Energy Exchange

Successful NYC Clean Heat Program Wins Award for Outstanding Design

By Abbey Brown / Published: February 18, 2015

We already know the innovative program NYC Clean Heat is yielding tremendous results: soot pollution from buildings in New York City has fallen by more than 50 percent since 2011, preventing an estimated 800 deaths and 2,000 hospital visits due to lung and cardiovascular diseases annually. That hard work by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the City of New York, and our partners has now been recognized –again.

The Association of Energy Service Professionals has given NYC Clean Heat an award for Outstanding Achievement in Non-Residential Program Design & Implementation. We are honored to receive this award from such a distinguished organization and believe it shows that a program like NYC Clean Heat is both necessary and replicable.

EDF partnered with the City to create NYC Clean Heat in 2012, which forged a diverse coalition of the financial, real estate, and non-profit communities, to launch a $100 million financing program to help phase out dirty heating oils. The program helped 4,000 buildings – half of them affordable housing – convert to cleaner, more efficient heating oils. Read More »

Also posted in Air Quality, Clean Energy, New York / Read 9 Responses

Energy Efficiency Market Players Can Choose from Growing List of Trained Project Developers

By EDF Blogs / Published: February 9, 2015

By: Matt Golden, Senior Energy Finance Consultant

The Investor Confidence Project (ICP), an EDF initiative designed to unlock investment in energy efficiency, is making progress toward completing a credentialing system that would provide third-party validation of an energy efficiency project. The latest development is the Project Developer Credential, the second of three in the ICP credentialing system.

ICP is accelerating the development of a global energy efficiency market by standardizing how projects are developed and energy savings are calculated. The ICP system includes a set of protocols for developing energy efficiency projects as well as a credentialing system.

The Project Developer Credential is given to those developers who are able to properly deploy the ICP protocols when undertaking an energy efficiency retrofit. This latest development is an important step forward for investors of all types, especially building owners, who can now select developers from a growing list of credentialed providers. Read More »

Also posted in Energy Financing, Investor Confidence Project / Comments are closed

Broad Coalition Coalesces for Clean Energy Jobs in Illinois

By Dick Munson / Published: February 4, 2015

Labor, business, and environmental leaders have formed a unique coalition that will urge Illinois lawmakers to pass new standards for energy efficiency and renewable energy, leading to tens of thousands of new, local jobs.

Members of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, including Environmental Defense Fund, argue that the state should not settle for an old stagnant energy system – one that struggles to meet new Environmental Protection Agency clean energy standards, raises electricity prices for families and businesses, and fails to create new jobs. Instead, we should move decisively toward a cleaner, more reliable, and affordable energy future that increases employment right here in Illinois.

More than 100,000 individuals across the state already work in the clean energy industry, exceeding the number employed in the state’s real estate and accounting sectors combined. That figure is growing at an impressive rate of nine to 10 percent annually. Coalition members predict even sharper job growth if lawmakers embrace their recommendations for spurring a clean energy economy in Illinois, including: Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Illinois, Jobs, Renewable Energy / Read 1 Response

New Case Studies in Energy Management Show the Path from ‘Why’ to ‘How’

By Victoria Mills / Published: January 22, 2015

Business leaders have long agreed on the “why” of environmental management: seeing the value in increased profits, reduced waste, and a smaller carbon footprint. But the “how” has often been the stumbling block.

Two case studies released today from adidas Group and the Housing Authority of the City and County of Denver (DHA) help to answer that question, detailing energy management strategies that deliver tremendous value and are great examples for other organizations to follow.

The adidas Group tackled the dual challenge of improving efficiency in existing distribution centers as well as when specifying material handling equipment in new facilities. Recognizing that only reducing upfront costs during design won’t optimize efficiency over the long term, the adidas Group is now analyzing the lifecycle cost of conveyer belts and other equipment. See the full case study here. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, EDF Climate Corps, Renewable Energy / Comments are closed

Keeping PACE in Texas: Revitalizing Industry, Saving Water, Guiding Better Policy

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: January 20, 2015

As the Texas legislative session begins ramping up, I am reminded of smart policies from sessions past that holistically benefit Texas, had bipartisan support, and brought unlikely allies together. As we head into the session, it’s important to remember that no matter which side of the aisle you are on, clean energy solutions make sense for Texas – economically and environmentally.

This week, Environmental Defense Fund and R Street Institute, with support from Google, hosted a breakfast roundtable at the Texas Capitol to highlight one of those bills. The panel highlighted the potential for Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) and other commonsense, market-driven financing policies to be game-changers for accelerating the deployment and adoption of clean energy resources and water conservation practices across the state of Texas.

PACE, an innovative financing tool that allows people to repay loans for clean energy projects (like rooftop solar and energy efficiency upgrades) through their property tax bill, has the potential to unlock a considerable amount of private funding for clean energy projects in the state. This agreement simultaneously offers building owners cheaper financing options and lenders secure repayment terms. With benefits for all, it’s no wonder the PACE bill passed last legislative session with support from both sides of the aisle, environmental groups, and industry alike. Read More »

Also posted in Energy Financing, Energy-Water Nexus, Texas / Read 3 Responses

How EDF and Chicago are Leading the Way to Energy-Efficient Buildings

By Ellen Bell / Published: January 13, 2015

One degree Fahrenheit.

Yes, that was Friday’s temperature in Chicago.

But instead of thinking about jetting off to a sandy beach in the Caribbean, my thoughts instead turn to a more practical matter. As I look across the Chicago skyline, I wonder how many of these buildings have old, inefficient heating systems.

The good news is that right here in Chicago, some building owners are finding better, more efficient ways to heat — and in balmier times, cool — their properties.

Over the past year, EDF, the City of Chicago, and some of the city’s leading building owners have teamed up to make real progress in cutting energy use and costs.

The results of this partnership have helped Chicago move closer to the goal of the city’s Retrofit Chicago initiative: reduce commercial energy use in participating buildings by 20 percent in five years. The Mayor’s office has set the bar for energy savings, and EDF Climate Corps is providing boots on the ground to get it done. And Chicago’s leading building owners and operators are showing creativity and innovation in taking their energy management to the next level. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, EDF Climate Corps, Illinois / Read 1 Response