminology and a lack of understanding for these distinctions hampers true coordination. Also, it prevents customers from understanding how to make sense of their own usage patterns and maximize energy and water efficiency.

Electricity measurements

Getting into the nuts and bolts — or watts and volts — of the issue can get very dry very quickly, so let’s go over some basic units of measurement to set the stage.

Electricity is measured in watts, usually represented as kilowatts (kW), megawatts (MW), but often discussed as megawatt-hours (MWh). One MW is roughly equivalent to ten running cars engines. A MWh is the total amount of electricity produced by a power plant in one hour, roughly the amount of energy used by 330 homes in one hour. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in May 2013, Texas generated 12,261 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity from coal-fired power plants (1 GWh = 1,000 MWh) and only 4,116 GWh from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar.

Posted in Energy Efficiency, Energy-Water Nexus / Tagged Energy-Water Nexus | Comments are closed

A Future Of Hotter Summers Will Stress Energy And Water In Texas

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: September 13, 2013

This commentary originally appeared on EDF’s Texas Clean Air Matters blog.

With Labor Day behind us, Texans can look forward to a welcome respite from the hundred-degree days of August. The pending arrival of fall may signal milder temperatures for now, but the latest report from John Nielson-Gammon, Texas’ state climatologist, tells a different story about Texas’ long-term climate trend. The study released last month indicates that peak summer temperatures may increase by up to five degrees by 2060. What we once thought of as a unique heat wave (think back to 2011) are likely to become the new normal, and will eventually – according to Nielson-Gammon – be replaced by even hotter temperatures.

At the same time, increasing temperatures would place further severe stress on the state’s energy and water systems. Texas’ recent extreme summers have already plunged much of the state into drought. The latest data released by the U.S. Drought Monitor predict water emergencies could occur in at least nine U.S. cities—five of which are in Texas. And experts expect the drought will persist for years to come as climate change intensifies.

Texas lawmakers must take these grim projections into account as they plan the state’s energy and water futures. Some Texas decision makers are already calling for more fossil-fuel power plants to cover the need for more power (to run all those air conditioners) in light of 2011’s historic summer highs, which will emit more carbon pollution into the air and add to the warming. These same Texas lawmakers insist we should keep our heads in the sand, ignore the mounting evidence pointing to a new climate normal and do nothing to alleviate or adapt to the problem. Read More »

Posted in Climate, Demand Response, Energy Efficiency, Energy-Water Nexus, Texas / Tagged Drought, Energy-Water Nexus | Comments are closed

A State Race To Save Energy

By Caroline Paulsen / Published: September 12, 2013

Earlier this year, the Alliance Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy unveiled a plan to double nationwide energy productivity by 2030. It’s an ambitious move to greatly increase our nation’s use of energy efficiency, which represents a huge – and largely untapped – opportunity. Reducing wasted energy through efficiency cuts harmful pollution and saves people money on their energy bills. After all, the cheapest, cleanest, most reliable electricity is the electricity we don’t have to use.

Source: Church Times

Similarly, the State Energy Race to the Top Initiative (Initiative) is an incentive for states to make voluntary progress to increase their energy productivity. The U.S. Senate is moving forward to make this idea a reality. Originally introduced as a bill in June, the Initiative has now been filed as a potential amendment, sponsored by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Jon Tester (D-MT), to the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill. If passed, the Initiative will stimulate energy innovation in both the public and private sectors, and allow states to tailor energy saving policies to their particular needs.

Administered by the Department of Energy (DOE), the Initiative will be broken into two phases. In the first phase, following the submission of state proposals through their energy office, DOE selects 25 states to receive funding (a combined $60 million) to move their energy productivity concepts forward. Although states have complete independence in developing and implementing their own clean energy strategies, the DOE will provide technical assistance upon request. Eighteen months later, in the second phase, the 25 states will be asked to submit progress reports to DOE. Based on their projects’ success, DOE will then select up to six states to receive a share of $122 million to continue their energy saving efforts.

Posted in California, Energy Efficiency, General, Grid Modernization, Texas / Tagged energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Race to the Top, environment | Read 1 Response

Energy Issues Aren’t Black And White, And Neither Is EDF’s Approach

By Jim Marston / Published: September 10, 2013

I’ve seen many energy issues expand and contract in the years I’ve been with EDF since 1988. Our organization has celebrated and participated in many victories regarding climate change, including landmark legislation that put limits for the first time on California’s greenhouse gas emissions, the elimination of eight out of 11 new coal plants in Texas as part of the utility TXU’s buyout and federal standards for controlling air pollution from unconventional gas activities. At the same time, we’ve seen clean energy sources both praised and attacked.

No issue, however, has been as thorny as natural gas. We used to think if we just switched from coal or oil to natural gas, we could be certain that the climate change scenario would improve dramatically. But with lingering uncertainty around just how much methane, a very potent greenhouse, is being emitted and is leaking out across the natural gas system, we are still weighing the amount of climate benefit of its use.

When you don’t know something that you want to know, you turn to experts who either have the knowledge or can acquire the knowledge by asking the right questions. So, as head of EDF’s US Climate and Energy Program, I’ve assembled a team whose judgment I trust to find answers to the question that defines our gas work: How can we minimize the risks associated with operations and maximize the inherent climate benefit of natural gas?

Posted in Natural Gas / Tagged Industry Experts | Comments are closed