Energy Exchange

European Union Spotlights EDF Energy Efficiency Protocols

By EDF Blogs / Published: April 24, 2014

By Matt Golden, Senior Energy Finance Consultant

EU, http://europa.eu/index_en.htm

EDF’s Investor Confidence Project (ICP) is rapidly gaining momentum in Europe as indicated by a key European Union (EU) report that highlights the framework as an example of a system of standardization that facilitates energy efficiency investment.

ICP aims to bring transparency and accountability to the energy efficiency market by introducing a system of standardization in the way commercial building retrofits are developed, funded, and managed. The ICP framework assembles best practices and existing technical standards into a set of protocols that define a clear roadmap for developing projects, determining savings estimates, and documenting and verifying results. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Financing / Comments are closed

EDF Helps Standardize Energy Efficiency Projects in Texas

By EDF Blogs / Published: April 15, 2014

By: Matt Golden, Senior Energy Finance Consultant

Texas currently has the highest rate of energy consumption of any U.S. state and accounts for 10% of the country’s total energy consumption. Most of that energy goes to energy-intensive industries, such as aluminum, chemicals, forest products, glass, and petroleum refining, which consume 50% of the state’s energy, compared with a national average of 32%.

Last year, the Texas legislature passed statewide legislation enabling cities to use their property assessment as a way to finance clean energy and energy efficiency for industrial, agriculture, water, and commercial buildings. This innovative financing tool, generally referred to as property-assessed clean energy (PACE), has the potential to unlock a considerable amount of funding for both renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the state, while simultaneously offering building owners cheaper financing options and secure repayment through their property assessment. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Financing, Investor Confidence Project, Renewable Energy, Texas / Tagged PACE | Read 1 Response

LA Better Building Challenge Partners with EDF’s Investor Confidence Project to Accelerate Citywide Energy Efficiency Goals

By EDF Blogs / Published: April 2, 2014

By: Matt Golden, Senior Energy Finance Consultant

Source: LA Better Buildings Challenge

Environmental Defense Fund’s Investor Confidence Project^SM (ICP) is pleased to announce a partnership with the Los Angeles Better Buildings Challenge to help develop a more robust marketplace for energy efficiency retrofits in the city. Los Angeles has set a goal of achieving 20% energy savings across 30 million square feet of existing buildings by 2020 as part of the Better Buildings Challenge, a national leadership initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. If achieved, it is estimated that this 20% reduction in energy costs will create over 7,000 high-quality local jobs, and avert annual carbon emissions equivalent to taking more than 18,000 cars off the road.

The LA Better Buildings Challenge will be promoting the ICP Protocols through its network of building owners and industry stakeholders to help bring even greater transparency and accountability to the energy efficiency market by introducing a system of standardization in the way commercial building retrofits are developed, funded, and managed. The ICP framework assembles best practices and existing technical standards into a set of protocols that define a clear roadmap for developing projects, determining savings estimates, and documenting and verifying results. Read More »

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

Clean Energy Conferences Roundup: April 2014

By EDF Blogs / Published: April 2, 2014

Source: National Retail Federation Flickr

Thousands of clean energy conferences are held every year across the United States. A quick Google search revealed over 1.5 million results for 2014 alone. That’s why, starting this month, in an effort to save our readers time, the Energy Exchange will be endeavoring to round up a monthly list of some of the top clean energy conferences around the country. Our list includes conferences at which experts from the EDF Clean Energy Program will be speaking, plus additional events that we think our readers may benefit from marking on their calendars.

Top clean energy conferences featuring EDF experts in April:

April 2-4: Wall St. Journal ECO:nomics, Santa Barbara, CA
Speaker: Fred Krupp, President

Each year, top CEOs and investors, pioneering entrepreneurs, environmental experts, and policy makers convene at ECO:nomics to discuss and debate the most critical issues facing leaders who are driving change at the intersection of business and the environment. Experts from a diverse range of industries will debunk myths and uncover new opportunities through dynamic interviews led by senior editors from The Wall Street Journal. Topics range from America’s game-changing natural gas boom to China’s globally significant energy appetite to the range of potential power sources of tomorrow.

Posted in Clean Energy, Conference Roundup, General / Tagged Wall Street Journal | Read 1 Response

Climate Action is Turning Green to Gold for Californians

By EDF Blogs / Published: March 31, 2014

By Lauren Navarro and Emily Reyna

What would you do with extra cash? Starting this April, customers of California’s biggest utilities will experience first-hand how the state’s fight against climate change is actually paying off – in the form of real money.

Wait… real money? How does that work?

Source: Flickr/Mike Schmid

Yes. Millions of household customers of Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and other investor-owned utilities will automatically receive a “Climate Credit” twice a year through 2020 – every April and October – as a line item on their utility bill. This money comes from California’s cap-and-trade program, which holds the state’s largest emitters, including electric utilities, accountable for their climate pollution. With cap and trade, regulated companies must buy “allowances,” or permits, if they plan to emit carbon pollution –equivalent to nearly $1.7 billion to date. Now, part of this money is being returned to these utilities’ customers. For average Californians, the Credit will cover the slightly higher rates that cover California’s green transformation. But if you’re conscientious about your energy use – and are a below average energy user – your Credit will be a bonus for you. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Climate, Energy Efficiency / Comments are closed

EDF Wins Business Achievement Award for Efforts to Advance Clean Energy Financing

By EDF Blogs / Published: March 20, 2014

By: Matt Golden, Senior Energy Finance Consultant

Each year the Climate Change Business Journal (CCBJ) awards businesses and non-profits for their outstanding work in the climate and environment industry. This year, we are thrilled to announce that EDF’s own Investor Confidence Project (ICP) was named a winner of CCBJ’s Business Achievement Award in the category of Finance. Winners of the 18 categories – ranging from solar and wind power to transportation and energy efficiency – were recognized this month at an Environmental Industry Summit in San Diego.

The Investor Confidence Project received recognition for its efforts to help create a market for investor-ready energy efficiency projects. From the CCBJ award website: “ICP is moving the energy efficiency industry closer to the Holy Grail of securitization, in which energy efficiency projects can be valued based on consistent parameters with little project-specific analysis and vetting-processes that ratchet up soft costs quickly.” Read More »

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