Energy Exchange

Two Years After Sandy, the Conversation Around Energy Resiliency Still Going Strong

By EDF Blogs / Published: November 17, 2014

By: Audrey Hornick-Becker

From left to right: Bruce Schlein, Director, Alternative Energy Finance, Citi; Vic Rojas, EDF senior manager, financial policy; Bryan Garcia, President, Connecticut Green Bank; Alfred Griffin, President, NY Green Bank

From left to right: Bruce Schlein, Director, Alternative Energy Finance, Citi; Vic Rojas, EDF senior manager, financial policy; Bryan Garcia, President, Connecticut Green Bank; Alfred Griffin, President, NY Green Bank. Source: Maria Jiang.

Last week, EDF co-hosted a successful first-of-its-kind Resilience Finance Symposium in New Jersey, attended by about 120 participants from a wide spectrum of public and private entities in the state, region, and country.

Held on November 12 with Governor Christie’s Administration and the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s College of Architecture + Design, the all-day Resilience Finance Symposium: Building Resilient and Sustainable Energy Solutions for New Jersey’s Key Infrastructure featured a series of panels on solutions that help keep the lights and heat on during critical times, like microgrids and energy storage, as well as innovative ways of financing resilient energy systems.

A main topic of discussion was the impressive progress New Jersey has made toward making the state’s energy infrastructure more resilient in the two years since Superstorm Sandy caused a massive weeks-long power outage. Panelists pointed to Sandy success stories – those instances when power stayed on even when the grid went down – and discussed the need to make these kinds of successes the norm rather than the exception. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, Grid Modernization, Investor Confidence Project, New Jersey, Renewable Energy / Comments are closed

EDF Energy Efficiency Initiative Goes International with Investor Confidence Project Europe

By EDF Blogs / Published: November 5, 2014

By Panama Bartholomy, Director, ICP Europe, with contributions from Steven Fawkes, Senior Advisor, ICP Europe

andy darrell at icp europe

EDF’s Andy Darrell, Chief of Strategy, US Climate and Energy and New York Regional Director, at the ICP Europe launch in Brussels

Environmental Defence Fund’s signature energy efficiency initiative has gone international. EDF Europe/UK today rolled out the Investor Confidence Project Europe (ICP Europe), aimed at boosting private sector investment in European energy efficiency renovation projects in the building sector.

As Director of ICP Europe, I was thrilled to introduce the initiative with leaders from the financial, engineering, and government communities at an event in Brussels during a week when two of Europe’s largest energy efficiency events are being held: Renovate Europe Day and Building Performance Institute of Europe ‘s Efficiency Investors Day.

The potential for renovating existing buildings in Europe to reduce the impacts of climate change, generate financial savings, and create jobs is considerable – and largely untapped. Estimates say that large-scale energy efficiency efforts in Europe could reduce carbon emissions by 932 million metric tons, equivalent to taking nearly 200 million cars off the road, and create more than 1 million new jobs in the building industry by 2050. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency, Investor Confidence Project / Tagged | Comments are closed

5 Energy Trends that will Change the Balance of Power

By EDF Blogs / Published: November 4, 2014

Neon FlagBy: Dan Upham, Editor

We no longer fret over taxes on tea, but there’s another American Revolution forming in our great nation today. Like the colonist uprising 241 years ago, it’s fueled by a need to stand up against an outdated system that threatens our way of life.

It’s a battle over the future of American energy and our antiquated electric grid. And it centers around the way consumers, utilities, and investors interact with this vast network of powerlines, substations, and plants.

As Cheryl Roberto, who leads Environmental Defense Fund’s Clean Energy program, notes, “The U.S. is poised to spend around $2 trillion over the next two decades replacing our outdated electric infrastructure.”

That’s a lot of coin and a tremendous opportunity. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Energy Efficiency / Tagged | Comments are closed

USDA Loan Improves Energy Efficiency in Rural North Carolina

By Marilynn Marsh-Robinson / Published: November 3, 2014

carolina houseA rural electric cooperative in North Carolina is one of the first in the country to receive funds from a new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on-bill finance program that will help customers improve energy efficiency, lower utility bills, and reduce carbon pollution. Roanoke Electric Membership Cooperative, which serves 14,ooo rural customers, is in my home state.

Roanoke Electric’s membership base is similar to other economically distressed rural areas, which have a growing elderly population and residents with homes that need energy-saving upgrades.

The cooperative diligently promotes energy efficiency, yet there are still customers with utility bills that are higher than their mortgage payments some months. Securing upfront capital to finance home improvements can be challenging. Read More »

Also posted in Climate, Energy Efficiency, Energy Equity, North Carolina, On-bill repayment / Read 1 Response

Barriers to Clean Energy Financing Could Fall with EPA Plan

By Rachel Neil / Published: October 29, 2014

windows_378x235Considering installing solar panels or weatherization to go along with the remodeling project you’ve been thinking about? Energy bills would drop and your carbon footprint would shrink, a true win-win.

Whether it’s financially doable may depend on where you live, of course. Clean energy financing in the United States is a hodgepodge of public and private-sector programs that vary considerably across, and within, state boundaries.

What will it take?

Connecticut homeowners in some – but not all – cities can tap into the state’s Smart-E loans available from five- to 12-year terms at an interest rate that won’t exceed 6.99 percent, and with no equity down. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Renewable Energy / Comments are closed

Germany’s Energiewende is Shifting the Energy Paradigm – Now it’s Time to Optimize

By Peter Sopher / Published: October 28, 2014

solar-cells-491701_640Revolutionary paradigm shifts often require cohesive development of many moving parts, some of which advance more quickly than others in practice. Germany’s revolutionary Energiewende (or “energy transition”) is no exception. Set to achieve nearly 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, Germany’s Energiewende is one of the most aggressive clean energy declarations in the world. While growth of Germany’s installed renewables capacity has been explosive in recent years, optimization measures designed for Energiewende have manifested at a relatively slow pace.

Germany already has one of the most reliable electric grids in the world, but as implementation of Energiewende continues, optimization will be key to its future success. This will require better sources of backup generation to accommodate the intermittency of wind and solar, a dynamic energy market that ensures fair compensation for this backup, and a more flexible, resilient grid enabled by smart grid technologies to fully optimize demand side resources and a growing renewable energy portfolio. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Demand Response, Electricity Pricing, Energy Efficiency, Grid Modernization, Natural Gas, Renewable Energy, Utility Business Models / Tagged , | Read 5 Responses