Where Government and Industry Interface

Secretary LaHood Lauds Capital Bikeshare as Pioneer

Thu, 23 May 2013 05:58:00 -0600

Bikeshare option saves members $17 million

Capital Bikeshare, a public-private partnership focused on improving travel behavior, yesterday announced its Washington bike usage and regional impact survey results at a press event at the Mobility Lab www.mobilitylab.org

This is the second annual “Health Implications of the Capital Bikeshare Program,” conducted by the partners including the DC Department of Transportation, Arlington DOT and the City of Alexandria. www.capitalbikeshare.com.

“This has been the dream for 15 years, and supports the vision we share for Transportation Demand Management (TDM) and multi-modal travel,” said Lois DeMeester, CEO of Mobility Lab in Arlington. “It’s great to see Bikeshare (scale) and new transportation usage among young people.”

Meanwhile, at an event nearby in Washington, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood also lauded the Capital Bikeshare program for its initiative as the pioneering program in the U.S.

Secretary LaHood said: “Alternative modes of transportation – like walking and biking paths – allow us to get out of the car. We are going to expand the bikeshare program (nationally) that was inaugurated here in DC. On Memorial Day, they will inaugurate a bikeshare program in NYC. The Mayor of Chicago (Rahm Emanuel) says he wants to be among the largest.”

LaHood noted that on Cherry Blossom weekend, every bike in the Bikeshare program was rented in the Washington area. There are presently 1,800 bikes in the fleet!

Mobility Lab says 26% of people involved in Bikeshare have greatly reduced auto or Metro travel. With 22,000 Bikeshare members, it means there are 4.4 fewer miles of driving impacting Washington’s congested roadways.

Capital Bikeshare says younger people use biking as an alternative mode of transport if they don’t have cars; while older people believe it is often a faster and more convenient alternative to a car they own.

With 91 percent of the Capital Bikeshare survey participants saying “getting around is easier and faster or shorter, the primary driver (of participation) is having options to ride to work" as a main reason to join. Interestingly, 80 percent of those say they like the new option of the one-way trip. “I don’t have to worry about drop-off,” when a cyclist arrives was cited as the rationale.

Capital Bikeshare members are collectively saving $17.7 million per year in fuel, metro fares and auto maintenance costs.

Starting Memorial Day weekend this week, as the Secretary noted, New York City will also implement bikeshare on a broad scale basis. LaHood says there will be $47 million from Citi invested in New York’s system: “there would not be that kind of private investment if they didn’t think it would be successful.”

“City Bike in New York can learn from DC,” says Chris Hamilton of Arlington County Commuter Services, who along with DeMeester helped found Mobility Lab. “We want to share as much information use as possible. One way DC was able to gain buy-in was including members in naming the system, in social media, and in making them feel a part of it.”

“It will be interesting to see what will happen,” added Chris Eatough, program manager of Bike Arlington. “They are launching with a big system. How will they be able to get bikes from uptown to downtown? New York City is likely to be successful even with the chaotic self-rebalancing.”

Eatough says that Washington, DC is characterized by “residential to employment trips. New York will be cross town, uptown and across the bridges. It is a different beast.” New York is a multimodal city.

Do Readers Understand Energy Reporting - Make it Accessible?

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:11:00 -0600

Northwestern University and professors and students at their Medill School of Journalism compiled an interesting energy study, releasing results last week in Washington. With a panel of energy journalists, scientists and a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Commitee staffer the report offers recommendations on how to make energy issues reporting more accessible to readers. It is called ”Energizing Media Coverage of Energy Issues” and was ambitious for sure. Students went across the country to study everything from hydrofracturing fields in North Dakota (the “black gold rush”), to a wind farm in Cape Cod to ocean waves off the Oregon coast to look at how energy production –traditional or renewable –is covered.

The panelists included: Rayola Dougher of API, Columbia's Dr. Wally Broecker, Juliet Eilperin, White House Correspondent for the Washington Post and a veteran climate change journo expert, Lucia Graves, youthful energy reporter for Huffington Post, Mark Ratner, a materials chemist, member of the National Academy of Sciences and prof at Northwestern and Josh Sheinkman from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“Look at the science,” said API's Dougher, (Journalists) “have to look at the numbers properly.”

Wallace Broecker, the Columbia University professor of Earth and Planetary Science said America needs to “put a price on carbon – if you take it from the ground we need to charge for removing it from the atmosphere.”

Huffington Post’s Graves has worked hard on Environmental Justice Reporting and held her own against the Columbia professor and API titan. She asked the young reporters attending to try to be balanced and really look at energy issues. Graves said she has been frustrated by the lack of transparency in the Obama Administration.

“They talked a big game,” Graves said about energy policy, “but now they are not talking.”

Eilperin added that: “Climate change is here and now”, urging reporters on energy to make “real connections to people.”

Medill Professor Ellen Shearer and Assistant Professor Abigail Foerstner edited the research and led the reporting work nationally. Assistant Professor Ashlee Humphreys led the more empirical research. The students tested 36 stories for tone, bias and audience responsiveness.

For more info or a copy of the paper contact Medill at 202-661-0101.

Mike Smith is a master’s degree graduate of the Medill School of Journalism and reports on energy issues for various blogs. Martin Rosenberg, Editor of Energy Central, is also a Medill Grad.

How Historic Buildings Can Save Energy

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 13:01:00 -0600

William Penn House was purchased by the Quaker church as a Meeting House in 1966 - Today's Technology Saves Energy

William Penn House is a place of Quaker worship and a Youth Hostel. Work camps and projects are undertaken by young people who stay there and volunteers come throughout the year. The house is located on East Capitol Street just three blocks from the U.S. Capitol Building. This year, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (www.NFWF.org) selected William Penn as a grantee for a simple green environmental project; but complex in that the engineers are dealing with a nearly 135 year old building!

Rain gardens were installed in the front and back yards several years ago. These small self-contained gardens capture rainwater that might otherwise run into DC’s storm sewers. William Penn House also now collects three rain barrels of water with 150 gallons in each one for use in the hostel. The stormwater run-off from the primary building has been reduced with limited overflow.

For the green roof, William Penn House received $20,000 from the District of Columbia Department of Environment (DDOE) and a $20,000 match from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).

Why do rain gardens and rooftops matter in DC

William Penn House Retrofits are a Model for Historic Buildings

With the green roof, William Penn House www.williampennhouse.orghopes to recover all runoff at 100% capture. There is an 1880 Carriage House and it needed to be reinforced with pillars (or piers) to hold the walls. With the $20,000 NFWF grant there are now six 20-foot pillars around the coach house. They are weight bearing to ensure integrity of walls and support for the green roof. Three huge beams cross the carriage house now support it and they are 20-foot long compressed wood.

We hope to impact the lives of others,” said Byron Sandford, a 12-year veteran of the Youth hostel. He is the executive director of William Penn House and planning the green roof work. He indicated 7500 hostellers stay at William Penn House every year. William Penn House is also working with the Anacostia River Association one of NFWF’s grantees.

“We are experimenting with the vegetation,” said Linda Knutsen, senior volunteer, whose sister is a farmer and is helping recommend DC gardeners. “But we don’t want to plant until later this spring. The (planting) work should be underway in early April” and is on schedule.

“Variety and diversity of the plants is very important,” she said. “If you have one species that doesn’t survive on the green roof, other heartier plants will be available.” Washington, DC’s Department of Environment is paying for the plants and trees.

William Penn House ripped-off the metal roof and put down a rubberized one (Pervious). After an additional membrane is put in-place, the hostel volunteers will need to lay two-feet of soil across the roof. The surface is 400 square feet so that is a lot of topsoil.

“The structural reinforcements are required to hold the weight of the vegetated roof,” said Mandy Chesnutt, NFWF’s project manager supporting the Penn project. “It was a very easy decision.

Members of Congress will learn more about green roof solutions at a Capitol Hill poster presentation on April 17

Investing in Green and Credible Reporting

Sat, 03 Nov 2012 09:06:00 -0600

Center for Sustainability and Excellence Keeping it Honest

Corporate sustainability reporting is becoming a true measure of how a company is doing in its environmental policies. Leveling the playing field as to how we understand improvement or measure success is critical for investors and consumers. How do we know if we are green investing or buying environmentally smart.

“Greenwashing” is a term first introduced by environmentalist Jay Westervelt. According to standard definitions, greenwashing, like brainwashing, is a form of spin in which green PR or marketing to customers is used deceptively. It may be for promoting a perception that an organization is “greener” than it is or its policies are environmentally friendly. Whether to increase profits, impress investors, or gain political clout, greenwashing tries to manipulate popular opinion.

Who can you trust to create proper values associated with carbon reduction and green performance? One company in Chicago, the Center for Sustainability and Excellence (www.cse-net.org), has for over eight years made a business of integrating sustainability principles into corporate culture, products or services. It trains Certified Sustainability Practitioners and Certified Carbon Strategy Practitioners through a global network of 80 organizations.

Nikos Avlonas, a Greek American, is founder and president of CSE and spoke recently at CR Magazine’s COMMIT conference about higher transparency in sustainability reporting and quality assurance for major US companies. The meeting was on Wall Street.

“I cannot stress enough the importance of sustainability reports and accurate performance data in your corporate communications,” he said during my interview. “Investors care about sustainability.” There are SEC and Stock exchange disclosure issues, for one.

Avlonas says this CSR assurance has to be reliable and come from a third party to mitigate 'Social and Governmental' risk. It is not just what you want to disclose!”

CSE estimates that over $5 trillion is invested in green and sustainable companies, technologies and practices now. Bloomberg for the first time has included CSR evaluation for carbon footprint reduction and environmental sustainability programs in its company profiles. The State of California alone has a $2 billion budget for meeting environmental standards and improvement.

Avlonas says companies should be using CSR as a competitive advantage. Even if it just provides you a “small business edge over others.”

Avlonas first developed his passion for the environment in 2004—while working in the European Union on the first global practices model with Kofi Annan. He said: “we tried to create a win-win model for CSR and Europe was (and is) 4-5 years ahead of the carbon reduction demand reduction curve.”

“Sustainability is a passport in many countries,” said Avlonas. “Really in the whole of Europe, especially the UK, Denmark, Sweden, and Germany,” one must be green to get ahead.

“In Europe, there really was a tsunami for everyone to pay attention to climate change,” says Avlonas. “Even in the most conservative parties—politicians are learning more about these scientific issues”

“Japan is also ahead of the U.S., Malaysia is very progressive, the Mid-East sustainability movement is advancing with Dubai, Abu Dabi, and Qatar taking the lead.” In fact, CSE will offer is certification in carbon sustainability practices in Dubai, UAE December 2-3. CSE has also issued a global sustainability practitioner challenge to companies globally this year.

http://www.cse-net.org/article/408/global-sustainability-csr-practitioner-challenge-2012

“Qualified CSR practitioners are in great demand and leading companies want trained team members,” said Avlonas. People from Corporate environmental affairs to the health and safety department can now become sustainability managers—“one of the fastest growing job opportunities.”

Consumers are inquiring more, demanding more and the “public’s role is key in stopping our consumption habits-but putting more pressure on the corporations” to comply, says the head of CSE. “The younger generation wants to ask what your sustainability strategies are.” Avlonas thinks the Clinton Global Initiative is doing a great job http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/

Last month, President Clinton talked about “designing our environments” in his annual meeting. The CGI is committed to “produce holistic approaches for built and natural environments in order to provide healthy sustainable settings worldwide.”

Avlonas says that what US Companies and multinationals are doing is “not enough—sustainability doesn’t stop with energy efficiency—it begins with energy efficiency.”

Energy Efficiency Requires a LEAP and Intelligence

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 15:42:00 -0600

Local Energy Alliance Program has Agility of a Business with Impartiality of a Non-Profit

In energy consumer awareness, people don’t often look to their utility to offer impartial information. Or, at least not complete advice in a bill stuffer. Consumers are wary of contractors and manufacturers offering discounts on air conditioners and home comfort systems that already cost $8,000 to $10,000. So how do we unlock the power of people making their own smart energy choices. It seems an organization working with local utilities and showing complete candor as a non-profit entity, can do it right.

Charlottesville-based LEAP, the Local Energy Alliance Program, (www.leap-va.org) has launched a Home Energy Makeover Contest with a grand prize of a $10,000 energy makeover for Northern Virginia homeowners who complete an easy and informative online energy assessment.

LEAP was initially funded by a $500,000 foundation grant from the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) and has since raised $5 million over three years to implement energy improvements in homes, businesses, and low income multifamily properties. Additional funding has come recently from the state energy office to launch programs in Northern Virginia with a first emphasis on Arlington County.

“In central Virginia, we look to complete 1000 retrofits by May 2013 and have already completed over 700,” said Adams. “In northern Virginia, we hope to complete 300 retrofits over the course of the next year.”LEAP works with pre-qualified contractors and channel market partners to make sure homeowners are engaged. If LEAP were a utility offering a rebate program, it would have an entire regulatory process to work through. “One advantage to having an independent third party implement a program like Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, is that we can work with multiple utility rebate programs, but are not ourselves regulated in the same manner. This allows us to innovate, make course corrections on the fly, and develop ways to have the market fund our program’s administrative expenses.”

The LEAP sponsored Home Energy Makeover Contest is a marketing and public outreach campaign whose ultimate goal is to encourage participation in Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (HPwES). HPwES is a one-stop shop for residents wanting to make energy improvements, and getting a HPwES Certificate is like getting an ENERGY STAR for your existing home.

“The Makeover Contest creates motivation,” said Adams. “First you have to understand whether or not you are using more energy than you need to. Then you need a roadmap or plan for what to do about it. To enter the contest, homeowners must complete an easy online energy assessment.” In simple terms, she added: “basically, to enter you have to learn a little about your home.”

The makeover contest ends September 30, and the three winning homes will become case studies to share. Dominion Foundation has teamed with LEAP in offering $10,000 first prize, $5,000 second prize and a $3,000 third prize. LEAP contractors have also agreed to provide cost reduction incentives for those homeowners who did not win but are interested making energy improvements. A Nonprofit Challenge contest within the Makeover Contest encourages community groups to spread the word. Three local nonprofits can win a $1,500 cash donation for bringing the most entries to the contest.

“Improving the affordability of homes is important, but when you use less energy you also conserve resources and reduce pollution,” she said. “Virginia is a capacity short state - our demand for electric power is greater than our ability to supply it in state. To meet that demand companies are building more power plants, but the energy we don’t use is clearly cheaper than the energy we have to create. Energy efficiency can save homeowners money not just in their own homes but also system wide.”

Utilities are required by the State Corporation Commission to prove retrofits work. Virginia legislation allows electric utilities to have cost-recovery and to make a margin on their energy efficiency programs, which helps align an investor owned utility’s goals of providing shareholder value with a public interest goal in saving energy. “There is a desire for rigor on the part of the regulators – as there should be,” said Adams. “While they want to encourage energy savings, they also want to make sure these efficiency programs deliver on the savings ratepayers are helping fund.”

Dominion has new energy efficiency programs that will roll-out this year, which LEAP will also be promoting to its customers. LeHa Anderson, manager of communications at Dominion Virginia Power (www.dom.com), insists that “consumers are absolutely looking for ways to save more money on their energy consumption. Information is coming at them from many different places,” says Anderson. “Trust is very important to them, and consumers want the education.”

Mike Smith is a Washington-area writer who blogs for Energy Central and the Huffington Post

All Energy Savings are Local When Adopting Green Rebates

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 06:47:00 -0600

How Aggregating Consumer Energy Rebates Will Motivate Action in Home Improvement

Walter “Tony” Maull is an energy industry insider who has gone rogue. He ran Ernst & Young’s clean and renewable energy consulting practice. Maull saw that potential energy industry savings offers were languishing. Now Maull and a world class team of programmers and energy analysts have created a hyper local consumer media site for energy cost savings called Save Big Bread (“bread” is the retro word for money!).

“This is a consumer media play,” said Maull, “and I want a total focus on consumer information and rebates. We aggregate information across many sources. So whether a consumer is seeking energy efficiency or making a home improvement, we want to connect them all the way through the process.”

His new venture, Save Big Bread, www.savebigbread.com makes its money democratically. It provides permission-based details on consumer requests for quotes to HVAC contractors, appliance installers and energy distributors for a small fee of $45 per interested party.

“Contractors and utilities all want to be closer to the customer,” noted Maull. “We only get compensated if we perform and now have over 7,000 offers in the program to connect energy-conscious consumers with green-energy contractors.”

Save Big Bread is hyper-local, localized to state and counties, because it has to be. First, the offers are utility, state rebates or local like PACE. Second, the contractors who can offer the private industry discounts from companies like Rheem, Carrier, Trane and others under Energy Star are regional.

Home improvement is a $240 billion market. Contractors are the largest employers in the U.S. Linking the two is a natural outgrowth of Save Big Bread’s raison d’etre. Maull said that over three fourths of his queries and contractor partnerships are for total HVAC or system replacements.

Save Big Bread actively builds tools that allow it to catalog and track changes to a variety of rebate programs, constantly update, and makesure they’re reflected in the customer data in a timely basis.

Customers can search offers that are relevant to them. Maull and his team have also reviewed the information so that he can guide peopletoward single, double or triple savings by coupling rebatesacross multiple rebates.

Le-Ha Anderson, manager of communications at Dominion Virginia Power, agrees that “consumers are absolutely looking for saving more money on their energy consumption”

“Information is coming at them from many different places,” says Anderson. “Energy tips are great and consumers want the education.” She knows that sites like Save Big Bread that provide “value and a way to find coupons or rebate information”

“Green is a major part of why people want these rebates and our consumers at Dominion are taking personal responsibility,” said Anderson.

In Virginia, consumers have options ranging from local government energy advisory groups, a Virginia state corporation council (SCC) site with energy efficiency funding, as well as contractors, Dominion partners and appliance makers. It’s a lot to navigate. “Trust is very important,” for consumer rebates.

Dominion is working with LEAP and this week it will launch a new “Home Energy Makeover” program. Like a reality show, consumers/ratepayers can enter plans to save consumption and may earn $500 in energy audits immediately. Then, in September and October, LEAP will select some of the best efficiencies presentations for a total smart “consumer energy makeover.” The money is for real: $10,000 for the winner, $5,000 for second place and $3,000 for third place Dominion’s spokeswoman told me.

Dominion is one of the largest producers and transporters of energy: www.dom.com

Mike Smith is a Washington area energy blogger with his own energy and environmental marketing business, MSBD, Inc. (www.msbdinc.com). Clients include the non-profit National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (www.nfwf.org) for Chesapeake Restoration and have been industry players like Volvo North America.

Energy Rebates Can Save Big Bread

Mon, 07 May 2012 06:48:00 -0600

by Mike Smith, Energy Central and Huffington Post blog columnist

Washington, DC -- OK, when was the last time you used the word “bread” to refer to bucks? The retro phrase is recognizable and when it comes to energy savings, there is certainly a lot of bread to make sure you get your slice!

Tony Maull served as US Regional Initiative Leader for Ernst & Young’s GHG and Clean Tech practice when he had an idea. Consumers are unaware, uneducated or are not sure how to access governmental and private sector (including manufacturer) energy rebates. Prior to his consulting gig, Tony was VP of Marketing with Experian, credit scoring and analytics software, where he worked with big companies to understand consumer buying behavior. Before that, Tony was an investment banker with CIBC advising clients on technology products.

These three experiences and a love of environment enabled the entrepreneur to create a “Match.com” site for distributors to reach new customers and consumers to find better deals.

On his site, www.savebigbread.com, he shares stories like: “SoCal Edison increasing heat pump and energy rebates;” “Gulf Power Solar Increase (and Fall deadline) for Energy Rebates;” and “Potomac Edison announcing the launch of its energy efficiencies rebates.”

But it’s not just the utility programs. Tony and his team are providing details on manufacturer incentives for major appliances and in particular for HVAC systems. So how does Save Big Bread make money? By charging distributors $45 per lead and a successful lead generation engine. It’s a win-win proposition.

“There is $12 billion worth of energy efficiency rebate money out there,” says Tony. He also notes that there are 3,000 energy appliance and systems distributors in high density or high consumption markets in America with some 80,000 HVAC installers working with them.

“I had to ask: ‘How do we make these programs more effective and able to meet our ends?’” said Tony:

--Needs to be approachable, understood by the homeowner

--Who is the trusted entity that can deliver message? Utilities have Big Brother aspect—may not be trusted

--Needs to become trustworthy source that can deliver the message

So Save Big Bread is going after the top 35 markets with high incidence of home improvement or rehab work, new installations, and he’s starting in the Southwest mecca of Houston, Texas and Southeast post of Atlanta, Georgia. Yep, we’d agree those markets are “hot.” Quick market research shows Houston to have the right demographic, too, with an average age of 32, high degree of home rehabbers, and need to move to more energy efficience heating, cooling and air conditioning unit. So www.texasenergyrebates.comwill launch this week with Georgia to soon follow this beachhead.

“We are hiring curators for these statewide states who are not particularly energy experts but are smart consumers looking for deals,” said Tony. “That might mean a coupon clipping mom or smart family shoppers on social media sharing tips and cost-saving ideas.” He said people have more important things on which to allocate money.

The US Government Energy Star program www.energystar.gov starts with reducing energy bills on appliances. Solar installation is another subsidized option – with grants recently extended. A recent web search found over 14.6 million search results for the query: “how much does the government offer in energy rebates in dollars?”

Tony believes his new e-commerce site can access about $2 billion of available resources to help consumers. But that is not all, the Save Big Bread site has an altruistic bent in supporting veteran’s programs. With 60,000 service men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, 40,000 alone with draw downs now in Afghanistan, Tony figures he can help with job creation. Turning soldiers into tradesmen, distributors and installers, is one job avenue.

Working with the “Gallant Few” to help combat veterans who go into trade work also generate leads and will create business (www.gallantfew.org), he knows. And that could create some pretty big bread, man, for everyone in the supply chain.

Largest WV Solar Array Installed in Charles Town by American Public University System

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:50:00 -0600

APUS generating 480,000 KW hours/year, highest number of vehicle re-charging stations

by Mike Smith, Washington, DC Energy Blogger*

Representative Shelley Moore Capito helped American Public University System (NASDAQ: APEI) inaugurate the state’s largest solar energy building project by calling it a “phenomenal achievement.” At today’s ribbon cutting in Charles Town, one day after Earth Day, the message in Rep. Capito’s district was about investing in the future.

“West Virginia is an energy state,” said Rep. Capito. “But now we will be a solar state,” she said thanking APUS President and CEO Dr. Wallace Boston for the investment. “Thank you for your commitment, the capital investment, and your reducing our carbon footprint.” She stated that the “permanence of energy creation is part of the heart and soul of West Virginia.”

She added: “APUS has given us all a slice of where corporate responsibility should be and it is nice to see a circle of life” in Charles Town where jobs and economic development are critical.

Mayor David Hammill, who has served 26 years as mayor of Ranson, WV where the solar array is situated, also talked about continuity and sustainability. “American Public University System has built a sustainable energy program that will last for generations to come,” he told me. “It is about the future. APUS also engineered this project on an existing site using some framework we had in place,” he added. “I cannot wait to see more energy advancements.”

Dr. Wally Boston said the solar array is testimony to the “American spirit of innovation and achievement. Today we celebrate progress and not just relying on the status quo.” He stressed that the installation used all American-made parts from film substrate to frames. With 20 facilities in Charles Town, including a new Financial Center that is being considered for Gold LEED certification, APUS stressed a long-term commitment to sustainability and clean energy.

APUS is also meeting standards of the US Green Buildings Council. Dr. Boston has joined the American College and University Presidents Climate Change Committee. APUS has an ongoing sustainability committee internally which provided figures that offices on the campus have saved up to 15% of energy costs this year and large open areas of the buildings are now lowering consumption by 28%.

Colin Williams, VP of Marketing for MTV (Mountain View) Solar of Berkeley Springs, WV, and lead solar installation management firm for APUS, said installing 1600 panels is “our record number” as a solar firm. “Not only is the array the largest in the state but we have the largest gathering of 15 electric vehicle charging stations.” APUS has two electric vans used for employee transportation now. The array will generate 6575 kilowatt hours of electricity per work week. APUS is environmentally and eco-friendly via virtual learning itself, with no commute to a physical campus.

“We are also teaching our students environmental responsibility,” said Dr. Boston. APUS cited the content of courses in the environmental studies major directed by Dr. Carol Pollio as educating next generation environmentalists. http://www.amu.apus.edu/academic/programs/degree/1500/bachelor-of-science-in-environmental-science

It is a rigorous course of study with 33 core course requirements, 12 degree concentration classes, plus general education and electives to round-out the bachelor’s degree. www.apus.edu

*Editor's Note: Mike Smith blogs for Energy Central and the Huffington Post. His firm MSBD, Inc. (www.msbdinc.com) also provides strategic marketing counsel to APUS

Southern Company Makes Legacy Grant to Restore Longleaf Pines

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:27:00 -0600

National Fish & Wildlife Earns Grant from Southern Company to Restore Long Leaf Pines

A public/private partnership with $3 million grants available for 2012

The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, a non-profit located in Washington, has been awarded a public/private grant to help restore native long-leaf pine trees through re-planting and conservation. The timber industry, foresters harvesting for years, and the lack of fire in a pine forest has contributed to the demise of the special pine. The new fund will provide $3 million in the first year. Grant applications are being considered now with a February 15 deadline for nature and conservation groups to compete for the restoration funding.

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is working with federal partner agencies like the US Fish & Wildlife and US Forest Services, as well as corporate partners like Southern Company, a major southeastern power utility. The Department of Defense is also involved in restoration particularly as the tall pines are located near bases including Ft. Benning, Georgia. The pines offer strategic cover for the military.

Southeast habitat for turtles, birds, snakes to be reforested

The longleaf pine ecosystem once encompassed more than 90 million acres of North America. Today, only three percent of the original acreage remains due to deforestation. There are many threatened and endangered species that depend on the habitat – for example, the red-cockaded woodpecker, the gopher tortoise and the indigo snake. The turtles and birds are struggling to survive according to the Nature Conservancy. Since 2004, a partnership between NFWF and Southern Company, the Longleaf Legacy Program, has invested over $8.7 million into projects that will restore more than 82,000 acres of longleaf pine forest and the native species that rely on it. The new Longleaf Stewardship Fund will build on the success of the public/private partnership and expand the restoration.

Southern Company’s partner utilities including Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power and Mississippi Power are all involved in the legacy program. Mark Rice, a spokesman for the company, also noted the environmental benefits as the native long-leaf pine provides carbon sequestration in the atmosphere.

Chris Hobson, Southern Company chief environmental officer said: “We are ready to go to work with our newest partners, combining the best that public and private entities have to offer into a model of effective environmental stewardship.”

Two of the additional objectives of the legacy program for longleaf pine are national defense and involvement of farmers, landowners and foresters.

"The involvement of our federal partners in the longleaf pine restoration effort is a tremendous addition that will make our program even stronger, broader and more effective,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF."

Federal agencies require funding to achieve their mission-oriented objectives relative to military readiness, fish and wildlife protection, forest health and landowner stewardship. The fund is available to grantees and seeks a three-pronged in approach:

Grants ranging from $150,000 to $350,000 will be awarded for projects and programs focused on restoration of landscapes within “significant geographic areas” as defined in the Range-Wide Conservation Plan. That range is anchored by DOD Military Installations and Bases, USDA National Forests and US Fish and Wildlife Service Refuges – all program partners.

Grants ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 will be awarded for on-the-groundrestoration projects and species recovery efforts. These may include planting or protection ideas.

Grants will be awarded for expanding technical assistance to landowners.

How to Apply for Funding

Pre-proposal applications will be accepted through February 15, 2012, with awards announced in summer 2012. For more information, visit www.nfwf.org/longleaf. Throughout the first year of the program, NFWF will work with its science team and its corporate partners to consider applications.

Mike Smith is a native Washingtonian with strong interest in energy and environmental issues. He works with companies to support energy conservation and has a long history with the chemical and pulp and paper industry.

Let's Make Environmental Health a Top Priority

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 06:08:00 -0600

The Atlantic's Green Intelligence Forum Calls for Sustaintable Cities

The Atlantic Magazine's "Intelligence Series" is, well, pretty intellectual. Broad thinking about the green economy transpired Nov. 17 here in Washington. The conference combined DOE and White House leaders, top energy industry companies like Shell, big energy users like Boeing, and think tanks like the Brookings Institution and Georgia Tech. Of course, there were plenty of traditional and online blog journalists to cover the confab.

So the nexus of government, industry and the media always makes for lively debate. One common theme among the 150 participating is that with smart grid tech, electric cars or other high mileage fleet vehicles, smart buildings and lower emitting offices, the U.S. is ready to tackle the toughest energy challenges.

Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, wrapped-up the meeting yesterday with a call to arms. "If we can map the genetic code, eliminate diseases, and explore the limits of space, America can do this!" But she strongly stressed that while federal policy and incentives help, improving sustainable cities must "emerge from what communities to locally."

"The next challenge is to grow the clean energy economy," said Sutley. President Obama believes the U.S. already leads the word in clean tech. The $90 Billion American Recovery Act infusion of capital in clean and green techology "has doubled our capacity in renewable energy." Of course, no mention of Solyndra and the DOE's mistakes on funding an insolvent solar panel company.

In fact, at the same time Chairwoman Sutley was closing the Atlantic conference, Department of Energy Secretary Steve Chu was testifying under oath before a House Energy and Commerce Oversight Committee. As LA Times reporter Nella Banerjee reporter noted, he refused to apologize for the investment and denied political favoritism in the loan program: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-chu-solyndra-20111118,0,7894161.story

Secretary Chu rightly noted that Solyndra's failure was one of capitalism gone awry. A slackening solar energy market, the recession, and cheap panels produced in China was Solyndra's undoing. He flatly denied insider dealings at DOE and defended decisions for government subsidies for new green technologies. After five hours of grilling by republicans and a call for Secretary Chu's resignation, they let him go. Congress has since appropriated some $10 billion to cover losses from Energy Department investments that have not provided ROI.

The White House office of environmental quality offered some staggering stats as to US Government energy consumption. The US Government maintains 500,000 buildings and has over 600 million vehicles in its fleet. "The government is the largest user of energy" in our country, said Sutley. The Administration is seeking target reductions of 28 percent and smart building or lower fuel cars to bring the appetite under control.

The Environmental Protection Agency also announced new fuel economy standards this week, as widely reported. But Todd Spangler of the Detroit Free Press broke the news of a 54.5 MPG standard in 15 years. "The targets to be announced by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency... include new rules requiring cars and light trucks to achieve a combined 54.5 miles per gallon by the 2025-26 model years. Tthe first phase of the standards for model years 2012-16 vehicles, will remove the need for as much as 3.8 million barrels of petroleum per day by 2030. Consumers will save thousands of dollars at the pump for gasoline they will no longer need to buy over the lifetime of their vehicles.” said hehe quote.he reported

Sutley said the cheapest way to create energy efficiency is to reduce consumption. Energy use reduction can "lower our bills, spark new jobs and give more capital to business."

Acciona Wants More Action on Wind Energy

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:52:00 -0600

Acciona Wants more “Action” on Wind Energy

Acciona North America CEO Dan Foley just wants a “level playing field.” The Notre Dame graduate is not talking about the gridiron either. He is talking about Wind Energy and the longer term investment but massive pay-off in terms of Kilowatt hours if only the market were not monopolistic. http://www.acciona-na.com/About-Us/Leadership/North-American-Leadership

“It’s aggravating to me that we have one buyer and probably twenty sellers,” in a given bid situation, said Foley. “There is no market here.” I had never heard the word choice “Monopscopy.” So I looked it up oninvestopedia and it says: “A market similar to a monopoly except that a large buyer not seller controls a large proportion of the market and drives the prices down. Sometimes referred to as the buyer's monopoly.” http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monopsony

All that Acciona seeks is a levelized cost basis and grid parity. The technology is there. Companies like Acciona, based in Spain with North American operations in Chicago, can build higher towers (even up to 140 feet, longer and lighter rotors, and turbines that move wind into the grid. They can build a 100 meter concrete tower (30 stories) that is clean, with no impact on the land, allows landowner benefits and returns a profit share to communities.

“Solar takes one year to 18 months to install,” he said, “with photovoltaic panels readily in supply. The dynamic of the suppliers between solar and wind is so different. For wind, it will take 3-5 years to build a wind farm and gain a return.”

We talked a good deal about public private partnerships, wind energy credits (which most in Washington, DC expect to be extended) and the reluctance of capital markets. Foley predicts the retirement or other demise of coal-fired power plants, most of which were built 50-60 years ago, reduction of coal mining itself, and introduction of new infrastructure will give wind a hand.

“Two things are going to help wind power as a renewable clean energy source: we need to drivedemand and we need liquidity to do so,” said Foley. He believes “utilities are protecting what they have and the rate-based system of charging” (consumers) bedevils infrastructure building for wind.

“There is no market with no liquidity. From a financing perspective, we seeing few players who can do what Acciona is trying to do,” said Foley. Whether through Wind Tax Credits, tax equity, financing and accelerated depreciation, you have to have a level of income from sales to support it.

On the bright side, EPA incentives to reduce carbon and lower natural gas prices will actually support wind energy. Mercury issues demand EPA involvement today. Casper (Wyoming) coal is likely to place pressures and Foley expects Congress to pick-up the EPA’s concerns: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_1b173580-b0b7-5a8b-ab0d-98f3c9196297.html

“Gas is going to kill-off coal plants,” Foley believes. “And we are for any renewable entering the market.” (Acciona is also involved in solar and renewable across Europe).

The states drive the RFPs *(request for proposal) and “some have teeth,” said the Acciona executive. “But as consultants and analysts point out, the state regs and bid rules are fractured. There are local content requirements such as mandating blades are made in-state. Towers must be sourced with components built by U.S. manufacturing. Free trade is not operative here.

And as REC prices have gone down, many of the states have already met their test. Midwest use of wind has been reduced in the plains states.

Foley remains optimistic. Wind energy supports more jobs than other renewable energy: “It’s a cash crop,” he said. “Wind energy farms employ more people per megawatt hour of energy produced. The cost to produce is ultimately lower.”

What’s not to love?

Mike Smith is an energy industry and environmental blogger from Washington, DC

Why Does Aneesh Chopra Want Us to Have a Green Button

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:14:00 -0600

White House Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, asked the American Energy Industry to innovate in the spirit of economic growth and to create a consumer-empowering "Green Button!" He spoke at Gridweek in Washington last week.

Green Button for Consumer Empowerment

Energy data and technology could be housed on a "Green Button" for consumers. Chopra posed this question to the Smart Grid audience: "How can we safely and securely provide customers electronic access to their energy information, thereby supporting the continuing development of innovative new products and services in the energy sector?"

According to Chopra, "Open collaboration principles can empower consumers, quickly." Using principles of standards, open collaboration, multi-stakeholder cooperation, ease-of-use, and a "lean start-up" model, Chopra sees huge opportunities for consumer-serving innovations related to energy data and Smart Grid.

What we got at Gridweek in Washington last week is a progress report on the exigencies between government stimulus grants, tax credits, and regulatory intervention and private industry, capital markets, and consumer demand. It seems to me the baton has not been fully passed from one to the next.

The smart grid has not yet detoxed from its addiction to government DOE grant underwriting.

"A Green Button (can be created) so you can see what you are getting from your service provider." Nick Sinai said on Tues., Sept. 14 at Gridweek, discussing his vision for smart homes and businesses. Sinai, is a Harvard Graduate, former VC, Energy and Environment Director at the FCC with a focus on smart grid technology. He is now senior advisor to Chopra, the CTO at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Sinai joined a panel of industry leaders speaking as a White House official at Gridweek to talk about the <em>Enlightened Buildings of the future</em>. He said: "Consumers deserve information about their usage and price (of energy) in a machine-readable format. Thousands of utilities also need to be sharing their best practices."

Just on the heels of a Smart Grid conference, this week we have RETECH here on renewables and GridWise in Nov. seeking to continue a policy debate with the Hill. The DOE itself recently sponsored a summit on cyber security that included how to protect the grid. Former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge will speak at a Natural Gas Demand Summit Oct. 26 in Houston to further discuss national security, domestic production and protecting electricity grid distribution. www.paceglobal.com

At Gridweek, Rick Feddrizi of the U.S. Green Building Council said what we should be talking about is "how to hit your margins" on smart grid profitability. "While others are asking for rebates to kick start their programs with incentives."

Sinai said on the same panel, "What ultimately got the Grid out of the lab was retail competition. It's very powerful. You have a publicly regulated utility, yes, but it also is a private enterprise. Competition is what forces innovation."

The White House Official Sinai predicted within the next 10-15 years, <em>higher end homes </em>will be smart grid-enabled and digitally connected. "But you have to be able to deploy the smart grid universally."

"The consumer has to be front and center," he said. So do capital markets, right?

Mike Smith writes frequently about U.S. Energy Policy. He lives in Washington, DC

Solyndra Does Not Define the Solar Industry

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:36:00 -0600

By Mike Smith for EnergyBlogs.com

(www.mikesmithpa.com)

James M. Crotty, Columnist for Forbes.com, recently wrote about Pace Global’s integrated approach to energy markets. We listened in as James asked some follow-up questions about Solyndra and the state of the solar marketplace:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmarshallcrotty/2011/09/27/education-and-the-true-cost-of-energy-a-dialogue-with-tim-sutherland-ceo-of-pace-global-energy-services/

The Solyndra story of fraud, misuse of the government’s $525 million in DOE funding, and the resultant loss of 1,100 jobs http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/investment-in-failed-solar-firm-solyndra-raises-questions-about-nonprofits-purpose/2011/09/27/gIQAVByZ2K_story.html should not and does not define Solar. In conversations we've had with Scott Sklar, one of the pioneers in building Washington support for the photovoltaic technology, http://thestellagroupltd.com/and an early executive director of SEIA, we learn that stimulus support for nascent solar was required.

Forbes writer Crotty spoke recently with Timothy Sutherland, CEO of Pace Global Energy Services www.paceglobal.com about the economics of solar, the market demand, and the decline in government funding that will require private sector investment and market forces to win.

Are we in the midst of a solar bubble?

We’re not in a bubble in the demand-driven traditional sense of the term. We are, however, seeing a government-generated investment bubble, particularly in China, that has driven down world solar panel prices by 40% in the past year and in turn driven some U.S. manufacturers out of business.

And, if so, to what extent is this the fault of taxpayer-financed solar subsidies?

The U.S. federal subsidies of course have played a major role in shaping the U.S. solar market.

All federal efforts at creating “green jobs” in the photovoltaic solar industry are for naught however, as long as the Chinese government sees taxpayer-subsidized OECD solar power markets as a primary target for export growth. While the Chinese talk publicly about serving their domestic solar market, I suspect their enunciated goal of 50 GW of installed solar power by 2020 is masking the tens of billions of dollars of low interest/no interest government loans that have gone toward the astonishingly rapid build-up of the Chinese photovoltaic industry. It is now approaching a 50% global market share.

Most consumers and stock market traders assume that solar stocks are paired with the price of oil. The price of oil goes up, solar stocks rise in tandem. Is this linkage true? Or is solar better correlated with the price of natural gas, since both solar and natural gas feed into the electrical grid?

Actually, at this point in the evolution of the solar industry, any attempt to gauge enterprise value based on competing energy prices is misguided; although I’m sure it’s done. This is due to yet another aspect of the “bubble” phenomenon. The solar market is largely a creation of national governments around the world. There are competitive dynamics internal to that market, as we’ve seen with the recent failures of Solyndra and Evergreen Solar in the face of overwhelming competition from Chinese manufacturers as formerly high-tech premium products become commoditized. The retail market for photovoltaics, however, is largely the creation of national governments; any estimate of future market share and profitability of a private manufacturer of solar panels is critically dependent on assumptions about subsidy levels and continuity. When national policies collide in the global marketplace, we have casualties like Solyndra.

And since we have plenty of natural gas in America, perhaps this is the real driver of the current downward swoon in solar stocks?

The ability of U.S. gas producers to economically extract our vast conventional and unconventional natural gas resources certainly affects investor sentiment about the potential size, scale and timing of solar industry growth, but the effect is indirect. Ample supplies of natural gas, with its low carbon/high hydrogen chemical composition, places into question the longevity of government programs to subsidize solar development. I’d suggest to you, however, that our current national fiscal problems create as much or more doubt about the sustainability of energy subsidies as do the cost and availability of natural gas.Domestic oil and gas production levels will play a role in this complicated process, but are hardly the only factors.

What else would you like to add?

The U.S. must find its way on the world stage using cooperation and consensus-building as its tools of first resort with the use of diplomacy as an implicit reminder that cooperation and consensus require mutual accommodation and respect.

The British Are America?s Top Energy Traders- RETECH

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 06:02:00 -0600

UK Trade and Investment Office and US Renewables Join Forces

At the RETECH Renewable Energy Technology conference in Washington this week, the United Kingdom came to make a strong point. It’s not the Chinese that trade and invest more in the U.S., what with photovoltaic panels in solar or their wind power turbines, it’s the Brits.

In fact, roughly $50 billion is done in annual trade between the two traditional world powers and friends, for a whopping total of $100 billion. According to UK Trade and Investment Vice Counsel Michael Rosenfeld, “at any given time, there are one million British working for U.S. companies in the UK every day.” In fact, UK Trade and Investment expects creative industries like green energy, to grow an average of four percent -- double the expected growth rate for the rest of the nation's economy.

Nick Bridge came to RETECH to talk about the UK “Roadmap” for its own energy consumption and staged introduction of renewable in the mix. He lauded the EU’s aggressive 20/20/20 formula calling on individuals to save 20% of energy usage and introducing 20% renewable energy in each country. “We found that a huge share of the savings can come from power consumption in the home,” said Bridge. The UK offers a "Green deal" energy efficient rebate to consumers.

The program also calls on UK industry to reduce carbon emissions by 20% - a mandate strongly opposed by manufacturing in the EU overall. http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/news/international-news/122316-report-reveals-industry-lobby-campaign-to-weaken-eu-climate-policy.html

“We want the UK to become the low carbon hub,” said Bridge, Counsel for Global Issues and a diplomat. “If you think about the UK transition (to renewable energy), it is about generation, consumption and transport. The UK plans to win in these areas.”

Yet according to his Foreign Commonwealth blog, there is still a long way to go: “Demand for electricity in the UK could double in the next 40 years as we electrify transportation and heating. But on current trends the supply won’t be there. Our aging power plants are being retired (a quarter of them in the next 10 years). Our energy imports are increasingly volatile and unpredictable. And we have dramatic carbon emissions reduction targets,” he wrote in the summer. http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/bridge/entry/future_shock

At RETECH, he said the UK will take a holistic approach by moving to clean natural gas, not permitting new coal-fired power plants, decommissioning nuclear energy and moving to renewables. “We need a predicable supply of energy.”

The UK is the largest wind producer and uses coastline near ports to ensure the wind output is near to transportation and its sites offshore. In fact, with new infrastructure, the UK can support up to 40% of the energy needs using renewables like wind, claimed Bridge.

As for its US trading partner in energy, Bridge told EnergyCentral, “It cannot be an either-or situation. The change to renewables will flow in a natural way in each direction.”

Mike Smith is a political appointee to the US Department of Commerce ITAC, energy writer and also serves as public affairs representative

Volvo Manufacturing Strives to Reduce Environmental Footprint

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 06:58:00 -0600

Green and Lower Emissions Manufacturing will Drive Jobs-

Volvo Powertrain Just Celebrated 50 Years in Hagerstown Adding New Workers

Volvo and other companies are adding jobs and expanding manufacturing by embracing new technologies and opportunities. For example, customers clearly want “greener” vehicles. So Volvo Group North America is selling more engines, trucks and buses by increasing their fuel efficiency while reducing the amount of greenhouse gases they produce. Volvo has made that happen through emission reduction technologies that include Diesel Particulate Filters and its advanced Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system.

The Powertrain plant in Hagerstown, Maryland is changing from a water-based paint system to powder-based and reducing the paint process environmental footprint. In powder coatings there is little or no solvent, and flow and cure are produced by heating of the substrate after electrostatic application of the dry powder.

Volvo Group North America's Powertrain will also become the U.S. and global manufacturing center for Automated Manual Transmissions (AMT) production which truck drivers and owners are demanding. AMT is already the standard in Europe. An automated transmission is a system which uses special sensors to execute gear changing on the command of the driver or by a computer. This removes the need for a clutch changes in traffic in which the driver otherwise needs to depress a clutch before making a gear change.

Volvo and other manufacturers have demonstrated that manufacturing is the key to creating jobs. This weekend, the Volvo Powertrain plant celebrated 50 years of continuous operation there. It builds engines for Volvo Trucks and Mack Trucks, Inc. Thanks to new orders from truck fleet customers and individual drivers, Volvo Group North America is putting people to work – and calling back those lay-offs during the recession.

Volvo Group North America has called back or created 2,000 manufacturing jobs in the past six months.

Today, the Volvo Group operates manufacturing facilities in six states where jobs are much-needed: Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia., Tennessee, and Maryland. It currently employs more than 10,000 people in this country. Volvo Group North America manufacturing continues to be a critically important engine for job growth. And clean-tech is one way to get there.