The entire lighting industry, commercial and residential, is facing a cross-road. Ahead down the road are many opportunities that come with the explosion of technological advancements such as Solid State Lighting, but along the way to market transformation, one can also see significant challenges that could slow the momentum.

Currently efficiency programs in the region are facing significant challenges with their residential portfolios because the perceptions of high market penetration and the belief that many customers would change their bulbs with or without efficiency program incentives, are leading to low savings figures. For example, the 45 watts of savings that is generated from switching a 60-watt incandescent bulb to a 15-watt CFL is in some states discounted to only 10 watts of savings credited to the efficiency program to account for estimated "free riders" who would buy the CFL without the program rebate. Why bother if in fact so many people would change their bulbs without incentives? Indeed, in some jurisdictions mandates are being handed down to cease all incentive program activity related to typical CFLs.

Another challenge that the entire lighting industry is facing is a result of the new standards of the bipartisan Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) which will be coming into effect nationally beginning in 2012. With these standards in place, common light bulbs will be required to be about 25% more energy efficient.

While consumers will have a wide range of light bulb options when this minimum efficiency standard takes effect, opponents have raised concerns that consumers will have limited options. Fortunately, the House of Representatives voted on July 12 to reject a proposed repeal of this first-ever minimum efficiency standard for common light bulbs. However, remaining misinformation and public misunderstanding need to be addressed.

It is clear that these dynamics are now or will soon have significant impact on efficiency program budgets, portfolio-wide cost-effectiveness and cost per kW and kWh saved metrics. It is also likely that the dynamics will affect the types of program designs and relationships maintained by efficiency programs and the regulatory policies governing them.

Facing these challenges, it is important for the Northeast to have a robust assessment of the status of the market, regionally as well as in relation to other regions and nationally. It is necessary so that a prudent and feasible strategy can be developed that enables the goals of both the program and policy communities to be achieved.

Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) works extensively to bridge obstacles along the road to lighting market transformation. Our Market Strategies team is tackling the issues we as an industry face from both the residential and commercial angle and gathering thought leaders from around the country to help shape the future of lighting.

Our Residential Team has launched a comprehensive regional working group to undertake the development of a regional strategy that will retrospectively assess progress in transforming all aspects of the residential lighting market by examining market share and saturation of CFLs, CFL-based fixtures and other efficient technologies intended to displace traditional incandescent lighting and then prospectively establish strategic regional direction to guide efficiency programs and related public policies for the next several years.

While our Commercial Team have been very busy managing the upsurge of the DesignLights Consortium Qualified Products List (QPL), a resource for program administrators to help them decide which solid state lighting products to include in their energy efficiency promotions.

At our recent Summit in June both teams presented day long workshops on lighting for packed audiences. Please revisit our website soon for wraps of the workshops and copies of the presentations.

The future of lighting is exciting, but our industry needs to be prepared for handling this accelerated market transformation. Together we can continue to make the Northeast a leader in energy efficiency.

For further perspectives on the changing lighting industry, read a guest blog post by Rick Bain, Director of Business Development for CREE, a NEEP Partner, here.

Since 2009, states in the Northeast region have been promoting clean energy and curbing global warming pollution through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to promote clean energy and to reduce global warming pollution. But recently the program has come under attack by anti-government activists. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced his state would leave the program at the end of this year because it is ineffective and an unfair tax on ratepayers.

The reality is that RGGI has been a modest success story for consumers and the environment. RGGI Inc., the non-profit that administers the 10-state carbon auction, found the program has generated over $400 million in funding for efficiency programs in the Northeast. These investments save customers $3-4 for each dollar invested.

This graph (from Commonwealth Magazine) illustrates how much RGGI has generated for clean energy programs:

Numbers alone do not show how important RGGI has been to ramping up energy efficiency programs. Connecticut and Rhode Island are using their RGGI proceeds to expand their utility-run energy efficiency programs. Maine is providing grants to industry for large scale efficiency projects. Massachusetts is helping municipalities through its Green Communities Program, while New York and Vermont have undertaken community-scale energy efficiency outreach programs.

Because of RGGI's role in making the Northeast a leader in energy efficiency, NEEP is working with our fellow clean energy advocates to keep the program in place. Most recently we worked successfully to stop efforts to repeal the program in Maine and New Hampshire. (Click the links for our written testimony). We look forward to continuing these efforts where they are needed in the coming year.

For more information about NEEP's work supporting RGGI, contact Josh Craft.

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First Regional Energy-Saving Standards for Furnaces is Boon for Northeast Economy & Communities

NEEP is proud to be a part of a diverse coalition of consumer, manufacturing, and environmental groups, celebrating new energy efficiency standards released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) establishing the first-ever regional standards for oil and gas furnaces and air conditioners, as well as strengthening national standards for heat pumps. The new rules are based on a joint recommendation filed with DOE by the groups in 2009.

"The new gas furnace standard in the northern region will significantly improve the energy efficiency of all gas furnaces by recapturing heat that now literally goes up in smoke, up the chimney," says Dave Lis, Appliance Efficiency Standards Program Manager for NEEP. "This development means significant energy savings and dollar savings to consumers."

Once the latest updated standards take effect, a typical new gas furnace in the Northeast will use about 20% less than before national standards were established in the late 1980s. The new furnace standards will save 31 billion therms of natural gas, or about enough natural gas over 32 years to heat all the homes in New York State for more than 11 years and save consumers $14.5 billion. DOE posted the rule at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/residential/residential_furnaces_cac_hp_direct_final_rule.html.

"The successful passing of this ruling is a result of the collaborative nature of organizations from different industries across the country all working toward the one goal of accelerating energy efficiency in HVAC appliances," said Sue Coakley, Executive Director of NEEP. "This ruling demonstrates the growing demand for federal energy efficiency standards and their direct link in supporting a vibrant economy and a healthy environment."

The signatories to the joint agreement on which the standards are based are: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Alliance to Save Energy, the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP), Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), California Energy Commission (CEC), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), Northwest Power and Conservation Council (NW Council), and more than a dozen individual furnace and air conditioner manufacturers. Others on record in support of the new standards include consumer groups such as the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) and Consumer Federation of America (CFA), gas and electric utilities such as National Grid and Avista Corporation and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.

The new furnace standards will apply beginning in May 2013 and the new air conditioner and heat pumps standards in January 2015. The original national furnace standards took effect in 1992 and today's rule is the first update. Initial national standards for air conditioners and heat pumps took effect in 1992, and a previous DOE update became effective in 2006.

For more information visit NEEP's Appliance Efficiency Standards, contact David Lis.

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On June 7 & 8 NEEP hosted the sixth annual Northeast Energy Efficiency Summit in Warwick, RI. In spite of record highs outside, people came from across the region and the country to bring their collective knowledge and expertise to discussions about how to make efficiency matter. Tuesday saw two workshops - the first, DesignLights™ Consortium: Maximizing the Value of the Solid State Lighting Qualified Products List, provided insight into the current state of the DLC's Qualified Products List and inspired lively conversation about the role it serves and how it will evolve in the future. Workshop attendees also looked at the overall future of solid state lighting and its place in the commercial market. The 2011 Northeast Residential Lighting Workshop: Strategies and Solutions for Achieving Savings brought together stakeholders from across the industry to look at the future of residential lighting strategies in the Northeast and brainstorm ways to educate consumers about the importance of high efficiency lighting. Some high level insights that came out of the workshop include the importance of providing consistent and clear messaging to consumers as well the ever-present need to coordinate stakeholders. Tuesday also gave Summit attendees the opportunity to visit the Nathan Bishop Middle School in Providence - Nathan Bishop is a High Performance Green School and operates 40% more efficiently than the energy code specifie. Members of NEEP's Buildings team, Joe DaSilva from the RI Department of Education and staff members at Nathan Bishop gave participants an overview of the school's transformation and gave a tour highlighting the various efficiency measures utilized throughout the school.

NEEP also hosted a meeting of our sponsors to discuss strategies to use the TopTen USA list of the most efficient products available in the US to increase program energy savings and lower consumer energy bills. Staff from Sears' Green Leadership attended the meeting to offer their ideas and support to co-promote TopTen USA listed products with NEEP sponsors.

A lot of food for thought was packed into Wednesday's main Summit starting with welcome messages from Summit Co-Chairs, Jim Madej of National Grid and Paul Roberti of the Rhode Island Public Utility Commission; Elia Germani, Chairman of the RI Public Utility Commission; and a video message from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. NEEP's Executive Director, Sue Coakley, reflected back on NEEP's accomplishments over the past 15 years and lauded the Northeast for all that's been done to establish the region as a national leader in energy efficiency. The morning panel, Messaging Efficiency to Consumers in the Northeast, brought together professionals working both regionally and nationally on the topic of making efficiency matter to consumers. Moderated by Jim Madej (National Grid, panelists included Tim Volk (Keliher Samets Volk), Ran Nussbacher (OPOWER), John Williams (NYSERDA) and Marion Gold (University of Rhode Island) - everyone agreed that there is immense competition for the general public's attention (the average person engages with their energy usage for about 6 minutes per year) and that clear, consistent messaging that come from trusted sources about energy usage and efficiency measures directed to varied consumer groups is the most effective way to transform markets.

Over lunch, Kathleen Hogan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency at the U.S. Department of Energy, gave an informative overview of what is taking place on the national stage with respect to advancing efficiency programs and policies - she reiterated the Obama administration's support for these programs as drivers of economic development and job growth. The afternoon panel, Financing Efficiency in the Northeast, tackled the challenge of securing private capital for efficiency projects in both the residential and commercial sectors. Steve Cowell (Conservation Services Group) led a lively exchange between Betsy Harper (Vermont Energy Investment Corporation), Birud Jhaveri (NSTAR Electric & Gas) and Dick Jones (Boston Community Capital) where discussion centered around the need to present clear data in a ‘language' that financial institutions understand in order for them to value efficiency and provide funding at rates that are viable and affordable. Tom Hicks, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, wrapped up the day with an engaging discussion about what the Navy is doing to improve efficiency and reduce its immense energy costs across its ranks - from building design to vehicle fuel efficiency to fleet design, the Navy is committed to efficiency as a strategy for decreasing America's dependence on foreign fuel, a matter of national security.

Interspersed throughout the day was presentation of the video case studies for the 2011 Northeast Business Leaders for Energy Efficiency. The diversity of this year's awardees - from the airline industry to commercial developers to educational institutions and various manufacturing interests - show that efficiency measures can be deployed across myriad industries with positive effects on the environment, the community and the bottom line. Check out this year's videos on NEEP's website!  The Summit also featured an array of exhibits featuring the latest in energy efficiency technology. From high efficiency lighting to advanced power strips to energy tracking technologies, the exhibitors at the Summit showcase the best of the best when it comes to efficient technologies and services. Thanks to all of the 2011 Northeast Energy Efficiency Summit Sponsors for another great year!

For more information about NEEP's Northeast Energy Efficiency Summit, contact Alicia Dunn.

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NEEP is very pleased to honor 12 outstanding businesses from around the region as Northeast Business Leaders for Energy Efficiency. Together, these organizations have achieved a cumulative annual cost savings of over $3.3 million by investing in energy efficiency measures.

In its 6th year, the Business Leaders program highlights how the significant savings that these organizations have achieved impact the region on a much larger scale. The more energy we save the more we keep energy costs down across the region.

The Business Leaders program demonstrates the phenomenal benefits of energy efficiency to an organization's bottom line and shows the value of collaborating with energy efficiency programs to achieve those benefits. Through the Business Leaders program we also aim to illustrate to policy makers and other businesses the important role of energy efficiency in reaching economic and environmental goals for the Northeast.

This year's Business Leaders span the entire Northeast and include manufacturers, retailers, educators, and other regional and global businesses. For a full list of companies being honored, visit our website.

For more information about our Business Leaders Program, contact Carrie Nash.

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