Policy

Legal Loophole Denies Consumers Energy Savings

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Lighting standards loophole jeopardizes energy and cost savings for fluorescent tubes Written by Chris Granada, appliance-standards.org, March 23, 2018 A legal loophole has already denied American consumers expected energy savings from efficiency standards on fluorescent tubes. Unless it is closed, this loophole threatens additional missed savings, particularly for households and small businesses. General service fluorescent … Read more

Clean Energy Programs, as Explained by Baseball

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baseball stands bleachers stadium

Clean Energy Programs, as Explained by Baseball Written by Allison Donnelly, ERS for Zondits, March 28, 2018 Suppose you wanted to improve how your community or customers use energy. A common way to do that is to create a program that offers incentives to decrease the cost of buying a more expensive – but better … Read more

Iowa House Commerce Committee Passes Bill Limiting Energy Efficiency

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iowa capitol legislature

Anti-EE Bill Advances in Iowa Legislature Written by Leah Scull, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, March 21, 2018 Last week the Iowa House Commerce Committee passed Senate File 2311, a bill that will significantly alter the way utilities drive customer energy savings programs in Iowa. The bill has already passed the Senate and is now eligible to go … Read more

Cryptocurrency Miners will be Charged Higher Power Rates In New York

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Munis to charge cryptocurrency miners higher power prices in New York Written by Robert Walton, Utility Dive, March 16, 218 Dive Brief: New York regulators will allow municipal power providers to charge higher rates to high-load cryptocurrency mining operations, which are using large amounts of power and driving up prices for other customers. In upstate New York, … Read more

Pay for Performance Incentives Using Performance-Based Rebates

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pay for performance focusing energy efficiency market

The Pay for Performance Solution Valerie Eacret, ERS, presented at Rocky Mountain Utility Efficiency Exchange on September 28, 2017 Custom-calculated efficiency rebate programs can create savings uncertainty for energy efficiency program administrators. Because rebates are typically paid based on first-year annual savings, awarded incentives for these projects may be based on greatly over- or underestimated … Read more

Massachusetts Attorney General Testifies Before Department of Environmental Protection

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AG Healey Calls for State Plan on Electric Vehicles and New Clean Energy Goals Testifies Before Department of Environmental Protection on Use of $75 Million in Volkswagen Settlement Funds Office of Attorney General Maura Healey, February 15, 2018 BOSTON — Today, Attorney General Maura Healey called for a comprehensive statewide plan for electric vehicles and new, ambitious goals … Read more

Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission Approves Energy Regulations

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indoor agricultural market cannabis

Massachusetts approves energy regulations for cannabis cultivation. What are the implications? Written by Sam Milton, Climate Resources Group, March 1, 2018 In its final day of deliberations after a wide-ranging nearly 6-month regulation-development process, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) just raised the bar on cannabis cultivation in the state. In short, the Commission agreed to include all … Read more

Money Proves an Obstacle in Restoring Energy Efficiency Projects

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Money economy economics

Lawmakers Want To Restore Energy Efficiency Funds, But Don’t Know Where To Find The Money Hartford Courant, February 13, 2018 Connecticut energy contractors and a bipartisan group of lawmakers called Tuesday for restoration of $175 million in state energy efficiency program funding that was taken by the General Assembly to help solve a massive budget deficit. But the same … Read more

A Nonprofit Out of Chicago Helps Low Income Families Lower Energy Bills

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nonprofit

This nonprofit has helped make 20,000 apartments more energy efficient Yale Climate Connections, January 1, 2018 Improving energy efficiency not only helps prevent global warming pollution. It can lower utility bills, and provide much-needed savings for low income people. Elevate Energy is a Chicago-based nonprofit that helps make affordable housing developments more energy efficient. The … Read more

New Energy Storage Safety Standards Set to Move Forward

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Energy Storage Safety Standards

Gita Subramony, ERS, for Zondits Energy storage has been a trending technology in recent years. With prices for lithium-ion batteries rapidly decreasing, energy storage solutions are poised to move forward rapidly. Storage applications in urban environments such as New York City have been garnering attention, although safety, permitting, and siting have been barriers to implementation. … Read more