Energy Exchange

Utility 2.0: New York Draws Lessons on Utility Regulation from Across the Pond

By EDF Blogs / Published: December 8, 2014

By: Gavin Purchas, Acting Director, Idea Bank, and Elizabeth B. Stein, Attorney

When the New York Public Service Commission (Commission) opened its historic “Reforming the Energy Vision” (REV) proceeding earlier this year, it recognized that the way utility companies have been regulated is out of sync with innovations in technology, business realities, and evolving customer needs, including the need to reduce harmful pollution. In order for utility companies to become part of the solution, the Commission has made it clear that everything is up for grabs – even the basic regulatory paradigm governing how utility companies do business in New York.

Luckily, the Commission won’t have to completely reinvent the wheel since a new regulatory paradigm from the United Kingdom could serve as a potential model. This regulatory approach is known as RIIO and is based on the following formulation: Revenues = Incentives + Innovation + Outputs. RIIO was developed by the UK regulatory body, Office of Gas and Electricity Markets, after the country recognized that its previous framework – while extremely effective at achieving cost reductions – stymied innovation. RIIO includes several elements that may be useful in the New York setting, including: Read More »

Also posted in Demand Response, New York, Utility Business Models / Read 3 Responses

Is Water the New Bottom Line for the Private Sector?

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: December 8, 2014

Business and the energy-water nexus

On December 11^th, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) Corporate Citizenship Center will host The Energy-Water-Food Nexus: Risks and Opportunities for the Private Sector, the second in a series of roundtables based on a report released earlier this year. The USCCF’s report and surrounding events are highlighting success stories and, more importantly, opportunities for the business community to address the energy–water nexus: the idea that energy and water use are fundamentally intertwined. In order to accurately address water risks across operations and supply chains, businesses must take a more holistic look at their water and power usage.

The business world is quickly beginning to understand the intersection of these two sectors and the significant impact they have on business operations.

In the commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors, energy efficiency and other measures could save as much as 15-30 percent of water use without reducing operations. This is particularly important as businesses consider how they manage water risks in areas where they operate. The 2014 Carbon Disclosure Project Water Disclosure Global Report, conducted on behalf of 573 investors with assets of $60 trillion, reported that 68 percent of responding companies say water is a substantial risk to their businesses, but only 42 percent have publicly demonstrated a commitment to water efficiency. Interestingly, 43 percent of reporting businesses said that water stress and/or scarcity was a top risk driver versus 16 percent that said drought was a top risk driver. This indicates that companies are more focused on longer-term risk management, as opposed to reacting primarily to drought conditions and concerns about short-term profits. Read More »

Also posted in Energy-Water Nexus / Read 1 Response

Can Birds and Wind Energy Co-exist?

By EDF Blogs / Published: December 5, 2014

By: Stacy Small-Lorenz, Conservation Scientist, and Jim Marston, Vice President, US Climate and Energy

Climate change will have major impacts on birds and their habitats, according to a recent report from the National Audubon Society. Scientists project climate change will drastically alter and shrink habitats in the U.S. for many bird species. These findings add to mounting evidence that natural systems are at serious risk for climate change impacts, which we must act swiftly to mitigate.

One solution is to adopt more clean, renewable energy. Utilities have been investing in large-scale wind energy farms at an impressive rate, resulting in 127 million tons of avoided carbon dioxide a year in the U.S. – the equivalent of taking 20 million cars off the road.

But a tricky challenge persists in the effort to make our energy system more sustainable overall: large, utility-scale wind energy developments have been known to kill bats and birds and risk fragmenting sensitive habitats. And while wind turbines kill far fewer songbirds than building collisions or cats, raptors and bats are still at risk for turbine collisions. Read More »

Also posted in Climate, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy / Read 2 Responses

Demand Soars for Green Bonds

By EDF Blogs / Published: December 3, 2014

By: Namrita Kapur, Managing Director of the Corporate Partnership Program

As noted in my last post on green bonds, there has been a recent dramatic growth in green bond issuance. Supply is responding to burgeoning demand. Quite simply, investors are snapping up these debt instruments that are linked to an environmental benefit. Three recent transactions highlight this seemingly insatiable appetite:

Massachusetts’ sale of $350 million in green bonds in September attracted more than $1 billion in demand from retail investors and institutions. This — the state’s second green bond issuance — will fund clean water, energy efficiency, open space protection, and river preservation projects.
The order book for the Nordic Investment Bank’s $500 million green bond issue quickly climbed to $800 million, with more than a third of investors being new to NIB. This bond will funnel proceeds to climate-friendly projects in Nordic countries, such as renewables, energy efficiency, green transportation, and wastewater treatment.
In September, the World Bank tripled the size of its planned structured green bond to $30 million in response to investor demand, raising more than expected for climate projects, such as energy and forestry initiatives. Since its first green issuance in 2008, the World Bank reports raising more than $7 billion from 77 bonds in 17 currencies.

Also posted in Energy Financing / Tagged green bonds | Comments are closed

Energy Management Can Empower Everyone Regardless of Income Level

By Marita Mirzatuny / Published: December 3, 2014

Source: Verizon

The holidays are upon us. As we prepare to gather with our friends and family, eat too much, and lounge around watching football, many people use this time to reflect on what they are grateful for. Being able to pay one’s electricity bill probably doesn’t make most people’s list, but for many Americans, it might.

The average household spends $1,945 annually on electricity, and homes with the lowest 20 percent of income spent nearly six percent of their income on energy bills. For many households, the cost of energy remains unaffordable. To put it in perspective, compared to middle- or upper-class homes, low-income households spend about twice the percentage of their income on energy. Yet, as Greentech Media points out, “many [energy management] solutions are tailored to the biggest homes, those awash in thousands of square feet of central air with a pool pump. Other solutions are tailored for middle-class homes, such as aggressive rebates for more efficient appliances. Many apartment-dwellers, however, do not own their major appliances.”

The future of smart home, energy-saving technologies is often more focused on affluent, early-adopters who benefit from innovative ways to save energy because they can afford the newest gadgets. Thankfully, these people are using their buying power to lead the way, as more demand will bring prices down for everyone. While it is important for all of us to conserve and better manage energy use, low-income individuals have the most to gain. Yet the technologies that can enable savings are often out of financial reach. Read More »

Also posted in Energy Efficiency, Grid Modernization, Texas / Tagged Pecan Street | Comments are closed

Clean Energy Conferences Roundup: December 2014

By EDF Blogs / Published: December 1, 2014

Each month, the Energy Exchange rounds up a list of 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 December:

Dec 3: Abundance or Scarcity? Re-examining U.S. Oil and Gas Policy, Washington, D.C.
Speaker: Elgie Holstein, Senior Director for Strategic Planning

Recent growth in domestic oil and gas production is transforming the U.S. energy sector and challenging the paradigm of energy scarcity that has underpinned federal policy for the last 40 years. Join us to hear leading energy experts discuss this topic and examine policy issues related to exports, infrastructure, natural gas as a transportation fuel, and the climate.

Also posted in Conference Roundup / Comments are closed