Turning Policy into Performance: Measuring Equity to Achieve Restorative Justice

CLICK HERE to access a March 2015 webinar recording featuring LED Street Lighting Conversion Strategies, feauturing a case study of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Certain elements of our community’s infrastructure often go unnoticed, residing in the background of our increasingly busy lives. Think about it. How much time do you take out of your day to dwell on the importance of paved…

Originally posted on Switchboard (NRDC's blog), and authored by Jackson Morris, this post takes a magnifying glass to New York's REV Track 1 Order and lays out all of the juicy details for your reading pleasure. Big thanks to NRDC and Jackson Morris for this illuminating contribution. There are big goings-on in the Empire State these days related to how to move to a 21stcentury electric…

In the Amazing Spiderman, Peter Parker’s uncle, Uncle Ben, leaves him with some words of wisdom that Parker carries with him throughout the Spiderman series: With great power, comes great responsibility. As someone who’s been tracking investment in energy efficiency in our region, a similar thought, which is the title of this post, comes to mind. Investment in energy efficiency in…

This blog is the first in a series looking into the key insights of the newly released 2015 Regional Roundup of Energy Efficiency Policy in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States. The winter months of the past few years have been long, harsh, and expensive. Electricity customers in the  Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region have incurred higher costs during these periods, largely as a result of…

Originally posted on ACEEE's blog, this post is part one in a series where ACEEE examines the most effective roles for energy efficiency programs and market-driven solutions in scaling the deployment of energy efficiency. Thanks to Steve Nadal and ACEEE for sharing! The fundamental question that policymakers ask themselves is, Are we being the most responsible stewards of public dollars? For…

We’ve been singing it from the rooftops since the release of the 2015 Residential Lighting Strategy back in December: the residential lighting market will undergo a massive transformation as long as programs and supporting standards continue to propel it towards efficiency. Energy efficiency programs are pulling consumers into more efficient purchases, namely CFLs and LEDs, while federal…

Thanks to Jake Marin (HVAC Program Manager) and Efficiency Vermont for contributing this especially relevant piece on burgeoning heat pump products. Heat pump technologies transfer heat much more efficiently than traditional methods and are quickly becoming a financially viable alternative.  As the name suggests, a heat pump transfers or “pumps” heat from one place to another. How does…

LEDs are steadily moving to the forefront of retail shelves as energy efficiency programs continue to financially support their widespread adoption. With the cheapest ENERGY STAR certified LEDs costing about $10 each, efficiency program rebates are necessary if prices are to come close to other alternatives. Strong signals, however, are indicating that the LED invasion is beginning to gain some…

Welcome to Highlights! December/January 2015 As 2014 draws to a close, we are witnessing an energy policy landscape of many changes, with more to unfold in 2015. The November elections delivered us new governors in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Maryland, and returned the legislature to Republican control in New Hampshire. There will be new public utility…

On December 5, Vermont finalized an update to its Residential and Commercial Building Energy Standards (RBES and CBES), thereby becoming the first state in the country to adopt* a building energy code based on the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (2015 IECC). The 2015 IECC is the newest and most efficient version of the IECC, a model code used by the vast majority of the country (…