NASEO News

NASEO Assists North East and Mid Atlantic States with Final ARRA SEP Plans

With two weeks to go until final, comprehensive ARRA SEP plans must be submitted to US DOE,  NASEO, in conjunction with CONEG, conducted a lively conference call meeting of the northeast and mid-Atlantic states to discuss best bets for these upcoming applications.  This conference call was not a "dog and pony" show, but rather a focused give and take among the state energy directors.  One SEO director would describe a particular program, and others would raise pointed and helpful questions so as to understand better the applicability of a given strategy in another, neighboring state.  As David Terry, NASEO executive director remarked, "this is exactly the kind of communication and coordination we want to foster with our new regional coordinator program. "Most of the thirteen states in this corner of the USA, ranging from Maine all the way down to Virginia along the east coast, intend to operate programs aimed at making energy efficiency improvements in state facilities, schools and hospitals, industrial customers, and other institutions.  Please click here for the full article. 

Massachusetts Launches Green Communities Division

From Commonwealth of Massachusetts Press Release of April 22, 2009: "Governor Deval Patrick today joined legislative leaders on Earth Day to announce the launch of the Green Communities Program, which will help municipalities across Massachusetts cut energy bills through greater efficiency and locally generated renewable power.  The Green Communities Program is a component of Governor Patrick's Massachusetts Recovery Plan, making information and technical assistance available for communities to help them prepare for and make the most of federal recovery funds targeted for energy investments."  Please click here for the full press release.  The Massachusetts Green Communities website is at http://www.mass.gov/energy/greencommunities.  NASEO will be disseminating more information about this program and other efforts to enhance state and local collaboration on clean energy activities using the EECBG. 

Rapid Deployment Energy Efficiency (RDEE) Toolkit

State Energy Offices, Program Administrators, and Local Governments can now use the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Rapid Deployment Energy Efficiency (RDEE) to assist state and local governments in deploying American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) energy efficiency funding in a successful, sustainable manner by having a go-to resource for RDEE questions. For more information, please visit: www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/ee_toolkit.html. 

"EIA seen Needing Budget Increase to Track Changing Energy Interests"

From Inside Energy 4/13/2009: "With numerous biofuel, renewable and other green initiatives coming to the forefront in a short span of time, the Energy Information Administration needs a bigger budget and more resources to improve the quality and timeliness of the energy data it provides, participants in an EIA conference said last week.  'It's not that they haven't tried' to gather all of the information that the public and regulators need, Jeff Genzer, a partner at law firm Duncan, Weinberg, Genzer & Pembroke, said at the EIA 2009 Annual Energy Conference in Washington. 'They don't have the resources.'"  Please click here for the full article.

"Generating Energy From the Deep"

From the New York Times 4/20/2009: "Lockheed Martin is best known for building stealth fighters, satellites and other military equipment. But since late 2006 the company has taken on a different kind of enterprise — generating renewable power from the ocean.  The technology is still being developed in the laboratory, but if it succeeds on a large scale, it could eventually become an important tool in the nation's battle against global warming and dependency on foreign oil. Lockheed and a few other companies are pursuing ocean thermal energy conversion, which uses the difference in temperature between the ocean's warm surface and its chilly depths to generate electricity.  Experts say that the balmy waters off Hawaii and Puerto Rico, as well as near United States military bases on islands like Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean or Guam in the Pacific, would be good sites for developing this type of energy.  Hawaii and many other islands rely on imported oil to generate most of their electricity, which is expensive, and last year's spikes in oil prices have reinvigorated their search for homegrown alternatives.  'The vagaries of petroleum impact Hawaii far more than any other state,' said Theodore Peck, an energy administrator in the state's department of business, economic development and tourism. Generating energy from the ocean's temperature variations, he added, is 'a natural for Hawaii.'"  Please click here for the full article.

"Vice President Visits Window Factory Reopening Thanks to Recovery Act Investments in Weatherization and Energy Efficiency"

From White House Press Release of April 27, 2009: "Vice President Joe Biden today visited Serious Materials Chicago, a window factory that is reopening thanks to increased demand for energy-saving building products as a result of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments in weatherization and energy programs and energy efficiency tax credits.  Joining him for the visit were United States Senators Dick Durbin and Roland Burris, Mayor Richard Daley and Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials.  'What I have seen here today at Serious Materials Chicago inspires me and brings to life the real impact the Recovery Act is already having, just in the short time since our work began,' said Vice President Biden.  'Everywhere I go, I am hearing stories just like this one – stories of hard workers filling good jobs, our $8 billion investment in weatherization and energy programs re-opening doors and our tax credits creating new demand for energy-saving materials. This is the story of our new economy - and this is the story of the Recovery Act.'"  Please click here for the full press release.

"FERC Chairman Sees Himself Leading U.S. March Toward Energy Efficiency"

Please click here for a Greenwire profile of John Wellinghoff, Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which outlines his goals for FERC in energy efficiency and electricity transmission.

State Energy Recovery Act Websites

NASEO has collected State Energy Recovery Act website URLs from Hawaii, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Utah and Vermont.  If your SEO has created a Recovery Act webpage, please send the link to Benjamin Deitchman at NASEO.