An Olympic Efficiency Feat

In the first such development during an Olympic Games, the energy consumption at several venues at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver is being monitored live. The monitoring services, provided by a local company named Pulse Energy, covers structures in the athlete’s villages, the snowmaking equipment, the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre and other facilities (Source: EnergyEfficiencynews.com, February 18). All of the energy use figures for the participating facilities are available online at this link: http://www.venueenergytracker.com/. The Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee also implemented sweeping energy efficiency measures in these buildings that netted a reported energy savings of 66,000 kWh in just the first three days of the Games.  (Photo Credit:  http://www.venueenergytracker.com/).  

The Venue Energy Tracker website also provides details about how each venue was constructed or improved with energy efficiency in mind. It’s interesting to read about the various challenges that these large, world-class venues presented on the efficiency front and to see the creative solutions put in place to combat those challenges. The Richmond Olympic Oval, for example, features a roof made from recycled Pine beetle-kill trees and uses waste heat energy from ice-making for other purposes in the building, including hot water and heating/cooling systems (Source:  Vancouver2010.com).  To see a complete listing of sustainability initiatives tied in with the 2010 Games - everything from greener ticket practices to LEED Certified facilities - please click here to visit the Vancouver 2010 sustainability home page.  (Photo Credit:  http://www.venueenergytracker.com/)

In addition to the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee's efficiency efforts for the 2010 games, the city of London is preparing broad energy efficiency initiatives for the 2012 Games as well.  The London Olympic Organizing Committee’s goal is to reduce the carbon emissions from the Games by 50% as compared to previous Games (those that did not attempt to curb energy use or carbon emissions).  For more information on the 2012 Games and energy efficiency, please click here.  I specifically recommend reading about the Energy Centre, a sustainable energy power center that London is preparing for the 2012 Olympic Games which features a biomass boiler fueled by wood chips as one of many efforts to reduce carbon emissions (Source:  London2012.com).  (Photo Credit:  http://www.london2012.com/)

Great News - The State Energy Efficiency (SEE) Action Network

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy recently announced the creation of the State Energy Efficiency Action Network (SEE Action Network), a body that will help states implement and oversee energy efficiency programs (Source:  Energy.gov, February 2).  This move, which provides support and expertise from the federal side of things, could not come at a better time.  State budgets are in the red nationwide, resulting in personnel and program cuts, while federal funding for energy efficiency programs is at an all-time high.  The net effect of these two factors is that many states are having a difficult time accessing, implementing, and tracking energy efficiency projects at a time when the funding is available to make significant strides in energy savings across the nation. (Photo Credit: http://www.wordpress.com/) 

I wrote about one example of this in my January entry, where I discussed the challenges of implementing large-scale weatherization programs in our current economic climate.  I cited some issues discovered in Illinois through a random DOE audit of these newer programs in which a contractor did some weatherization work on behalf of the state that was later deemed unsafe.   This move by the EPA and DOE ensures that all of us, homeowners, businesses, workers and manufacturers of energy efficiency materials will benefit and that those dollars will be spent wisely.  (Photo Credit: http://www.smartpower.org/)

The SEE Action Network will follow a set of guidelines set forth in the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, a public-private partnership that launched in 2005 to create an hard-hitting plan for energy efficiency supported by utilities, regulators, and other private businesses.  The action plan’s goal is ambitious; “to achieve all cost-effective energy efficiency by the year 2025,” but this program is now pledging to meet this goal five years sooner than originally planned (in 2020).   I am excited to see what comes of the SEE Action Network and will surely track its progress along the way. (Photo Credit:  http://www.ncsl.org/) 

Renewable Energy Standard Pros and Cons – Federally Mandated Utility Participation

The question of what percentage of utilities' output should come from renewable energy sources has been debated by legislators nationwide for years now.  Some 28 states have declared statewide standards on renewable energy use by utilities, such as Colorado’s mandate for utilities to draw 20% of their energy from renewables by 2020.  Right now, a Colorado House of Representatives committee is discussing a bill (House bill 1001) to raise that requirement to 30% by 2020 for both Xcel Energy and Black Hills Energy (Source:  DenverPost.com, February 4).  The proposed bill, while it appears to have fairly broad support across the groups involved, is being considered in a state that’s much more conducive to renewable energy generation than say, Alabama may be.  (Photo credit: switchboard.nrdc.org)

The issue of the relative accessibility of renewable energy generation opportunities and the fact that this availability varies greatly across the nation is precisely the concern with some legislation that’s currently in front of the U.S. House of Representatives.  One bill being discussed would require utilities nationwide to derive 15% of their total energy output from renewable sources by 2021 – a number that’s already been reduced from 20% after hearing concerns from utilities on the issue (Source:  RenewableEnergyWorld.com, February 5). (Photo credit: wikimedia.org)

One possible solution to this problem is adopting a specific clause that allows for energy efficiency savings to be factored in to this mandate percentage.  If a given utility can implement an efficiency savings across its customer network of say, 8% between now and 2021, that percentage would likely count toward the overall 15% goal from renewables outlined in any legislation. 

It’s plain see that a state like Arizona may have abundant access to solar energy and Texas may have an abundance of potential wind energy, but that Mississippi may have less opportunity for either.  At the same time, if a reduction in carbon emissions is to be a priority in this country, there has to be either a market-driven or mandated incentive to push states to reach this goal.  While there may be more market-driven incentive in some states terms of the dollars to be earned by achieving these goals (and some federally-funded incentive as well in the form of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars), there are legitimate concerns that these alone are simply not powerful enough.  In addition, if there is no pressure on the states that appear to have fewer resources where renewable energy generation is concerned, these states are less likely to produce more creative solutions, such as using sawdust in place of fossil fuels in the energy generation process (as the previously cited RenewableEnergyWorld.com article mentions).  (Photo credit: scientificamerican.com)

One thing is for certain – it will be interesting to see what comes of these legislative discussions.  My hope is that ingenuity and technological advancement will help every state to reach these goals, whether they arrive at them on their own or via federal mandate.  It's also worth noting here that many utilities are working with each other to produce their own industry guidelines, which is likely to help the cause as well.  For more on utility-driven measures, read more about the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency.