NASEO NEWS
NASEO Congressional Briefings
On Monday October 17, the Northeast-Midwest Coalition, with support from
NASCSP and NASEO, hosted a briefing to discuss how state governments and their
private sector partners are implementing energy programs that save money and
energy while creating jobs and helping low and fixed income Americans.
Malcolm Woolf, Director of the Maryland Energy Administration and NASEO
Executive Director, David Terry, joined NASCSP and state officials from Maine
and Ohio to discuss how the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and the
State Energy Program (SEP) impact job creation, energy bill reduction, and
enhanced energy security.
On Tuesday, October 18, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hosted
a DOE/EERE Industrial Technology Program (ITP) briefing. Presenters
included Dr. Christodoulou, Industrial Technologies Program Manager, EERE/DOE;
Raymond W. Monroe, Executive Vice President, Steel Founders Society of America;
and David Terry, Executive Director for both NASEO and the Association of State
Energy Research & Technology Transfer Institutions (ASERTTI). The Senate
Energy & Natural Resources Committee staff requested the briefing to better
understand the future plans for the program as well as hear from two key
stakeholders, Mr. Monroe and Mr. Terry, who discussed the value of the program
from a private sector and a state perspective. Mr. Terry’s
presentation
focused on four key themes: the need for a greater sense of shared vision and
purpose among industry, state, and federal partners; the value in balancing
moving today’s energy efficiency technologies and processes into the industrial
sector with advancing tomorrow’s manufacturing technologies and processes;
retaining already developed talent and resources; and the importance of a
collaborative partnership approach among companies, states, and DOE.
State
Residential Energy Programs Database
NASEO is pleased to launch its recently created
State Residential Energy Programs (SREP) Database, which is now available on
the NASEO website. With $345 million in funding to advance energy
efficiency residential programs, over 25 states and territories are operating
approximately 45 programs through their State Energy Offices. These
programs help to reduce heating and cooling costs and increase energy efficiency
in homes. Captured within this database is information on residential
retrofit programs, including but not limited to Home Performance with ENERGY
STAR. This database also provides details on key program elements such as
training, qualified contractors, audits, rebates & incentives, financing & loans
and quality assurance. This is an ongoing NASEO project and will continue
to be updated over time. Please contact Garth Otto (gotto@naseo.org)
if you have any questions or updates to your state’s page.
NATIONAL NEWS
Bennet, Isakson Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Account for Energy Costs in
Mortgage Underwriting
U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) introduced a
bipartisan bill this week that would enable better mortgage underwriting,
encourage investments in energy efficient homebuilding and create more than
80,000 construction jobs. Under the
Sensible Accounting to Value Energy
(SAVE) Act, federal mortgage loan agencies would consider a homeowner’s expected
energy costs when determining the homeowner’s ability to make monthly mortgage
payments. The average homeowner spends more than $2,000 each year on
energy costs – more than on either real estate taxes or homeowners insurance,
both of which are regularly accounted for in mortgage underwriting. On average,
these energy costs amount to more than $60,000 over the life of a 30-year
mortgage. The SAVE Act would address this blind spot, giving a more complete
picture of the costs of homeownership and borrowers’ capacity to service debt.
NASEO was part of a broad coalition of real estate, business, building trade and
conservation groups that support the bill.
ACEEE Releases State Energy Efficiency Scorecard
The fifth edition of the annual ACEEE State Energy Efficiency Scorecard,
released this week by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
(ACEEE), says that despite several economic and legislative obstacles, there is
still a growing momentum among U.S. states toward increased energy efficiency.
The ACEEE Scorecard shows that the top 10 states are: Massachusetts (taking the
#1 position for the first time); California (slipping from the top spot it held
for the first four editions of the ACEEE Scorecard); New York State; Oregon;
Vermont; Washington State; Rhode Island; Minnesota, Connecticut; and Maryland
(making its first appearance in the top 10 and also one of the six most improved
states in the 2011 ACEEE Scorecard).
Governor Duval Patrick accepted the honor of top ranking for Massachusetts and
highlighted the state's vision for energy efficiency as the first fuel as one of
the drivers for success. Malcolm Woolf, Maryland Energy Administration Director
and NASEO Chair, participated in the press conference as a top 10 state and one
of the most improved. Malcolm credited Maryland Governor O'Malley's "EmPOWER
Maryland" Initiative, which aims to reduce energy consumption in the state by
15% by the year 2015, with being the type of bold goal that creates a market for
energy efficiency. The initiative has saved consumers $117 million on utility
bills and reduced peak demand by 600 megawatts or the equivalent of 3 coal fired
peaking units. Kathleen Hogan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency
for the U.S. DOE, noted the agency's partnership with the states and referenced
the U.S. State Energy Program when asked how DOE plans to continue its state
partnership on buildings efficiency. Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator for
the U.S. EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, raised the opportunities for energy
efficiency to be used in meeting new air regulations.
This year's edition of the State Energy Efficiency Scorecard presents a
comprehensive ranking of the states based on an array of metrics that capture
best practices and recognize leadership in energy efficiency policy and program
implementation. The Scorecard benchmarks progress and provides a roadmap for
states to advance energy efficiency in the residential, commercial, industrial,
and transportation sectors. The scorecard and related materials are available
online at http://aceee.org/research-report/e115.
Northeast States Form Regional Electric Vehicle Network
Georgetown Climate Center
Transportation, energy and environment officials from ten northeast states
and the District of Columbia announced the formation of the Northeast Electric
Vehicle Network this week. The Network will work to bolster economic growth,
maintain the region’s leadership in the clean energy economy and reduce the
area’s dependence on oil and its emissions of greenhouse gases and other
pollutants. As part of their ongoing collaboration through the
Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), the participating jurisdictions
will promote all clean vehicles and fuels and facilitate planning for and the
deployment of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and related infrastructure
throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. The group will also work
together to attract additional public and private investment in infrastructure
for clean vehicles. Participants in the Northeast Electric Vehicle Network
are Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.
As part of this effort, NASEO will utilize its membership network to share the
best practice models identified under this program with a national audience in
an effort to replicate sound transportation, energy, and environment
collaboration, improve policy development, and expedite EV infrastructure
development.
DOE, NASA Partner to Construct 'Greenest' Federal Building
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
and NASA's Ames Research Center, both in California, are collaborating on
technologies and processes for what they say could become the "greenest" and
highest-performing building in the federal government by using technologies
developed for space. The structure, called Sustainability Base in honor of
Apollo 11's lunar landing site, will feature NASA intelligent system software
installed by Ames engineers. To help integrate these "smart system"
technologies, LBNL developed a building information model to serve as the
repository for the building's systems information during its life cycle. Using
data from this model, LBNL developed an energy-performance simulation model to
optimize the building's energy operations. This collaboration also will
facilitate the collection and analysis of building-performance data that can be
used for construction of future energy efficient office buildings. See the
NASA
press release and the
Sustainability
Base website.
Commercial Building Job/Task Analyses Available for Public Comment
The commercial building industry has a diverse field of energy efficiency
professionals. To train this workforce, organizations have developed a variety
of educational programs. While these programs offer broad access to training,
they often differ widely in their content and how they define roles and
responsibilities. To address this challenge, the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) in collaboration
with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) facilitated the development
of industry-created commercial building workforce guidance. Six career fields
were identified as key to achieving the highest levels of energy efficiency in
commercial buildings. Workforce guidance was then developed by industry experts
for each of these career fields. The goal of this guidance is to provide a
basis for developing and comparing new and existing training programs in the
commercial building sector. DOE is now encouraging
public comment to ensure that each Job/Task Analysis (JTA) is comprehensive
and will serve industry's needs. The commenting period is from October 14
– November 28, 2011.
U.S. DOE’s Building Codes Program Seeks Public Input on Cost Methodology
U.S. Department of Energy has extended its recent request for information
(RFI) deadline to November 11, 2011. The RFI in the Federal Register (76
FR 56413) requests information on how DOE may improve the methodology it intends
to use for assessing cost effectiveness (which includes an energy savings
assessment) of changes to residential building energy codes. Please
view the
RFI online. Submit comments to
Res-CEAM-2011-BC-0046@ee.doe.gov with EERE–2011–BT–BC–0046 in the subject
line. If your state is planning to submit a response and is willing to
share that response with other states, please contact Diana Lin at
dlin@naseo.org.
ICC Requires Form Submission for Voting Governmental Members
In order to be eligible to vote at the International Code Council hearings,
governmental members must submit a Voting Eligibility Statement. Members
are encouraged to fill the form out in advance and bring it to the hearings to
save time. Please
download the form online. New Building Code Resources
The
Building Codes Assistance Project, in partnership with
Consumers Union, has
launched a new effort to educate the public on the impact of home energy use,
the role of energy codes in addressing home energy performance, and what
consumers can do to save energy and money. State and Territory Energy Offices
may access these resources to help educate consumers in their jurisdictions at
http://bcap-ocean.org/consumers-take-action. Available materials include an
Energy Code Checklist, and Interactive Energy Code Guide, a PowerPoint
presentation on Why Codes Matter, and some state-specific resources. In
addition, the U.S. DOE Building Energy Codes Program has released several new
resources including, a Commercial Buildings Resource Guide for Architects, a
Going Beyond Code Guide, and an Air Leakage Guide. Please visit
www.energycodes.gov to access these
resources.
STATE NEWS
Delaware Approves Bloom Energy Factory, 30MW Project
www.greentechmedia.com
Silicon Valley fuel cell startup, Bloom Energy, recently received approval
for its biggest project yet -- and Delaware utility customers will help foot the
bill. Delaware regulators approved a plan to bill customers of utility Delmarva
Power to build a factory for Bloom’s natural gas-powered fuel cells, along with
installing 30 megawatts of its Bloom Boxes in the state. Delmarva plans to
raise more than $100 million over 20 years to help finance the project, which
equates to a $1.34-per-month surcharge on customer bills. Delaware is also
providing $18 million in state incentives, and the project is seeking a federal
cash grant for renewable power projects.
Texas Cool Schools: An HVAC grant program for Texas public school districts
State Energy Conservation Office
Utilities represent the third-largest spending category for Texas schools,
and much of this expenditure is driven by old, inefficient equipment. The Texas
Cool Schools grant program is intended to help the state’s schools lower their
operating costs by purchasing new and more energy-efficient heating, ventilation
and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. On Oct. 10, 2011, the Comptroller's
State Energy Conservation Office awarded 57 Texas Cool Schools grants totaling
$33.5 million using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (ARRA). Originally $25 million, SECO was able to increase program funding
by 36% to provide funding to a greater number of school districts.
Virginia to House First-ever Wind Turbine Test Facility
www.delmarvanow.com
Virginia is at the center of global wind energy development with the
announcement that the world's first-ever wind turbine test facility will be
located in Northampton County. Gov. Bob McDonnell recently announced the
"collaborative project to establish a facility for the testing and certification
of large offshore and land-based electricity-producing wind turbines in
Virginia." The Poseidon Atlantic project would be "the first such test
facility in existence" and will provide as many as 25 jobs in Northampton in the
next two years, officials said. McDonnell said the project is
transformational for the development of offshore wind technology, citing the
lack of facilities worldwide for testing.
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