Energy Exchange

Investors Voice Market Support for Methane Regulation

By: Tom Murray, Vice President, Corporate Partnerships Program 

banner_gas-300x150Last 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: Jeff Milum, ICP Director of Marketplace Development

software provider icpIn 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: Panama Bartholomy, Director of ICP Europe

iea ee reportThe 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: Victoria Mills, Man­ag­ing Di­rec­tor of EDF Cli­mate Corps

chinafellowblogphotoEnergy 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

The Social Cost of Stagnation: A Call for FERC Action

By: James T. B. Tripp, EDF Senior Counsel

Fossil fuel plantAmerica’s electricity industry – the single largest source of carbon pollution in the U.S. – is at the heart of some of the world’s biggest environmental challenges, especially climate change. Given this connection, you would think an agency called the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) would take into account the major environmental consequences of its policies, which fundamentally shape the U.S. power industry. Sadly, you would be wrong.

FERC is charged by law with ensuring wholesale rates and other critical aspects of the electricity industry, such as transmission practices, are “just and reasonable.” Yet FERC’s official policy is to exclude environmental considerations from its regulation of the industry. Why? FERC’s reasoning is based on a combination of questionable statutory interpretation and an approach to energy regulation that is stuck in the past. In fact, FERC’s statutory mandate over wholesale electricity sales and transmission dates back to the 1930s, long before scientists discovered climate change. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Climate / Tagged | Comments are closed

Live Stream EDF’s Panel Discussions at SXSW Eco Oct. 6-8

sxswecoSXSW Eco attracts a global community to explore, engage, and co-create solutions for a sustainable world. A uniquely inclusive platform for professionals, SXSW Eco examines the critical challenges of our times through a kaleidoscopic lens of design innovation, policy tipping points, technological breakthroughs, conservation practice, entrepreneurial spirit, and a culture of creativity to transform inspiration into action.

EDF will be there in full force, including participating in four panels (CST): Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Texas / Comments are closed