Energy Exchange

Investor Confidence Project Releases “Soup-To-Nuts” Guide for Energy Efficiency Project Development

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 23, 2014

By: Tracy Phillips, ICP Technical Lead

There is a simple question that haunts building owners, energy services companies, and even utilities who invest in energy efficiency: “How do I know if I will really see the savings?”

To answer this question, EDF’s energy efficiency initiative, the Investor Confidence Project (ICP), is implementing a system that creates confidence in energy savings and cash flows.

Today, ICP is pleased to launch a new component of this initiative: the Project Development Specification. This product launch, along with the recently unveiled Software Provider Credential, is part of a larger effort by ICP to accelerate the development of a global energy efficiency market by standardizing how Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ (IREE) projects are developed and verified leading to increased investor confidence in savings. Read More »

Posted in Energy Efficiency, Energy Financing, Investor Confidence Project / Comments are closed

Labor and Environmentalists Join Forces to Reduce Methane Emissions

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 20, 2014

Just over a week ago the BlueGreen Alliance—a coalition of 15 of America’s largest labor unions and national environmental groups representing more than 15 million members and supporters—sent a letter to President Obama supporting national standards to reduce methane emissions. EDF’s Natural Gas Director of Communications, Lauren Whittenberg, recently talked with Rob McCulloch, Director of Infrastructure Programs at BlueGreen Alliance to learn more about their interest in this issue.

Lauren: Hi Rob. Can you tell us a little about BlueGreen Alliance, and the work you’re doing?

Rob: BlueGreen alliance is a national partnership working to find common ground among labor unions and environmental groups and advance policies that help build a cleaner, fairer, and more competitive American economy.

Our partners agree: Our nation’s response to today’s environmental challenges will determine our future economy. It is important that our response includes the creation of good, family-sustaining jobs for future generations. Read More »

Posted in Climate, Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Investors Voice Market Support for Methane Regulation

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 14, 2014

By: Tom Murray, Vice President, Corporate Partnerships Program

Last week, financial community leaders took a big step into the intersection of business and policy on the urgent need to curb methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. A group of investors managing more than $300 billion in market assets sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration and the White House, calling for the federal government to regulate methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. The letter urged covering new and existing oil and gas sites, including upstream and midstream sources, citing that strong methane policy can reduce business risk and create long-term value for investors and the economy.

Spearheaded by Trillium Asset Management, the cosigners of the letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy included New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, who oversees the $160 billion New York City Pension Funds, and a diverse set of firms and institutional investors. They spelled out in no uncertain terms that they regard methane as a serious climate and business problem – exposing the public and businesses alike to the growing costs of climate change associated with floods, storms, droughts, and other severe weather. Read More »

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

Investor Confidence Project Releases Software Provider Credential To Boost Energy Efficiency Market

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 9, 2014

By: Jeff Milum, ICP Director of Marketplace Development

In virtually all established markets, from car loans to timeshares, standardization and automation has helped to accelerate underwriting, reduce long-term liability, and spur investment. The potential energy efficiency market is estimated at $1 trillion, but in order to achieve a fraction of this, the energy efficiency industry will need to leverage standardization and automation in order to scale to this level.

EDF’s signature energy efficiency initiative, the Investor Confidence Project (ICP), is accelerating the development of a global energy efficiency market by standardizing how Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ projects are developed and energy savings estimates are calculated.

As a part of this effort, ICP is pleased to announce the release of the ICP Software Provider Credential, which will standardize the process of developing and documenting energy efficiency projects. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, Investor Confidence Project / Comments are closed

Mad Global Props: The International Energy Agency Hearts ICP

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 9, 2014

By: Panama Bartholomy, Director of ICP Europe

The Investor Confidence Project (ICP), was recognized by the International Energy Agency (IEA), a global organization for 29 member countries, in its annual energy efficiency report, released today.

The IEA’s Energy Efficiency Market Report 2014 highlighted ICP as a program that will accelerate the development of a global energy efficiency finance market, saying in its energy efficiency finance chapter that the EDF initiative will “facilitate a global market for financings by institutional investors that look to rely on standardized products.”

For investors, the IEA puts the financial market for energy efficiency in the range of $120bn, with the launch of new products, such as green bonds, corporate green bonds, energy performance contracts, and expanded sources of finance likely to expand that figure. Lending from multilateral development banks and bilateral banks alone amounted to more than $22bn in 2012. Read More »

Posted in Energy Efficiency, Energy Financing, Investor Confidence Project / Comments are closed

Finding Gold in the Value Chain

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 9, 2014

By: Victoria Mills, Managing Director of EDF Climate Corps

Energy efficiency is a goldmine, but not everyone has the time or resources to dig. That’s why for the past seven years, over three hundred organizations have turned to EDF Climate Corps for hands-on help to cut costs and carbon pollution through better energy management. And every year, the program delivers results: this year’s class of fellows found $130 million in potential energy savings across 102 organizations.

But this year we also saw something new. In addition to mining efficiencies in companies’ internal operations, the fellows were sent farther afield – to suppliers’ factories, distribution systems, and franchisee networks. What they discovered demonstrated there is plenty of gold to be found across entire value chains, if companies take the time to mine it.

Here are three places where EDF Climate Corps fellows struck gold: Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency / Read 1 Response