Federal Court Tosses Obama-Era Ruling on Hydrofluorocarbons Used in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Environmental Leader, August 9, 2017 A federal court handed climate change advocates a narrow loss on Tuesday when it tossed an Obama-era ruling to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used in refrigeration and air conditioning. The US Court of Appeals for the District … Read more
Congress Is Still Fighting Over Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs Bloomberg Politics, July 27, 2017 Congressional Republicans renewed their effort to save the traditional light bulb, passing a measure to block federal energy standards that have come to symbolize government overreach for many consumers but are largely embraced by manufacturers as the cost of the newer bulbs … Read more
Key Japan CO2 regulation lifted r744.com, July 18, 2017 The High Pressure Safety Institute of Japan (KHK) has re-classified CO2 under Japan’s High Pressure Gas Safety Act, opening the door for larger capacity CO2 systems to enter the Japanese market. On 14 July, the High Pressure Safety Institute of Japan (KHK) announced that, beginning 25 July, CO2 would be … Read more
Lucy Neiman, ERS, for Zondits The International Energy Program Evaluation Conference (IEPEC) will be held August 7‒10 in Baltimore, MD, with presentations and workshops focusing on the topic “Making Ambitious Reductions Real: Accurate and Actionable Evaluation.” On Thursday, August 10, Amaury De La Cruz of Con Edison and Lucy Neiman of ERS will present a … Read more
Ari Michelson, ERS, for Zondits In June 2017 the Clean Energy for Agriculture Task Force (CEATF), formed initially by Governor Andrew Cuomo, published a strategic plan for agriculture in New York State. The CEATF is co-managed by NYSERDA and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and is an assembly of farmers, agricultural … Read more
Natural gas efficiency has shown impressive advances, and the future looks promising American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, July 19, 2017 The majority of studies on utility-funded energy efficiency programs focus on electricity; natural gas traditionally receives much less attention. To help rectify this imbalance, today we are releasing a new report, Natural Gas Energy Efficiency: … Read more
Ontario’s new energy-efficiency rules could save homeowners money in long run The Globe and Mail, July 20, 2017 When Ian Roland and Linda Rothstein, who are partners in both law and marriage, decided to extensively renovate their home three years ago, they made green design a key priority, and not just because they wanted, as … Read more
A two-step approach to get commercial customers to act on energy efficiency Utility Dive, July 18, 2017 Many utilities struggle to engage their customers, especially hard-to-reach markets such as commercial real estate (CRE) customers. It’s not unusual, but why is this the case? Doesn’t it make sense to just implement energy efficiency measures when they … Read more
Industrial Energy Efficiency Can Improve Air Quality The Energy Collective, July 19, 2017 Despite the Chinese government’s extensive efforts to improve air quality per the State Council’s “Ten Measures” Action Plan and implementation of regional air quality control measures, air pollution recently worsened in the Jing-Jin-Ji region (Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei). After months of consecutive improvement last … Read more
New York PSC extends Con Edison BQDM program The New York PSC yesterday extended and expanded Consolidated Edison’s Brooklyn Queens Demand Management (BQDM) program. The program saved ratepayers millions of dollars by cutting future energy demands while delaying or even eliminating the need for new infrastructure in the future. “BQDM is one of the best … Read more