connecticut

The previous two months were a good demonstration of the checks and balances embedded in state governments. There were three cases of back-and-forth vetoes between governors and their state legislatures, resulting in two energy efficiency “wins” and one “loss”. Let’s take a closer look at these cases.

COVID-19 is an unprecedented global pandemic that has impacted our lives in every imaginable way. Even as we adjust, adapt, and begin to reimagine what our future looks like, there is still a lot that is unknown. The energy efficiency and clean energy industry has been quick to respond to the pandemic with moratoriums on utility shutoffs , suspending on-site energy efficiency work, and virtualizing as many processes as possible.

During uncertain times like right now, it can be challenging to predict the future or feel comfortable in the unknown. This year started off with a lot of action around policies for energy efficiency and climate, but things have changed quickly in the last few weeks. In response to COVID-19, a lot of state houses have closed their doors and adjourned early.

NEEP is tracking state legislative sessions across the region and will provide updates as they come. The table below provides an overview of the current status of sessions.

My grandparents used to live in an 1821 Connecticut farmhouse. The property was beautiful – original wood floors and beams, nine acres of yard, a horse shed, big garden, small creek, and towering maple and oak trees. We always considered spending the holiday season there, but never did; mold, mildew, and rot that had grown throughout the structure triggered allergic reactions and severely limited our ability to stay overnight.

Fall is upon us, though with typical New England weather, we are in the midst of our first fall and second summer of the season. This is the time of year where we dress for fall in the morning and for summer in the afternoon. It can cause lots of planning challenges! We see some similar state policy activity where some states are wrapping up items from the summer and others are in full swing on new activities this fall. Let’s take a look at recent activity.

Connecticut

In my last blog, The State of Strategic Energy Management in the Northeast, I gave an overview of NEEP’s efforts to assist with the adoption of Strategic Energy Management (SEM) in the commercial, industrial and municipal sectors in the Northeast.

In December 2017, NEEP published a revised edition of the Model Progressive Building Energy Codes Policy paper, or as we like to call it, our “energy code bible”. The latest version – a new Building Energy Codes for a Carbon-Constrained Era: A Toolkit of Strategies and Examples paper is divided into two sections.

Welcome to the latest REED Rendering issue, a series of blogs where we bring your attention to interesting trends that we see in the data and the stories behind those trends.

We have figured out the puzzle pieces that need to come together to decarbonize our economy and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Renewable energy + deep energy efficiency + strategic electrification = the pathways to zero carbon.

On the menu for this Thanksgiving? A silver platter of midterm election results. Politics always comes up at the dinner table in my family, and I am sure the midterm election results will not be left behind this Thanksgiving. One of the subjects I am curious about is how the midterm election will impact energy and climate. Let’s take a look at what we know so far.