Green Counsel

Spitzer Announces Major Energy Reduction Plan: 15% by 2015

New York's Governor Spitzer announced today a major plan to cut New York's energy consumption 15% from levels predicted by 2015 -- an energy reduction level that is reportedly more aggressive than any other state's plan to reduce global warming. Specifically, the plan will meet increased demand by implementing aggressive peak energy load reductions rather than by building new plants. Elements of the plan include:

1) More efficient buildings and appliances with new legislation setting standards for inefficient appliances.

2) State agency approval of 21 contracts for renewable energy power plants delivering 800 MW of electricity that will replace heavily polluting plants (expected to be completed by 2008).

3) Breaking the gridlock on passage of Article X, New York's power plant siting law, that will speed construction of clean plants.

4) Supporting long term contracts between developers of power plants and utilities, that hopefully will provide enough expected revenues for investors to support new plant construction.

5) New York Public Service Commission agrees to the concept of decoupling that will allow utilities to make money even when utilities impose energy conservation mechanisms.

Read more here.

New York to De-Couple Electricity Use from Utility Profits

Currently, energy utilities do not have incentive to reduce energy use because the more energy they sell, the more profits they make. One way to change the incentive is to "de-couple" a utility's profits from sales -- so they make more money by selling less.

Decoupling is currently rare, but according to a representative of the Spitzer administration, the New York Public Service Commission will make an historic announcement on decoupling next Wednesday.

For more information on decouping, see this NRDC article here.

Bringing Sustainable Energy Infrastructure to the Hudson Valley

Just received notice of this exciting panel in April 12 from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m in Harriman, New York.

A forum related to energy efficiency and renewable energy opportunities in the Hudson Valley. Topics include:

* Current status of energy efficiency and renewable energy infrastructure in the region
* Models of successful energy efficiency and renewable energy programs
* New Energy for Cities
* Funding Mechanisms/Strategies: Beyond SBC/RPS and RGGI: Tax Shifting, Carbon Tax vs. Cap
* Regional Planning to bring Sustainable Energy Infrastructure into Hudson Valley
* Next steps: Interactive roundtable discussion with panel of speakers

The roundtable is sponsored by the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Hudson Valley Labor Federation, Hudson Valley Regional Council, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 363, NY Planning Federation, NYS Apollo Alliance, Sustainable Hudson Valley, and many others.

For further information or to RSVP, please contact Katy Dunlap at (845) 454-7673 ext. 116 or katy at clearwater.org, or visit Clearwater website.

Australia to Ban Incandescent Bulbs

The BBC reported today that Australia would become the first country to ban incandescent bulbs with a complete phase out by 2010.

Since compact flourescents use only 20% of the electricity of traditional bulbs, the move could cut the Australia's greenhouse gas emissions by 4 million tons by 2012. According to Australia's environmental minister, if the whole world switched to compact flourescent bulbs today, we could reduce worldwide consumption of electricity by an amount equal to five times Australia's annual consumption.

There sure is elegance in mandatory actions.

Energy: The Greatest Challenge to the Human Condition in the 21st Century

Science Magazine devotes its entire February 9 issue (fee for download) to "Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-Being." The issue examines the need to move toward new sustainable sources of energy in the face of human-induced climate change, increasing worldwide energy demand, and dwindling supplies of fossil fuels. According to John P. Holdren, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the magazine's publisher, "[n]othing is more important to the human condition in the 21st century than rising to this set of challenges."

The website also features a free podcast on the issue.

Act Locally: Ten Steps Toward Sustainability -- Step 3: Incorporate LEED and Energy Efficiency Standards in Buildings

Buildings consume one third of energy and two thirds of electricity used in the United States. They are responsible for 35% of the country's CO2 emissions and 40% of raw materials consumed worldwide. "Green" buildings are blooming, however, because of new environmentally-friendly building materials, economic incentives and the financial savings of energy efficiency.

The U.S. Green Building Council has developed the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system for green buildings, and certifies buildings that integrate sustainability, energy and water efficiency, renewable resources and indoor environmental quality. Many municipalities have incorporated LEED standards into laws governing construction of public buildings. In 2005, New York City mandated LEED standards for nonresidential public buildings costing over $2 million, and for private projects receiving signficant public funding. Many localities offer benefits to builders who incorporate LEED into private projects, including tax credits (Maryland), higher zoning density allowances (Arlington County, VA), and reduced permit fees and fast-track permits (Gainesville, FL).

In 2002, the Town of Greenburgh, NY, passed a ground-breaking law requiring most new dwellings to meet Energy Star Labeled Home guidelines that typically use 30% less energy with improved thermal windows, tightly sealed ducts, and high efficiency heating and cooling equipment (HVAC).

Some Colorado communities have charged extra fees for energy-wasting homes. In Aspen, homeowners are charged special fees if their homes are over 5,000 sq. feet or if they exceed an "energy budget" allocated to their property. These fees funded more than $2 million in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects during the program's first two years.

See also:

Act Locally: Ten Steps Toward Sustainability:

What is Sustainability?
Step 1: Create a Sustainability Task Force
Step 2: Support Local Business

John Hall, Environmentalist, For Congress

John Hall --- of Orleans, "Dance with Me," and "Still the One" fame -- was just endorsed by the Sierra Club -- and has an excellent chance of beating incumbent Sue Kelly in the 19th Congressional District in New York, and helping the Democrats take back Congress. John has been a long time supporter of the environment and clean energy, and is the kind of representative the entire country needs if we are going to meet the energy and environmental challenges we face.

John needs money and support from people all around the country, and the best way to start is to visit his website. I highly recommend viewing his appearance on the Colbert Report last night here. John is very strong, Colbert is hilarious, and the segment includes several effective and funny stabs against the Indian Point Nuclear Plant, which is located within the 19th Congressional District.

Here's John's plan to solve our energy issues that includes a long term Apollo-like program based upon research and development, energy efficiency and renewables:

"Solving the Energy Crisis [FROM JOHNHALL.COM WEBSITE]

One of the most glaring failures of Congress and the Bush administration is in the lack of a coherent, forward looking energy policy. Instead of developing alternatives that put the United Stated in the position of marketing new technologies to the rest of the world, this oil-based cadre of government officials has given tax breaks and incentives to oil, coal and nuclear companies at a time when they are already making record profits.

I propose the following:

An Apollo-program or Marshall Plan equivalent commitment to conservation and alternative energy: solar, wind, hydroelectric, bio-diesel, geothermal, and old-fashioned efficiency.

Raise CAFE standards. If Toyota and Honda can produce a car that gets 60 miles to the gallon, don't tell me Detroit can't. Government must mandate what CEO's refuse to do in the public interest; high standards and incentives will move consumers and companies, especially if government at all levels favors efficiency in their fleet vehicle purchases.

Low-head hydroelectric sites, which number in the thousands in the Northeast alone, should be immediately utilized by installing turbines and indemnifying localities or private owners. Studies ranging from NSERDA in the 70's to the Idaho National Laboratory in 1998 show that untapped hydro sites in New York could make a significant dent in New York City's power demand. (>1200 megawatts - INL 1998) Massachusetts, according to a recent report, has more than four thousand low-head sites.

Bio-diesel runs Willie Nelson's bus and the Clearwater Festival's generators, yet it doesn't have the support from our tax dollars that fossil fuels have. Why? Let's pay American farmers to grow our fuel rather than funneling that money to Middle East oil potentates who fund terrorist organizations.
Ask everybody to be part of the effort. In order to maintain our independence from foreign suppliers and creditors, we should all be willing to conserve as much as possible. Grocery stores and convenience stores should put doors or at least plastic sheeting on cold food cases; subdivision rules banning clotheslines should be lifted; weather-stripping, insulation and storm windows should be provided by government for all older houses and apartment buildings where the owner can't afford them. Unnecessary lighting should be turned off, and the president and Congress should set an example for the rest of us. A kilowatt or barrel saved is the same as one earned.

A crash program to develop solar, and related technologies including hydrogen, should be our new national priority. As kilowatts are replaced by these new systems, our most polluting plants should be taken off line. We should also shut down and decommission our nuclear plants, starting with Indian Point and others that are sited in heavily populated areas where evacuation would be impossible.

The insurance underwriting and subsidies that have been granted for half a century to the nuclear industry should be canceled, and instead be extended to safe, sustainable, alternative energy projects. If we can put a man on the moon, if we can connect the whole planet via the Internet, surely we can kick our addiction to oil, coal and nuclear, energy sources that threaten our health and security."

Psst: Regulation Works and NYC Uses Least Water Since 1951

The NY Times reported today (B1) today that in the 12 Months ending June 30, New York City's water use declined 5.2% since 2002, 28% since 1979, and was the lowest since 1951.

Experts say that although the popularity of bottled water and the decline of manufacturing may have had a small effect, the primary reason is the product of government policy: requiring water-saving plumbing devices (newer toilets use 1.6 gallons instead of 5; and many washing machines use less than 20 gallons per load instead of more than 40, saving both water and heating costs); diligence in fixing leaks, and residential building metering (although many apartments don't have individual meters).

There is still much room for improvement, New York's daily per capita water consumption is 136 gallons, less than many cities but substantially more than San Francisco (97).

Good Thing The Village Idiot Left Town!

One of the most sensible energy proposals I've heard has just come out of Austin, Texas where a task force will study possible city code changes that would make all single family homes built by 2015 "Zero-Energy Capable Homes."

Homes would have to be so efficient that they would be "net-zero energy" with the addition of onsite energy generation, such as through photo-voltaics. This level of efficiency is 60% more efficient than homes build to code today. As Austin's Mayor Will Wynn stated, “The cleanest of all energy, of course, is the energy that doesn’t need to be produced."

Austin’s task force is to consist of stakeholders of the residential construction industry, including builders, architects, designers, contractors, affordable housing advocates, as well as energy efficiency and renewable energy advocates. The task force would develop strategies that will be piloted through Austin Energy’s nationally recognized Green Building Program -- cost effective strategies would be incorporated into the City’s Energy Code.

U.S. consumers could save hundreds of billions of dollars on their utility bills over the next 10 to 15 years through greater use of cost-effective energy efficiency. Mayor Wynn serves as chairman of the Energy Committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors -- maybe other cities will follow his lead.

For more information, see the press release here.

"Talking 'bout My (Distributed) Generation"

Several years ago, I attended a conference about renewable energy at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. The City Bar is a great granddaddy of a bar association -- housed in a beautiful but stodgy old building with many of its members hailing from the largest and oldest law firms in New York -- and I was pleased that the City Bar was so forward-thinking to have a conference on renewables.

The conference, however, was immediately disappointing; it was mostly about financing and siting issues relating to large wind projects, with almost nothing about solar, distributed generation or energy efficiency -- the things I was most interested in.

Upon reflection, the reasons were obvious. Clearly, large wind projects were moving forward and law firms wanted the legal work. But beyond that, why is large wind moving forward faster in the U.S. than other renewables? Is it solely that large wind technology is inherently better and more cost efficient than other renewables? Is it a quirk of nature that large wind is more efficient than solar? Or is something else going on?

Whatever technical advantages large wind may have, one major institutional factor favoring large wind is that it fits the model of traditional electricity generation. Although large wind has great environmental benefits, from an energy and economic perspective it is similar to coal, natural gas and nuclear. The power is generated in large facilities and transmitted through the electric grid to consumers. Large wind is financed, sited, developed, and implemented almost identically to how the energy business has been conducted for years by utilities, governments, lenders and lawyers.

By contrast, distributed generation -- where energy is produced at the point of use and every home and business can be an energy producer -- is revolutionary and threatening to those who benefit from the current infrastructure. For that reason (and others), it doesn't receive the same favor from governments as coal, natural gas and nuclear, and is resisted by utilities and other entrenched interests. This is one reason why, for example, utilities in the United States are almost universally against improved net metering laws (that allow locally generated electricity to be put back into the grid). Utilities claim there are "safety" issues, but there doesn't appear to be evidence of danger, and the real reason appears to be that distributed generation is threatening to utilities' income base and method of doing business.

The benefits of distributed generation are great: a more stable grid, more energy security, more efficiency, elimination of transmission costs and waste, and more possibilities for use of renewables such as solar and small wind. Fortunately, the institutional barriers against distributed generation can be largely overcome by good government policies and sufficient incentives to get the industry started, as evidenced by German and Japan. New Jersey and California have made signficant strides, and the province of Ontario just implemented a "Standard Offer Contract" (similar to feed-in tariffs in Germany).

All the states and the federal government need to implement similar programs so that the next City Bar program on renewables will focus on legal issues relating to distributed generation.