Energy Exchange

Energy Efficiency Is Key to Achieving Carbon Pollution Standard

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: February 4, 2014

This commentary originally appeared on our Texas Clean Air Matters blog.

Right now, there are no limits on carbon pollution from power plants, even though these facilities were responsible for roughly 40 percent of all U.S. carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2012.

That’s why the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is crafting greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations for new fossil fuel-fired power plants by setting a limit on how much CO2 the plants can emit. Later this year, EPA will issue proposed CO2 “emission guidelines” for existing fossil fuel-fired power plants using various Clean Air Act tools to protect human health and to clean up our air.

To achieve significant and cost-effective emission reductions from existing power plants, EPA should look to leading states that are already implementing successful measures to reduce emissions. These measures include investing in renewable energy, harvesting energy efficiency, and utilizing more efficient and lower-emitting fossil fuel-fired units. Read More »

Also posted in Air Quality, Climate, Energy Efficiency, Texas / Tagged Carbon Pollution Standard, Clean Air Act | Read 3 Responses

PACE 2.0: California Leading the Next Evolution in Clean Energy Finance

By EDF Blogs / Published: January 23, 2014

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is an innovative financing technique for clean energy retrofits that was first developed in Berkeley in 2008, giving energy efficiency projects a huge boost throughout the U.S.

Here’s how it works: Property owners agree to a long-term tax assessment on their home or building in exchange for the upfront funding to pay for a retrofit. What’s great about the program is its ability to essentially eliminate one of the biggest barriers to energy efficiency retrofits: up-front costs.

And, just as with any other property tax assessment, the obligation transfers to the new owner upon a sale of the property. This transferability allows property owners to consider projects with longer payback periods as the obligation does not become immediately due upon sale. Read More »

Also posted in California, Energy Financing, State / Tagged PACE, PACE 2.0 | Comments are closed

California on Course to Give Power to the People

By Jamie Fine / Published: January 9, 2014

In a report issued by the Energy Division at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), experts demonstrated their commitment to the transition toward greener electricity rates in the Golden State. This is good news for two reasons: It will give customers more control of their utility bills and it keeps the state on course to cut pollution.

Today, most Californians are frozen by energy bills that are hard to understand and even more difficult to keep under control. Fortunately, recommendations from the CPUC released Monday will put the power in the hands of customers by transitioning to rates that vary with the time of energy use.

These “time-variant rates” (TVR) can cut pollution by giving customers tools to directly influence how much money is spent on the least-efficient, most-expensive, and most-polluting power plants. Critically, it’s also a way to avoid ever-growing, system-wide peak demand that leads to the building of additional power plants, known as “peaker plants” as they are specifically designed to serve customers at times of peak demand. Read More »

Also posted in California, Electricity Pricing, State / Comments are closed

It’s Time for Latino Leadership on Climate Change

By Jorge Madrid / Published: July 2, 2013

(This post first appeared on EDF voices)

Source: Thomas Hawk/Flickr

I love California in the summertime, and Fourth of July weekend is one of my favorite holidays. But it is getting excruciatingly HOT out here, and according to the best science, it is going to get much hotter.

This past weekend the West Coast broke nearly every temperature record on the books, well ahead of August and September, which are usually the hottest months of the year.

And last year was the hottest year on record for the continental United States. Crops were devastated, cities were hit by supercharged storms, and people, mostly the poor, suffered and died amid some of the most destructive extreme weather events in our history. All told, the United States spent more than $110 Billion on weather related disasters in 2012.

There’s more bad news ahead. Extreme heat projections for the U.S. in 2030, based on research from Stanford University, shows that the West and Southwest are going to get really, really hot! Read More »

Also posted in California, Climate, Solar Energy, State / Tagged green jobs | Comments are closed

Latino Support Surges for the Environment

By Jorge Madrid / Published: October 12, 2012

California lawmakers take notice: Latino voters want a strong economy AND a clean environment, two things they believe are not mutually exclusive.

A new p oll released by the California League of Conservation Voters finds that an overwhelming 90 percent of Latino voters believe that the state can “protect the environment and create jobs at the same time.” This number mirrors national trends among Latino voters, including a recent national poll by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and the Sierra Club, which found that 90 percent of surveyed voters believe that protecting land and water resources is “critical to the economy.” Read More »

Also posted in California, Climate, General, Renewable Energy, State / Comments are closed

The Clean Economy is an Opportunity for US Latinos

By Jorge Madrid / Published: September 14, 2012

(Excerpt from original post on Fox News Latino on 9/13/12)

Economy and jobs are the top issue on Latino voters’ minds, according to the 2012 “Latino Decisions Poll,” a theme that will be featured prominently in this week’s Hispanic Heritage events in DC.

It’s all the more reason to discuss a powerful engine of opportunity in this country called the clean “green” economy – it is here, it is real, and it is one of the few bright spots in an economy desperate for a comeback.

In 2010, I wrote “Green Can Grow Latino Business,” arguing that the clean economy will create new demand for goods and services, new supply chains and niche markets, and opportunities to create new business models and reinvent old ones. Read More »

Also posted in California, State / Tagged green jobs | Comments are closed