NASEO NEWS
NASEO / ASERTTI State Energy Policy and Technology Outlook Conference
Focuses on Modernizing U.S. Buildings and Energy Infrastructure
Over 200 attendees participated in this year’s NASEO/ASERTTI State Energy
Policy and Technology Outlook Conference from February 7 – 10, 2012 in
Washington, D.C. The theme of promoting economic development and
technology innovation set the stage for the informative presentations and
dynamic discussions that revolved around modernizing U.S. buildings and energy
infrastructure generally. The speakers combined with representatives from
the states, private sector, and nonprofits provided the ideal opportunity to
build coordination across sectors related to financing, technology advancement,
economic development, and policy.
 Congressman Paul Tonko provided the keynote address on the opening day, offering
a national energy legislative and appropriations outlook for 2012. His
remarks centered on the importance of allowing physics, rather than politics, to
guide energy policy. Congressman Tonko discussed the need for small
businesses, entrepreneurs, and a thriving middle class to build this economy and
reignite the American Dream—noting that manufacturing is a critical component of
this effort. He expressed his strong support for and commitment to
continuing to work with NASEO and others to increase funding for the State
Energy Program (SEP) and Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). David
Terry, NASEO and ASERTTI Executive Director, and Frank Murray, CEO and President
of NYSERDA, presented Congressman Tonko with an award to commemorate his
longstanding dedication to the State and Territory Energy Offices.
 Thursday’s keynote address featured Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, President and
Chief Executive Officer of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE).
Admiral McGinn highlighted the intrinsic relationship between energy and
national security. He remarked that the U.S. needs a cleaner and more
affordable means for powering the economy, which can be achieved through the
right technology, policy, and financial investments. He went on to say
that state governments will drive the policy initiatives that will lead to a
smarter energy mix. Admiral McGinn suggested that the three things the
country needs to move towards a smarter energy future include: 1) government
support for renewable energy, which will also be good for economic development;
2) incentives to help small businesses scale-up; and 3) education for consumers
that goes beyond simply the recognition of energy related to utility bills and
the price of gas at the pump.
 Former Senator John Warner presented the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) new
emphasis on energy efficiency and alternative sources of energy and fuels with
Phyllis Cuttino from the Pew Charitable Trusts. Senator Warner illustrated
the military’s direct link to energy, noting that one of their principal
missions is to protect the sea lanes where oil imports come through. He
highlighted the energy innovations of the armed forces, including technologies
such as portable solar mats that power electronics and other devices.
Senator Warner also explained the DoD’s leadership in developing critical
technologies that are later commercialized, and suggested the states work
closely with the military to coordinate on technology innovation.
Representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, and
the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy; the U.S. Department of the
Interior’s Bureau of Land Management; and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s Climate Protection Partnership Division provided timely and
informational updates in both the general sessions and within the topical
committees.
The sessions focusing on green banks and financing mechanisms, reducing imported
petroleum use, improving utility customer engagement, integrating offshore wind,
advancing bio innovations, and upgrading public facilities sessions clearly
demonstrated the overall theme of the conference.
A financing roundtable, held during the pre-conference meetings, shared state
best practices and discussed the challenges related to attracting private
capital, leveraging public-private partnerships, and utilizing qualified energy
conservation bonds.
NASEO and ASERTTI would like to extend special thanks to the conference
sponsors: Gold Sponsors – ConEdison Solutions and SRA; Silver Sponsors – ICF and
Johnson Controls; and Bronze Sponsors – Abundant Power, AHRI, Constellation
Energy, Edison Electric Institute, Solar Energy Industries Association, and
Southern States Energy Board.
Conference
presentations are available on the NASEO website.
NATIONAL NEWS
President's FY13 Congressional Budget Request – U.S. Department of Energy
President Obama released his proposed FY
2013 Congressional Budget Request on Monday, February 13, 2012. Following
the announcement, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu detailed
the President's $27.2 billion request for the DOE emphasizing the
Administration's commitment to an all-of-the-above energy strategy that
includes critical investments in innovation, in the job-creating clean
energy technologies, and in our national security strategy.
The budget extends specific tax incentives to spur investment in clean energy
manufacturing and renewable energy production and aims to increase the energy
productivity of American industries while investing in processes and materials
that reduce energy use.
Of particular interest to the State and Territory Energy Offices are the
following budget items:
- $49 million for the State Energy Program (SEP);
- $139 million for the Weatherization Assistance Program
(WAP); and
- $2.3 billion for the Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy.
In comparison, the President’s SEP request in FY12 was $63.798 million and
the final appropriation was $50 million. The WAP FY12 request was $320 million
and the FY12 appropriation was $65 million.
NASEO prepared a
summary table that compares the FY13 budget request to previous
years under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of
Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, and ARPA-e, among other
programs. The full FY 2013
DOE Budget Request is available on the DOE website. For questions,
please contact David Terry at dterry@naseo.org.
Legislation Introduced to Spur Innovations in Energy Efficiency
Congressman Charles F. Bass (NH-02) introduced bipartisan legislation this
week to save taxpayer money in the long term and spur innovations in energy
efficiency technology by targeting the federal government's energy usage and by
providing more opportunities for private industry to utilize energy efficient
technologies and systems. Bass' legislation, the Smart Energy Act (H.R. 4017),
would specifically:
- Require federal agencies to utilize a variety of methods to
save energy across the entire government. Provisions include
increased use of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) by
federal agencies, which spur technological investments by
contracting with private entities to upgrade a building’s energy
efficiency. ESPCs use the cost savings generated from reducing
energy usage to fund the efficiency improvements instead of the
standard appropriations process. In addition, the legislation
will expand the usage of demand response programs, require
computer power savings techniques, continue the work to
consolidate federal data centers, and provide an efficient
method to collect data and track progress.
- Establish a strategic plan to double the production of
electricity production by 2020 through the use of combined heat
and power and waste heat recovery. Maximizing energy
already created for both its thermal and electric generation
capabilities is a core definition of efficiency.
- Expand existing funding mechanisms to ensure advanced energy
efficiency systems and technologies are on a level playing field
with other programs aimed at reducing our dependency on foreign
sources of energy.
The text of the Smart Energy Act
can be found here.
USDA Announces Funding for Two Renewable Energy Programs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the availability of funds
for Fiscal Year 2012 for two key programs to encourage the use of renewable
biomass and production of advanced biofuels. About $25 million will be made
available through each program. The Repowering Assistance Program provides
approximately $25 million in funding to biorefineries that have been in
existence on or before June 18, 2008. The purpose of the program is to provide a
financial incentive to biorefineries to use renewable biomass in place of fossil
fuels used to produce heat or power. For additional details, please see
pages 5232 through 5234 of the February 2, 2012, Federal Register, or go to
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-02-02/pdf/2012-2244.pdf. USDA
also announced the availability of up to $25 million to make payments to
advanced biofuels producers who expect to produce eligible advanced biofuels at
any time during Fiscal Year 2012. To be eligible for these funds, an advanced
biofuels producers must have enrolled in the program by October 31, 2011, even
if the producer has an existing contract with the Agency. For additional
details, please see pages 5229 through 5232 of the February 2, 2012, Federal
Register, or go to
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-02-02/pdf/2012-2240.pdf.
Building Energy Codes Program Releases Resource Guides
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Energy Codes Program (BECP) recently
released two resource guides on energy codes. The
Policy Makers Resource Guide provides key information to policy makers on
building energy codes and describes how they can support the adoption,
compliance, and enforcement of statewide energy codes. The guide also
summarizes the approaches that five states have taken to adopt strong building
energy code legislation and provides links to sample legislation and key state
resources. The
Resource Guide on Energy Codes for Commercial Buildings for Architects was
prepared jointly with the American Institute of Architects (AIA). It
provides architects information on building energy codes and how they impact
aspects of design, contracting, and construction. Click the above links to
download the free guides. You can learn more about BECP on its
website or by reading its
2011 annual
report.
NASEO Summary of Barriers for Increasing QECB Activity at the State and
Local Levels
Over the past few months, the National Association of State Energy Officials
(NASEO), in coordination with the Energy Programs Consortium (EPC), has been
collecting data on the status of Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds (QECBs) in
an effort to systematically assess barriers to increased use of QECBs and to
inform further technical assistance efforts. Of the $3.2 billion allocated
to states and municipalities through the stimulus, approximately 80% of these
allocations remain unused due to factors such as debt aversion at the state and
local levels, general lack of familiarity with this new tool, and vague
authorizing federal legislation.
The
NASEO Summary of Barriers for Increasing QECB Activity at the State and Local
Levels was created from a systematic collection of information from state
and local governments pertaining to areas such as allocations and issuance
amounts, issuance dates, and the use and intent of these bonds, among others.
Additional information was collected through one-on-one interviews with states
and local municipalities, which is also highlighted in this summary. For
additional information on QECBs and other financing mechanisms, please visit
NASEO’s State
Financing Energy Resources.
2012 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that they
will offer the ENERGY STAR National Building Competition again in 2012. More
information will be available soon, but there are several important changes to
the timeframe, schedule, and recognition offerings for the 2012 competition that
are worth noting:
- The baseline period will cover January 1, 2011 through
December 31, 2011
- The comparative period will cover January 1, 2012 through
December 31, 2012
- Applications will be accepted in Spring 2012
- EPA will publicly launch the competition in the Summer 2012
- EPA will recognize the winner, top finishers, and those
buildings who improved by 20% or more in the spring of 2013.For
questions, please contact
buildingcontest@energystar.gov.
DOE’s
Home Energy Score Team is Actively Recruiting Partners
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE)
Home Energy
Score program is gaining traction with its national launch slated for late
winter/early spring 2012 and the DOE Home Energy Score Team is focused on adding
20-30 additional Partners (state or local governments, utilities, and
energy-related non-profits) over the next month. Partners must be able to
score a minimum of 200 homes in 12 months and fulfill quality assurance
requirements (re-score 5% of homes). You can learn more about the program
by watching 3 Home Energy Score webinars on
www.homeenergyscore.gov. For
more information about partnering with DOE on Home Energy Score, email:
homeenergyscore@ee.doe.gov with subject: Interested Partner by February 29,
2011.
DOE Seeking Volunteers for Better Buildings Case Competition
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking volunteers for the Better
Buildings Case Competition's final workshop being held Thursday, March 1-Friday,
March 2, 2012. Volunteer opportunities include: 1) serving as a judge to review
and deliberate over the University teams' proposals and presentations; 2)
moderating/participating in panel discussions; and/or 3) hosting a networking
event. The volunteer opportunities are scheduled mainly for Friday, March 2.
If you're interested in participating as a volunteer or have any questions,
please contact: Monica Neukomm, Program Analyst, DOE (Email:
monica.neukomm@ee.doe.gov; Phone:
(202) 287-5189).
The Better
Buildings Case Competition—in which teams from 19 University energy clubs
are participating—is part of the Better Buildings Challenge, a national energy
efficiency leadership initiative and a core element of President Obama's plan to
make commercial buildings 20 percent more energy efficient by 2020. The
University teams will tackle cases that focus on a number of the most common,
most stubborn barriers to energy efficiency in both the private sector and in
state and local settings and provide creative and innovative solutions that
could serve as "models for success" in the marketplace.
STATE NEWS
New California Report Focuses on Reliability, Clean Energy Goals, and Economic
Development
The California Energy Commission recently approved the 2011 Integrated Energy
Policy Report (IEPR), the state's main energy planning document. The report
makes recommendations to ensure reliable energy supplies for the state's growing
population and economy, achieve clean energy goals, and promote clean tech jobs
and investments. California has some of the most ambitious goals for
energy efficiency and clean energy in the nation. The state's long-standing
policy of "energy efficiency first" will reduce the need for new power plants
and transmission lines, as will development of distributed generation resources
that are located close to where electricity is used. The 2011 IEPR discusses
efforts to reduce energy use in existing buildings, for example, through the
Energy Upgrade California program, and to make new buildings "zero net energy"
using a combination of energy efficiency strategies and clean energy generated
onsite. To support California's goal of meeting 33 percent of electricity
needs with renewable resources by 2020, the 2011 IEPR provides in-depth analyses
that form the foundation for a "renewable strategic plan" that will be developed
this year. The 2011 Integrated Energy Policy Report is available on the
Energy Commission's website at:
www.energy.ca.gov/2011_energypolicy/.
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