Energy Exchange

Will Texas Step Up to the Plate on Energy Efficiency and Carbon Pollution Standards?

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: March 13, 2014

Coal-Plant-225x3001A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about energy efficiency and the Clean Air Act section 111(d) provisions in anticipation of the SPEER Second Annual Summit, a gathering of top energy efficiency industry leaders from Texas and Oklahoma. At the Summit, I co-led a session on Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) push to regulate power plant emissions. Session attendees agreed that Texas would be an unlikely leader in developing innovative ways to comply with carbon pollution standards for existing power plants.

This is a missed opportunity on Texas’ part, as states will get the first crack at drafting plans to comply with new federal standards. This is an important opportunity because individual states are in the best position to craft frameworks that enable maximum flexibility and are appropriately tailored to local circumstances. So, this begs the question: is there an alternative, more constructive path that is most beneficial to Texas? Read More »

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Energy Efficiency Is Key to Achieving Carbon Pollution Standard

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: February 4, 2014

Kate Zerrenner

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 »

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Energy And Water Utilities’ Unique Perspectives Uncover Joint Cost-Saving Solutions

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: October 30, 2013

In the past, I’ve written a lot about the inherent connection between energy and water use and the need for co-management of energy-water planning. Most of the energy we use requires copious amounts of water to produce, and most of the water we use requires a considerable amount of energy to treat and transport. Despite this inherent connection, it’s actually uncommon to see energy and water utilities collaborating to identify best practices to save energy and water and even lower costs. Think of it this way: If energy and water utilities worked together, their unique perspectives could uncover joint cost-saving solutions, customers would save more money and utilities could share data to better understand their holistic energy-water footprint.

Identifying why there is a lack of collaboration and how to overcome these barriers was the motivation behind the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE’s) recent report.  The report goes beyond citing discrepancies, though, and provides solutions for energy and water utilities to create better, more resource-efficient programs for themselves and their customers.

The report highlights a number of ways U.S. energy and water utilities have collaborated to identify mutually-beneficial energy and water savings. It lists successful energy and water utility programs from a variety of different sectors, including residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and municipal. Read More »

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When We Save Energy In Texas, We Also Save Water

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: February 13, 2013

Last week, the Texas Coalition for Water, Energy and Economic Security (TCWEES), of which EDF is a member, held a legislative briefing at the Texas Capitol titled Energy & Water, Dollars & Sense: Improving security and maximizing benefits to Texas businesses and residents. The briefing focused on the nexus of water and energy, and furthered the idea that where you save energy, you save water too. The briefing included a panel discussion and a question and answer session.

State Representative Lyle Larson from San Antonio welcomed attendees, a speaker that is well-suited to talk about water issues. Before becoming a state legislator, he served on San Antonio’s City Council, a city with one of the best water conservation programs in the country. Representative Larson started with an interesting point: In addition to the physical issues of water scarcity, we also need to resolve the psychological issues of water resources.

People simply do not think of water as a scarce resource, despite the multi-year droughts we’ve seen in Texas. Addressing water scarcity has been done in much the same way as system-wide power shortages: in a short term, reactive way, rather than a long term, proactive way. And we will never be able to meet our energy or water needs of our growing populations by being short-sighted.

Representative Larson said that water is the number one impediment to business no matter where you are in the world. Water-rich countries will take American jobs if we can’t address our scarcity, and water-rich states will take Texan jobs. We don’t deploy best management practices in this state when it comes to water. And calling for more water infrastructure is great, but conservation is going to save significantly more water than new infrastructure will. Read More »

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