Login
Advocacy Quicklinks
ASHRAE Government Affairs Update, 12/21/07 |
|
|
|
|
More Information
Study Reveals How U.S. Could Cut Greenhouse Gases by 28%
A new report by consulting firm McKinsey & Company reveals that the United States could shave as much as 28% from the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) it emits at fairly modest cost and with only small technology innovations. A large portion of the reductions could come from measures that would more than pay for themselves in lower energy bills. The report’s authors said, however, that such steps are unlikely to happen under present circumstances. There is huge potential for energy and dollar savings in the lighting, heating and cooling of buildings, yet substantial barriers to adoption of efficient technologies remain. Landlords and builders typically purchase less efficient equipment with low up-front cost, leaving the tenant or home buyer using the equipment with a higher electricity bill. Another problem, the report said, is that consumers often pay no attention to energy use in choosing equipment. For example, computers can be designed to use less power. But, because most consumers are oblivious to energy efficiency when shopping for a computer, manufacturers perceive no competitive edge to spending the extra money on efficiency.
While the report focused on describing the scope of the problem, it did mention possible solutions. Rules for utilities could be rewritten, for example, so that utilities make as much money in promoting conservation as in selling electricity. Other proposed solutions included: government mandates for limits on GHG emissions and incentives such as tax breaks to promote efficient buildings, cars and appliances. The study compared such measures to more costly measures such as capturing and storing carbon dioxide from coal power plants, which would account for less than 10% of the potential to cut emissions.
Read Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost?, McKinsey & Company, December 2007, www.mckinsey.com.
Green Building Programs Up 400% in U.S. Cities
A new study from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) finds that since 2003, the number of American cities with green building programs has increased more than 400%. The analysis is based on research conducted by AIA on American cities with a population greater than 50,000 (661 communities). The study found that less than 15% of cities surveyed have green building programs today, but that figure is expected to rise to 20% next year as communities begin to address global warming. The report recommends that cities hire a director of sustainability and train and accredit municipal employees on green building rating systems including the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ( LEED) program.
Read Local Leaders in Sustainability: A Study of Green Building Programs in Our Nation’s Communities (http://www.aia.org/adv_localleaders).
RFP on Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems Program
Sandia National Laboratories, in conjunction with the United States Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technology Program (SETP), has issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) for the Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems program (SEGIS).
This RFP provides up to $6.25 million for the development of advanced inverters, controllers, and other balance-of-system components for photovoltaic (PV) distributed power applications. The goal of the SETP is to increase the value of PV as large numbers of systems are incorporated into the utility distribution system.
The deadline for the RFP is January 21, 2008. The RFP can be downloaded at:
Negotiators in Bali Agree to Work Toward New Climate Agreement
Representatives from 187 countries agreed to work toward a new and strengthened climate change deal. The agreement reached at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, aims to conclude negotiations on a new climate change agreement by 2009, allowing time for the agreement to be implemented by 2013, when the Kyoto Protocol expires. For now, the negotiators have agreed to a framework for the upcoming negotiations in the form of the "Bali Roadmap," also called the "Bali Action Plan." The action plan calls for quantified limits and reduction objectives for the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from developed countries, while also calling for developing countries to address their GHG emissions using "nationally appropriate" mitigation actions that are measurable, reportable, and verifiable. The agreement also addresses deforestation and carbon capture and storage and will lead to the immediate establishment of an adaptation fund for developing countries, funded through a mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. The White House noted that the United States joined in the consensus decision, but continued to express concerns about holding developing countries accountable for their GHG emissions.
The Bali Conference also made important progress on the issue of providing developing countries with the technologies they need for adaptation to climate change and for GHG emissions mitigation, including clean energy technologies. The governments agreed to create a strategic program to scale up the level of investment needed for the transfer of technologies for both adaptation and mitigation. The aim of the new program is to pursue demonstration projects, to create more attractive environments for investment, and to provide incentives to the private sector for technology transfer. The Global Environment Facility—the world's largest environmental funding body—will lead the program, working with international financial institutions and representatives of the private financial sector.
The conference parties also agreed to extend the mandate of the Expert Group on Technology Transfer for another five years. The Expert Group has been asked to pay particular attention to the assessment of gaps and barriers to the use of, and the access to, financing resources. The Expert Group will also establish performance indicators that can be used to regularly monitor and evaluate progress on the development, deployment, and transfer of environmentally sound technologies. The members of the group are nominated by the conference parties, and the group has been meeting since 2002. See the press release (http://unfccc.int) and all the conference agreements ( http://unfccc.int/meetings/cop_13/items/4049.php) on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Web site.
Report: States Falling Short on Interconnection and Net Metering
A new report concludes that all 50 states are failing to provide easy access to the electrical grid for home-grown renewable energy systems, while only four states are doing their best to assure that the owners of such systems earn credit for power fed into the grid. Regarding "interconnection," or the connection of customer-owned power systems to the grid, many states set an arbitrary maximum size of the system that can be connected to the grid, or they set a cap on the total combined capacity of the systems connected to the grid. In many states, utility customers must pay high fees for interconnection, while also having to meet unreasonable requirements for safety features, liability insurance, and approval paperwork. Regarding "net metering," which provides a utility bill credit for customers who feed power into the grid, some states allow utilities to credit the power at a rate that's lower than the retail rate, to limit the amount of credit earned, or to limit the credit that can be carried over from month to month. Net metering often excludes commercial and industrial partners and sometimes requires the installation of an extra meter. And of course, many states do not have a policy for interconnection or net metering at all.
The new report, "Freeing the Grid," is an update of a 2006 report and is prepared by the Network for New Energy Choices, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), the Vote Solar Initiative, and the Solar Alliance. The report finds that as of September 2007, only 34 states and the District of Columbia had statewide interconnection policies, and of those, 8 states and the District of Columbia received failing grades. New Jersey and Arizona have the best interconnection policies, both earning a "B" from the report's authors. Likewise, only 38 states and the District of Columbia had statewide net-metering policies, and of those, 4 states and the District of Columbia received failing grades. Five states—California, Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania—earned an "A" for their net-metering policies. See the report on the Network for New Energy Choices Web site (http://www.newenergychoices.org/uploads/FreeingTheGrid2007_report.pdf).
DOE Adopts Final Rule for Energy Conservation in Federal Buildings
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is adopting with changes the interim final rule published on December 4, 2006 (71 FR 70275) that implemented provisions in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that require DOE to establish revised energy efficiency performance standards for the construction of all new Federal buildings. The standards in the final rule apply to commercial and multifamily high-rise residential buildings and low-rise residential buildings, as designed and constructed. This rule is effective January 22, 2008.
EPAct 2005 requires DOE to establish revised Federal building energy efficiency performance standards. Under the revised standards, new Federal buildings must be designed to achieve energy consumption levels that are at least 30 percent below the updated minimum standards (ASHRAE 90.1-2004 or 2004 IECC) if life-cycle cost-effective.
For a copy of the final rule (72 FR 72565), see http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr
