Energy Efficiency Means Business in Your District

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing to hear from a panel of experts about how energy efficiency programs create jobs and deliver direct meaningful savings to constituent homeowners, consumers, and businesses—all while reducing the stresses and strains on our energy system.

Special thanks to the offices of Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) for their support of this event.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

Molly Cripps, Director, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Office of Energy Programs

• The State Energy Program (SEP) and Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) are programs administered by the Department of Energy (DOE) that support state efforts to expand opportunities for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
• The SEP is a cost-sharing program that allows states to set priorities for how funds are used. States have used funds to prepare for energy emergencies, help small businesses and farms expand renewable energy use, and retrofit public buildings.
• SEP received $62.5 million (see the chart on pg. 55a) in federal appropriations for fiscal year 2020, which was an increase of $7.5 million over 2019 funding.
• passed the House in September 2019, and reauthorized the SEP at $90 million. A nearly identical bill (S.2094) was reported on by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in October 2019. Both bills received bipartisan support and require state energy offices to strengthen energy security measures.
• Although a few million dollars is a small amount in the larger appropriations process, even $100,000 can make a significant difference to a state energy office.
• In Tennessee, the state has used DOE funds to improve K-12 energy education and enhance state energy security.
• State energy offices collaborate to share effective programs and promising research in order to optimize federal funds. One major way they work together is through the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO).

 

Dr. Carl Zimmerman, Manager, Government Liaison, BASF Corporation

• Since BASF Corporation uses a significant amount of electricity and energy, it is investing in new energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
• BASF is a corporate sponsor of the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) Energy Innovation Summit, which provides an opportunity for collaboration among companies, universities, and national labs.
• Reauthorizing ARPA-E would allow its work reinforcing U.S. energy independence, competitiveness, and sustainability to continue.
• ARPA-E programs are designed to align with technology growth fields to ensure a focus on global needs.
• For renewable energy to be universally implemented, there must be transformational breakthroughs in energy storage.
• Most research and development is funded by businesses, which have an incentive to avoid risk by funding technologies that fit within existing systems. ARPA-E supports research into potentially transformational concepts that businesses would find too risky.
• DOE’s Building Technologies Office (BTO) has two programs that promote efficiency in the built environment:
  • The Building America Program promotes partnerships between scientists, builders, and researchers that allow participants to leverage funding and implement new building efficiency solutions.
  • The Building Energy Codes Program provides technical assistance to states and localities to promote energy efficiency through building codes.
• BTO’s goal is to reduce energy use for space conditioning and water heating in single-family homes by 40 percent from 2010 levels by 2025.

 

Jay Murdoch, Director, Industry Affairs, Owens Corning

• Owens Corning is one of the largest industrial users of renewable energy in the world.
• BTO has many programs aimed at research, development, and implementation of technologies to increase energy efficiency:
  • The Emerging Technologies program uses public-private partnerships to facilitate market adaptation of new technology.
  • The Building America Program helps facilitate market adoption of new building efficiency technologies.
  • The voluntary Zero Energy Ready Homes Program helps developers build houses that are optimized for energy efficiency and ready for renewable energy generation to be added.
• Code awareness, education, and training through state energy programs helps reduce the brain drain caused by the Great Recession; builds capacity for city and county building departments; helps level the playing field on product claims; can reduce the cost of code compliance; and can reduce calls back, re-inspections, and warranty issues.
• Bringing actual building practices up to the standards of existing codes should be a higher priority than passing stricter codes, since many buildings do not meet current code minimums.
• The Weatherization Assistance Program has a high return on investment, gives funds directly to local and community groups, helps workers develop skills, and fosters public-private partnerships between cities and contractors.
• Building codes are inconsistent across the nation. This fragmentation, rather than the building codes themselves, acts as a drag on the U.S. economy.

 

Christopher Hess, Vice President of Public Affairs, Eaton

• Eaton is moving to fully electrify its business, and that is the direction the power industry is taking.
• Energy and safety codes are beneficial, and increase competitiveness, efficiency, and safety.
• There is currently a convergence in regulations, policy, and research and development that is providing an opportunity for renewable energy and energy efficiency to spread.
• The Grid Modernization Lab Consortium, run by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), invests in research and development projects that improve energy efficiency and create jobs.
• Eaton collaborates with DOE, which helps facilitate connections between private industry, universities, and national labs that would not otherwise exist.
• Industry collaborations with the Department of Defense are helping to find solutions for vehicle electrification challenges that will be used in commercial and military applications.
• Investors should focus on getting products to the market, not just on early stages of developing new technologies.

 

Questions and Answers

 

• Are there difficulties in finding skilled employees for jobs in energy efficiency, and what could Congress do about workforce development?
  • Hess: The energy efficiency sector has a big workforce shortage, with many open positions that companies cannot fill. Eaton is working with community colleges to train workers, but it is important to fund focused workforce training initiatives through appropriations and programmatic funding.
  • Murdoch: There is a need for workforce development to train workers to transition to filling different roles.
  • Zimmerman: Training veterans to fill new positions is a big area of opportunity.
  • Cripps: State energy offices currently lack programs to help people transition from servicing combustion engines to servicing electric vehicles. There will likely be an increase in training programs like these in the future.

 

• What are the current trends in building codes for retrofits? What is happening on the state and local levels regarding homebuilder opposition to expanding codes?
  • Murdoch: There is not much currently in the codes, and people typically do retrofits without even looking at the codes. Homebuilders’ associations have a lot of grassroots power in many states, and those states’ legislators see strengthening codes as politically disadvantageous. If codes can’t be changed, creating voluntary codes with incentives for compliance would be the next best thing.

 

• Why should the average American care about federal investments in energy efficiency research?
  • Zimmerman: Developments in energy efficiency help save people money on their energy bills, and DOE programs help make efficiency gains more affordable for the average American.
  • Cripps: These programs provide benefits to health and quality of life as well as energy efficiency savings. Increased productivity from missing less work or school due to illness may also lessen the burden on other federal assistance programs.