energy efficiency
The Nano Road to Energy Efficiency
Science Daily reports: Researchers at Oregon State University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have discovered a new way to apply nanostructure coatings to make heat transfer far more efficient, with important potential applications to high tech devices as well as the conventional heating and cooling industry. These coatings can remove heat four times faster …
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CONTINUE READINGFHFA strangles PACE clean energy financing program
Yesterday, the Federal Housing Finance Administration, the agency that regulates bankrupt mortgage insurers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, issued a letter effectively destroying the promising energy efficiency and renewable energy financing program called Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE). I blogged about Fannie and Freddie’s lender letters on the PACE program a few weeks ago. PACE …
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CONTINUE READINGRetrofitting homes to make them more energy efficient
When we ponder ways to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, nothing says “low hanging fruit” more than retrofitting our existing homes and small businesses to make them more energy efficient. Energy use from commercial and residential buildings accounts for 22 percent of California’s greenhouse gas emissions. But relatively simple steps like …
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CONTINUE READINGEnergy Conservation, Southern Style
A new report finds lots of room for energy efficiency in the American South. Here are the main findings. Energy efficiency improvements could: 1. Prevent energy consumption from growing over the next 20 years. In the absence of such initiatives, energy consumption in these three sectors is forecast to grow by approximately 16 percent between …
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CONTINUE READINGHas the Recession Been Good for the Planet?
Sure, the economy is still hurting, and unemployment levels are unbearable and inequitable. But in terms of the desire to reduce climate disruption, are we better off now than we were before the recession hit? I am far from the first person to ask this question, but evidence pointing in a certain direction continues to …
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CONTINUE READING…and another thing about electric rates and the environment…
Last week, I wrote about how a proposal to change the design of residential electric rates might get in the way of efforts to encourage energy efficiency. Sushil Jacob, a keen-eyed student in my Energy Regulation and the Environment class, points to another potential problem. PG&E, the largest utility providing service in California, wants …
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CONTINUE READINGDoes anybody really know what electricity costs? Does anybody really care?
Just about everything that energy utilities and their regulators do has some kind of impact on the environment – even when all they are doing is setting electricity rates. So, when PG&E (California’s largest electric company) proposed a new residential rate structure last week, some were left wondering: as far as the environment is concerned, …
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CONTINUE READINGA Website Named DSIRE
Those who are interested in Clean Tech, particularly from the investment point of view, will want to take a look at the DSIRE site. Sorry, it doesn’t actually have anything to do with the Tennessee Williams play, I jsut couldn’t resist the play on words. DSIRE stands for Database of State Incentives for Renewables and …
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CONTINUE READINGOur Carbon-Based Trade Deficit
A lot of people are worried about the trade deficit. As it turns out, more than half of the deficit is due to petroleum imports, as Matthew Yglesias points out. This graph tells the story:
CONTINUE READINGRiding the Energy Efficiency Wave
At the “Beyond Copenhagen Conference” at Berkeley yesterday, one of the clear messages was that energy efficiency is one of the most feasible routes forward on climate change. Energy efficiency has great interest not only to U.S. consumers, but also to countries like China that are concerned about energy security. The energy security issue is …
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