Energy Exchange

Pushing Energy Efficiency Finance Beyond Theory To Practice

By EDF Blogs / Published: July 30, 2013

By: Matt Golden, Senior Energy Finance Consultant, Environmental Defense Fund

New Energy and Loan Performance Data Project Uses Latest in Data Science to Help Capital Markets Engage in Efficiency Lending

Environmental Defense Fund’s Investor Confidence Project (ICP) and the Clean Energy Finance Center (CEFC), in partnership with state and local lending programs, financial organizations and a range of additional stakeholders, are collecting, aggregating and analyzing loan performance and energy savings data from energy efficiency upgrades in residential and commercial buildings.

The Energy and Loan Performance Data Project represents the first concerted effort to combine data from some of the largest US energy efficiency programs in an attempt to develop an actuarially significant dataset to help engage the capital markets.

Nearly 40% of US energy is consumed by both residential and commercial buildings.  Realizing all of the available cost-effective energy efficiency savings would require roughly $279 billion of investment, resulting in more than $1 trillion in energy savings over ten years.  However, currently, only 1% of all US investments are made in energy efficiency projects.  Our goal for this project is to help lay the foundation that will enable organizations to tap into this vast potential market.

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Posted in Energy Efficiency, General, Investor Confidence Project, New York, On-bill repayment / Tagged , , | Read 7 Responses

California’s Capital Leads the Nation in Energy Efficiency Financing

By Climate Corps Fellow / Published: July 30, 2013

This commentary originally appeared on EDF’s California Dream 2.0 blog.

By: Kate Daniel, EDF Climate Corps Fellow

Kate Daniel, Climate Corps Fellow

Great news for California and the future of energy efficiency in Sacramento.

Today I took part in an announcement by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson unveiling the nation’s largest Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) project in the country — and potentially a huge boost for businesses in the state’s capital.

Launched by Clean Energy Sacramento, the property owners of Metro Center, Metzler Real Estate, will now be able to take advantage of PACE financing to fund $3.1 million in energy efficient upgrades, including high efficiency rooftop units for heating and cooling and a state-of-the-art building management system. Ultimately, these upgrades will save $140,000 in annual utility costs for the property.

This project is not just good news for Metro and Metzler, but for the entire Sacramento region. Here’s how it works: Under the PACE program Metzler will receive private funding from Ygrene Energy Fund, who covers the upfront costs of the project Metzler pays the costs back on their property tax bill while Johnson Controls will design and implement the upgrades.

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Maryland’s Governor O’Malley Leads The Way On Climate And Clean Energy Policy

By John Finnigan / Published: July 29, 2013

John FinniganMaryland Governor Martin O’Malley continues to lead the way on climate and clean energy policy.  On Thursday, he unveiled Maryland’s new Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Act (GGRA) Plan.  Gov. O’Malley’s plan raises the targets for renewable energy, energy efficiency and peak energy demand reduction, while re-affirming Maryland’s membership in the Northeast Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).  The plan adds new climate programs relating to transportation and forestry, and a new aspirational goal to make Maryland a zero-waste state.

Maryland is particularly vulnerable to climate change with 3,000 miles of shoreline along scenic Chesapeake Bay.  The state ranks 42nd in total area, but 10th in coastline area.  Gov. O’Malley has addressed climate change since his early days in office.  In 2007, he established the Maryland Climate Change Commission to address the causes and effects of climate change in Maryland and develop an action plan.  The Maryland Climate Action Plan (Plan) was issued in August 2008, and Gov. O’Malley has labored diligently to implement the plan since that time.

The new Plan  calls for increasing the renewable energy portfolio standard from 20% to 25% by 2022, as well as the energy efficiency and peak demand reduction targets (with the new, higher targets to be announced at a later date).  Like a true leader, Gov. O’Malley aims high and is unafraid to be different.  His call to raise these clean energy standards comes at a time when some states have been unsuccessfully pressured by the fossil-fuel industry to consider lowering their clean energy standards.

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Where Is All Of The Water Going? A Look At Which Energy Resources Are Gulping Down Our Water

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: July 25, 2013

If you’re like so many conscientious consumers, you’ve experienced the disappointment that comes when you realize the lean turkey breast you bought has 300% of your daily value of sodium, negating the benefits of its high-protein and low-fat content.  Instantly, food choices feel more complex; you’ve learned the hard way that the pursuit of a low-fat diet is not the same as a healthy diet.

The Energy-Water Nexus shows us that our energy choices are much like our food choices: The environmental benefits of an energy diet low in carbon emissions might be diminished by increased water consumption (or waste), and the unforeseen tradeoffs between the two resources (i.e. more sodium in lieu of less fat, can hurt us in the long run).

Water Intensity

As we have mentioned before, roughly 90% of the energy we use today comes from nuclear or fossil fuel power plants, which require 190 billion gallons of water per day, or 39% of all U.S. freshwater withdrawals (water “withdrawal” indicates the water withdrawn from ground level water sources; not to be confused with “consumption,” which indicates the amount of water lost to evaporation.)

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Plastic And Chemicals Can’t Take The LEED On Green Construction

By Jim Marston / Published: July 24, 2013

If it’s not power plants fighting carbon pollution reduction, it’s plastic companies fighting against voluntary standards to make buildings less wasteful.  The Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) building certification system, developed in 2000 by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), provides third-party verification for buildings striving to reduce environmental impact.  The system gives credits to builders who eliminate the use of certain plastics and chemicals in building construction, such as PVC and vinyl that are known to be hazardous to workers and occupants.  However, these credits, which once seemed like apple pie, have now been met with opposition from plastic and chemical industries lobbyists.

Recently, these polluting industries have “slipped wording” into the 2014 Financial Services and General Government Appropriation bill, to undermine the federal government’s ability to use the popular and successful LEED standards when building or renovating its office buildings.  The lobbyists claim that LEED standards are not open and transparent, and through a bit of sophistry they have used this appropriation amendment to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the LEED system.

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Net Metering And Rooftop Solar For The Utility Of The Future

By John Finnigan / Published: July 24, 2013

John FinniganLike the tide washing upon the shore, new technologies are gradually eroding electric utility revenues.  These new products enable consumers to use cleaner energy and use it more efficiently.  Electric utilities worry this trend will ravage their industry just as wireless technology convulsed the telecommunications industry.  The utility industry urges its members to stem the tide by, among other things, increasing consumers’ net metering costs.

Net metering makes small-scale renewable energy, such as rooftop solar panels, more affordable by crediting the “distributed generation” owners for the excess energy they produce.  The electric meter measures how much electricity flows back to the grid from the distributed generation unit.  A corresponding credit is applied to the consumer’s monthly energy bill.  The Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires public utilities to offer net metering to all consumers upon request.

Why the new focus on net metering?  The cost for rooftop solar panels has fallen 80% since 2008, including 20% in 2012 alone.  Installed rooftop solar energy has increased by 900% between 2000 and 2011.  As consumers install more rooftop solar panels and net meter them, utility revenues will decrease. Read More »

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