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ASHRAE Government Affairs Update, 10/03/08 |
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DOE and Ad Council Launch Energy Efficiency Campaigns for Kids
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched two new energy efficiency campaigns for kids: "What's your Excuse?" which is focused on the 8-12 "tween" market, and a Tinker Bell-themed campaign for 8- to 9-year-olds. The two campaigns were developed in partnership with the Advertising Council and are designed to educate children about the importance of energy efficiency. "What's your Excuse?" encourages tweens to save energy at home with a 10-step energy action plan, and includes tips, games, and downloads posted on a Web site called "Lose Your Excuse." The campaign is supported by the pro bono efforts of Goodby, Silverstein and Partners, which developed public service announcements (PSAs) for television, radio, outdoor, and Web media. The Tinker Bell campaign consists of television, online, and outdoor PSAs created by the Ad Council to educate children about positive energy saving habits. The campaign directs children to visit the kids section of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Web site. See the DOE press release (http://www.energy.gov/news/6528.htm), the Lose Your Excuse Web site (http://www.loseyourexcuse.gov/), and the EERE Kids Web site (http://www.eere.energy.gov/kids/).
Report: $100 Billion Could Yield 2 Million Clean Energy Jobs
A new report from the non-partisan Center for American Progress concludes that a $100 billion federal investment in clean energy technologies over the next 2 years would yield 2 million new U.S. jobs, cutting the unemployment rate by 1.3%, while putting the nation on a path toward a low-carbon economy. The report, prepared by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, proposes $50 billion in tax credits for energy efficiency retrofits and renewable energy systems; $46 billion in direct government spending for public building retrofits, mass transit, freight rail, smart electrical grid systems, and renewable energy systems; and $4 billion for federal loan guarantees to help finance building retrofits and renewable energy projects.
The Center for American Progress report concludes that clean energy investments would yield about 300,000 more jobs than if the same funds were distributed among U.S. taxpayers. The clean energy investments would also have the added benefits of lower home energy bills and reduced prices for non-renewable energy sources, thanks to the reduced consumption of those energy sources. See the press release (http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/green_recovery.html) and report (http://americanprogress.org/issues/2008/09/pdf/green_recovery.pdf).
Candidates Answer 14 Questions on Science
Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain have answered 14 specific questions about their policies on science and technology in response to a call from a grass roots organization called Science Debate 2008. The group is spearheaded by scientists and concerned citizens who believe that science and technology lie at the center of a large number of policy issues that profoundly affect U.S. economic and national security.
The 14 questions address energy policy, national security, economics in a science-driven global economy, climate change, education, health care, ocean health, biosecurity, clean water, space, stem cells, scientific integrity, genetics, and research.
On climate change the candidates were asked to give their positions on a cap-and-trade system, a carbon tax, increased fuel-economy standards and research. Obama answered, "First, the U.S. must get off the sidelines and take long-overdue action here at home to reduce our own greenhouse gas emissions. We must also take a leadership role in designing technologies that allow us to enjoy a growing, prosperous economy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050." Obama said he will create a Global Energy Forum based on the G8+5 to focus exclusively on global energy and environmental issues. He also said he will create a Technology Transfer Program for exporting climate-friendly technologies.
McCain reiterates his goal of achieving at least a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. McCain said he would strengthen penalties for carmakers falling short of fuel effieciency standards and establish a permanent tax credit for R&D. McCain also wants to spend two billion a year for the next 15 years on "clean" coal technology.
Both candidates say they will institute a cap-and-trade system.
Read each candidates’ full answers at the Science Debate 2008 website ( http://www.sciencedebate2008.com/www/index.php?id=42) .
California Adopts a Long-Term Energy Efficiency Plan
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) adopted a long-term energy efficiency strategy that aligns well with DOE's goals for zero-energy buildings. California's new "Long Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan" includes two "Big Bold" strategies for significant energy efficiency gains in new buildings: to have all residential buildings achieve zero net energy use by 2020, and to have all commercial buildings achieve zero net energy use by 2030. In comparison, DOE's Building Technologies Program aims to achieve marketable zero energy homes by 2020 and zero energy commercial buildings by 2025. California's plan also goes a bit farther, with two more stretch goals: to reshape the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning industry to ensure optimal building performance and to weatherize all the homes of eligible low-income families by 2020. See the CPUC press release (http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PUBLISHED/NEWS_RELEASE/91027.htm).
California's new plan focuses on energy efficiency goals for electricity and natural gas consumption, with targeted efforts for residential and commercial buildings, industries, and farms. The industrial effort hinges mainly on the development of a national certification program for energy-efficient industrial plants, with the goal of achieving a 25% reduction in industrial energy intensity by 2020, while the agricultural effort intends to achieve a 15% reduction in fossil-fuel energy intensity by 2020. The strategic plan also recognizes that energy efficiency programs should include efforts to commercialize emerging technologies, to provide technical assistance to users and sellers of the technologies, to educate and inform people about energy efficiency opportunities, to mandate minimum energy efficiency codes and standards, and to offer incentives to consumers. See the full plan on the California Energy Efficiency Web site (http://www.californiaenergyefficiency.com/).
DOE Awards $15 Million to 21 Companies for Efficient Buildings
DOE announced that it has selected 21 companies to receive $15 million as the first phase of awards for the Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative. DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory will work with each awardee to design, build, commission, and operate at least one new energy-efficient prototype building. Compared to similar new commercial buildings that meet the minimum requirements of standards set by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the new prototype buildings will consume only half as much energy. The two national labs will also work with each company to retrofit one existing building to consume 30% less energy than a retrofitted building that meets the minimum ASHRAE standards. The building projects will use both cutting-edge energy efficiency technologies and on-site renewable power generation to reduce the energy use of the buildings.
The awardees for this phase of the award include retailers Best Buy, JCPenney, John Deere, Macy's, SuperValu, Target, Toyota, and Whole Foods Market; commercial real estate firms CB Richard Ellis, Forest City Enterprises, Hines, InterContinental Hotels Group, The Opus Group, ProLogis, Regency Centers, Ryan Companies US, Simon Property Group, Tishman Speyer, and The Westfield Group; and two financial institutions, namely, the Bank of America and the PNC Financial Services Group. The intent is to identify approaches that can be replicated across the nation, while gaining insight into private-sector decision processes, business models, and financial drivers for achieving low-energy buildings. See the DOE press release ( http://www.energy.gov/news/6577.htm).
First U.S. Auction of CO2 Allowances Brings in $38.5 Million
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) successfully conducted the first-in-the-nation auction of carbon dioxide emission allowances. More than $38.5 million was raised from the sale of 12.5 million allowances to bidders from the energy, financial, and environmental sectors. The allowances were sold at a clearing price of $3.07, with demand exceeding the offerings by more than four times the available amount. Six of the ten RGGI states offered allowances for sale in the first auction. Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont will invest the proceeds from the auction in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and other programs that benefit energy consumers. The allowances can be used for compliance in any of the ten states participating in RGGI, including the four states—Delaware, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York—that did not offer allowances in this first auction.
RGGI aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions through a cap-and-trade program. Under the initiative, the ten participating states will stabilize carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector at capped levels. The states will then reduce the cap 10% by 2018, with 2.5% decreases each year between 2015 and 2018. Auctioning the allowances allows the states to invest the revenues in programs that reduce energy demand and the use of fossil fuels. The next auction will be held in December of this year, and all ten states are expected to offer allowances for sale in the first 2009 auction and in quarterly auctions thereafter. See the RGGI press release detailing the results of the auction (http://www.rggi.org/docs/rggi_press_9_29_2008.pdf).
Also, the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) announced its own plan for a regional market-based cap-and-trade program for the seven U.S. states and four Canadian provinces participating in the initiative. The governors of Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington; and the premiers of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15% below 2005 levels by 2020. The plan sets a lowest common denominator for the states and provinces, which can each exceed the requirements of the plan. See the WCI press release (http://westernclimateinitiative.org/ewebeditpro/items/O104F19871.PDF).
2008 Buildings Energy Data Book Available
The 2008 Buildings Energy Data Book is now available at http://buildingsdatabook.eere.energy.gov/. The 2008 Buildings Energy Data Book was developed for use within the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The Data Book contains current buildings-related data and has served as a valuable resource in providing consistent, citable data in a single document.
The new edition has been significantly reorganized and expanded. Data is now organized in the following chapters:
- Buildings Sector
- Residential Sector
- Commercial Sector
- Federal Sector
- Envelope and Equipment
- Energy Supply
- Energy Codes, Standards, and Laws
- Water Data
- Market Transformation
New data sections include Embodied Energy of Building Assemblies, Multi-Family Housing, Office Buildings Markets and Companies, Retail Markets and Companies, Hospitals and Medical Facilities, Hotels/Motels, On-Site Wind Power, On-Site Power, Natural Gas Production and Distribution, and Public Benefits Funds/System Benefits Funds.
