By Samantha Bresler |
The products that we use every day (Appliances, Electronics, Lighting, etc.) may sound mundane and not at all dangerous, but when accumulated, their electrical consumption contributes to climatic and environmental damage. One of those products that continues to draw large quantities of power is the home’s hot water heater. Up until recently we had no alternative – no opportunity to realize…
By David Lis |
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the completion of two significant rulemakings that establish strong new minimum efficiency standards for electric motors and walk-in coolers and freezers. The two new standards will significantly reduce energy waste, save money and cut pollution. These and other product categories for which DOE has proposed standards mark an…
By Natalie Hildt Treat |
You can practically hear the hand-wringing. New England is increasingly dependent on natural gas for electricity generation, and in a long cold winter such as we’ve just experienced, heating need puts a squeeze on this energy feedstock, causing wholesale prices to skyrocket.
“But I thought all this shale gas is cheap?” you say? Well, energy intensity, environmental and public health impacts of…
By Josh Craft |
Spring has brought forth a rush of activity on energy efficiency and energy policy in states in the NEEP region. Below is an overview of a major proceeding in New York, a roundup of state legislative and regulatory activity, and a new report on the cost of energy efficiency programs.
New York Energy the Future of Utilities, Distributed Resources
New York State has opened a major proceeding on…
By Kevin Rose |
NE-CHPS Releases Version 3.0
On April 8, in conjunction with national healthy schools day, NEEP released the latest update to the Northeast Collaborative for High Performance Schools (NE-CHPS)’s construction and renovation criteria, NE-CHPS 3.0. The updated criteria now covers subjects like crime prevention through environmental design, electric vehicle integration, the zero energy policy…
By Danielle Wilson |
Join NEEP on Monday, June 2 in Newport as we gather a mix of policymakers, program administrators, system planners, federal agencies, and EM&V practitioners for a pre-Summit workshop on the evolving evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&V) world.
With all the buzz around streamlining EM&V as the efficiency resource grows — through developments such as use of national EM…
By Carolyn Goldthwaite |
Claiborne Pell Elementary School, Newport RI
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Along with being a trite yearbook quote, this phrase also describes the impetus behind NEEP’s workshop on the path to zero net energy buildings — buildings that generate as much energy as they consume annually. While we currently have the technology and knowledge to design and build these hyper-…
By Birud Jhaveri |
Birud Jhaveri, Deputy Commissioner of Energy Policy & Assurance, Mass. Department of Energy
This past winter, in my position at DOER, I watched wholesale gas and electricity prices spike to alarming levels. Demand was immense, and we at DOER worked closely with generators to ensure they had enough fuel to keep the lights on. New England faces a real challenge in…
By Samantha Bresler |
April 29, 2014 was our night. This was the Oscars, the Grammys, and the Super Bowl for the Energy Efficiency industry. The ENERGY STAR Awards Ceremony was a tour-de-force event and it seemed like everyone was there. The cheerful mingling, clinking china, and upbeat presentations made one wonder if the animated scenes from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby were inspiration for the…
By Josh Craft |
Energy efficiency policy work doesn’t always make for great conversation at dinner parties. Energy efficiency represents energy and money not wasted, so it’s less tangible than new solar panels or a natural gas well. And much of NEEP’s work is behind the scenes, spread across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states in regulatory proceedings that can be hard to follow, on topics that may not, on…