A Green Apple for the Teacher

By news accounts Barack Obama is all the rage on college campuses these days. But there is another less reported campus movement that could considerably boost the energy efficiency industry.

College students nationwide have mounted a serious campaign to clean up the nation’s energy supply. And they are starting in their own backyards – or rather dorm rooms. Nudged by these students, college administrations are installing co-generation, switching to more efficient lighting, and undertaking other initiatives to reduce energy use.

Students are not just organizing on their own college campuses, but are forming coalitions of several schools to improve their clout. One of the most interesting organizations is the Energy Action Coalition, comprised of 50 student groups.

Energy Action brings some fun to the otherwise staid energy industry. For example, on Valentine’s Day, group members in Michigan sent love notes to legislators to push a green energy agenda. Among other things, the students sought a 2% annual increase in energy efficiency through 2015.

Next the group plans to revamp the sometimes decadent spring-break-at-the-beach tradition. Energy Action is organizing trips to coal states where members will learn more about the industry, help in river clean-up and engage in some good-old fashion college fun – protests. In particular, they plan to take on planned coal-fired projects.

College administrators at several schools say that student action is influencing their energy decisions. Indeed, college presidents themselves are becoming a force in the climate change movement. About one-quarter of the nation’s colleges have signed on to the American College & University Presidents Cli­mate Commitment. The program requires that campuses create a plan to become carbon neutral within a specified time. Many are finding that efficiency is the cheapest and quickest way to reach the goal.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education has set up a rating system to judge college green achievements. This time it is the colleges who are being graded – and the students are watching just how well they will do.

Visit energy writer Elisa Wood at www.realenergywriters.com and pick up her free Energy Efficiency Markets newsletter.

Maryland & the electron-hungry mob

By Elisa Wood

Governments remain in power as long as the people have enough food, or so the old adage goes. But in today’s appliance-driven society, political longevity may depend as much on giving us our daily share of electrons.

So it is little surprise that government leaders in Maryland are looking hard for ways to ward off a possible power shortage. Without quick action, the state could face blackouts in three years. Thus, energy efficiency is a big topic of conversation.

Governor Martin O’Malley wants to reduce electric demand 15% by 2015 through efficiency measures, and state lawmakers appear ready to help out.

“If we are concerned about rising electricity rates, the increasing possibility of power brownouts and the growing threat to our climate from power plant emissions, then the solution we must embrace now is energy efficiency,” said Delegate Bill Bronrott at a Feb. 14 news conference in Annapolis with key state policymakers and representatives from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

Should this pro-efficiency sentiment hold, Maryland could become fertile territory for energy efficiency businesses. How fertile? An ACEEE report identified 22,000 GWh of potential energy savings, which could produce 12,000 new “green collar” jobs – about as many jobs as the state would gain by building 100 new manufacturing plants. These jobs account for $780 million in wages – enough to create a range of business opportunities for efficiency technologies.

The ACEEE recommends that Maryland enact an energy efficiency portfolio standard – an approach being eyed in many states. The standard would require a 1.8% annual reduction in Maryland’s energy use – not through consumer sacrifice, but through use of high performance technologies: efficient lighting, computers, air conditioners, factory motors and other equipment that needs less energy to achieve the same result as the energy guzzling models.

The program could rescue Maryland from its near bottom ranking (47) for energy efficiency spending among the states. To put that in perspective, Maryland spends $0.01 per capita on energy efficiency, while the top ten states spend about $10 per capita.

ACEEE’s proposal requires an upfront investment, but consumers eventually see substantial savings. For every $1 invested in energy efficiency, electric ratepayers will save $4, according to the report.

If this plan works, the electrons keep flowing, the population remains happy, and a few politicians just might save their jobs.

Elisa Wood is a writer who specializes in energy. Subscribe to her free Energy Efficiency Markets Newsletter by visiting www.realenergywriters.com

Energy efficiency: A bubble or a vacuum?

By Elisa Wood

No one much likes hearing their industry may be in a bubble. Bubbles burst and it hurts. We’re seeing that now in housing.

So it’s understandable that clean energy companies aren’t exactly happy that economist Eric Janszen (itulip.com) says their industry may experience the next bubble. Apparently, clean energy is exhibiting bubble-like symptoms: It is the talk of the town, attracts investors looking to make quick money, and enjoys strong government support.

But how about energy efficiency? Is it part of this clean energy bubble? I’d argue that it is not.

Demand for energy efficiency is real, not artificially stimulated by government. People are using more computers, air conditioners, energy hungry televisions, chargers and other such devices, thanks to our growing digital economy. These devices create the need for more power. The demand drives up electricity prices. Consumers want to keep using more electricity, and they don’t want to pay more for it. The market is demanding this product we call efficiency to drive down costs.

Consider a news release issued Feb. 13 by Con Edison, which says New York’s energy use has reached unprecedented levels. The utility’s customers used 62,591 gigawatt hours last year, up 23% in ten years.

What’s driving the increased use? Over the last five years, the number of home computers in Con Edison’s service area grew by 600,000; 77% of households now have a home computer. Another half million are projected to be connected in the next five years, says the utility.

Last summer, Con Edison’s customers used six million air conditioners to cool homes and offices; 90% of households now have air conditioning. The utility also sees a significant increase in energy use from flat screen TVs, which use three times as much power as traditional sets.

As prices for these items fall, it’s likely consumers will buy more of them, causing even greater demand for power, and putting more pressure on price. Even with fluctuations in the economy and increasing conservation efforts, Con Edison believes peak electricity use will increase by 10% over the next decade.

Part of the problem is that we have neglected energy efficiency for a long time. It wasn’t important to us in the last decade when electricity prices were low. Now the energy industry is trying to quickly make up for lost time by ramping up efficiency programs.

The efficiency sector is not bubbling; it is filling a vacuum created from years of neglect. At least that’s what I think. Anyone out there want to burst my bubble?

Visit energy writer Elisa Wood and pick up her free Energy Efficiency Markets Newsletter by visiting www.realenergywriters.com

Utilities: Friend or Foe of Energy Efficiency?

With oil prices so high, talk again has turned to making the U.S. more energy efficient. In the power industry, utilities have been typically charged with this mission. Or to more aptly describe it, they have gotten dragged, kicking and screaming, into helping their customers use less electricity.

You can’t blame them for resisting. An electric utility is a business that makes its money selling power. If too many customers dim the lights, utility profits fall.

But something odd is going on now. Lately, when government has ordered utilities to help customers use energy more wisely, they have been more than willing to comply. Some utilities are even volunteering before asked.

So what’s up?

All of a sudden, there is money to be made by cutting back on power use in many parts of the country. State governments are creating a range of market-based incentives to spur development of an energy efficiency market – largely as a way to reduce electricity rates and cut back on greenhouse gas emissions. The incentives come in many forms. But at their base is the idea that energy efficiency is a kind of virtual power plant. You can build a 100-MW power plant and earn money selling its power, or you can cut back on use by 100 MW and earn money through these incentive programs.

Utilities are taking advantage of these incentives. And in a lot of ways that’s a good thing. Utilities have the financial wherewithal to make sure a lot of highly efficient light bulbs make their way into homes and offices.

But there is a down side too. If a true energy efficiency market is to form, it needs lots of competitors to drive down costs and stimulate product innovation. Utilities are monopolies, and they tend to stamp out competition. Turf battles over efficiency are already brewing around the county. For example, in New Hampshire, Wal-mart recently found itself up against the local utility when it tried pursuing payments offered for energy reductions by New England’s grid operator. Wal-mart lost the fight. The utility made the store sign away its rights to the payments, and state regulators backed the utility.

Now say what you want about Wal-mart, but the company has figured out how to sell tube socks at an absurdly low price. If we discourage the Wal-marts of the world from competing in newly emerging energy efficiency markets – and let the old guard, the utilities, control the purses – are we ever going to get energy prices down?

Elisa Wood is a writer who specializes in energy. Read her articles and subscribe to her free Energy Efficiency Markets newsletter by visiting www.realenergywriters.com.