US DOE
Date: 2021-09-08
The U.S. DOE reports it has recognized the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, as part of its Building Envelope Campaign for the design of the Industrial Center Building Addition (ICB-A). The ICB-A was recognized as a new building that performs above code because it uses emerging high-performance technology for its building envelope -- windows, exterior walls and roofs. The Fermi building envelope surpassed the award's criteria of a 20 pct improvement over current building code, providing a 25 pct improvement. Building envelopes account for almost 33 pct of energy consumption in commercial buildings. For ICB-A, the building envelope specifications alone would have only achieved about a 15 pct improvement.

Because ICB-A connects two existing facilities, the addition was strategically located to provide direct access to surrounding assembly areas while eliminating over 7,000 square feet of building envelope exposed to the outdoor environment. Placement of the roughly 25,000-square-foot addition combined with energy-efficient windows, exterior walls and roofs gave the building its performance boost.

Fermilab is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. (Source: US DOE, Office of Science, PR, Sept., 2021) Contact: DOE Office of Science, www.energy.gov/science Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, www.fnal.gov

More Low-Carbon Energy News Building Energy Efficiency,  US DOE,  

Date: 2021-09-08
The U.S. DOE reports it has recognized the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, as part of its Building Envelope Campaign for the design of the Industrial Center Building Addition (ICB-A). The ICB-A was recognized as a new building that performs above code because it uses emerging high-performance technology for its building envelope -- windows, exterior walls and roofs. The Fermi building envelope surpassed the award’s criteria of a 20 pct improvement over current building code, providing a 25 pct improvement. Building envelopes account for almost 33 pct of energy consumption in commercial buildings. For ICB-A, the building envelope specifications alone would have only achieved about a 15 pct improvement.

Because ICB-A connects two existing facilities, the addition was strategically located to provide direct access to surrounding assembly areas while eliminating over 7,000 square feet of building envelope exposed to the outdoor environment. Placement of the roughly 25,000-square-foot addition combined with energy-efficient windows, exterior walls and roofs gave the building its performance boost. Fermilab is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. (Source: US DOE, Office of Science, PR, Sept., 2021) Contact: DOE Office of Science, www.energy.gov/science Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, www.fnal.gov

DOE Science
Date: 2021-09-03
The U.S. DOE reports it has recognized the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, as part of its Building Envelope Campaign for the design of the Industrial Center Building Addition (ICB-A). The ICB-A was recognized as a new building that performs above code because it uses emerging high-performance technology for its building envelope -- windows, exterior walls and roofs. The Fermi building envelope surpassed the award’s criteria of a 20 pct improvement over current building code, providing a 25 pct improvement. Building envelopes account for almost 33 pct of energy consumption in commercial buildings. For ICB-A, the building envelope specifications alone would have only achieved about a 15 pct improvement.

Because ICB-A connects two existing facilities, the addition was strategically located to provide direct access to surrounding assembly areas while eliminating over 7,000 square feet of building envelope exposed to the outdoor environment. Placement of the roughly 25,000-square-foot addition combined with energy-efficient windows, exterior walls and roofs gave the building its performance boost. Fermilab is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. (Source: US DOE, Office of Science, PR, Sept., 2021) Contact: DOE Office of Science, www.energy.gov/science Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, www.fnal.gov

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency news,  

IoEnergy Solutions
Date: 2021-08-27
Carmel, California-headquartered IoEnergy Solutions is touting its new On-Bill Finance division to help Bay Area PG&E businesses access utility-sponsored, zero out-of-pocket lighting efficiency upgrades.

IoEnergy provides start-to-finish, on-site project identification, utility application management and retrofit implementation for buildings of 50,000 square feet and larger.

On-bill financing gives commercial building owners the opportunity to retrofit the lighting in their buildings with ultra-efficient LED luminaries and tech-forward sensors and controls. The projects are financed through the energy cost savings associated with the upgrade. For upgrades on large commercial facilities, these savings, combined with lowered maintenance costs over time, can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, according to the company release. (Source: IoEnergy Solutions, PR, 26 Aug., 2021) Contact: IoEnergy Solutions, Danny Krueger, CEO, (831) 298-0048, www.ioenergyinc.com

More Low-Carbon Energy News IoEnergy Solutions news,  PG&E news,  Energy Efficiency news,  

US DOE EERE
Date: 2021-08-16
In Washington, the US DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has awarded $82.6 million in funding to 44 projects that will lower Americans' energy bills and help meet the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 by investing in new energy efficient building technologies, construction practices, and the U.S. buildings-sector workforce.

The 44 projects across 20 states will improve building energy efficiency through innovations in thermal energy storage, building envelopes, lighting, HVAC, water heating -- as well as by bolstering the energy efficiency workforce with trainings, educational programs, and other technical support. The following are among the 44 funded projects:

North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota will develop a novel absorption material that will efficiently store thermal energy.

Baryon Inc. based in Wilmington, Delaware will develop an innovative air-conditioning system based on a new method of evaporative cooling combined with dehumidification that can consume 50 to 85 pct less energy than traditional air conditioning systems.

In Sidney, Ohio, Emerson Commercial and Residential Solutions will design, fabricate, and validate a highly efficient refrigerated display case for use in supermarkets.

The New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark will design, prototype, install, test, and evaluate a high-performance residential wall retrofit that can achieve estimated heating and cooling energy savings of 30 pct or more.

The Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance in Atlanta, Georgia, will develop training resources on electrified building systems such as electric heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, electric vehicle charging systems, and battery storage systems. These resources will help members of the workforce learn how to educate consumers on the benefits of these technologies.

Download the full list of funded recipients HERE.

The mission of the DOE EERE is to accelerate the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of technologies and solutions to equitably transition America to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050, and ensure the clean energy economy benefits all Americans. (Source: US DOE EERE, PR, 13 Aug., 2021) Contact: US DOE EERE, Building Technologies Office, www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/building-technologies-office

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency news,  DOE Building Technology Office news,  DOE EERE news,  

Date: 2021-08-13
In the Bay State, the Town of Arlington (pop. 42,600 +-) Select Board reports it has unanimously endorsed Arlington's net-zero action plan to "get Arlington on the path to reach net-zero greenhouse-gas pollution by 2050."

The plan has three pillars to help the town reach net zero: maximize and promote building energy efficiency; electrify everything -- heating, water heating, cooking and transportation (including school buses); and; "green the grid" including the town's electricity supply by generating more renewable power. (Source: Town of Arlington, 10 Aug., 2021) Contact: Town of Arlington, Ken Pruitt, Energy Manager, (781) 316-3428 , kpruitt@town.arlington.ma.us, www.town.arlington.ma.us

US DOE EERE
Date: 2021-07-28
The U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Office, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in collaboration with Modelon and Objexx Engineering, have released the initial version of the Spawn of EnergyPlus (Spawn)

Spawn is not a replacement for EnergyPlus, at least not in the foreseeable future. Although it does perform whole-building energy simulation, it targets new use cases in advanced controls, district systems, and grid integration.

Spawn supports these new use cases by making fundamental use of coupled simulation via the Functional Mockup Interface standard. Spawn reuses the weather, envelope, lighting, and loads models from EnergyPlus and packages them as a single model. However, it replaces EnergyPlus' traditional, imperative, implicit, load-based HVAC and controls models with explicit declarative state-based models from the Modelica Buildings Library which are translated and automatically linked with the EnergyPlus model. By combining models in different configurations, Spawn is able to simulate either a single building or a collection of buildings linked by shared thermal, electrical, and control systems.

Spawn also fundamentally leverages the Modelica, a standard for equation-based modeling. The use of Modelica to model HVAC and control introduces capabilities that are not found in traditional energy simulation engines such as EnergyPlus. The most significant of these is the ability to simulate physically realistic control sequences using the same specification that is used in controller implementations. The ability to use a single control specification for both energy simulation and implementation aims to bridge these traditionally separate domains and promote the use of high-performance control sequences. Modelica also enables modeling of novel HVAC and district system components and configurations. Spawn HVAC and control models have been developed as part of a multi-year international effort led by IEA EBC Annex 60 and IBPSA-World Project 1 to develop Modelica models for building and community systems.

Spawn-of-EnergyPlus details HERE. (Source: US DOE, PR, 27 July, 2021) Contact: DOE, www.energy.gov/eere/buildings

More Low-Carbon Energy News US DOE EERE,  Building Energy Efficiency,  Energy Efficiency Software,  DOE Building Technologies ,  DOE EnergyPlus ,  

California Energy Commission
Date: 2021-07-09
In Sacramento, the California Energy Commission (CEC) reports its accredited rating providers, CalCERTS and CHEERS, were recently approved by RESNET as official HERSH2O providers -- paving the way for the launch of the water efficiency rating program in California.

Built off RESNET's nationally recognized Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index, which is the gold standard for rating the energy efficiency of a home, HERSH2O was developed as a system for rating whole-house water efficiency including both indoor and outdoor uses through a consensus development process with input from more than 75 organizations.

The approval of two of California's accredited rating providers comes as water resources are becoming increasingly strained in many parts of the country and the cost to upgrade aging water infrastructure is taking a toll. With water prices increasing faster than energy prices, there is the potential for water efficiency measures to impact cost savings throughout the US.

The International Code Council is the leading global source of model codes and standards and building safety solutions. Code Council codes, standards and solutions are used to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable communities and buildings worldwide.

The Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) is a not-for-profit, membership corporation recognized national standards-making body for building energy efficiency rating and certification systems in the United States . (Source: California Energy Commission, International Code Council, PR, July, 2021) Contact: International Code Council, Mark Johnson, Exec. VP, www.iccsafe.org; California Energy Commission, www.energy.ca.gov

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,  California Energy Commission,  

World Green Building Council
Date: 2021-06-28
A new report from the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) notes that work by Green Building Councils in Latin American countries have led to the introduction of four significant building energy efficiency policies and the development of 10 others across the region since 2019.

Four policies have been approved in Mexico and Colombia, while another 10 are in development in Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala. These policies are boosting energy savings across the built environment while also introducing new systems for monitoring performance and accessing data. Given the size of the region -- a population of 624 million, more than 80 pct of whom live in cities -- introducing ambitious policies will be key in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, the WorldGBC said.

According to the report, "the building and construction sector has a significant importance in the sustainability agenda, but it has traditionally been fragmented, slowing the scaling of innovation, improvements in productivity and best practice from one project to another."

The WorldGBC Cities Climate Action Project was launched in 2019 with the aim of delivering projects and policies that promote resource efficiency in buildings.

The regulations in development in each country will give the private sector "the right set of signals to align their investments with the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.", according to the WorldGBC report.

Download the WorldGBC report HERE. (Source: WorldGBC, PR, June, 2021) Contact: WorldGBC, Cristina Gamboa, CEO, www.worldgbc.org

More Low-Carbon Energy News World Green Building Council ,  

White House
Date: 2021-05-24
In Washington, the Biden administration has announced new federal initiatives and investments in building energy efficiency and electrification in a move to achieve a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and put the United States on an irreversible path to a net-zero economy by 2050. The White House initiative includes:

Launching the low-carbon buildings pilot -- Through the Department of Energy's (DOE) Better Buildings Initiative and in coordination with Housing and Urban Development, DOE is announcing the first 55 commercial, industrial, and multifamily organizations to participate in the Low-Carbon Buildings Pilot program, which will share lessons learned for real world pathways to low and no emission buildings.

In partnership with the Advanced Water Heating Initiative, DOE is launching a new initiative to increase market adoption of high-efficiency, grid-connected Heat Pump Water Heaters which are two to four times more efficient than conventional water heaters in residential and commercial buildings.

New and expanded EPA partnership programs -- EPA is launching new residential and commercial sector partnerships to accelerate efficiency and electrification retrofits with a focus on under served residential households through the ENERGY STAR Home Upgrade program, accelerate building electrification through an advanced ENERGY STAR certification for new residential buildings, and recognize commercial buildings through a new zero-carbon commercial building certification. It will also launch a new Greenhouse Gas tool linked to its Portfolio Manager tool.

New national research initiative focused on innovating clean and efficient building heating and cooling systems -- DOE will launch the Initiative for Better Energy, Emissions, and Equity (E3 Initiative), putting $10M toward accelerating the research and adoption of heat pump technologies. As part of the E3 Initiative, DOE will launch a Cold Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge to accelerate the development of high performing cold climate heat pump technologies. Another important component will be new research efforts partnering National Laboratories and manufacturers to accelerate the development of lower to no global warming potential refrigerants that can be quickly commercialized.

National grid-interactive efficient buildings roadmap -- DOE is releasing the Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (GEB) Roadmap with 14 recommendations to better integrate buildings with solar and wind power through smart operation of electricity demand and storage. Smart buildings allow consumers to have more choice over building operations and provide the ability to manage energy loads and reduce energy bills. Over the next two decades, national adoption of GEBs would create savings of $100 -- $200 billion across the electric power system and could decrease emissions in the power sector by 6 pct per year.

New Federal Building Performance Standards -- Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is launching an inter-agency Federal sustainability effort with General Serivices Administration (GSA), DOE, and EPA to develop the first-ever building performance standards (BPS) for the federal government. The BPS will establish metrics, targets, and tracking methods to reach federal carbon emissions goals. The performance standards will identify progressive performance milestones as well as the resources that agencies need to meet them.

Blueprint to integrate GEB Technologies into Energy Savings Contracts -- GSA is releasing a blueprint to integrate grid-interactive technologies into federal building renovation and improvement projects, particularly using energy savings, and utility energy savings contracts. The blueprint puts practical guidance and tools into the hands of building operators to help them integrate GEB technologies into current and future performance contracts.

New ENERGY STAR standards to advance heat pump technology and fast chargers for electric vehicles -- If all heat pumps, central air conditioners, and electric water heaters sold in the U.S. met the new ENERGY STAR standards, the energy cost savings would grow to $11 billion a year, and 255 billion ppy of GHG emissions would be avoided. These new standards will increase American households' and businesses' access to affordable heating, cooling, water heating, and transportation options.

These actions -- involving the General Services Administration (GSA), Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) -- focus on key levers available within the administration's existing authority now, without waiting for the anticipated infrastructure package, the release notes. (Source: The White House, PR, 17 May, 2021)

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,  ENERGY STAR,  GSA,  DOE,  

City of Aspen
Date: 2021-05-19
In Colorado, the Aspen City Council reports it is adopting a new building code that focuses on increased energy efficiency, building energy efficiency minimum standards, net-zero waste in demolition of old buildings, reducing overall energy consumption, onsite renewable sources for new structures, and other measures aimed at reducing the community's carbon emissions by 80 pct by 2050 in line with the community's Climate Action Plan.

The city's electric utility grid is currently carbon-free and the other electric provider, Holy Cross, has committed to being carbon-free by 2030, according to city officials. (Source: City of Aspen, PR, 17 May, 2021) Contact: Aspen City Council, 970-920-5199 , www.cityofaspen.com/674/City-Counci

More Low-Carbon Energy News City of Aspen,  Energy Efficiency,  Building Code,  

European Investment Bank
Date: 2021-05-14
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has unveiled a new investment of €50 million ($60.675 million US) Portuguese homes. The move follows a partnership with the Union de Creditos Inmobiliarios, a joint venture between Banco Santander and the BNP Paribas Group.

The funding, which will support individual building energy efficiency upgrades, is expected to result in a total energy saving of 57.3GWh a year. Around 75 pct of buildings in Spain and Portugal currently have low energy efficiency and, more critically, almost 85-95 of them will still be in use by 2050, according to the EIB release. (Source:EIB, Website, PR, May, 2021) Contact: European Investment Bank, www.eib.org

More Low-Carbon Energy News European Investment Bank,  Energy Efficiency,  

West Virginia
Date: 2021-04-09
In Charleston, the West Virginia Senate Finance Committee reports it has advanced House Bill 2667 aimed at reduce energy usage in all state buildings to 25 pct below 2018 levels by 2030. The bill also requires annual reports on building energy performance compared to similar buildings in similar climates be submitted to the West Virginia Office of Energy.

If passed into law, the West Virginia Office of Energy would audit at least 20 pct of energy-metering devices at state buildings each year so all devices are audited by the end of 2026. The Energy Office would also establish a program for measuring and benchmarking the energy efficiency of all state buildings and submit energy usage data to a U.S. EPA operated benchmarking tool, to which the state is already registered. Sixty out of roughly 3.600 state owned buildings statewide are presently bench hmarked.

West Virginian spends an estimated $88 million to $100 million per year on utility costs. Benchmarking, utility auditing and other low-cost and no-cost measures are projected to cut those cost by 15 to 28 pct. (Source: West Virginia Office of Energy, Charleston Gazette-Mail, 7 Apr., 2021) Contact: West Virginia Office of Energy, Karen Lasure, Energy Efficiency Administrator, www.westvirginia.gov/divisions/office-of-energy

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,  Energy Benchmarking,  Building Energy Efficiency,  

UK Dept. of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Date: 2021-03-26
In London, the UK Dept. of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is proposing to implement tighter minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) for privately rented non-domestic buildings to reach a long-term target of having an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of B by 2030. The measures are in line with the government's aim of reducing building energy consumption by 20 pct by 2030 and attain net-zero carbon emissions in the UK by 2050.

Under current MEES regulations, landlords are, subject to certain exemptions, prohibited from granting new or renewed leases on non-domestic privately rented property with an EPC rating below E. From 1 April 2023, the ban will extend to prohibit the continuation of any existing lease of non-domestic premises with an EPC rating below E. There are stringent financial penalties for non-compliance

Under the proposals ,subject to some exceptions, landlords will need to present a valid EPC by 1 April 2025 and then will have until 1 April 2027 to improve the building to at least an EPC rating of C. Landlords will then need to repeat the process by providing a valid EPC by 1 April 2028 and subsequently ensure that by 1 April 2030 the building has improved to at least an EPC rating of B. (Source: Dept. of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Mar., 2021) Contact: BEIS, enquiries@beis.gov.uk, www.beis.gov.uk

More Low-Carbon Energy News UK Dept. of Business news,  Energy and Industrial Strategy news,  BEIS news,  Building Energy Efficiency news,  

New Democratic Party
Date: 2021-03-08
In Toronto, the New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) is touting its Ontario Climate. Jobs. Justice. A Green New Democratic Deal and its commitment to make Ontario net-zero by 2050 and creating as many as one million total jobs throughout the life of the deal. The NDP Plan calls for:

A mandate for all newly built public, residential and commercial buildings to be net-zero emissions by 2030, alongside a world-leading building energy efficiency retrofit program;

Ontario's first zero-emissions vehicle strategy, ramping up electric vehicle sales to hit a 100 pct target by 2035, requiring all new home construction to include electric vehicle charging capacity and giving $600 for installation of residential electric vehicle charging stations at existing homes;

Electrifying all municipal transit fleets and systems by 2040;

A new, more fair emissions cap-and-trade program;

Establishing Ontario's first Youth Climate Corps and planting one billion trees by 2030;

Restoring the powers of the provincial Environment Commissioner.

The NDP plan stands in stark contrast to Conservative Premier Doug Ford's "anti-environment crusade that has gutted conservation authorities, paid hundreds of millions of dollars to tear down wind farm projects and cancelled Ontario's cap-and-trade program." (Source: New Democratic Party, PR, Mar., 2021) Contact: New Democratic Party of Canada, www.ndp.ca

More Low-Carbon Energy News Carbon Emissions,  Ontario Climate Change,  

Columbia Basin Trust
Date: 2021-02-24
In British Columbia, the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre is receiving more than $90,000 in grant funding from the Columbia Basin Trust to support building energy efficiency upgrades. As one of 15 projects receiving a total of $634,000, from the trust's public building energy sustainability grant program, the upgrades will increase energy efficiency and reduce costs.

The Art Center will use the funding to replace low-efficiency propane boilers and a hot water tank, replace drafty windows with high-efficiency units and draft seal doors. (Source: Revelstoke Review, 23 Feb., 2021) Contact: Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre, www.revelstokeartgallery.ca; Columbia Basin Trust, www.outrust.org

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,  

FOMO, SMart Cities
Date: 2021-02-24
Chicago-headquartered FOMO CORP. is reporting a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire the assets of the Energy Intelligence Center LLC (EIC), a U.S. solutions provider for energy efficient buildings. This LOI follows FOMO's 8-K filing on February 16, 2021, specifically relative to FOMO licensing the patent of Online Energy Manager, LLC (OEM) and FOMO's option to purchase OEM.

EIC and OEM are strategic partner companies, and these two recent developments set the stage to further position FOMO in 2021 as a clean energy technology company within the growing "Clean-Tech" and smart building marketplace.

FOMO's previous asset acquisition of Independence LED Lighting, LLC and Purge Virus, LLC serve as excellent complements to EIC for next generation clean air and energy efficient buildings.

According to the Smart Cities Challenge, the global market for energy efficiency is pegged at $360 billion/year. (Source: FOMO CORP., PR, 28 Feb., 2021) Contact: Energy Intelligence Center, www.energyintelligencecenter.com; FOMO, Vik Grover, CEO, Wayman Baker, EVP Corporate Dev., (630) 286-9560, IR@fomoworldwide.com, www.fomoworldwide.com

More Low-Carbon Energy News Smart Cities,  Building Energy Efficiency,  Energy Management,  

Date: 2021-01-11
In London, UK Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled his 10-point plan for a "green"--low-carbon industrial revolution. The plan focus on the following industries and initiatives:

Offshore wind -- The government has already announced an ambition to have every home in the UK powered by offshore wind in an effort to cut the emissions from electricity.

Hydrogen -- The gov. plans to have 5GW -- sufficient power for roughly 1.5 million UK homes -- of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030.

Nuclear -- The plan calls for renewed support for small modular nuclear reactors that can be largely built in factories and other small applications.

Electric vehicles -- The plan calls for increased support for electric vehicles, recharging infrastructure and the previously announced ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.

Public transport, cycling and walking -- Calls for increased clean public transport options including electric, alternative fuel and hydrogen powered buses as well as encourages cycling and walking.

Jet zero and greener fuel transportation -- Calls for zero-emission alternative fuel and electric power long-haul mass transportation including passenger rail, electric airplanes and maritime ferries.

Energy efficiency -- The plan calls for a major effort to increase residential and public building energy efficiency.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) -- Focuses on "clusters" where groups of power stations, factories or industrial plants could be linked to CCUS infrastructure for greater efficiency and cost savings.

Nature and the ecosystem -- Seeks to end the loss of wild life habitats, increase funding for tree planting, peatland restoration and other programs to store carbon, protect habitat and curb flooding.

10. Innovation and finance -- for the wholesale, economy-wide shift away from fossil fuels to a low-carbon energy clean future. (Source: Office of UK PM Boris Johnson, Jan., 2021) Contact:Office of UK PM Boris Johnson, www.email.number10.gov.uk

Energy Efficiency
Date: 2021-01-11
In London, UK Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled his 10-point plan for a "green"--low-carbon industrial revolution. The PM's plan calls for "a major effort to increase residential and public building energy efficiency".

The plan also calls for: a concerted development and deployment of: offshore wind; small-scale nuclear; electric vehicles and alternative fuels; increased use of public mass transit; hydrogen; carbon capture and storage (CCS) "clusters" where groups of power stations, factories or industrial plants could be linked to CCUS infrastructure for greater efficiency and cost savings; ecosystem funding for tree planting, peatland restoration and similar programs to store carbon; and a wholesale, economy-wide shift away from fossil fuels to a low-carbon energy clean future. (Source: Office of UK PM Boris Johnson, Jan., 2021) Contact:Office of UK PM Boris Johnson, www.email.number10.gov.uk

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,  

Building Engineering Services Association
Date: 2020-10-30
In the UK, the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and the Energy Services Technology Association (ESTA) are reporting the establishment of the Energy Efficiency in Buildings Group to promote awareness and the economic benefits of energy demand reduction, energy management and building energy efficiency to government, business organisations and relevant trade associations.

BESA and ESTA will retain their independence, but plans for the Energy Efficiency in Buildings Group include a combined newsletter and webinars to share information with a wider audience. The group will also enable the associations to work together on areas such as the Youth Stem Summit and Young People in Engineering, where energy management is a link. (Source: BESA, Cooling Post, 29 Oct., 2020) Contact: BESA, www.thebesa.org

More Low-Carbon Energy News Buidling Energy Efficiency,  

Saffron Building Society
Date: 2020-09-04
In the UK, the Sussex-based Saffron Building Society reports the launch of a retro-fit mortgage which offers a reduced rate if the borrower improves their EPC -- building energy efficiency -- rating after six months.

The mortgage is aimed at people planning to move to an older or period property and need to remortgage or upgrade on their existing home. The "green"mortgage offers the borrower a rate relief for the remainder of the fixed rate period, when the works undertaken on the property produce a one-step rise in the EPC rating -- as long as this is above an E.

Saffron's retro-fit, energy efficiency mortgage comes in the month the government is launching its Green Homes Initiative which offers up to £5,000 for cavity wall insulation, window and door glazing, solar panel installations and other energy efficiency improvements and upgrades to existing buildings. (Source: Saffron Building Society, Mortgage Finance Gazette, 3 Sept., 2020) Contact: Saffron Building Society, Laura Bright, +44 0 1799 522211, www.saffronbs.co.uk

More Low-Carbon Energy News Saffron Building Society,  Energy Efficiency,  Green Mortgage,  

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Date: 2020-07-31
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) reports it is extending a €8 million loan to help the city of Sarajevo (pop. 360,000) increase city building energy efficiency. The funding is in addition to a €2 million EU grant for the refurbishment of 40 school and health buildings in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The energy efficiency works are a priority project under the Green City Action Plan for the Sarajevo Canton. The expected energy savings are estimated to be around 13.7 GWh and would result in 4,774 tpy of CO2 savings. Energy efficiency measures will include the introduction of cleaner and more efficient heating, better insulation, better lighting and overall improvements.

The 43-member EBRD Green Cities initiative is designed to help cities articulate a sustainable development vision and their strategic objectives as well as define actions and investments necessary to address priority environmental issues. (Source: EBRD, New Europe, 30 July, 2020) Contact: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, www.ebrd.com

More Low-Carbon Energy News European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,  EBRD,  Energy Efficiency ,  

Energy Efficiency,Task Force For Resilient Recovery
Date: 2020-07-24
An independent panel of experts making up the Canadian Task Force for a Resilient Recovery has released a preliminary report that includes "5 Bold Moves for a Resilient Recovery", the first of which is a proposed $27.3 billion federal investment in climate-resilient and energy-efficient buildings. The building retrofit package serves as the keystone of a proposed total $49.9 billion clean economic recovery package.

The task force recommends the following related to improving the efficiency of the country's building stock:

Expand public-private financing facilities for building retrofits using a $13 billion public investment to leverage $35 billion in private capital through de-risking and co-investment strategies.

Spend $10 billion on expanding existing provincial and municipal building retrofit programs.

Invest $1.25 billion in workforce development for energy efficiency and climate resiliency.

Use $2 billion to select diverse large-scale demonstration projects through a competitive process, and apply innovative techniques to significantly reduce the cost, time and customer disruption of deep energy retrofits.

Introduce new national model building code incorporating net-zero and resiliency measures in the next year, while also providing incentives for provincial uptake; and invest $2 million to integrate a "ResiliGuide" rating to measure the climate resilience of buildings.

Create an Indigenous Infrastructure Fund (a rotating $1 billion-per-year non-lapsing fund) to bolster investment in sustainable infrastructure in Indigenous communities across Canada. (Source: Task Force For Resilient Recovery, Gov. of Canada, HVAC Mag., 22 July, 2020) Contact: Task Force For Resilient Recovery, www.recoverytaskforce.ca

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,  

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Date: 2020-06-29
In London, the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is reporting almost £80 million in funding to support a range innovative projects aimed at upgrading building energy efficiency.

The new investment covers a wide range of programmes, with £30 million going towards the first phase of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) aimed at energy intensive manufacturers such as car factories and steel plants; a further £25 million earmarked for heating networks and the remaining £24 million focused on new approaches for installing insulation for social housing at scale, rolling out heat pumps, and supporting the development of innovative green home finance products. The funding will enable various projects that use of modern smart technologies to cut energy consumption and energy costs across the UK. (Source: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, GreenBiz, 29 June, 2020) Contact: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Hon. Kwasi Kwarteng, Minister, www.gov.uk/government/people/kwasi-kwarteng

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,  Insulation,  Green Energy,  

Emirates Green Building Council
Date: 2020-06-24
In Dubai, the Emirates Green Building Council (Emirates GBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, reports it will offer a virtual Building Retrofit Training Programme for the Middle East and North Africa region.

The programme, which is offered in partnership with Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company MASDAR, aims to strengthen knowledge sharing among construction sector stakeholders on the fundamentals of building energy efficiency retrofiting. (Source: Emirate Green Building Council, PR Trade Arabia News, 24 June, 2020) Contact: Emirates GBC, +971 4 346 8244, www.emirategbc.org

More Low-Carbon Energy News Emirates Green Building Council news,  Green Building news,  Energy Efficiency news,  MASDAR news,  

Delaware Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy
Date: 2020-06-22
In Dover, the Delaware Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy (DNREC) is reporting building code updates that include energy efficiency improvements, increased residential air sealing requirements, hot water pipe insulation, and energy efficient windows and lighting options, as well as more efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning system operation resulting from these improvements.

Delaware first established a minimum statewide code for energy conservation in 1979. The code, which is based on standards set by the International Code Council (ICC) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHREA) was last updated in 2009.

The update includes a six-month transition period, during which the Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy will provide targeted training and technical assistance to the construction industry and code enforcement officials. Topics covered by the training will include an overview of the changes, practical compliance strategies, particularly for the building envelope requirements in the new energy codes, construction and design strategies for air sealing smaller homes, and hot water pipe insulation and HVAC duct design. (Source: DNREC, Cape Gazette, June, 2020) Contact: DNREC Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy, www.dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/climate-coastal-energy

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,  Building Energy,  Energy Consumption,  ASHRAE,  

Honeywell,SAP
Date: 2020-06-17
To help pass the benefits of Cloud Computing, AI and Automation to real estate customers in the US and Canada, global tech firms Honeywell and SAP have partnered together. Honeywell, the Fortune 100 tech Company, will use SAP’s Cloud for Real Estate solution to improve overall building performance and deliver operational intelligence.

The SAP-Honeywell Cloud-based automated real estate Business Intelligence tool, building owners can deliver on their promised KPIs, including building safety, zero/ low-carbon footprint and energy savings (HVAC efficiency). For example, AI-powered Honeywell Forge can save up to 25 pct of energy costs within the first year of deployment. (Source: AITHORITY Blog, Honeywell USA/ SAP, PR, June, 2020) Contact: SAP, Christian Klein, CEO , 800-872-1727, www.sap.com; Honeywell Fotge, (480) 353-3020, www.honeywell.com/en-us/honeywell-forge/buildings

More Low-Carbon Energy News SAP,  Honeywell,  Building Energy Efficiency,  Artifical Intelligence,  

DOE Better Buildings Initiative
Date: 2020-06-12
In Washington, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Initiative 2020 Progress Report, the program has saved participants nearly $11 billion, avoid 105 million tons of CO2 emissions and cut water use by 8.5 billion gallons over the last decade.

The program includes 32 Fortune 100 companies, 12 pct of the U.S. manufacturing energy footprint and 13 pct of the nation's commercial building space. The program challenges businesses, manufacturers, cities, states, universities and school districts to improve building energy efficiency by at least 20 pct over a decade.

Download the full report HERE. (Source: US DOE, June, 2020) Contact: US DOE, Better Buildings Initiative, www.betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov

More Low-Carbon Energy News DOE Better Buildings Initiative,  Energy Efficiency,  

EPFL Fribourg
Date: 2020-06-10
Vizcab, a spin-out company of Swiss technical university EPFL Fribourg, is touting its recently developed life cycle assessment (LCA) method for engineers to assess a building's energy efficiency right from the design stage.

The technology runs thousands of simulations based on different design parameters such as heating, glazing and insulation and different construction assumptions into a web app that enables architects and engineers to integrate energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission targets into the early stages of the design process.

The method, which was developed by Building2050, a team based at EPFL's Smart Living Lab in Fribourg, draws on the latest advances in building physics, environmental science, mechanical engineering, data science, statistics and data visualization.

The company recently completed a funding round that €1.6 million for marketing in France and is planning a series B funding round in 18-24 months for a wider European marketing campaign. (Source: EPFL, Mirage, June, 2020) Contact: EPFN, +41 21 693 11 11, www.actu.epfl.ch

More Low-Carbon Energy News Building Energy Efficiency,  

UK Clean Growth Fund
Date: 2020-05-22
In London, the UK government is reporting the launch of a £40 million venture capital fund for green energy, low-carbon technologies across the power, transport, waste, and building energy efficiency sectors.

The fund seeks investments in early stage, seed or Series A rounds in 'exciting, innovative clean growth start-ups". Qualifying projects could include: energy storage and smart grid systems to bolster resilience in the power system; renewable heating and ventilation technologies across homes and commercial buildings; and bio-fuels and bio-energy systems.

Investment parameters for the fund focus on clean growth technologies, hardware, products and services in sectors including power generation, waste, energy networks, buildings management, industries, bioenergy and alternative fuels. The fund will be managed by Clean Growth Investment Management (CGIM). (Source: UK Clean Growth Fund, 21 May, 2020) Contact: UK Clean Growth Fund, www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-growth-equity-fund

More Low-Carbon Energy News UK Clean Growth Fund,  Low Carbon Energy,  

Korea
Date: 2020-05-15
In Seoul, the government of South Korea is reporting planned mandatory energy efficiency-energy performance "Green Remodeling" standards for of public buildings to meet greenhouse gas emission standards and to save energy.

To that end, the government will establish a green remodeling road map that includes mandatory standards, step-by-step measures, and methods to upgrade building energy efficiency and performance. The government is also considering expanding interest support on the cost of private buildings, single-family homes and small-scale building upgrade projects.

The Korea Land and Housing Corp. has been designated as a "green remodeling center" to offer support and consultation on the program. (Source: Gov. of South Korea, Korea Land and Housing Corp., May, 2020) Contact: Korea Land and Housing Corp, www.lh.or.kr/eng/index.do

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,  Building Energy Performance,  

St. Louis
Date: 2020-05-08
In the Show Me State, the city of St. Louise reports passage of Building Energy Performance Standard (BPS) legislation requiring buildings in the city to meet a minimum level of energy efficiency-performance standard. The legislation also establishes resources to help building owners achieve the savings that come with decreased energy usage. The City is the first jurisdiction in the Midwest and the fourth in the country to pass a BPS. The policy will use Site Energy Use Intensity (EUI) as its chief performance metric.

The St. Louis BPS covers buildings 50,000 square feet or larger, which have been required to report the energy and water use of their properties since 2017 under the city's Building Energy Awareness Ordinance.

Compared to other energy-saving building policies, a BPS requires greater changes, but allows building owners broad flexibility to make improvements. By setting long-term targets, a BPS provides the commercial real estate market with the certainty it needs to make confident investments in properties over time. It can also enable cities to achieve multiple city priorities at once, including carbon reductions, building electrification, energy efficiency, peak demand reductions, and more. (Source: City of St. Louis, NRDC Blog, May, 2020)

More Low-Carbon Energy News St. Louis,  Building Energy Efficiency,  Energy Performance,  

New Climate Institute
Date: 2020-05-06
The Berlin-based New Climate Institute (ICAT) Buildings Efficiency Guidance provides guidance for assessing the greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts of buildings sector energy efficiency policies. The guidance provides a stepwise approach for estimating the effects of policy design characteristics and barriers associated with regulatory and financial support policies on GHG impacts.

This guidance specifically covers regulatory and financial support policies that address both new building stock and existing building stock with retrofit. Users are guided on how to estimate the impacts of these policies for the residential sector, although this guidance may also be used for the commercial and public sectors. The guidance focuses on the assessment of impacts from built-in energy loads, including space heating, cooling, lighting and hot water. The guidance does not assess the impacts of appliances that are unrelated to heating, cooling and hot water.

ICAT assessment guides help policymakers and other users assess the impacts of countries' climate policies and actions. They can play a critical role in providing the information needed for effective policymaking, for implementing the Nationally Determined Contributions and for preparing reports under the enhanced transparency framework of the Paris Agreement and on progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. (Source: ICAT, May, 2020) Contact: New Climate Institute, Carsten Warneke, +49 221 999 83 302 c.warnecke@newclimate.org , www. climateactiontransparency.org/icat-toolbox, www.newclimate.org

More Low-Carbon Energy News New Climate Institute ,  ICAT,  Paris Climate Accord,  Building Energy Efficiency,  

Pennsylvania College of Technology
Date: 2020-04-27
In Williamsport, the Pennsylvania College of Technology (PET) reports it will establish a National Sustainable Structures Center (weatherization) training site at Latrobe. The Center will be used to enhance delivery of building science and energy efficiency training for the department of DOE weatherization assistance program.

Some of the programs to be offered at the site include the Interstate Renewable Energy Council training and home energy training programs for retrofitting homes and facilities to make sure that they are more energy efficient. (Source: Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport Sun-Gazette, 27 April, 2020) Contact: Pennsylvania College of Technology, 570-326-3761, www.pct.edu; National Sustainable Structures Center, (202) 370-3657www.nascsp.org/training/pennsylvania-college-of-technology-national-sustainable-structures-center-pa

More Low-Carbon Energy News Building Energy Efficiency,  

St. Louis
Date: 2020-04-24
In the Show Me State, the city of St. Louis is reporting passage of a Building Energy Performance Standard (BEPS) -- building energy efficiency -- ordinance requiring building owners to measure and report their energy use.

BEPS is similar to the city's Building Energy Awareness bench-marking ordinance but would only be required for buildings over 50,000 square feet. The BEPS ordinance will also establish 15-year-compliance pathway for buildings that stand to benefit from deep energy improvements and can achieve energy performance well beyond the required performance standard.

The BEPS policy benefits include:

Cost Savings -- While an initial investment may be required, energy efficiency improvements pay back quickly and result in significant operational cost savings over time. The savings incurred from the BEPS ordinance will go directly to St. Louis residents and businesses and will also help preserve the city's existing building stock.

Smarter Buildings -- Improving building performance enables building owners to capitalize on new technologies and operational practices that allow their buildings to be more responsive to daily demands and conditions, thus becoming more productive and affordable.

A Stronger Local Economy -- The BEPS ordinance will help add to the estimated 42,000 jobs in Missouri's energy efficiency industry by creating new jobs for local energy auditors, architects, engineers, electricians, plumbers, roofers, technicians and other contractors who sell energy-efficient services, products, and technologies.

A More Resilient St. Louis -- Investing in building energy improvements enables buildings to operate better, be more durable, and better withstand the more frequent extreme weather events associated with climate change.

A Cleaner, More Productive Energy Supply -- A carefully set standard will improve energy use across all buildings to better enable and support local utilities' transition to a low- and no-carbon renewable energy supply.

Increased Capacity for Electricity -- As the city transitions to greener energy, it is still dependent on an electric grid that can be overwhelmed due to overuse. Energy efficiency updates relieve grid capacity, increasing grid stability for providing electricity to all St. Louis residents.

St. Louis will be the first in the Midwest and fourth in the nation -- after New York City, Washington, D.C., and Washington State -- to adopt a Building Energy Performance Standard policy.(Source: St; Louis Post Dispatch, ERDC Blog, Stefan Schaffer , Maria Stamas, April, 2020)

More Low-Carbon Energy News Building Energy Performance,  Energy Efficiency,  

St. Louis
Date: 2020-04-22
In the Show Me Sate, the city of St. Louis (pop. 300,000) has passed its highly ambitious Building Energy Performance Standard (BEPS) – building energy efficiency -- ordinance requiring building owners to measure and report their energy use.. Similar to the city’s Building Energy Awareness benchmarking ordinance, the energy-saving changes called for by BEPS would only be required for buildings over 50,000 square feet.

Additionally, the board will create a more ambitious 15-year-compliance pathway for buildings that stand to benefit from deep energy improvements and can achieve energy performance well beyond the required performance standard. Other benefits for St. Louis residents from the adoption of the BEPS policy include: • Cost Savings: While an initial investment may be required, energy efficiency improvements pay back quickly and result in significant operational cost savings over time. The savings incurred from the BEPS ordinance will go directly to St. Louis residents and businesses and will also help preserve the city’s existing building stock. • Smarter Buildings: Improving building performance enables building owners an opportunity to capitalize on new technologies and operational practices that allow their buildings to be more responsive to daily demands and conditions, thus becoming more productive and affordable. • A Stronger Local Economy: The BEPS ordinance will help add to the estimated 42,000 jobs in Missouri’s energy efficiency industry by creating new jobs for local energy auditors, architects, engineers, electricians, plumbers, roofers, technicians and other contractors who sell energy-efficient services, products, and technologies. • A More Resilient St. Louis: Investing in building energy improvements enables them to operate better, be more durable, and better withstand the more frequent extreme weather events associated with climate change. • A Cleaner, More Productive Energy Supply: A thoughtfully set standard will improve energy use across all buildings to better enable and support our local utilities’ transition to a low- and no-carbon renewable energy supply. • Increased Capacity for Electricity: As the city transitions to greener energy, it is still dependent on an electric grid that can be overwhelmed due to overuse. Energy efficiency updates relieve grid capacity, increasing grid stability for providing electricity to all St. Louis residents. St. Louis will be the first in the Midwest and fourth in the nation -- following in the footsteps of New York City, Washington, D.C., and Washington State -- to adopt a Building Energy Performance Standard policy.(Source: St; Louis Post Dispatch, ERDC Blog, Stefan Schaffer , Maria Stamas, 20 April, 2020)

More Low-Carbon Energy News Building Energy Efficiency news,  Energy Efficiency news,  Energy Conservation news,  

Ohio State University
Date: 2020-04-17
In Columbus, The Ohio State University (OSU) has released a plan to slash its carbon emissions in half within this decade, accelerating the university's ability to achieve full carbon neutrality by 2050.

In 2008, Ohio State established the goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 through the Presidents' Climate Leadership Commitment. The university released its first Climate Action Plan in 2011 outlining actions the university could take to advance the carbon neutrality goal. As a result of those and other actions, through the 2019 fiscal year, the university decreased its carbon emissions by over 15 pct while still increasing the amount of built space by nearly 11 pct. The new Action Plan calls for:

Improving building energy efficiency;

Revising the university's Green Build and Energy Policy to more effectively control energy use as the university continues to grow and update its building spaces;

Extend on-campus solar PV and any future feasible technology for increased renewable power generation capacity;

Completing the existing university Green Fleet Action Plan and consider a future fuel switch from compressed natural gas to green hydrogen or renewable natural gas.

Create new incentives to reduce the impact of driving to and from campus, including expanding campus user access to electric vehicle fueling stations.

This pace of activity is more aggressive than the International Panel on Climate Change's recommended carbon emission reductions necessary to avoid the most acute human impacts of climate change.

Download the Path to Carbon Neutrality: Ohio State Climate Action Plan HERE (Source: Ohio State Univ., PR, 15 April, 2020)

More Low-Carbon Energy News Ohio State University,  Carbon Emissions,  Climate Change,  

Energy Efficiency
Date: 2020-03-30
In the UK, the Lord Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan is reporting the launch of his Retrofit Accelerator for Homes Program, a £3.6 million energy efficiency upgrade program aimed at social housing across London.

The program is intended to improve building heating systems, speed up the adoption of heat pumps and solar energy installations, and generally improve building energy efficiency as well as advise and guide local authorities and organizations on large-scale energy efficiency projects.

The annual cost of residential energy in London is estimated at £3.5 billion per annum. (Source: City of London, Modern Building Services, 30 Mar., 2020)

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,  

Oregon
Date: 2020-03-11
In Salem, Oregon Governor Kate Brown (Dem) has issued a 14-page executive order aimed at sharply curbing greenhouse gas emissions with a full-court press by government agencies. The executive order comes less than a week after a Republican walkout killed Oregon Senate Bill 1530,

Under the order, the Department of Consumer and Business Services will set new building energy efficiency goals aimed at a 60 pct reduction in annual energy consumption, compared to 2006 building codes. Additionally, the Department of Energy will update home appliance energy efficiency standards "at least to levels equivalent to the most stringent standards among West Coast jurisdictions." In total, 18 state agencies and commissions directing a large portion of the state's bureaucracy are tasked under the order aimed reducing emissions and addressing climate change. (Source: Office of Gov. Kate Brown, OPB, 10 Mar., 2020) Contact: Office of Gov. Kate Brown, (503) 378-4582, www.oregon.gov/gov/pages/contact.aspx

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,  

Oregon Climate Change
Date: 2020-03-11
In Salem, Oregon Governor Kate Brown (Dem) has issued a 14-page issued an executive order aimed at to sharply curbing greenhouse gas emissions with a full-court press by government agencies. The order comes less than a week after a Republican walkout killed Oregon Senate Bill 1530, the Democrats' proposal for a cap-and-trade system in Oregon.

The Governor's Executive Order updates the state's carbon reduction goals, setting targets of a 45 pct reduction below 1990 levels by 2035, and an 80 pct reduction by 2050

Under the order, carbon polluters in the industrial, transportation and natural gas sectors would have their emissions capped by the state's Environmental Quality Commission and Department of Environmental Quality, with allowable emissions reduced over time.

The Department of Environmental Quality and Environmental Quality Commission are directed to ratchet up restrictions for how emissions intensive fuel can be. The order set a go pct below 2015 levels by 2030, and 25 pct by 2035;

The Oregon PUC will place emphasis on greenhouse gas emissions and wildfire risk when regulating Oregon power companies

The Department of Consumer and Business Services will set new building energy efficiency goals aimed at a 60 pct reduction in annual energy consumption, compared to 2006 building codes

The Department of Energy will update home appliance energy efficiency standards "at least to levels equivalent to the most stringent standards among West Coast jurisdictions."

The Department of Admin. Services will develop a plan to transition the state's automobile fleet to zero-emissions vehicles and add charging stations at public buildings.

In total, 18 state agencies and commissions directing a large portion of the state's bureaucracy are tasked under the order aimed reducing emissions and addressing climate change. (Source: Office of Gov. Kate Brown, OPB, 10 Mar., 2020) Office of Gov. Kate Brown, (503) 378-4582, www.oregon.gov/gov/pages/contact.aspx

More Low-Carbon Energy News Carbon Emission,  Oregon Climate Change,  Carbon Emissions,  Energy Efficiency,  Cap-and-Tarde,  

Montana Climate Change
Date: 2020-02-14
The Montana Climate Solutions Council has published draft recommendations on how the Cowboy State should tackle climate change.

The Montana Climate Solutions Plan outlines dozens of possible initiatives that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help the state adapt to the changing climate, develop new technologies and transition to a low-carbon, greener economy. The plan also recommends expanding the state's research and monitoring of climate change, incorporating climate change into government planning efforts, investing in energy storage, supporting community-based renewable energy projects, creating tax breaks for low- and zero-emission vehicles and offering building energy efficiency incentives.

Download the Montana Climate Solutions Plan HERE. (Source: Montana Climate Solutions Council, Bozeman Daily Chronicle, 12 Feb., 2020) Contact: Montana Climate Solutions Council, (406) 444-2544, deq.mt.gov › DEQAdmin › dir › Climate

More Low-Carbon Energy News Climate Change,  

Cincinnati
Date: 2020-02-12
On the banks of the Ohio River, the city of Cincinnati's new "WarmUp Cincy" program aims to help low- and moderate-income -- less than $40,000 per year for a family of three -- renters in multi-family buildings with home energy assessments, energy efficiency upgrades, energy education and financial assistance as needed. Now in a pilot phase, the program will serve 65 families over a 90-day period.

Following the pilot, the City will work with program partners and participants to develop a strategy for enhancing the program including scaling up to reach more renters in need of these services. Additional plans to expand the program include addressing whole-building energy efficiency challenges of multifamily structures.

The City is working with the Community Action Agency, People Working Cooperatively, Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, and American Cities Climate Challenge to implement the project. (Source: City of Cincinnati, PR, Feb., 2020) Contact: City of Cincinnati, www.cincinnati-oh.gov; WarmUp Cincy Program, www.facebook.com/warmup.cincinnati

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,  

New Mexico General Services Department
Date: 2020-01-03
In Santa Fe, the New Mexico General Services Department (GSD) reports it is now considering a building's energy efficiency, energy efficiency recycling programs, eco-friendly cleaning products, solar energy installations and other environmentally focused measures when leasing office space.

To that end, the agency asks prospective property managers to list eco-friendly attributes of their spaces. The environmental measures will be scored by an evaluation team, which also will consider lease costs, property locations, building quality and available parking. (Source: New Mexico General Services Department , WRAL, 2 Jan., 2019) Contact: New Mexico General Services Department, Ken Ortiz, Sec., 505-827-2000, www.generalservices.state.nm.us

More Low-Carbon Energy News Building Energy Efficiency,  

Thailand's Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency
Date: 2019-12-30
In Bangkok, the Thailand Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE) reports it will this year implement rules under which new buildings of 10,000 square metres or more will be required to comply with the National Building Energy Code (BEC), an internationally recognized energy-saving standard. The new BEC standard covers the level of thermal transfer and energy requirements of electronic equipment, particularly air conditioners and light bulbs.

The new rule, which is expected to come into force early in 2020, is part of the government's commitment to improve the energy-efficiency standard in new buildings and to cut energy consumption in older buildings by a minimum of 10 pct in 2020. (Source: Thailand DEDE, SDD, 18 Dec., 2019) Contact: Thailand Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency, Tel +66 2222 4102-9, +66 2223 0021-9 +66 2226 3943 - fax., weben.dede.go.th

More Low-Carbon Energy News Energy Efficiency,  

Grundfos
Date: 2019-12-16
Danish pump manufacturer Grundfos reports its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore has been awarded the Singapore Building and Construction Authority's (BCA) Gold Green Mark, a green rating system for assessing new and existing buildings operational energy efficiency and overall environmental performance.

As a non-residential building, the Grundfos headquarters was evaluated across a number of areas -- energy efficiency, air-conditioning, LED lighting, water efficiency, environmental protection, indoor environmental quality, and other green features. The buildings air-tight design incorporates double walls and double-glazed windows, 100 pct natural ventilation on the production floor, enhanced natural daylight in the office from a high-efficiency lighting system and high-efficiency air-conditioning system, and 30 pct recycled building materials. (Source: Grundfos, Bangkok Post, 15 Dec., 2019) Contact: Grundfos, www.grundfos.com; Singapore Building and Construction Authority, www.bca.gov.sg

More Low-Carbon Energy News Green Building,  Building Energy Efficiency,  Building Sustainability,  

California Energy Commission
Date: 2019-12-13
In Sacramento, the California Energy Commission (CEC) is reporting approval of six applications from the cities of Menlo Park, San Jose, San Mateo, and Santa Monica; County of Marin and West Hollywood.cities of Menlo Park, San Jose, San Mateo, Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Marin County for local energy ordinances that exceed statewide requirements of the 2010 CalGREEN green building standard and the 2019 Building Energy Efficiency Standards.

The CEC also approved the 2019 California Energy Efficiency Action Plan, which addresses building energy efficiency, efficiency in the industrial and agricultural sectors, barriers to energy efficiency for low-income and disadvantaged communities, and using efficiency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in buildings. The 2019 standards take effect 1 January 2020.

Statewide standards focus on smart residential photovoltaic systems, updated and cost effective insulation standards, residential and nonresidential ventilation requirements, and nonresidential lighting updates to take advantage of the rapid improvement in LED lighting technology. (Source: California Energy Commission, Green Car Congress, 12 Dec. 2019) Contact: California Energy Commission, (916) 465-4500, www.energy.ca.gov

More Low-Carbon Energy News California Energy Commission,  Green Building,  Energy Efrficiency,  

Clean Energy DC Plan
Date: 2019-12-11
In the nation's capital, DOEE reports the June, 2019, awarding of grant funding to a team led by the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) to develop and operate a High-Performance Building Hub. The Hub will support owners, developers, builders, and designers as they seek to comply with the District's new green building requirements and related policy objectives.

The Hub will advance the Clean Energy DC Plan and the Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act of 2018, as well as provide education on the District's Building Energy and Green Construction Codes. The Hub will draw from examples such as the New York City Building Energy Exchange, the Vancouver Zero Emission Building Exchange, and BloxHUB in Copenhagen to support the building and building energy efficiency industries. IMT.org to sign up for updates. (Source: DC.gov, Department of Energy & Environment, Dec., 2019) Contact: High-Performance Building Hub, Kate Johnson, katherine.johnson@dc.gov, IMT, www.imt.org; Clean Energy DC Plan, www.doee.dc.gov › cleanenergydc

More Low-Carbon Energy News Green Building,  Building Energy Efficiency,  

Helsinki
Date: 2019-12-06
The Finnish capital city of Helsinki (pop. 632,000) reports it has joined the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment developed by the World Green Building Council.

The commitment, which has been adopted by both private companies and public authorities, pledges participants to ensure that the portfolios of buildings for which they are responsible produce net zero carbon emissions by 2030. And, since buildings generate more than half of Helsinki's carbon emissions, reducing heating consumption and increasing energy efficiency is central the city's effort. Accordingly, the city has set a range of targets and initiatives aimed increasing building energy efficiency.

Helsinki has also introduced Climate Watch, an online tool for assessing the city's progress on each of the 147 measures outlined in its Carbon Neutral Helsinki 2035 Action Plan. (Source: City of Helsinki, Government Europa, 6 Dec., 2019) Contact: World Green Building Council, www.worldgbc.org; City of Helsinki, Esa Nikunen, Director Environmental Services, https://fi.linkedin.com/in/esa-nikunen-560b9a78

More Low-Carbon Energy News Building Energy Efficiency,  Energy Efficiency,  Climate Change,  

Green Wall
Date: 2019-11-22
In the UK, plans have been submitted to the City of London to build Citicape House, including a 40,000 square feet exterior "green" wall incorporating more than 400,000 plants -- Europe's largest.

The "green" wall is projected to capture over 8 tpy ofcarbon, produce 6 tpy of oxygen, lower the local temperature by three to five degrees Celsius, and significantly improve local air quality by trapping approximately 500 kg per year of particulate matter.

Citicape House, designed by architecture firm Sheppard Robson, will feature a five-star hotel, 40,000 square-feet of workspace, a sky bar, meeting and events space, a spa, a restaurant, and various other spaces. (Source: Shepard Robson Architects, electrek, 20 Nov., 2019)

More Low-Carbon Energy News Green Wall,  Building Energy Efficiency,  

Sheppard Robson
Date: 2019-11-11
In the UK, London-headquartered national architect and design firm Sheppard Robson is reporting the unveiling of Europe's largest living "green wall" at its recently completed commercial mixed-use Citicape House in London.

The building's green facade will be wrapped with 400,000 plants for low ultraviolet values and to capture over eight tonnes of carbon and produce six tonnes of oxygen annually. Other energy efficiency related features include a "green roof" garden, efficient window glazing to minimize heat gain, a rainwater collection system, external air heat pumps and a focus on incorporating renewable energy. (Source: Sheppard Robson, dezeen, 11 Mov., 2019) Contact: Sheppard Robson, Dan Burr, Partner, www.sheppardrobson.com

More Low-Carbon Energy News Green Wall,  Building Energy Efficiency,