BUILD UPON Launches to Reduce EU Building Emissions

Valerie Eacret, ERS, for Zondits March 9, 2016. Image credit: epicantus The BUILD UPON project supports European government, industry, and civil society in delivering plans to renovate each European Union nation’s existing buildings to improve their energy efficiency, as required by law by April 2017. It will bring more than 1,000 organizations through 80 events that … Read more

Wisconsin’s Energy Efficiency Programs Under Fire

Bill would cut funding for Wisconsin energy efficiency program Midwest Energy News, March 4, 2016. Image credit: Hans Wisconsin’s ratepayer-supported energy efficiency program could see a reduction in funding under a pending proposal in the state legislature. The bill, AB804, would cut about $7 million a year from the state’s Focus on Energy program. It was … Read more

New Yorkers Saving More than Energy With Efficiency

New Yorkers Metered New York

Dip in Energy Prices Plus Energy Efficiency = Savings Hudson Valley News Network, March 8, 2016. Image credit: Unsplash According to a news release from Con Edison, all New Yorkers got the benefit of declining energy prices in 2015, but 28,300 Con Edison customers found an additional way to save money: they got rebates from the … Read more

DOE Issues a Power Supply Standard to Conquer Vampire Electronics

power supply

DOE’s New Power Supply Standards Are a Big Win for Consumers and the Environment Appliance Standards Awareness Project, February 3, 2016. Image credit: Mike Lee Thanks to a new national standard announced today by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), power adapters–the sometimes bulky and annoying boxes on the power cords of your electronic gadgets–will waste … Read more

Maine Energy Efficiency Program Cuts May Impact Hospitals

hospitals

Hospitals speak out against energy efficiency cuts WKBZ, February 17, 2016. Image credit: geralt Representatives from some of Eastern Maine’s hospitals say they don’t want the state legislature to take away money given to them from a regional energy efficiency program. They, along with the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) say investing that money in … Read more

Energy and the 2016 Presidential Candidates

presidential candidates

February 17, 2016. Image credit: PBS Energy is the link that connects every U.S. citizen to the buildings, infrastructure, and means of transportation throughout the country. Energy policies have the power to impact both domestic and international economies. As the presidential race heats up, Zondits examines the energy policies and stances of the leading presidential … Read more

New Supreme Court Appointee May Decide the Fate of the Clean Power Plan

supreme court

Lisa Markowski for Zondits, February 16, 2016. Image credit: Mark Fischer (modified) Just four days before the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the SCOTUS voted 5-4 to put the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) on hold. The ruling will allow time for the lawsuits filed by twenty-seven states opposing the CPP to be … Read more

27 States Sue Clean Power Plan

clean power plan

Max Twogood for Zondits, February 16, 2016 The Clean Power Plan (CPP) is a series of regulations that form the basis for President Barack Obama’s policy to slow down climate change by increasing renewable energy and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Twenty-seven states along with Murray Energy – the country’s largest coal mining company – have … Read more

Methodologies to Improve Commercial Building Code Compliance

building code

Presented at the AESP 26th National Conference on February 3, 2016 Ari Michelson, Brian McCowan, Frances Chase, ERS Building energy codes in the U.S. have come a long way in the past three decades, increasing in complexity along the way. This is especially true for the commercial building sector, where codes have rapidly transitioned from … Read more

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Demand Response

Supreme Court FERC 745

Jesse Remillard for Zondits, February 4, 2016. Image credit: Mark Fischer On January 25, 2016, The Supreme Court ruled in favor of an appeal by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to uphold FERC Order 745, which requires wholesale market operators to pay the same price for demand reduction as for electricity supply during periods of … Read more