MORNING ROUNDUP: New York Holds First Offshore Wind Task Force Meeting

Federal offshore wind planning officials met last week with New York state, local and tribal officials in the first step toward commercial leasing of the federal waters off that state, BrighterEnergy.org reported.

Similar task forces are in place in Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Virginia.

“BOEMRE created this task force to facilitate the efficient and effective review of proposed renewable energy projects on the OCS offshore New York,” said Bureau of Ocean Management, Regulation and Enforcement Director Michael Bromwich. “We will continue to work together to initiate the commercial leasing process that will enable New York to meet its renewable energy development goals and expand our nation’s energy resource portfolio.”

MA Officials Hope Cape Wind Will Draw Other Offshore Wind Business

Massachusetts state officials are that the groundbreaking Cape Wind project will help attract other wind energy companies to the Bay State, the Associated Press reported.

Ian Bowles, the state’s secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, also pointed to the almost-complete blade testing facility in Charlestown, MA.

“We’ve been aggressive in looking to grow the wind energy cluster in Massachusetts,” Bowles said, citing the attraction of Cape Wind. “Add to that a testing facility that has the largest capacity in the world for testing the largest blades in the world and you are going to see a lot of large wind blades coming into Boston.”

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2012 Energy Codes Will Achieve Greater than a 30 Percent Increase in Efficiency

The International Code Council (ICC) Final Action Hearings concluded on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010 in Charlotte NC with major endorsements for energy code changes that will achieve greater efficiency and conservation in both residential and commercial construction than at any time since the inception of energy codes in 1975.

This historic moment would not have been possible without the creation and submittal of dozens of rational, achievable code changes covering the gamut of energy efficiency and conservation. Changes came from: regional and national energy efficiency advocates and standards organizations; the construction industry; the Department of Energy; from code enforcement associations and from other individuals. All saw ways in which current requirements should be improved.

State and local governmental representatives rose to the challenges of these proposals and endorsed all important changes. Their decisions succeeded in raising building energy efficiency by more than 30 percent across the nation from energy code requirements in place in 2006, both in residential and commercial construction.

The Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership, as a member of the Energy Efficient Codes Coalition, contributed to the technical discussions in preparations of the proposed changes and helped make the case in the northeast for the importance of member state and local governments to attend these hearings and support these changes.

Maryland Clean Energy Center director to be recognized at National Press Club

Gaithersburg, Maryland, November 15.--The Maryland-Asia Environmental Partnership (MD-AEP) nominated Kathy Magruder, Executive Director of the Maryland Clean Energy Center (MCEC) with the organization’s 2010 “Partner of the Year Award” to be presented at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. on December 2 at MD-AEP’s annual banquet.

Magruder was tapped to head MCEC just over a year ago after having been involved with sustainable economic development in the state of Maryland for over twenty years. As Executive Director of MCEC

she has worked with the MCEC Board of Directors and the MCEC Advisory Board, comprised of over 52 companies, to lead an effort to service the needs of Maryland’s energy stakeholders in the “new energy” economy.

“When I first envisioned the idea of creating a clean energy economy in Maryland, I knew we needed a strong dynamic leader to make that vision come true against all odds,” said John Spears, President of Sustainable Design Group and Founder of the Maryland Clean Energy Center. “I knew Kathy was theright person for the job and she has proven to be all I could have hoped for,” he said. During her first year, Magruder has established a network of over 400 energy companies and provided renewable energy advocacy in Annapolis, educational workshops around the state, a consumer energy audit program and business development opportunities for companies.

“I saw Kathy’s great potential when she was the economic development director in Queen Anne’s County and brought her to work with me at Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED),” said Aris Melissaratos, former Secretary of DBED. “She did phenomenal job at DBED,” he said. Magruder chaired a multi-agency task force to develop an action agenda to position Maryland to take advantage of new energy production and generation technologies as a job creation and sustainability strategy. “Kathy was always prepared. She did her research and never gave up on the task. She’s a force,” said Melissaratos.

Magruder is being recognized by the MD-AEP for her leadership in mobilizing energy stakeholders through the MD-AEP Energy & Environmental Leadership Series. MCEC joined the MD-AEP and launched a three-part outreach series this past year. The forums on smart grid, energy efficiency and renewable energy provided a platform for Maryland’s leading energy companies to engage energy stakeholders about energy policies and technologies here in the region and export and investment opportunities in Asia. “Kathy sees the whole field and openly engages all stakeholders to make a difference,” said Peter Gourlay, President of MD-AEP. “She has demonstrated the willingness to engage others without thinking about turf issues, she just cares about helping companies succeed. She is the epitome of a true leader and why we are recognizing her with this award.”

“Kathy has really been a driving force, a champion and leader for renewable energy companies in the State,” said Connie Lausten, Vice President of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs, New Generation Biofuels and MCEC Advisory Board member. “Her efforts have really helped this industry to grow throughout Maryland,” she said.

“Kathy is a great visionary with the unique ability to also get the job done,” said John Congedo, President of AC- Wind and a member of the MCEC Advisory Board. “There are plenty of people with great vision, but Kathy has shown that unique ability to act on it,” he said.

Magruder will be honored on December 2 in front of over 150 public-private leaders from business, government, academia and the Asian Embassy community for MD-AEP’s 2nd Annual Energy and Environmental Leadership Series Banquet on Thursday December 2 from 6-9p.m. at the National Press Club in Washington. The evening gala will celebrate the richness of energy and environmental resources and talent assembled by MD-AEP this past year including companies with expertise in the energy, water and food network like Constellation Energy, I.M. Systems Group, AREVA, Sun Edison, FilterSure, Bluewing Environmental Solutions, Spiralcat, Skanska USA Building, and JIFSAN.

U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski has been invited to open the evening gala and Malaysia's Ambassador Dato' Sri Jamaludin Jarjis to keynote the event. Other awardees include Dr. Rita Colwell, Distinguished University Professor both at the University of Maryland at College Park and the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and Winner of the 2010 Stockholm Water Prize and Paige Bethke, Director of Talbot County Economic Development.

For information call George Lopez @ 410-439-1577 or George@thesolarandwindexpo.com
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WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? CHELSEA SEXTON WILL TELL

Plugin America founder to give keynote address at the 2nd annual Solar and Wind Expo.

Chelsea Sexton, electric vehicle’s top advocate, star of the very popular “Who killed the Electric Car” documentary film, has confirmed that she will be the Keynote speaker at the 2nd annual Solar and Wind Expo at the Timonium Fairgrounds in Maryland this coming May 14, 2011. She will relate her knowledge and personal experience to convey to Expo attendees how the future of electric vehicles is shaping.

Chelsea Sexton is a veteran clean transportation and energy advocate; her work on General Motors’ EV1 program was featured in the Sony Pictures Classics film, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” She went on to serve as Director of the Automotive X PRIZE, Senior Advisor to VantagePoint Venture Partners’ Cleantech practice, and co-founder of Plug In America, the largest consumer-oriented electric drive advocacy group. Most recently, she founded the Lightning Rod Foundation, an advisory and educational organization. Additionally, Chelsea is a Consulting Producer on Chris Paine’s next film, “Revenge of the Electric Car”.

The Solar and Wind Expo received accolades this past May when it featured another of Plugin Americas’ alumni, Paul Scott, along with Bob Dixson, the well known Mayor of Greensburg, Kansas. The Solar and Wind Expo continues to take a proactive approach at bringing top quality clean energy advocates to the east coast region.

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Governor Rendell Welcomes European Home Energy Efficiency Leader, 300-Plus New Jobs to Philadelphia Navy Yard

Harrisburg – Governor Edward G. Rendell today welcomed one of Europe’s biggest home energy efficiency companies to its new home at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, saying the company expects to hire nearly 320 workers over the next three years as it expands on South Broad Street.

The Governor said the arrival of Mark Group, based in Leicester, United Kingdom, marks the latest positive development at the Navy Yard as it continues establishing itself as one of the nation’s leading hubs for innovation in the clean energy and energy efficiency fields.

“Helping consumers reduce their energy use is one of the best things we can do to help people and employers save money while improving our environment,” said Governor Rendell. “After all, the cheapest and cleanest energy is that which we don’t use. We’ve made great strides in the past eight years to help energy users do that, but the work being done here at the energy innovation hub and by Mark Group will take those efforts to an entirely new level.

“Mark Group’s decision to locate its U.S. headquarters here and become one of the first companies tied to the Department of Energy’s energy innovation hub is an excellent partnership. Each complements the other and each offers a host of great opportunities for the other,” the Governor said.

Since its founding in 1974, Mark Group has improved the energy efficiency of more than 2 million homes and the company says it installs more than 6,000 measures every week that help consumers save. The company’s debut in Philadelphia follows its recent opening of an Australian headquarters.

The company picked the Navy Yard with the help of the Department of Community and Economic Development’s international trade office, the Governor’s Action Team, as well as the City of Philadelphia, Select Greater Philadelphia, TeamPA Foundation, and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp.

“The creation of alternative energy sources is key to America’s economic future, and Greater Philadelphia is the nation’s hub of energy efficiency research and development,” said Mark Group U.S. CEO Jeff Bartos. “We are excited to launch our business from Philadelphia and to deliver energy efficiency upgrades to homes

throughout the nation, and we thank the Rendell administration for the state’s investment in our company.”

The Governor’s Action Team offered Mark Group a $3.28 million funding offer that includes a $2 million Pennsylvania Industrial Development loan, a $500,000 opportunity grant, a $638,000 job creation tax credit, and $143,550 from WEDnet, which is a workforce web portal that is devoted to advancing the training and education needs of workers and employers in Pennsylvania.

Since 2003, the Governor’s Action Team, or GAT, has successfully completed 56 projects in Philadelphia County. The projects account for commitments of 7,342 new and 20,125 retained jobs. The commonwealth has offered more than $192 million in funding to these projects, which will leverage nearly $1.2 billion in additional investment.

Statewide since 2003, GAT has successfully completed 1,188 projects, representing commitments for 130,000 new jobs and 300,000 retained jobs. The commonwealth has offered more than $2.2 billion in funding to these projects, which will leverage more than $16 billion in additional investment.

For more information on the Governor’s Action Team and Pennsylvania’s economic development opportunities, visit http://www.newpa.com/.

 

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City General Services On-Target to Surpass Baltimore’s Empower Goal of 15% Reduction in Energy Use by 2015

Department of General Services (DGS) Director Theodore Atwood today announced that since 2006 Baltimore City has reduced overall energy use by 6.5% and is already on-target to meet and exceed the state’s Empower goals and those of the City’s Sustainability Plan. These goals call for a 15% reduction in energy use by 2015. In announcing the accomplishment, Director Atwood noted, “A part of this agency’s mission is to make Baltimore more sustainable and one of the ways we accomplish that is through energy conservation and efficiency. Because of this, we are on-target to meet and exceed the 15% energy use reduction by year 2015.” “The City will have a 20% reduction in energy use by 2015” the Director stated, which surpasses the goal.


The City has been working aggressively to reduce its use of electricity in city-owned buildings and from the base year of 2006 to now, have reduced energy use by 6.55% - which is nearly half of the required 15% reduction. The City is on course to reach a 12.9% reduction by January 2012; and by 2020, it will reduce energy consumption by over 30%.

The DGS Energy Division tracks and monitors the City’s use of utilities. This monitoring shows that the City’s use of electricity has gone down from 412 million kilowatt hours per year (kwhr/yr) in 2006 to 385 million kwhr/year now in 2010. This savings comes from energy conservation measures implemented throughout City government which include energy performance contracts and initiatives in City facilities, the use of renewable energy generated in-house at the methane gas-to-energy power plant at the DPW Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant, through cooperative utility buying through the Baltimore Regional Cooperative Purchasing Committee (BRCPC) and through use of BGE’s rebates and incentives such as the capacity reduction program.

A grant-funded project is currently under-way in 82 city buildings and libraries, which will install water conservation retrofits along with other energy efficiency improvements. Last month, the agency announced a project to begin in early November that will produce over a 20% annual reduction in energy usage in facilities and stations of the City’s Fire Department. Other upcoming energy saving projects that will help the City meet and exceed Baltimore’s Empower goals are the installation of solar panels at the Convention Center in Baltimore and new LED lights for the neighborhoods and parking garages.

Empower Maryland is a state initiative to reduce power consumption in Maryland by 15% by 2015.

To learn more about Empower Maryland or DGS energy saving initiatives, visit us on the web at Baltimorecity.gov.

Baltimore vet cuts energy bills with solar

On a ‘green’ mission last spring, a 62 year-old retiree living on a modest income in Baltimore found himself at the Solar and Wind Expo at the Timonium Fairgrounds in Maryland.

A disabled veteran, Paul Bennett was there searching for alternatives to deal with his increasing energy costs. His 125 year-old historic row home with three floors and 40 windows isn’t exactly cheap to heat and cool.

“It more than doubled over the last 15 years,” he says. “I realized I needed to be as energy efficient as possible.”

Baltimore resident Paul Bennett installed 14 solar panels

such as these on his historic row home with the help of a

state solar grant and federal tax credit through the Recovery Act.

 
Bennett and dozens of residents roamed the fairgrounds to learn as much as they could about installation costs and, more importantly, how much it would save them on their utility bills. The first-of-its kind event hosted scores of energy companies and the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) offering up information on incentives for renewable technologies.

There Bennett found out about the MEA residential Solar Energy Grant Program and a renewable energy federal tax credit through the Recovery Act.

Three months later—and after his reverse mortgage was approved—Bennett had 14, 175-watt solar panels installed atop his Mount Royal neighborhood home.

Solar saves green

The $2,860 solar grant from the MEA and a $1,500 federal tax credit helped Bennett pay for the installation, which took place in late July. The solar energy system cost him about $21,000 out of pocket. Already the retiree has saved almost $100 off both his August and his September electric bills.

“It was worth it,” he says. “It’s like I am doing something good for something larger than me, and I am reaping the benefits.”

The payback for his system, Bennett says, will be about 10 years. This is because he plans sell back some of the energy produced by the solar panels to the utility company via renewable energy credits, which could end up being about $1,000 in his pocket a year.

Recovering solar

Bennett is one of about 820 people or families in Maryland who have received a solar grant through the MEA’s renewable energy grant program—which includes solar, geothermal and wind— since fiscal year 2008, when its budget went from $600,000 to $2 million.

A year later, with support from the Recovery Act, that number jumped to $7 million.

“In terms of the residential side of things, it’s helped tremendously,” says Joe Cohen, a MEA clean energy research assistant who oversees the solar grant program. “We’ve gotten more applications because of the Recovery Act—and kilowatts installed.”

Residents can get up a $10,000 grant to install solar panels, but the average grant is about $4,000, Cohen says.

About $4 million of Recovery Act funds have been used so far for solar and about 3.7 MW of clean, solar energy have been placed on the grid, saving 4,440 MWh annually in the state.

“It s certainly helping the state meet it energy goals,” says Cohen, citing Maryland’s objective to have 20 percent renewable energy by 2022.

“And it’s keeping the resident solar sector healthy…We have seen quite few solar companies start up because of this program,” he adds.

Originally posted here http://www.energyempowers.gov/post/solar-energy-maryland.aspx
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