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ASHRAE Government Affairs Update, 04/27/07

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DOE Releases Version 2.0 of EnergyPlus Software

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies program officially released Version 2.0 of its award-winning EnergyPlus software. EnergyPlus’ sophisticated modeling engine equips building designers and engineers with state-of-the-art building energy simulation technology that identifies extraordinary energy savings and efficiencies for today’s low-energy buildings. Key new features in 2.0 include green roofs, phase-change materials, and enhanced building controls, among many others.

Based on a user’s description of a building’s physical make-up and associated mechanical and other systems, EnergyPlus calculates heating and cooling loads necessary to maintain thermal control set points, conditions throughout a secondary HVAC system and coil loads, and the energy consumption of primary plant equipment. Simultaneous integration of these details — and many others — verify that the EnergyPlus simulation performs as would the real building.

More than 50,000 copies of the EnergyPlus software have been downloaded worldwide since 2001. It is available to download at no cost on DOE’s website (www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus ).

Clean Air and Energy Efficiency Funded in Saskatchewan

Canada ’s Minister of the Environment, John Baird and Saskatchewan Environment Minister John Nilson announced $44.4 million in funding for Saskatchewan as part of a trust fund set up by Canada’s New Government to support provincial and territorial projects to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants. The $1.5 billion trust fund for clean air and climate change is part of the Government’s recent $4.5 billion budget commitment to make real progress on important environmental issues.

“Canada’s New Government is committed to achieving concrete results in the reduction of greenhouse gases and air pollution,” said Minister Baird. “We’ve demonstrated that in our budget announcements, and we’re demonstrating it again today. We know that reducing emissions requires a collaborative effort. In supporting Saskatchewan’s efforts, we can work together to find real solutions to Canada’s environmental challenges.”

“One of the cornerstones of our Government is to advance Saskatchewan as a leader in environmental protection and the green economy,” Saskatchewan Environment Minister John Nilson said. “This funding will reduce emissions, support the province’s long-term goal of deriving one-third of all energy from renewable sources and enable progress on several important projects within an overall Green Strategy.”

Saskatchewan has indicated that it will use its funding to support several provincial projects, which may include:

Continuing development of near zero CO2 emission electrical generation projects.
Implementing measures to improve energy efficiency and conservation, including promotion and support for energy reduction by home owners, businesses, farms and communities.
Development and utilization of renewable and alternative energy sources such as bio-fuels and solar energy technologies.
Continuing to lead efforts in carbon capture and sequestration through the International Test Centre for Carbon Dioxide Capture.
Canada’s New Government is already delivering on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution by taking tangible steps with initiatives in the energy and transportation sectors such as ecoEnergy and ecoTransport, and by committing to implement aggressive regulations to reduce emissions in all sectors. The provincial and territorial initiatives supported by Canada’s New Government’s trust fund for clean air and climate change will complement those efforts.

As announced, resources for the trust will consist of $1.5 billion of new funding on a national basis. This funding is a part of the actions being taken by Canada’s New Government to build a stronger, safer, better Canada. For more information about the Federal Government’s environmental initiatives visit: http://www.ecoaction.gc.ca/

EPA Publishes National U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released the national greenhouse gas inventory, which finds that overall emissions during 2005 increased by less than one percent from the previous year. The report, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005, was published after gathering comments from a broad range of stakeholders across the country.

Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases in 2005 were equivalent to 7,260 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. The report indicates that overall emissions have grown by 16 percent from 1990 to 2005, while the U.S. economy has grown by 55 percent over the same period.

EPA prepares the annual report in collaboration with experts from multiple federal agencies. This report is the latest in an annual set of reports that the United States submits to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change.

The inventory tracks annual greenhouse gas emissions at the national level and presents historical emissions from 1990 to 2005. The inventory also calculates carbon dioxide emissions that are removed from the atmosphere by "sinks," e.g., through the uptake of carbon by forests, vegetation, and soils.

Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2005 report: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html

NREL Laboratory Earns LEED Platinum, a Federal First

The new Science and Technology Facility (S&TF) at DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is the first federal facility to earn LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED Green Building Rating System, short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings, and LEED Platinum is the highest certification level in the LEED rating system. The 71,000-square-foot S&TF, completed in June 2006, consumes 41 percent less energy than comparable buildings through the use of daylighting, evaporative cooling, and efficient motors, ventilation fans, windows, and lighting. The building's architect and construction contractor also emphasized the use of recycled and locally sourced materials for the building and took care to avoid disturbing the natural terrain while constructing the facility.

U.S. House Ge ts Report on Greening the Capitol

Speaker Nancy Pelosi was joined by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz in accepting a preliminary report by the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the House Daniel Beard on efforts that would reduce the environmental impacts associated with the operations of the House building complex.

The preliminary report on the “Green the Capitol Initiative” was presented by the CAO in response to a March 1 letter by House Democratic leaders requesting the development of such an initiative.

The recommendations in the CAO’s preliminary report include:

Operate the House in a Carbon Neutral Manner
Shift to 100 percent Renewable Electric Power
Aggressively Improve Energy Efficiency
Adoption of Sustainable Business Practices
Continued Leadership on Sustainability Issues
Offsets to Ensure Carbon Neutral Operations

See http://www.speaker.gov/pdf/GTCreport.pdf to read the full report by the CAO.

Maryland Approves Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy Bills

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed 173 bills on Tuesday, including three bills to encourage energy efficiency and renewable energy within the state. Senate Bill 103, the Maryland Clean Cars Act of 2007, requires the state's Department of Environment to follow California's lead in establishing a low-emissions vehicle program that will go into effect with the 2011 model year. The program will include limits on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. Senate Bill 332 establishes the Maryland Green Building Council, which will advise the governor and state legislators on how to use green building principles in state construction projects.

Though the governor focused on the two efficiency bills, a renewable energy bill is likely to have an equal or greater impact on the state. Senate Bill 595 modifies the state's renewable energy requirement to include a minimum percentage of solar power, starting at 0.005 percent of retail electricity sales in 2008 and increasing to 2 percent of electricity sales by 2022. The new solar requirement is added on to the previous renewable requirement, which called for 7.5 percent renewable energy by 2019. The bill also increases the maximum size of customer-owned, grid-connected power systems for net metering from 200 kilowatts to 2 megawatts, and requires utilities to provide net metering for up to 1,500 megawatts of customer-owned generation systems. Net metering allows customers to earn credit for power fed back into the electrical grid. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) hailed the passage of the bill, claiming that it will make Maryland into one of the nation's largest markets for solar energy.

Maryland also signed onto the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative last week, making it the tenth state to join the regional effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Governor O'Malley also signed an executive order creating a commission to examine ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the state and to develop a strategy to reduce Maryland's vulnerability to climate change.

New EPA Report Summarizes Ozone Layer Protection

After nearly 20 years of international treaty protection, the six-mile-high ozone layer that shields the earth from harmful solar rays is on the road to recovery, but challenges remain, EPA reports. Achievements in Stratospheric Ozone Protection: Progress Report highlights U.S. contributions toward healing the ozone layer.

"We could not have made this progress without the collaboration of our partners from all sectors of our economy," said Bill Wehrum, EPA acting assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation. "These partnerships have spurred progress in technology development and deployment that is protecting the ozone layer, saving energy, and preventing emissions of greenhouse gases."

The report recognizes the substantial and successful investments of the many collaborators who have worked towards protecting and restoring the ozone layer. The ozone layer has not grown thinner over most of the world since 1998, according to the report, and the Antarctic ozone level is projected to return to pre-1980 levels between 2060 and 2075.

The report also recognizes the substantial and successful investments of the many collaborators who have worked toward protecting and restoring the ozone layer.

In 1999, U.S. EPA estimated substantial benefits from the United States' work to restore the ozone layer, including:

By 2165, actions to protect and restore the ozone layer were projected to save 6.3 million U.S. lives that would otherwise have been lost to skin cancer.
Every dollar invested in ozone protection is estimated to provide $20 of societal health benefits in the United States.
Protecting the stratospheric ozone layer is estimated to produce $4.2 trillion in societal health benefits over the period 1990 to 2165.
Additionally, since many ozone-depleting substances are also greenhouse gases, replacing these substances with substitutes that are safer for the ozone layer can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This September will mark the 20th anniversary of the landmark Protocol to protect the ozone layer. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was adopted in 1987 and has been ratified by 191 countries.

The "Achievements in Stratospheric Ozone Protection" report: http://www.epa.gov/ozone/2007stratozoneprogressreport.html

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