By Natalie Hildt Treat |
The end of the legislative session brought cliff hangers for major energy efficiency bills in two states- one a stunning bipartisan rebuke of Maine's Governor LePage with passage of an omnibus energy bill. The other ending in mild disappointment as the clock ran out for Delaware to pass a bill that would finally create a sustained funding source for its energy efficiency programs.…
By Kevin Rose |
By next year, there could be a substantial increase in building energy efficiency for interested Vermont cities and towns.
In June, Vermont passed Act No. 89, which authorizes the adoption of a “stretch energy code” to be used for new residential buildings. The state is also considering adoption of a commercial stretch code and working with Efficiency Vermont and New Buildings Institute to…
By David Lis |
Following a long period of frustration for advocates of appliance energy efficiency standards, a series of recent activities at the federal level are cause for cautious optimism.
Over the past two years, efficiency advocates became discouraged by the regulatory logjam that had accumulated at the federal regulatory review agency, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). A backlog of…
By Danielle Wilson |
Update: EM&V Forum Cost-Effectiveness Guidance Project
While many states in our region are national leaders in energy efficiency, there is always room for improvement as efficiency policies are increasingly central to state’s overall policy goals.
Because cost-effectiveness is the public policy instrument that establishes boundaries for energy efficiency investments, the Regional…
By Fritzi Pieper |
The QPL is growing at a blistering pace!
LEXINGTON, MA, July 11, 2013 – The international commercial LED lighting qualification program, DesignLights Consortium® (DLC) marked its biggest milestone yet last month when it listed its 25,000th high efficiency lighting product on its Qualified Products List (QPL). The DLC QPL is a leading resource that distinguishes quality, high efficiency LED…
By John Otterbein |
A towering array of television sets at the ICA in Boston, MA (Barry McGee exhibit)
I was recently at the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston, MA where I was amazed to find a forty foot-tall stack of Tv's showing some of Barry McGee's finest work. This exhibit got me thinking about NEEP's opportunity for our own, virtual TV stack.
Grab a bag of popcorn, an overpriced candy bar, and…
By Josh Craft |
Josh Craft, Manager of Public Policy Analysis
The spring 2013 legislative sessions have once again breezed by! This Policy Tracker focuses on the recent developments in energy efficiency policy in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Good News, Bad News for Energy Efficiency Programs in the States
Revenue for energy efficiency programs is critical to achieving the energy savings goals…
By Fritzi Pieper |
Let us take you on a journey. A journey of commercial lighting developments through time, and into a bright and promising future. Don’t miss the 2013 DesignLights Consortium® (DLC) Stakeholder Meeting in Chicago (July 22-25), where a group of keynote panelists will be presenting exciting developments and prospects in the three main communities which make up DLC stakeholders: utility and energy…
By Josh Craft |
“The courage to act before it’s too late.” That’s how President Obama framed his address on Tuesday on climate change. Speaking to students at Georgetown University, the President asked for a new generation’s help to keep “the United States of America a leader in the fight against climate change.” The speech laid out a new climate change action plan that includes placing limits on the carbon…
By Allison Webster |
The benefits of building energy rating and disclosure far outweigh the negatives. Any opposition can almost be considered... well, you get the point...
It’s amazing how one report, when branded with one of the biggest names in academia (Harvard) and funded by a well-heeled special interest opposition group (the Greater Boston Real Estate Board), can cause so much misinformation to be spread…