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EESI, GEA Announce Environmental Stewardship Award for Geothermal Industry
UPDATE: The deadline for nominations has been extended to July 1, 2011. The award will be presented at the National Geothermal Summit in Reno on August 17, 2011.
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Jared Blum Becomes EESI’s Board Chairman
Blum is the president and chief executive officer of the Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association (PIMA), a trade association for energy efficient insulation manufacturers and suppliers. During his tenure at PIMA, the organization has received two awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for climate and ozone protection. Blum has developed award-winning governmental affairs and technical educational programs, and has become a nationally recognized leader on such critical issues as energy efficiency, sustainable construction, and atmospheric environmental initiatives. He also is a member of the Board for the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) and the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC), and previously served as counsel to a Member of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission.
Partnership Launched to Help Rural Communities Cut Energy Bills, Create Jobs, and Curb Emissions
Washington, DC – A partnership announced today will implement an innovative program to finance energy efficiency improvements for rural homes with low-cost loans that are repaid through customers’ electric bills (aka “on-bill financing”). The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), a nonprofit policy education and outreach organization, will work with electric cooperatives in South Carolina to design and implement the pilot project for a “Rural Energy Savings Program” that will serve as a model for similar programs in other states, and a pending national program. The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina (ECSC), the state association of electric cooperatives, and Central Electric Power Cooperative, the state’s generation and transmission co-op, will be EESI’s lead partners in this effort. The collaboration between the co-ops and EESI to design and implement this pilot project is being supported by a $225,000 grant to EESI from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
EESI Testifies Before Congress on High Performance Buildings
Accounting for more than 40 percent of our energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, the building sector can either be our worst enemy or our best ally in the battle for a sustainable future. EESI believes there is a full spectrum of opportunities for the building industry to shrink its environmental impact and become stewards of the natural systems on which we all depend, while enhancing comfort, saving money, and achieving multiple goals through good design. Low-energy design strategies and technologies, use of renewable energy, water-efficient systems and environmentally preferable, nontoxic materials must become the benchmark for all building construction and renovation, and be maximized in retrofits. The federal government, which owns and operates nearly 500,000 facilities, has an opportunity and responsibility to lead by example, and this will allow the revolution in the buildings industry to truly get underway.
Plans are Done: Organizations Say It Is Time for Action to End Oil Dependence
“We are in a crisis. It is time to face it head-on with all the tools we have. Deployment plans by the National Academies of Science and by various private organizations show the way. The key remaining ingredient is a national will. The good news is that the U.S. can virtually eliminate use of petroleum in our passenger cars by 2050 with the right combination of policies, research and assistance to commercialize a portfolio of vehicle and fuel technologies. Efficiency, biofuels, natural gas, battery electric and fuel cell electric vehicles all will make a contribution,” they said.
Obama Administration Releases FY 2011 Budget: Broad Support for Clean Energy Measures
The President’s FY 11 budget request for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE/RE) programs is $2.36 billion (approximately eight percent of the total DOE budget), an increase of $113 million (five percent above the FY 10 appropriations). Nuclear Energy programs received an increase of $42 million (five percent above FY 10 appropriations) and Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability programs increased by $14 million (five percent above FY 10 appropriations). The budget request for fossil energy decreased by $191 million (20 percent below FY 10 appropriations), primarily through a $105 million cut (43 percent below FY 10 appropriations) in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) program was authorized in the America COMPETES Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-69), and is responsible for funding specific “high-risk, high-payoff, game-changing research and development projects to meet the nation’s long-term energy challenges.” The FY 11 budget includes a request of $300 million for this program, following its initial FY 09 funds of approximately $400 million.
DOE’s FY 2011 Budget Proposal Invests Heavily in Renewables, Efficiency, and Nuclear
USDA’s FY 2011 Budget Proposal Continues Commitment to Advanced Biofuels
Overall biomass energy funding levels (mandatory and discretionary) would increase a little more than five percent in FY 11 compared to the FY 10 regular appropriations. Bioenergy programs also have received a significant infusion of additional funds ($777 million) in FY 09 and FY 10 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, P.L. 111-5). In addition, significant additional federal mandates and incentives for bioenergy production are provided through the Renewable Fuel Standard and in the tax code (various biofuel and biopower producer tax credits, investment tax credits, and fuel blender tax credits).
DOT’s FY 2011 Budget Proposal Includes $4 Billion for New National Infrastructure Bank
Livability—the administration’s term for increased emphasis on how transportation shapes community development and can provide Americans more travel options—is evidenced in the proposed budget by more than $500 million in new funding, split between the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). A focus on livability is expected to have benefits for air quality, public health, energy savings, and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. The rest of the proposed budget, however, represents very little change in how these issues and public goals are addressed. A special fund to help reduce GHG emissions within FTA, in fact, saw a significant decrease from $75 million to $53 million. Though it is ultimately more important how these smaller funds leverage and influence larger capital expenditures, a substantial decline in resources for these efforts is inconsistent with the need for transportation to play a proportional role in meeting the nation’s GHG reduction goals.
EPA’s FY 2011 Budget Proposal Includes $43 Million to Address Climate Change
The President’s FY 11 budget request for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is $10 billion, a decrease of approximately $300 million (three percent decrease from FY 10 appropriations). EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson indicated that the slight cut in EPA funds for FY 11 are in response to the President’s call to streamline agency operations through targeted program investments. The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting Registry increased to $20.8 million, an increase of approximately $4 million, as EPA prepares to implement its GHG endangerment finding under the Clean Air Act. In addition, the President has requested $30 million in new funds to support developing and deploying the technical capacity to address GHGs, with $25 million of those funds in state grants. The popular Energy STAR program is slated to receive $55.5 million, an increase of $3 million from FY 10 appropriations.
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