Later this week, the House and Senate will hold hearings to discuss energy efficiency programs such as Home Star (which will provide rebates for upgrades to homes), Building Star (a similar program for commercial buildings), and manufactured housing rebates. This comes shortly after Obama’s visit to Savannah, GA, during which the President touted the benefits that these energy efficiency programs would have on job creation, carbon reduction, and energy savings.
Obama Spells Out Rebates for Energy Efficiency
Today, President Obama is traveling to Savannah, GA to outline some of the details of the Home Star program (aka Cash for Caulkers) that Recurve founder Matt Golden has been instrumental in composing.
Obama has previously said that shifting the U.S. toward cleaner, renewable sources of energy and making homes — particularly older houses — more energy-efficient will help accomplish three goals: reducing America’s dependence on foreign energy sources, creating much-needed jobs and saving consumers money on their utility bills.
Under the first level of energy rebates, Silver Star, consumers would be eligible for rebates between $1,000-$1,500 for a variety of home upgrades, including adding insulation, sealing leaky ducts and replacing water heaters, HVAC units, windows, roofing and doors. There would be a maximum rebate of $3,000 per home.
Under the second level, Gold Star, consumers who get home energy audits and then make changes designed to reduce energy costs by at least 20 percent would be eligible for a $3,000 rebate. Additional rebates would be available for savings above 20 percent.
The administration expects household demand for energy upgrades to be boosted once the program is underway, similar to how Cash for Clunkers boosted demand for fuel-efficient vehicles.
Job Losses Have Decreased Dramatically Since Obama Passed ARRA
Obama might be taking a lot of fire, but his policies are starting to work. Job loss has been going down every month since Obama took over. It’s hard to argue with this data:
Read the full article here.
First Jobs Bill Advances in Senate
Employment stimulus legislation moves forward with bipartisan support, paving the way for further job-related measures
Following yesterday’s test vote on a $15 billion job-creation package proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the first in a series of bills aimed at lowering the nation’s unemployment rate is poised to pass the Senate later this week. Congressional leaders have indicated that three to five more job bills are in the works, including legislation authorizing the proposed HOME STAR retrofit incentive program.
The current bill creates or extends tax breaks designed to encourage hiring of unemployed workers and retention of existing employees, and allocates funds for various labor-intensive infrastructure projects. Five Republican Senators voted in favor of the legislation, including newly elected Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown. The 62-30 vote blocked a GOP filibuster and virtually assures passage of the bill when a final vote is taken.
Efficiency First continues to be actively engaged in the legislative process, and is working closely with members of the House and Senate to assure inclusion of the HOME STAR language in subsequent legislation.
California Sets Strong Precedent for Utility Data Access
Near-real-time rate and usage information will help Californians manage electricity use and reduce costs
Late last year the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) quietly handed down a set of policy decisions that will have a profound impact on energy management here in California.
The provisions set forth in the document – which was developed in response to regulatory obligations imposed on all states by the federal Energy Information and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 – will guarantee access to electricity rate and usage information for most of the state’s utility customers, and for third parties that have been authorized to receive the information. With the widespread deployment of smart grid and smart meter technology, this data will give utility customers and energy efficiency businesses the tools they need to monitor and control household electricity, leading to lower energy bills for millions of California homeowners.
“Data access is the key to maximizing the effectiveness of smart grid technology,” said CPUC Commissioner Dian Grueneich, who has been a tireless advocate for making energy efficiency a cornerstone of state energy policy. “These rulings will play an important role as we strive to transform the way Californians think about and use energy.”
The CPUC decision is part of an ongoing process that was launched to align state energy policy with EISA requirements, and with federal requirements pertaining to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for electricity grid modernization.
The CPUC set a goal for the state’s three largest power companies (Southern California Edison Company, Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric Company) to make usage information available to customers and authorized third parties by the end of this year. Ultimately, the three utilities will be required to install smart meters for all customers and make usage and price data available on a near-real-time basis. Four smaller utility companies were excluded from the ruling on the basis that doing so would “both increase the costs and diminish the benefits of the EISA requirements.”
The decision states that next phase of the proceeding will be to “consider rules to provide customers and third parties with access to usage and price data consistent with Energy Information and Security Act of 2007 standards, the general public interest, and state privacy rules.”
Venture Funders Take Aim at Energy Waste
‘Energy efficiency to shine in 2010’ reports the San Jose Mercury News
A pair of articles in yesterday’s edition of the San Jose Mercury News shed light on the growing national interest in energy efficiency and on the proposed HOME STAR retrofit incentive program. “Solar and wind power may get the headlines and attention,” the newspaper reported, “but green-tech experts say 2010 will be dominated by energy efficiency, the mundane but critical process of cutting the amount of gas and electricity that homes and offices use.”
Of particular interest to business leaders in the construction and related manufacturing sectors is the fact that investors are increasingly betting on the profitability of reducing energy waste:
Venture capital investment in energy efficiency hit a record in 2009: at least 115 deals worth nearly $1 billion, according to a preliminary tally by the Cleantech Group and Deloitte. That’s up 39 percent from 2008. Meanwhile, solar, which had 84 deals worth about $1.2 billion, was down 64 percent from 2008, and there’s increasing talk about solar being “overfunded.”
“In 2009, there was a pullback and realization by investors that because of the capital intensity of solar, there may be safer places to put their money,” said Scott Smith, U.S. cleantech leader for Deloitte.”
Mercury News staff writer Dana Hull also emphasized the wider economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency: “It’s increasingly seen as an effective way to create desperately needed jobs, save struggling consumers money, wean America from its dependence on foreign oil and reduce carbon emissions – all at the same time.”
A second article provides an overview of the HOME STAR incentive program:
Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr, who serves on President Barack Obama’s board of outside economic advisers, is a leading champion for Home Star, which he describes as “Cash for Caulkers.” The idea has widespread support from big-box retailers, labor unions, environmental groups and the construction and contracting industries, which have been devastated by the collapse of the housing market. Although national unemployment remains at about 10 percent, almost a quarter of the nation’s construction workers are unemployed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
We are in an urgent moment where we desperately need jobs,” said Bracken Hendricks, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and an architect of the Home Star legislation. “You have business and environmental interests aligned around making this happen, and happen now. I have never seen a coalition this broad and this committed.”
Here are links to the full articles:
“Energy Efficiency to Shine in 2010”
www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14241691
“Government working on ‘Home Star’ Plan for Energy-Efficiency Rebates”
www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14261182?nclick_check=1
How Innovative Financing is Changing Energy in America
Here’s a great post on Grist by Recurve friend and client Cisco DeVries, CEO of Renewable Funding.
In this article, Cisco discusses a shift in financing models for energy efficient improvements and renewable energy projects by funding them through loans attached to property tax. Dozens of states and municipalities, including several in the Bay Area such as Berkeley, Sonoma, and San Francisco, have already hopped on the bandwagon – thus demonstrating support for a public-private hybrid financing model that will achieve several goals at once: cutting energy use and carbon emissions, putting Americans back to work, and stimulating economic growth.
Mayor Newsom announces San Francisco Sustainable Financing for Green Retrofits
Mayor Newsom, Recurve founder Matt Golden, Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, and others announce SF Sustainable Financing Program
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday that San Francisco is introducing legislation to help finance new residential and commercial energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. San Francisco Sustainable Financing Program (SF2) is modeled after similar programs adopted by cities such as Berkeley and Palm Desert, in which the loan for improvements is attached to the property, rather than the individual, and will be paid back through property taxes over the life of the financing.
San Francisco Sustainable Financing (SF2) Highlights:
- Establishes a citywide “Mello-Roos” Special Tax District.
- Residential and commercial buildings of all sizes will be eligible.
- Some of the eligible upgrades include: insulation, replacing windows, upgrading heating systems; water efficiency upgrades—such as installing low flow toilets, potable water offsets, irrigation measures, storm water management improvements; financing will also be available for installation of renewable energy generation on buildings, such as solar arrays, solar water heaters and wind turbines
- Program phases in a mandate of a whole home energy efficiency audit and the installation of energy efficiency upgrades before renewable energy generation improvements.
- Private capital to fund the retrofits through Renewable Funding, LLC.
- Program participants can deduct the interest component of their solar financing tax on their tax returns.
Similar programs exist currently in Berkeley and Sonoma, and others are under development around the state, but San Francisco’s is the most aggressive and includes comprehensive water and energy efficiency improvements as well as renewable generation like solar.
According to Inhabitat, the genius of San Francisco Sustainable Financing is that it will leverage private market lending and available state and federal grant dollars to help home and business owners overcome the costs of green improvements without financial risk to San Francisco taxpayers. Up to $150 million has been set aside for this new program. This is different than cities with similar “repayment through property tax” solar and environmental improvement programs, where public or City investment dollars are used for financing instead.
President Obama Speaks In Support of HOME STAR
In a speech on Tuesday, December 8 at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., President Barack Obama singled out residential energy retrofits as one of the keys to near-term job creation for American workers. This is a big opportunity – 17 of our nation’s construction workers are out of work, and more than 20% of our nation’s carbon emissions come from residential buildings. With home retrofitting, we can put those workers back to work while making millions of US homes more energy efficient, helping homeowners everywhere save energy – and carbon and money – in the process. For more details and a transcript/video of the President’s speech, click here.
