Commercial and industrial buildings consume half of the energy in the U.S. annually. Federal, state and local governments have made improved building energy efficiency a priority and it is being willingly adopted in the private sector through the Better Buildings Challenge. Overview In the past five years, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched…
Governor Cuomo’s 2014 State of the State agenda includes new clean energy and climate initiatives with a grid resiliency and distributed generation focus. In his State of the State (SOS) address on January 8, 2014, New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo reaffirmed his commitment to clean energy, proposing significant initiatives to address energy and…
EPA has issued final Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations to conditionally exclude carbon dioxide (CO2) streams in geologic sequestration activities from the definition of hazardous waste. On January 3, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final revisions for hazardous waste management under RCRA to conditionally exclude CO2 streams from the definition of…
On December 10, 2013, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray (D-WA) and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) proposed the 2013 Bipartisan Budget Act, a two-year budget agreement that would provide $63B in sequester relief and reduce the fiscal deficit by $20B to $23B. Overview Lawmakers now have several weeks to appropriate the budget…
A new Presidential Memorandum directs federal agencies to incorporate the Green Button energy management tool for secure access and transmission of energy consumption data. On December 5, 2013, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum on “Federal Leadership on Energy Management,” directing federal agencies to meet 20 percent of their electricity requirements from renewable sources by…
New set-top box efficiency standards are expected to save more than $1B on annual consumer energy bills. On December 23, 2013, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced non-regulatory efficiency standards to improve pay-television set-top box efficiency by 10 to 45 percent by 2017. The agreement, developed in coordination with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC),…
EIA’s latest Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) projects a 56 percent increase in natural gas production by 2040, overtaking coal as the largest share of U.S. electric power generation. On December 16, 2013, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released the AEO 2014 Early Release Overview presenting updated projections for U.S. energy markets through 2040. The AEO…
New York State has won the “Deal of the Year for Small Issuer Financing” award for its innovative residential energy efficiency financing through revenue bonds. On December 6, 2013, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Environmental Facilities Corp. (EFC) announced the award of “Deal of the Year for Small Issuer…
The DOE and HUD expanded the Better Buildings Challenge to include multifamily housing and launched Better Buildings Accelerators to support government-led energy efficiency efforts. On December 3, 2013, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the expansion of the Better Buildings Challenge to multifamily housing units. DOE…
In the previous three months, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has provided preliminary exclusion from federal regulations to 16 different hydropower projects, facilitating growth in renewable electricity generation and providing access for new hydroelectric markets. Overview President Obama signed the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013 (H.R. 267) in August 2013 to facilitate hydroelectric…
Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced an award of $4.8 million for innovative advanced technology projects reducing energy consumption in buildings throughout New York State. Today’s award of $4.8 million is the second of six rounds of funding released under New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Advanced Buildings Program. NYSERDA will provide $25…
The BLM has approved the majority of a 990-mile high-voltage transmission line in Wyoming and Idaho, facilitating a stronger Western grid with more renewable energy integration. On November 12, 2013, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced approval for eight segments of the proposed 10-segment Gateway West Transmission Line that could deliver up to 1,500…
