News

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  Future Energy Conference in Portland April 21-22

  The Future Energy Conference, of which NW Energy Coalition/Efficiency Works! is a supporting partner, will be a great networking and learning opportunity for project developers, service and equipment providers, energy end users, utilities, policy makers and others involved in building the new energy economy. Plus, NW Energy Coalition members get a $50 discount!

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  Report: Invest in behavior change, not just technology

  Nobody disputes that spending on research and development of marketable high-efficiency lighting or heating systems is important in the quest to increase energy efficiency on a broad scale. Why isn’t there similar unanimity about the need to invest in programs that change behavior within the energy system? You know, turning off lights and turning down thermostats. The low-tech stuff.

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  Kilowatt Crackdown taps competitive energy

  The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Seattle-King County in Washington is exploiting the competitive spirit of Puget Sound area business people to realize greater energy efficiency in commercial office buildings.

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  ID cities, counties band together on energy efficiency

  It may be just a drop in an increasingly big energy efficiency bucket, but the $700,000 grant to seven central Idaho communities to launch audit and retrofit programs is significant nonetheless. It shows that smart energy efficiency policy is becoming a strategic regional priority outside of the Northwest’s urban centers.

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  As EE public financing dies (for now) in Washington, a look at other models

  A new report from the non-profit venture capital group California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF) outlines nicely a set of models for financing energy efficiency projects in the commercial sector that appear to be gaining traction. The goal is to eliminate the hurdle presented by high up-front costs.

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  Energy Trust program seeks a path to net-zero

  The Energy Trust of Oregon is doling out incentive cash in a new program to jump-start what it and many others interested in a clean energy future hope is a movement toward new buildings that produce at least as much energy as they use.

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  Public financing for EE wins another convert

  San Francisco has adopted a bond-backed financing plan that will tackle two of the biggest barriers to energy efficiency: daunting up-front costs and the fear among property owners that they won’t own their building long enough for the energy savings to pay back the project costs. Only Oregon has taken this common sense approach in the Northwest.

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  It’s not sexy, but it works: Oregon moving ahead with new energy code

  It’s not flashy. But Oregon’s Building Codes Structures Board has approved improvements to the state’s so-called Energy Efficiency Specialty Code that will require changes in new non-residential buildings that will cut energy use between 15% and 25% over current regulations.

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  Washington tunes in to TV energy standards

  The Washington Legislature is tuned in to the fact that rapid adoption of new, bigger flat-screen TVs is unnecessarily driving up home electricity bills at a time when Washingtonians can least afford it. And they are trying to do something about it.

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  Retailers stand to gain lots by going green: experts

  Though Walmart, Office Depot and some other major retail players received some attention recently for their environmental initiatives, the industry is still not known as a leader in sustainable innovation. That could change, though, once retailers understand the cost savings they could face once going green.

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