ASERTTI News
2008 Presidential
Candidate Energy Plans
With global climate change and U.S. dependence on
foreign oil on the forefront of current issues
affecting our nation and the upcoming election, the
energy plans presented by both the democratic and
republican candidates present thoughtful approaches
to resolving our current dependence on fossil fuels.
John McCain, through his Lexington Project,
proposes that he will lead America to strategic
energy independence through the implementation of
his comprehensive and integrated energy strategy,
including:
- $5,000 tax credit for each and every
customer who buys a zero carbon emission car,
encouraging automakers to be first on the market
with these cars in order to capitalize on the
consumer incentives.
- $300 million prize to improve battery
technology for full commercial development of
plug-in hybrid and fully electric automobiles.
- Commit $2 billion annually to advancing
clean coal technologies.
- Construct 45 new nuclear power plants by
2030 with the ultimate goal of eventually
constructing 100 new plants.
- A permanent tax credit equal to 10 percent
of wages spent on R&D.
- Encourage the market for alternative, low
carbon fuels such as wind, hydro and solar
power.
- A cap-and-trade system that would set limits
on greenhouse gas emissions while encouraging
the development of low-cost compliance options.
Barrack Obama proposes that his comprehensive
plan to combat global warming and achieve energy
security will:
- Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade
program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to
the level recommended by top scientists to avoid
calamitous impacts.
- Invest $150 billion over the next ten years
to develop and deploy climate friendly energy
supplies, protect our existing manufacturing
base and create millions of new jobs.
- Dramatically improve energy efficiency to
reduce energy intensity of our economy by 50
percent by 2030.
- Reduce our dependence on foreign oil and
reduce oil consumption overall by at least 35
percent, or 10 million barrels of oil, by 2030
- Make the U.S. a leader in the global effort
to combat climate change by leading a new
international global warming partnership.
The above are just some elements of the proposed
energy plans, to view John McCain’s full plan please
click here; to
view Barrack Obama’s full plan please
click here.
New LEED Study Released
A new study is available for free download,
Energy Performance of LEED for New Construction
Buildings, prepared by the New Buildings
Institute with funding from the USGBC and the EPA.
121 LEED Certified Buildings were studied and showed
a substantial improvement of performance compared to
traditional buildings. To read the study, please
click here.
Western
Climate Initiative Proposes Regional Cap-and-Trade
Plan
The Western Climate Initiative (WCI), which
includes seven States and four Canadian provinces,
released a draft on how it plans to implement a
regional cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas
emissions. The draft plan would begin monitoring
emissions in 2010, capping industrial emissions in
2012, and would add other emissions in 2015. Unlike
the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the
Northeastern US that regulates only electric
utilities, the WCI would regulate greenhouse gasses
from several sources. Under the current plan,
individual states would decide whether to hand out
or auction off credits and polluters could write off
up to 10% of their emissions by investing in offsets
such as planting trees.
Bill to Encourage Energy
Efficient Mortgages
As reported in EERE Network News, President Bush
signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
into law on July 30, and while the act is focused
primarily on addressing the mortgage crisis in the
United States, it also includes measures to
encourage the greater use of energy efficient
mortgages (EEMs). Such mortgages allow people to
purchase or refinance their principal residence and
incorporate the cost of energy efficiency
improvements into the mortgage. But while the idea
is laudable, the implementation of it is difficult,
as the borrower must first receive a home energy
rating report, usually from an energy consultant,
and the report must demonstrate that the energy
efficiency improvements are cost effective. After
the loan closes, the money for the improvements is
placed in an escrow account and is not released
until an inspector verifies that the improvements
are installed and will achieve the desired energy
savings. Due to both the complicated nature of EEMs
and a lack of awareness of them, the Federal Housing
Authority has typically issued only about 30,000
EEMs per year.
To address that issue, Section 2902 of the new
act requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) to develop recommendations to
eliminate the barriers to the use of EEMs, including
the lack of reliable and accessible information on
such mortgages, the confusion regarding underwriting
requirements, the complex and time-consuming process
of securing such mortgages, the lack of publicly
available research on the default risk of such
mortgages, and the limited availability of certified
or accredited home energy rating services. HUD must
report its recommendations to Congress within the
next six months. The act also calls for HUD to carry
out an education and outreach campaign for
consumers, home builders, residential lenders, and
other real estate professionals on EEMs and on the
benefits of energy efficiency in housing. In
addition, Section 2123 of the act increases the
limits for cost-effective energy efficiency
improvements. For most homebuyers, the cost of
improvements can now be nearly 5% of the property
value, while it was previously limited to $8,000.
But the act also limits the number of energy
efficient mortgages to 5% of the number of mortgages
for 1- to 4-family residences insured by HUD during
the preceding fiscal year.
ASERTTI Fall Meeting
- Chicago, Illinois
Plans are underway for ASERTTI's 2008 Fall
Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. This year's meeting is
being hosted by the Gas Technology Institute, and
Co-Hosted by the Energy Center of Wisconsin, and
University of Illinois at Chicago – Energy Resources
Center. The meeting will begin on Monday, October
13th and conclude on Thursday, October 16th.
Highlights of sessions include:
- An update on DOE's Industrial Technologies
Program by Program Director Doug Kaempf
- News on Emerging Energy and Climate Policy
from Noted Expert Howard Learner of the
Environmental Law and Policy Center
- An analysis of State and Federal Wind Power
Legislation and Industry Advances by Hans
Detweiler of the American Wind Energy
Association (Invited)
- Information about New York's New Energy
Efficiency Portfolio Standard
- Updates on Emerging Efficiency Technologies
from GTI
- News on ASERTTI Member Clean Energy and
Efficiency Projects Around the Nation
- Presentations on ASERTTI's new EPA Combined
Heat and Power Partnership Project, and Digester
Database Program
Registration for the meeting is now open. For
more information, please contact Sherry Benzmiller
at
SBenzmiller@ecw.org.
ACEEE Introduces a New State
Energy Efficiency Policy Resource
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient
Economy (ACEEE) unveiled a new Web resource for
state policymakers and energy efficiency advocates
on August 12. This site is the initial phase of
ACEEE's new State Energy Efficiency Policy, an
ongoing project under the umbrella of ACEEE's State
Energy Efficiency Policy Activities. The site serves
as an easy-to-use online database of energy
efficiency policies in the states, searchable by
state or by policy. The database covers:
- appliance standards
- building codes
- clean distributed generation policies
- tax incentives
- vehicle policies
- a host of utility-related energy efficiency
information
The site currently covers information for most of
the leading states. Ultimately the site will cover
policies for all states and will be expanded to also
cover state climate policies and smart growth
initiatives. The complete version of the Web site
will roll out in conjunction with the release of
ACEEE's State Energy Efficiency Scorecard for
2007/2008 in the beginning of October. ACEEE
anticipates updating information on the site on a
quarterly basis as new policies emerge.
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