California Points the Way to an Energy-Efficient Future (IHT)
California now tops the ranking for per capita energy efficiency. How did it get there? Energy efficiency isn't sexy, but it's effective. "The utility will emulate efficient market outcomes and do the cheapest thing first," said Amory Lovins, chairman and chief scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute, in this article in the International Heral-Tribune.
October 31, 2008
During the previous revolution in environmentalism, California passed laws to make energy efficiency a priority. It imposed regulations on appliances and passed stricter buiding codes. It required utilities to conduct energy efficiency programs; it tied utility profits to the effectiveness of those programs instead of electricity sales.
While electric energy consumption has risen from 8,000 kWh per American to 12,000 since the 1970s, consumption in California has remained flat at 7,000 kWh.
The energy commissioner of California, Art Rosenfeld, attributes one-third of the state's edge over the rest of the United States to these policies. For another third he credits the state's relatively high energy prices, which result from its lack of cheap coal and its investment in renewable energy over the years - it has a target of 20 percent renewables by 2020. The final third he attributes to the location of most of the population along the coast, where heating and cooling buildings is not necessary.
IHT reporter Erica Gies writes that retrofitting old buildings will soon start getting the same level of attention as new construction. The CA energy commission is beginning to track energy per square foot in all commercial buildings in the state. The best -- and the worst -- will be publicized.
"California points the way, in the United States, to an energy-efficient future" IHT
Comments
I am interested in getting any avaiable information regarding use of the grid when harvesting renewable resourses of electricity.
My company is currently c-10, sole propriator but I want to go non-profit and install systems on residential properties in the Bay area, mostly posibly even exclusively in San Francisco, CA.
My plan is to negotiate with home owners for use of roof tops, to install solar arrays and small wind turbines producing a small amount of energy at first, but hopefully spreading out to cover the majority of the sunny locations where the wind is also consistant.
Any information on the matter of grid availability, the costs to sell out electricity as well as any laws limiting the sales of electricity via use of meters that reads both ways.
From what I understand: PG&E will buy the electricity at a rate but they only give back a "credit" which some how is erased at the end of the year...I need as much information that there is available to use of the grid and what is the law regard as limitations to guidelines in buying and selling electricity, how it is regulated and measured as well as what I can do to negotiate out the finanial ends of the income. I would like to operate a non-profit and make a way for the materials would be funded thru grant moneys and fund raising, and allow the income of which would gradually building into stock funds, could fund the non-profit as well.
Posted by: Onoria Albers | December 13, 2008 01:28 PM