ASERTTI News
Mark Your Calendars: 2010
Energy Outlook Conference, February 1-4. 2010
ASERTTI and NASEO will host the 2010 Energy
Outlook Conference in Washington, DC from February
1-4 at the Fairmont Hotel. Please
click here to visit the event website for more
information. Online registration will be available
soon.
International Code
Council Committee Sets Stage for Landmark Boost in
Energy Efficiency of U.S. Homes
America's model energy efficiency code for new
home construction (International Energy Conservation
Code, or IECC) would be close to meeting the 30%
target included in legislation that has cleared both
the full House of Representatives and the Senate
Energy & Natural Resources Committee if action taken
at the International Code Council (ICC) Codes Forum
hearings in Baltimore is upheld by the ICC Final
Action Hearings in 2010. The committee heard
extensive testimony on three comprehensive package
proposals, including one from the U.S. Department of
Energy and EECC's "30Plus." The IECC Development
Committee's recommendations will be submitted to the
ICC's Final Action Hearings next year where they
will be voted on by its membership, comprised of
government officials that administer, adopt or
enforce U.S. building codes. For more information,
please
click here to read the full press release from
the Energy Efficient Codes Coalition.
DOE Announces More than $155
Million for Industrial Energy Efficiency Projects
The U.S. Department of Energy announced that they
are awarding more than $155 million in funding under
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for 41
industrial energy efficiency projects across the
country. These awards include funding for
industrial combined heat and power systems, district
energy systems for industrial facilities, and grants
to support technical and financial assistance to
local industry. The industrial sector uses more
than 30 percent of U.S. energy and is responsible
for nearly 30 percent of U.S. carbon emissions. For
more information about the projects and awardees,
please
click here.
New Study Sheds Light on the
Growing U.S. Wind Power Market
For the fourth consecutive year, the United
States was home to the fastest-growing wind power
market in the world in 2008, according to a report
released by the U.S. Department of Energy and
prepared by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
(Berkeley Lab). Specifically, U.S. wind power
capacity additions increased by 60 percent in 2008,
representing a $16 billion investment in new wind
projects. The 2008 edition of the Wind Technologies
Market Report provides a comprehensive overview of
developments in the rapidly evolving U.S. wind power
market. For the full story and a link to the
report, please
click here.
California awarded $3.5
Million from the U.S. DOE for Solar Training
Partnership
The California Solar Training Partnership
received $3.5 million of American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding awarded by the U.S.
Department of Energy to develop a regional resource
and training center. The center, one of nine in the
nationwide Installer Instructor Training Network,
will enable California to build a highly capable
clean energy workforce and to maintain its worldwide
leadership in solar energy. As part of this
nationwide network, the partnership will design a
training curriculum and provide professional
development for trainers in solar photovoltaic (PV)
and solar heating and cooling technologies. The
partnership is a joint effort of ASERTTI member --
the California Energy Commission, the California
Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
and the California Center of Sustainable Energy,
among others. Please
click here to learn more about the partnership
and other workforce development projects in
California.
SMUD and Regional Partners
Win $127.5 Million in Federal Grant Money
Customers of ASERTTI member, the Sacramento
Municipal Utility District (SMUD), will realize the
benefits of a "smart grid," thanks to the award of a
federal grant totaling more than $127.5 million.
SMUD and its local partners will use the U.S.
Department of Energy funds to install a
comprehensive regional smart grid system extending
from transmission to the customer. The award is one
of the ten largest in the nation, and SMUD and its
partners account for just over 60 percent of the
total funding that will flow to California for six
separate projects. SMUD's smart grid will include
more than 600,000 smart meters, 100 electric vehicle
charging stations, and 50,000 residential energy
control systems including programmable smart
thermostats and home energy management networks.
For the full story, please
click here. |
