Energy Exchange

Renewable Energy Policy in Europe is Faltering: What are the Lessons for the Rest of Us?

By EDF Blogs / Published: April 29, 2014

By: Gavin Purchas, Policy Director, Clean Energy, and Eric Gimon, Philanthropist

Fântânele-Cogealac Wind Farm, Romania

For those of you who are avid viewers of the TV show, “House,” you are probably all too familiar with Dr. House’s chaotic yet extremely effective style. He solves cases and achieves fame and notoriety, while those working with him try to learn valuable lessons along the way, hoping none of the crazy will rub off on them. So too it is with Europe and the many countries around the world looking to learn a thing or two from its experience with implementing one of the most aggressive set of renewable energy targets in the world.

The European Union’s (EU) attitude towards renewable energy started out as a rational set of targets followed by supporting financial mechanisms, but has ended up as a chaotic series of missteps that have resulted in the region losing its number one spot as the world’s clean energy leader. For countries following the EU (House’s team and colleagues in this metaphor) the message is simple: Do what we did in the beginning and not what we’re doing now…or else you’ll end up losing your license. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Financing, Renewable Energy / Read 2 Responses

EDF Adds Multifamily Homes to its Energy Efficiency Protocols

By EDF Blogs / Published: April 25, 2014

By: Matt Golden, Senior Energy Finance Consultant

The Investor Confidence Project (ICP) is pleased to announce the release of a new series of Multifamily Energy Performance Protocols (EPP) that build on ICP’s successful commercial protocols to bring the benefits of standardization to a broader array of project types. This suite of three protocols include Large Multifamily for whole building projects over $1M, Standard Multifamily for smaller whole building projects typically less than $1M, and Targeted Multifamily for single measures.

The multifamily protocols were developed with the collaboration of industry experts including participating members of the ICP Multifamily Development Team and the ICP Ally Network. The bulk of the protocols are comprised of the same market tested methodologies that can be found in all of ICP’s Energy Performance Protocols. However, the multifamily versions have been designed to address considerations that apply to the multifamily sector including the issues of split incentives and tenant privacy. Read More »

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

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