State Dept funds Peace Corps energy/climate efforts

In support of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), the Department of State will provide $1 million to fund Peace Corps volunteer efforts that increase rural access to energy, mitigate the effects of climate change, and support the use of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies in Central and South American communities.

“I am pleased that the Peace Corps will play an active role in ECPA,” said Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams. “Peace Corps volunteers have been innovators at the grassroots level for nearly 50 years. This agreement will provide the support for our volunteers to work with international experts and local organizations, businesses, and community members on the ground to create efficient and green solutions to energy challenges in the Americas.”

Under the partnership, Peace Corps volunteers will work with members of local communities to build infrastructure to support environmentally-friendly energy and educate communities on climate change and energy conservation. Volunteers will train host-country citizens to install, operate, and maintain energy-efficient technology including the use of alternative fuels, biodigesters, solar water heaters, photovoltaic devices, solar and fuel-efficient stoves, and wind or mini hydroelectric power generation. These efforts will make clean energy more accessible to rural communities, reduce carbon emissions, improve public health, and provide opportunities for individuals and small businesses to generate income.

In April 2009, at the Fifth Summit of the Americas, President Obama invited all countries in the Western Hemisphere to join ECPA to promote collaboration on renewable energy, energy efficiency, cleaner fossil fuels, and energy poverty. Peace Corps’ initial ECPA-related efforts will be implemented in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Suriname.

As Peace Corps approaches its 50th anniversary, its service legacy continues to promote peace and friendship around the world with 7,671 volunteers serving in 77 host countries. Historically, nearly 200,000 Americans have served with the Peace Corps to promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of 139 host countries.

Source: IAP

Limiting Ocean Acidification Under Global Change

Largely as a result of human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels for energy and land-use changes such deforestation, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is now higher that it has been at any time over the last 800,000 years. Most scientists believe this increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide to be an important cause of global warming

both the peak year of emissions and post-peak reduction rates influence how much ocean acidity increases by 2100. Changes in ocean pH over subsequent centuries will depend on how much the rate of carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced in the longer term.

Largely as a result of human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels for energy and land-use changes such deforestation, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is now higher that it has been at any time over the last 800,000 years. Most scientists believe this increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide to be an important cause of global warming.

“The oceans absorb around a third of carbon dioxide emissions, which helps limit global warming, but uptake of carbon dioxide by the oceans also increases their acidity, with potentially harmful effects on calcifying organisms such as corals and the ecosystems that they support,” explained Dr Toby Tyrrell of the University of Southampton’s School of Ocean and Earth Science (SOES) based at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.

“Increased ocean acidification is also likely to affect the biogeochemistry of the oceans in ways that we do not as yet fully understand,” he added.

It is widely recognised that carbon emissions need to be brought under control if the worst effects of global warming are to be avoided, but how quickly and to what extent would such mitigation measures ameliorate ocean acidification?

To address these questions, Tyrrell and his colleagues, in collaboration with researchers at the Met Office, used computer models to quantify the likely response of ocean acidification to a range of carbon dioxide emission scenarios, including aggressive mitigation.  Collectively, these models take into account ocean-atmosphere interactions (such as air-sea gas exchange), climate, ocean chemistry, and the complex feedbacks between them.

“Our computer simulations allow us to predict what impact the timing and rapidity of emission reductions will have on future acidification, helping to inform policy makers” said Tyrrell.

Global mean ocean surface pH has already decreased from around 8.2 in 1750 to 8.1 today (remember than a decrease in pH corresponds to an increase in acidity). The simulations suggest that global mean ocean pH could fall to between 7.7 and 7.8 by 2100 if carbon dioxide emissions are not controlled.

“As far as we know, such a rate of change would be without precedent for millions of years, and a concern must be whether and how quickly organisms could adapt to such a rate of change after such a long period of relative stability in ocean pH,” said Tyrrell.

However, if an aggressive emissions control scenario can be adopted, with emissions peaking in 2016 and reducing by 5% per year thereafter, the simulations suggest that mean surface ocean pH is unlikely to fall below 8.0 by 2100. But even that represents a large change in pH since the pre-industrial era.

A clear message from the study is that substantial emission reductions need to occur as soon as possible and that further reductions after atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration peaks will be needed if ocean pH is to be stabilized.

“Over the longer term, out to say 2500, the minimum pH will depend on just how far the annual rate of carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced to,” said Tyrrell.

The researchers are Influence of mitigation policy on ocean acidification Dan Bernie (Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter), Jason Lowe (Met Office Hadley Centre, University of Reading), and Toby Tyrrell and Oliver Legge (SOES).

The research was supported by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme-funded projects EPOCA (European Project on Ocean Acidification) and MEECE (Marine Ecosystem Evolution in a Changing Environment).

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Source:

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (UK) (2010, August 23). Limiting ocean acidification under global change. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 23, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2010/08/100820101400.htm

Reforestation Projects Capture More Carbon Than Industrial Plantations, New Research Reveals

Australian scientists researching environmental restoration projects have found that the reforestation of damaged rainforests is more efficient at capturing carbon than controversial softwood monoculture plantations. The research, published in Ecological Management & Restoration, challenges traditional views on the efficiency of industrial monoculture plantations.

 

“Carbon markets have become a potential source of funding for restoration projects as countries and corporations seek the cheapest way to reduce carbon emissions,” said Dr John Kanowski from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. “However, there is a concern that this funding will encourage single species monoculture plantations instead of diverse reforestation projects, due to the widely held belief that monocultures capture more carbon.”

Softwood monoculture plantations are grown for industrial purposes and are used as a cheap and abundant source of resources such as timber and rubber. However the plantations are highly controversial, with some ecologists describing the lack of diversity as a ‘green desert’.

The team sought to test the belief that monoculture plantations would capture more carbon by studying three types of projects in north-eastern Australia: monoculture plantations of native conifers, mixed species plantations and rainforest restoration projects, comprised of a diverse range of rainforest trees.

“We found that restoration planting stored significantly more carbon in above-ground biomass than the monoculture plantations of native conifers and tended to store more than mixed species timber plantations,” said Kanowski. “Compared to the monoculture plantations reforestation projects were more densely stocked, there were more large trees and the trees which were used had a higher wood density then the conifers at the plantation.”

These findings challenge the existing view of monoculture plantations. For example the Australian Government’s National Carbon Accounting Tool Box predicts that monoculture plantations would sequester 40% more carbon then restoration plantings in northern Australia, yet this study demonstrated that carbon stocks were higher in restoration plantings then in either mixed-species plantations or monoculture plantations.

The research also suggests that restoration plantings store more carbon over time. However, as restoration projects are more expensive then monoculture plantations it is unlikely that carbon markets will favour restoration.

“In order to be an attractive prospect for the markets new reforestation techniques and designs are going to be required,” concluded Kanowski. “New designs will have to ensure that restoration can provide a habitat for rainforest life and store carbon at a cost comparable to industrial monoculture.”

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Credit: Wiley – Blackwell (2010, July 31). Reforestation projects capture more carbon than industrial plantations, new research reveals.

China Annonced a Decision to Move Forward on Cap and Trade, But U.S. Republicans Continue to Sell-out Their Country, World Just to beat Obama

Here’s where the U.S. stands in the global picture on clean renewable energy, and it’s not a pretty sight.

This has not been a great week for capping carbon emissions … unless you live in China. While the Republicans, once again,suceeded in blocking another Obama priority, the U.S. Senate failed once again to show any leadership,  nor rational behaviour, China announced a decision to begin capping and trading its carbon emissions next year. Couple that with its huge investments in renewables, its new lead in wind installations and solar manufacturing, and the fact that it appears to be making policy based on facts instead of lobbying dollars, and you might just be able to mark July 21-22, 2010, as the turning point in the US/China race to dominate the 21st century economy.

The World, Obama Gets it:

Republicans just can’t:

In Copenhagen, US Republicans respond to President Obama’s speech about the need for action on climate change. These six Republicans, part of a US delegation to Copenhagen led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are: Rep James Sensenbrenner, Rep. Joe Barton, Rep. Fred Upton, Rep Shelley Moore Capito, Rep John Sullivan and Rep Marsh Blackburn

DOE Announces More Than $76 Million for Advanced Energy-Efficient Building Technologies and Commercial Building Training Programs

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced awards totaling more than $76 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support advanced energy-efficient building technology projects and the development of training programs for commercial building equipment technicians, building operators, and energy auditors.

The 58 projects selected today will help make the nation’s buildings more energy efficient and cost-effective. They will also support programs to train workers to service and operate new and existing buildings, to develop and deploy best practices resulting in fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and to establish a green workforce with technical expertise to reduce energy costs for consumers.

“These projects will help the United States lead the world in advancing energy-efficient technologies,” Secretary Chu said. “Energy-efficient commercial buildings will help our country cut its carbon emissions and energy costs while the training programs will upgrade the skills of the current workforce and attract the next generation to careers in the emerging clean-energy economy.”

The Department of Energy also released today a new video that showcases the story of Greensburg, Kansas, a town devastated by a tornado in 2007, which came back to be one of the nation’s most energy-efficient, sustainable communities. Many of the town’s government buildings use cutting-edge energy-saving technologies, such as high-efficiency windows, lighting, and heating and ventilation systems, saving local taxpayer money. Greensburg has shown that any city can reach its energy efficiency and renewable energy goals today using widely available technologies. View the video to see how Greensburg was able to “build green.”

The nation’s 114 million households and more than 74 million square feet of commercial floor space account for approximately 40% of U.S. primary energy consumption, as well as 39% of carbon dioxide, 18% of nitrogen oxides, and 55% of sulfur dioxide emissions. These projects will help lower the energy demands and emissions of commercial buildings and promote a specialized, energy-efficient buildings workforce.

Advanced Energy-Efficient Building Technology Projects

These 45 awards for advanced energy-efficient building technology projects will receive over $68.4 million and will be leveraged with more than $31.4 million in funding from private industry, for a total project value of nearly $100 million. Projects have been selected in the following five areas:

• Advanced Building Control Strategies, Communications, and Information Technologies for Net-Zero Energy Buildings ($22,497,833 total federal share): Twelve projects will focus on transforming the design, operation, and maintenance of both new and existing buildings.
• Analysis, Design, and Technical Tools ($5,969,682 total federal share): Five projects will focus on improving the capability to simulate complex interactions between building elements, including climate, envelope heat and moisture transfer, internal heat gains, lighting power, HVAC equipment, controls, thermal and visual comfort, and energy costs.
• Building Envelope and Windows ($22,807,255 total federal share): Fourteen projects will focus on improving the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings through technology advances in windows and envelope components, which are necessary to achieve significant energy savings and performance.
• Residential and Commercial Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and Crosscutting Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Research ($11,144,592 total federal share): Ten projects will focus on dramatically increasing the efficiency of HVAC systems and pursuing technologies that apply to both air conditioning and refrigeration.
• Water Heating, Residential, and Commercial Appliances and Miscellaneous Electric Loads ($6,033,246 total federal share): Four projects will focus on increasing the efficiency of water heating equipment and reducing miscellaneous electric loads.

The energy-efficient building technology projects selected include:

Advanced Building Control Strategies, Communications and Information Technologies for Net-Zero Energy Buildings: 12 selections
Organization	City, State	DOE Funding	Total Project Value
University of California	Berkeley, California	$1,987,674	$2,363,148
University of Southern California	Los Angeles, California	$1,987,025	TBD
United Technologies Research Center	East Hartford, Connecticut	$1,866,627	$2,333,284
United Technologies Research Center	East Hartford, Connecticut	$1,998,766	$2,498,457
Emerson Electric Company	St. Louis, Missouri	$1,650,838	$2,110,965
National Semiconductor Corporation	Annapolis Junction, Maryland 20710-1118	$1,998,125	$4,297,045
Honeywell International, Inc.	Golden Valley, Minnesota	$1,828,261	$2,285,326
Siemens Corporate Research	Princeton, New Jersey	$1,418,847	$1,773,574
Philips Electronics North America Corporation	Briarcliff Manor, New York	$2,192,713	$2,740,892
Verified Energy, LLC	Rochester, New York	$1,568,957	$2,562,781
Johnson Controls, Inc.	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	$2,000,000	$3,211,800
Johnson Controls, Inc.	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	$2,000,000	$3,317,734

Analysis, Design and Technical Tools: 5 selections
University of Central Florida	Orlando, Florida	$552,338	$690,428
Cornell University	Ithaca, New York	$1,660,468	TBD
Syracuse University	Syracuse, New York	$560,296	$702,354
University of Washington	Seattle, Washington	$1,196,580	$1,317,616
Eaton Corporation	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	$2,000,000	$2,500,000

Building Envelope and Windows: 14 selections
Soladigm, Inc.	Milpitas, California	$3,467,541	$5,779,236
Southwall Technologies, Inc.	Palo Alto, California	$1,429,326	$1,786,656
Applied Materials, Inc.	Santa Clara, California	$1,999,515	$3,999,330
EverSealed Windows, Inc.	Evergreen, Colorado	$2,169,327	$2,521,257
Dow Chemical Company	Midland, Michigan	$2,955,156	$5,910,312
Dow Corning Corporation	Midland, Michigan	$1,241,120	$1,551,399
Pleotint, LLC	West Olive, Michigan	$402,547	$805,095
SAGE Electrochromics, Inc.	Faribault, Minnesota	$1,633,301	$2,041,627
3M Company	St. Paul, Minnesota	$1,966,611	$3,575,657
Syntroleum Corporation	Tulsa, Oklahoma	$1,009,300	$1,261,600
Traco Delaware, Inc.	Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania	$1,317,819	$2,635,638
Quanta Technologies, Inc.	Malvern, Pennsylvania	$853,962	$1,912,537
Industrial Science & Technology Network, Inc.	York, Pennsylvania	$2,005,139	$2,709,647
CPFilms, Inc.	Fieldale, Virginia	$356,591	$564,982

Residential and Commercial HVAC, and Crosscutting Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Research: 10 selections
University of Alaska	Fairbanks, Arkansas	$617,583	$771,988
PAX Streamline, Inc.	Novato, California	$2,000,000	$3,689,397
United Technologies Research Center	East Hartford, Connecticut	$1,998,439	$2,498,049
Chemtura Corporation	Middlebury, Connecticut	$1,452,140	$1,930,540
University of Central Florida	Orlando, Florida	$256,461	$320,576
Creative Thermal Solutions, Inc.	Urbana, Illinois	$1,010,611	$1,263,268
Purdue University	West Lafayette, Indiana	$1,331,435	$1,606,435
TIAX, LLC	Cambridge, Massachusetts	$760,383	$950,478
General Electric	Niskayuna, New York	$1,471,291	$1,961,723
University of Wisconsin	Madison, Wisconsin	$246,249	$326,927

Water Heating, Residential and Commercial Appliances and Miscellaneous Electric Loads: 4 selections
TIAX, LLC	Cambridge, Massachusetts	$954,931	$1,193,662
Whirlpool Corporation	Benton Harbor, Michigan	$2,042,700	$3,963,600
Porticos, Inc.	Morrisville, North Carolina	$1,682,532	$2,118,427
Stone Mountain Technologies, Inc.	Unicoi, Tennessee	$1,353,083	$1,756,184

Training Program Development for Commercial Buildings Efficiency Experts

To achieve the full potential of energy-efficient—and eventually net-zero energy—buildings, the United States needs commercial building experts who know how to properly run and tune building heating and cooling systems. The combination of efficient operations and advanced design will improve the internal building environment, including energy use, comfort, safety, and environmental impact.

The 13 projects selected today to receive up to $7.6 million to develop training programs for commercial building equipment technicians, building operators, and energy commissioning agents and auditors will leverage nearly $1.5 million in private industry cost share, for a total project value of nearly $9.1 million.

The training projects selected include:

Organization	City, State	DOE Funding	Total Project Value
Building Equipment Technicians: 4 Selections
International Union of Operating Engineers	Washington, D.C.	$748,744	$748,744
Gas Technology Institute	Des Plaines, Illinois	$448,405	$473,405
Texas A&M University	College Station, Texas	$749,037	$749,037
Northwest Energy Efficiency Council	Seattle, Washington	$549,169	$927,300

Building Operators: 4 Selections
University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Charlotte, North Carolina	$589,843	$589,843
The Research Foundation of the City College of New York	New York, New York	$422,528	$472,528
University of Turabo	Gurabo, Puerto Rico	$335,745	$335,745
University of Wisconsin	Madison, Wisconsin	$934,712	$934,712

Building Energy Commissioning Agents/Auditors: 5 Selections
Association of Energy Engineers	Atlanta, Georgia	$462,000	$462,000
University of Nebraska	Lincoln, Nebraska	$405,741	$405,741
New Jersey Institute of Technology	Newark, New Jersey	$468,495	$468,495
Portland Energy Conservation, Inc.	Portland, Oregon	$749,153	$1,573,189
Milwaukee Area Technical College	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	$740,364	$960,364

See the detailed project descriptions of award winners (PDF115 KB)

To learn more about advanced energy-efficient building technologies efforts at DOE, please visit the Building Technologies Program Web site.

Source: DOE

Obama Urges Congress to Enact New Climate Law

Gulf oil spill may be fueling US efforts to finish work on a stalled energy and climate change bill

The environmental and economic disasters caused by the continuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may be fueling efforts in the U.S. Congress to finish work on a stalled energy and climate change bill.

Though the House of Representatives passed its version a year ago, the national debates over health care and the economy delayed action in the U.S. Senate. Heightened concerns about America’s dependence on fossil fuels may be propelling renewed action on the energy and climate legislation.  

American Power Act

Democrat John Kerry and independent Joe Lieberman introduced the American Power Act in the U.S. Senate. The bill’s sponsors say that by putting a price on carbon released into the atmosphere, the measure would help reduce America’s reliance on fossil fuels and cut its greenhouse gas emissions.

Debate is expected sometime in the coming months. A Republican-sponsored measure is also in the works.

In a speech at Carnegie Mellon University, President Obama referred to the Gulf oil spill in making the case that it is time, as he put it, to “aggressively accelerate the nation’s transition to a clean energy economy. ”

In crafting the U.S. response to global climate change, the president said congressional lawmakers must take into account the real price of America’s heavy reliance on petroleum-based energy.

“If we refuse to take into account the full costs of our fossil fuel addiction – if we don’t factor in the environmental costs and the national security costs and the true economic costs – we will have missed our best chance to seize a clean energy future.”

High costs

A new report by the PEW Center on Global Climate Change, an independent policy research group, echoes the president’s view. But it adds that, even if aggressive policies are put in place to reduce future carbon emissions, steps must be taken now to adapt to greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere; emissions that will continue to pollute the air and affect the earth’s climate.

And who should lead that effort?

PEW Vice President for Policy Analysis and the report’s co-author, Stephen Seidel, says the federal government should lead, as the nation’s largest landowner and the guardian of its natural resources, national parks and highways, bridges and dams.  

“What the federal government does, has a huge impact on where we build in coastal zones, how we farm, what our infrastructure looks like,” says Seidel. “And so decisions that federal agencies are making will have an enormous impact in our ability to wisely adapt to climate change.”

Thinking ahead

The report recommends that all federal agencies begin long-term strategic planning on climate impacts.

It also recommends a coordinated climate adaptation research program and a national climate service to better inform all levels of government, the private sector, and the general public, about what climate change will mean for them.

Seidel says, “The first question anyone, when they are told that they have to adapt to climate change, they are going to ask, ‘What is that change I have to adapt to?  How much sea level rise?  How much temperature change?  How much change in precipitation are we really talking about?  Seidel says providing that information is a critical element to understanding climate change”.  

The report identifies models for adaptation strategies from other countries.  Seidel says many cities – including New York -  also already have aggressive adaptation plans in place.  

“[New York] looked at things like where should they locate waste water treatment facilities because of the impacts of climate change, what risks are likely to occur to their subway system because it’s underground and already requires enormous pumping of water during certain large rainfall events.”

Seidel says adaption to climate change is no longer an option. It is a necessity.

He believes that the first priority of any climate bill enacted by Congress must be to put a cap on global warming gases. Unless carbon emissions are brought under control, he says, the challenge of adapting to global climate change will become ever more difficult.

Source: VOA

World Bank Works to Promote Environmentally-Sensitive Development Projects

Africa has not fared very well so far, but we are optimistic the situation hopefully will change in a few months ahead.

Development experts are urging African policymakers to increase the number of projects that reduce carbon emissions, which in turn cause pollution and climate change. The World Bank is working with African countries to help attract such so-called green investments in renewable energy, forestry and other areas.

A manager of the institution’s BioCarbon Fund, Ellysar Baroudy, says the Bank is taking part in a series of projects around the region aimed at helping impoverished communities enjoy environmental and financial benefits from carbon finance.

Funding the projects are some of the world’s biggest polluters, including industrialized countries like the United States, China and the European Union.

In Niger, a project producing Arabic gum, helps absorb carbon dioxide. In Madagascar, Baroudy says a reforestation effort links two national parks: “It’s got 122 tree species, done to try to mimic nature and extend the range of park because of the value of tourism in Madagascar.”

The U.N.’s Kyoto Protocol was designed to fight global warming. Industrialized nations are expected to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels with most reductions coming domestically. Under the protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), companies and other investors in developed countries can earn carbon credits, or Certified Emission Reductions (CDRs), whose value is linked to the price of carbon dioxide.

Western companies can invest up to 15 percent of their CDRS in projects that reduce carbon emissions in Africa and the developing world.

UN official John Kilani says “The credits are based on real measurable and additional reductions that would not have occurred in the absence of the project [so, they contribute to mitigation efforts].”

The United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) says Africa has more than 120 carbon market projects up and running — or in the pipeline — in areas ranging from wind power to forestry. But compared with the rest of the world, the continent is still lagging, and its potential for clean and green energy is still largely untapped.

There are several reasons why.

Senior Communications Officer of the World Bank’s Carbon Finance Unit, Isabel Hagbrink, says they include a lack of financing and involvement by the private sector, and a failure by some African governments to back the projects or to take the lead. Many investors are more likely to invest in carbon reduction projects in regions with high rates of greenhouse gas emissions. In comparison, Africa’s are relatively low. Some African countries also lack technical support with many trained staff leaving for better paying jobs in industrialized countries.

John Kilani is with the secretariat of the UNFCCC. He says the groundwork has been laid for Africa to boost its participation in the carbon market which is growing as an important commodities market worldwide: “Africa has not fared very well so far…but we are optimistic that the situation hopefully will change in a few months ahead.”

The World Bank report, called “State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2009,” says in the past two years a number of countries have entered the CDM pipeline, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

Development experts note that there are currently about 120 projects now in Africa, with most of them in the larger countries like South Africa. According to the UN Environmental Program, efforts planned in Kenya and Uganda have jumped from about two in each country in 2007, to nearly 15.

The UN Environment Program (UNEP) says they include a number of initiatives to improve the economy and the environment. For example, they can develop fuel for electricity generation with methane gas from landfills or hydropower from rivers and dams. Also popular are efforts to regenerate forests, absorb carbon dioxide from the air and also replenish nutrients in the soil. They help prevent flooding. In one example in Kenya, the Bank is working with the Green Belt Movement, founded by Nobel Peace laureate Wangari Maathai. Its goal is to plant trees using a community-based approach by a local group called Women for a Better Environment.

The UN agency says there could well be over 240 such projects in Africa within the next two years.

But Baroudy warns that it will be difficult for African countries to enjoy the full potential of carbon finance without a concerted effort to promote land use and forestry projects. They must also work to overcome the challenges that remain — such as project finance and capacity building.

Clean Energy Works Portland: a model for retrofit projects

A program developed by the city of Portland, Ore., is proving to be a model of public and private collaboration for large-scale home retrofit projects throughout the country.

Clean Energy Works Portland (CEWP) seeks to cut energy costs for residents, create green jobs and slash greenhouse gases by retrofitting 500 homes in the Portland area by this fall. 

The program aims to provide homeowners access to low-interest loans for residential energy efficiency improvements at no upfront costs.

Loans for projects ranging from hot-water system improvements to insulation are repaid through utility bills. Energy consultants are assigned to residents to help homeowners through the process.

Since CEWP was implemented last year, about 250 homes have been weatherized or are scheduled for improvements.

The program’s progress is due to partnerships fostered between governments, non-profits, utilities and contractors, says Susan Anderson, director of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. “Public and private partnerships are the foundation for the success of Clean Energy Works Portland.”

Merging forces

The pilot program is helping the city fulfill its pledge to cut carbon emissions by 80 percent over the next 40 years.

“By putting folks back to work, we are meeting our carbon reduction goals,” says Lisa Libby, Planning and Sustainability Director to Portland Mayor Sam Adams.

Libby says the idea for CEWP gained momentum in early 2009 when Adams merged two disparate city departments: the community development-oriented Bureau of Planning and the Office of Sustainable Development, which focused on energy and waste issues. “By bringing those two together, we had the opportunity to run with big, systemic changes,” Libby says.

Libby says officials asked each other how they could make the city greener and generate economic opportunities for all. One solution, she says, was to focus on improving home energy efficiency on a community-wide scale.

“What would it take to move this forward…and have it work in a matter of months? Immediately, we accelerated talks with Energy Trust of Oregon and the local utilities,” Libby says.

Energy Trust, an independent non-profit established by the state in 1999, helped Portland develop a framework for the program and provided about $1,200 to $1,500 in funding for each participant.

The non-profit, which specializes in developing energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions, assisted the city in “all aspects of service delivery,” says Jan Schaeffer of Energy Trust. Energy Trust assigned and trained Energy Advocates, who walked residents through the CEWP program by helping with loan paperwork, overseeing the contractor bid process and conducting quality assurance.

“As cities plan similar efforts, they can look to this model for lessons on a scalable design for energy-efficiency programs.” – Susan Anderson, director of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability

In addition, Energy Trust helped Portland by providing website and call center support, processing incentive checks, scheduling home performance assessments and finding contractors.

Schaeffer hails the relationship between Portland and Energy Trust.  “Our collaboration has been very special, without defining hierarchy or boundaries; we think it’s the Oregon way.”

A $1.1 million Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant and an additional $1 million in city funds helped get CEWP up and running. Portland chose Shorebank Enterprise Cascadia, a nonprofit community bank, to manage the program’s funds and to provide low interest energy upgrade loans to residents.

From financing to utilities to community groups

“The financial mechanism was the missing piece,” Libby says. Libby says CEWP “took a leap of faith on the utilities part,” and the city created “really strong partnerships” with Pacific Power, NW Natural and Portland General Electric.

The three utilities simplified the borrowing program for residents by allowing homeowners to repay loans through their power bills. “Utilities have a direct link to their customers, a boon for marketing; and are singularly able to provide on-bill loan repayment,” Schaeffer says.

Faith-based groups, contractors, labor unions, civil rights organizations and city officials joined forces to create the Community Workforce Agreement, which ensures weatherization businesses owned by minorities and women have equal access to CEWP projects. Libby says the agreement, which was passed by Portland’s City Council, helped “folks who have been impacted the most by the recession.”

Libby praises the work of Green For All, a national organization that helped develop the agreement. “They provided a huge lift for us,” she says.

Jumpstarting business

CEWP has boosted business for several Portland-area contractors such as Imagine Energy. “We’ve tested about 35 [homes] to date, and I think we’ll soon have completed or be in contract with about half of those,” says Jonathan Cohen of Imagine Energy.

Cohen says his team finds ways to save homeowners energy and money including duct sealing and replacement, adding insulation and installing heat pumps and furnaces. Imagine Energy also makes “infrastructure improvements like electrical and plumbing systems,” Cohen says.

The increase in business from CEWP has enabled Imagine Energy to hire more workers. “We’ve added several weatherization labor jobs, one home performance technician and one project management job,” Cohen says.

Imagine Energy has become more organized due to the increased workload, improving employee performance and customer satisfaction, Cohen says. “We’ve needed to streamline our processes to be more efficient, which has benefitted our team as well as the customer’s experience.”  He says CEWP is good for contractors like Imagine Energy because it “gives enough consistent leads and work to scale their small businesses, creating jobs.”

CEWP has established “a brand that homeowners can trust to come to for solutions-based energy and comfort improvements for their homes,” Cohen says. 

He says Portland residents are more willing to make their homes more energy efficiency as a result of the program. “The no-up-front cost and on-bill financing mechanisms make it easy for homeowners to say yes to improvements that they have been putting off.”

Template for success

The success of CEWP is serving as a model for the statewide Clean Energy Works Oregon (CEWO), which is being funded through a $20 million EECBG award. “This program [CEWO] expands the successful work of the City of Portland, which has already been undertaken and started through their local residential efficiency pilot program and takes what they have learned, here, to other communities across our state,” Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski said at a press conference.

Kulongoski signed the Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Technology Bill (EEAST) into law last year, which outlines the framework for the commercial and residential weatherization program.  Energy Trust and Portland will partner with the state in developing CEWO.

“The City of Portland will be in the lead pulling collaborators together to serve homes under CEWO,” Schaeffer says. “The Oregon Department of Energy will lead commercial efforts,” she adds.

Schaeffer says Energy Trust work closely with Oregon as CEWO retrofit projects launch. “We expect to provide residential service delivery for CEWO and are in ongoing discussions about lessons learned from the CEWP pilot that can be applied to design of CEWO.”

CEWP and the partnerships that helped make it successful will provide a template for other communities, says Anderson of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

“As cities plan similar efforts, they can look to this model for lessons on a scalable design for energy-efficiency programs and a community workforce agreement that addresses equal access to green jobs,” Anderson says.

Libby says the program’s success is due to partnerships between government, utilities, businesses and communities. “No single entity could have achieved this on their own.”

DOE Announces Up To $5 Million to Fund Superior Energy Performance Program Administrator

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a funding opportunity announcement that will provide up to $5 million in seed funding for a Program Administrator to develop, launch and operate the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) – accredited Superior Energy Performance (SEP) Industrial Plant and Facility Certification program. This program will make it possible for industrial facilities to achieve continual improvements in energy efficiency by providing a clear roadmap for conformance to the forthcoming International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 50001 energy management system standard. Additionally, in order to meet SEP criteria, companies will have to achieve designated energy intensity performance levels.  While DOE along with the U.S. Council for Energy-Efficient Manufacturing (USCEEM) is guiding the development of the SEP program, once underway, it is intended to become a self-sustaining program through plant certification fees.  

The guidance and technical assistance provided through the SEP program constitute key components of the larger Save Energy Now LEADER strategy – a national initiative sponsored by DOE’s Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) to drive a 25 percent reduction in industrial energy intensity over ten years (25 in 10). As industry currently accounts for nearly one third of U.S. carbon emissions and represents one in five private sector jobs, the progress toward greater industrial energy efficiency that the SEP program can help to drive will strengthen the U.S. economy and provide practical, near-term solutions for significant energy and carbon reductions.  The SEP Program Administrator (SEP-PA) will be responsible for getting the program off to a smooth start and keeping it on track to ensure that it delivers on its promise.  

The funding will be awarded to one entity over a period of five years. The Program Administrator will work in collaboration with ITP and the USCEEM on managing the overall program implementation process and developing a business model that will allow SEP to become a fee-based, self-sufficient program by the end of 2013 so it can operate without the need for financial assistance from the Federal government  Eligible applicants for this funding opportunity include U.S. domestic entities or consortia composed of: 1) academic institutions; 2) non-profit and private entities; and/or 3) state and local governments.  

Specifically, the SEP program will empower industrial facilities and individuals to play integral roles in the growing clean energy economy by certifying continual improvement in energy efficiency.   The SEP program is designed to encourage a culture change in how energy is managed at the facility level by involving people from all parts of management and operational staff.  A series of complementary professional certification programs are also planned to create experts that can provide energy management (ISO 50001 implementation) guidance and conduct energy assessments.  To encourage broader participation by US industrial plants ranging in size and levels of experience in managing energy, SEP will offer a tiered approach in demonstrating energy intensity improvements and successful implementation of energy-efficient practices. In addition, the SEP program will emphasize DOE priorities in program transparency through measurement and verification of energy savings and carbon emission reductions.  

Further details on the Funding Opportunity Announcement entitled, “Superior Energy Performance Program Administrator Technical Assistance” can be found at Public Opportunities section of the FedConnect Web site.  The solicitation reference number is DE-FOA-0000246.  

Carbon Offsets & Cap-and-Trade System Work Hand in Hand on Global Warming

Under President Obama, the US is rapidly moving toward a comprehensive cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions.  President Obama’s proposed budget according to Reuters includes billions in revenues generated through cap-and-trade. As currently envisioned, the plan is estimated to help America achieve 83% emissions reductions below 2005 levels by 2050. Carbon offsets are important to helping achieve these reductions and making a cap-and-trade work effectively.

It makes sense to put an entire wind farm in windy prairies than in Atlanta. It can also make more sense to plant many trees in highly productive tropical and subtropical lands. The carbon reductions generated from these projects are real and produce the same effect on the atmosphere, but when a project is located on the best site, the results and cost are usually better.

Emissions reductions strategies should focus on cost effective means to reduce emissions, which is why any potential federal cap-and-trade program should include provisions for carbon offsetting. Regional cap-and-trade programs like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which covers 10 East Coast states, allow for a portion of the emissions reductions to be achieved through carbon offsets.

Carbon offsets will allow industries covered by a federal cap-and-trade to implement the most cost effective reduction strategies and help minimize fluctuations in the price for energy and commodities. Offsets will not replace the work that has to be done to reduce industrial emissions at the source, but they will facilitate the transition to a clean energy economy and help businesses build-in a variety of emissions reduction strategies.

In the end, the emissions reductions achieved through a balanced approach to fighting global warming through local reductions and carbon offsets will work. And moreover, the Earth’s climate doesn’t care if emissions are reduced in New York City, Taipei, or Johannesburg – as it will benefit from reductions that are real and verifiable.

 Source: Carbonfund.org

India Launches Project to Phase Out Incandescent Bulbs

(New Delhi, Feb. 26)  India has launched a project to phase out the traditional incandescent light bulb in favor of compact fluorescent lights. India is the latest to join several nations trying to switch to more energy-efficient lamps in a bid to reduce carbon emissions and tackle climate change.  

The Indian Energy Ministry says that, in the next three years, it will distribute 400 million compact fluorescent lights to households to replace existing incandescent bulbs.  

Homes in the eastern state, Andhra Pradesh, and the northern Haryana state will be the first to receive the fluorescent lights, which use up to 75 percent less energy to produce the same amount of light as traditional bulbs.  

The potential to save energy through the switch to fluorescent lights is enormous. Household lighting accounts for about one fifth of the total energy consumption in India. India’s power minister says the program could help India save 10,000 megawatts of electricity, each year.  

Srinivas Krishnaswamy of Greenpeace India says even more significant is that the program will help India reduce 55 million tons of carbon emissions, every year.  

“Developing countries should look at climate change as an opportunity, a challenge to build a low-carbon pathway and steps like this are good beginning to build a low-carbon economy,” said Krishnaswamy.

As in many other countries, the popularity of compact fluorescent lights has been slow to spread in India because they cost about four times as much as traditional bulbs. But they are cheaper, in the long run, because they consume less power and bulb-life is far greater than with the incandescents. The government is offering the lamps for about 30 cents – about one quarter of their cost in the market.

Environmentalists say the movement to phase out the traditional light bulb is becoming global with countries from Australia and China, to Britain either implementing or considering measures to switch to energy-efficient lamps.

This is the first program India has launched as part of an Action Plan on Climate Change, which it adopted last year. The plan put the focus on harnessing renewable energy and improving energy efficiency.

India is among the world’s top five emitters of greenhouse gases, but it is not required to cut emissions, at this stage, under the Kyoto Protocol. Analysts say India’s emissions are rising, because of rapid economic development, and could contribute significantly to global warming in years to come.