Q3 Update 2009 Papers & Publications
Energy Efficiency: Engine of Economic Growth
Federal Climate and Energy Action
Regional Outreach
Forests and Climate Policy
Northeast States Tops in the Nation for Efficiency Policy
Advancing a Regional LCFS
RGGI: Regional Cap and Trade Success
Letter from the Executive Director
Utilizing ENE's important capacity to delve deeply to bring key, usable information to the attention of the public, ENE's most recent report, "Energy Efficiency: Engine of Economic Growth," sheds new light on the widespread economic and environmental benefits that large-scale state efficiency investments bring. These include dramatic increases in household savings, Gross State Product and job creation. This is good news and tangible evidence to build support for the energy reforms and greenhouse gas reduction policies we need at the state, federal and regional levels to build a low carbon, clean energy economy.
There is also good news beyond the energy sector. ENE is heavily involved in advocacy and outreach related to policies that will reduce pollution and create new economic opportunities in the forest and transportation sectors, such as federal and regional incentives for landowners to manage forests for carbon storage, and a regional fuel standard that would require lower carbon fuels and electric vehicles in the coming years.
ENE's activities at the state, regional and federal levels are busier than ever, helping the region lead the way to a cleaner, more secure, low-carbon future. Please read more about our most recent activities in this quarterly update from ENE.
-- Dan Sosland
P.S. ENE is pleased to be listed among the "10 Charities Worth Watching" by Charity Navigator the nation's premier independent charity evaluator. Charity Navigator describes the groups on the list as "truly exceptional." Visit their Web site at www.charitynavigator.org.
Energy Efficiency: Engine of Economic Growth
As states grapple with high unemployment, declining revenues and the need to address energy costs, the public and decision makers need more information on the benefits of pursuing clean energy policies. ENE undertook a comprehensive and detailed effort to explore the economic impacts from large scale energy efficiency investments and released the results this fall. Energy Efficiency: Engine of Economic Growth demonstrates that large-scale investments in energy efficiency, like those proposed or underway in many New England states, bring about dramatic increases in state productivity, household income and job creation.
Many New England states are now moving forward with sharply increased investments in efficiency because of the direct savings to energy consumers. But ENE undertook the new study to bring the analysis a step further and quantify how the ripple effects of those direct savings benefit the whole population and economy in terms of new jobs, increased household savings, and increased Gross State Product (GSP).
Using a sophisticated, macroeconomic forecasting tool developed by Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) to project the impacts of increases in investments for electricity, natural gas and unregulated fuels in the six New England states, the results showed multiple, significant gains:
- GSP would increase by $180 billion, of which $130 billion would be realized by workers through increased real household income.
- The increase would create about 1,392,000 job-years (one full-time job for one year) over the efficiency investments' lifetime.
- Efficiency investments modeled over a 15-year period total $27.2 billion, and generate a nearly $7 average increase in GSP for every $1 invested.
The report brings renewed support to state efforts - and complementary federal energy policies- to commit to efficiency as a clean, affordable resource upon which to build the foundation of a sustainable energy economy.
Federal Climate and Energy Action
ENE is providing strong leadership for targeted policies that need to be adopted for federal energy and climate legislation to attain greenhouse reduction targets, support progressive state policies and build a low carbon, consumer friendly energy future. ENE is working to ensure that Congressional leaders understand the lessons learned from our innovative region. We are also working to ensure that the final bill has strong provisions that effectively reduce global warming and build the foundation of the new green economy to fuel economic and environmental health in the years ahead, such as promoting large scale investments in clean electricity and cleaner transportation fuels - and ensuring that the large carbon offset program anticipated in the bill will deliver credible, real and enforceable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
See ENE summary and position statement on the House-passed climate bill, The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 ("ACES") authored by Rep. Waxman and Rep. Markey.
ENE's advocacy and outreach focus on key elements of comprehensive climate policy that relate to our regional work:
Efficiency: ENE is advocating that efficiency investments play a major role in federal energy and climate strategy because they reduce demand for energy; reduce emissions associated with energy generation; and bring down the cost of a cap and trade program through reduced demand for emissions allowances.
ENE created an Economics 101-style primer on efficiency to help educate leaders about how efficiency works to deliver these benefits.
Also see ENE's State Summaries of Efficiency Funding in ACES for analysis of the potential funding and consumer savings for each state.
Transportation: ENE's summary and analysis of transportation-related provisions included in ACES focuses on provisions related to electric vehicles and fuel economy standards.
Forests and Land Use: ENE is also advocating that federal climate policies include a strategy to manage our nation's forests as a valuable carbon sink particularly through a rigorous forest offsets program and a meaningful program for supplemental forest carbon emissions reductions funded through allowance revenues. ENE ACES forest carbon recommendations.
For more information and updates visit ENE's Federal Cap and Trade page.
Regional Outreach
ENE Speaks to New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers
ENE Executive Director Dan Sosland was invited to speak at the 33rd Conference of the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers held in Saint John, New Brunswick in September. Sosland's topic was "Regional Approach to Using Energy More Efficiently and Demand-Side Energy Management." His presentation focused on regional objectives in the area of energy efficiency and increased development of low-emission resources, as well as opportunities to create and expand demand-side management programs, weatherization, efficient buildings, SmartGrid technology and other solutions for reducing dependence on expensive and polluting fossil fuels. ENE has been working with advocates and leaders in the eastern provinces to share policy models and information from the New England states, and to explore opportunities for cross-border coordination and integration.
Forests soak up 13% of annual U.S. emissions and are a vital, and cost effective, climate strategy. Forest also deliver many co-benefits including clean water, biodiversity and wildlife protection, climate adaptation, recreation, and jobs.
In order to ensure that the carbon value of forests in the northeast and elsewhere are accounted for, ENE is working to advocate two priority policies at the federal level:
- a rigorously crafted forest offsets program, and
- a supplemental incentive program to help millions of landowners across the country manage their forests for increased carbon storage.
ENE is working with RGGI and stakeholders to move forward our detailed recommendations regarding how to include forest conservation and management as an offset category, and with colleagues in Maine to craft legislation requiring mitigation for forest carbon sequestration lost to development. ENE's goal is to craft and implement innovative strategies at the state, regional and federal levels to enhance forest carbon as a pivotal climate strategy.
Wide Support for Massachusetts Plans to Triple Efficiency Investments
The Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Advisory Council voted to approve three-year statewide energy efficiency plans for both electric and natural gas customers. The plans put the Commonwealth on course to achieve more than $6 billion in consumer benefits through larger investments in cost-saving energy efficiency programs. The programs are designed to ramp-up to achieve electric energy savings of 2.4% per year and natural gas energy savings of 1.15% per year.
The plans are part of the Massachusetts Green Communities Act, which requires gas and electric distribution companies and municipal aggregators (together "Program Administrators" or "PAs") to work together to develop energy efficiency plans for purchasing all cost-effective efficiency. ENE and other members of the Council worked with the PAs, the Council's expert consultants, community-based organizations, and state policy makers to review and implement the plans.
In addition to having Council endorsement, the efficiency plans also have the support of four major utilities, the Attorney General and the Governor. The plans now need review and approval by the Department of Public Utilities.
Northeast States Tops in the Nation for Efficiency Policy
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) recently released a scorecard ranking the U.S. states' progress on implementing energy efficiency policy, programs and practices. The New England states where ENE focuses its work - Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island - all ranked within the top 10 states nationally. Rhode Island rose from 11th to 9th, and Maine in particular was noted as among the most improved, climbing from 19th to 10th in the nation. Governor John Baldacci of Maine was invited to speak at the scorecard release event held in Washington, D.C. ENE is working with stakeholders, energy and environmental administrators, and utilities and program administrators in multiple northeast states to advance mandated and other increases in cost-effective energy efficiency investments.
See the latest on Maine and Rhode Island energy reform on ENE's Web site.
Advancing a Regional Low Carbon Fuel Standard
ENE and several other environmental organizations and regional stakeholders encouraged the governors of 11 northeast and mid-Atlantic states to move forward with a regional LCFS.
The letter recommends signing a Memorandum of Understanding by December 2009 that commits to a compliance timeline to achieve at least a 10% reduction in carbon intensity of major fuels by the end of 2020. It also emphasizes the importance of adopting a standard that recognizes full lifecycle greenhouse gas accounting for all fuel pathways.
See ENE's Web site for more information on Transportation issues and initiatives.
RGGI: Cap and Trade Success at the Regional Level
The RGGI program has completed five successful auctions, which have raised millions in auction revenue. The states are poised to put the millions in new funds to work to support energy efficiency and other initiatives.
For example, Rhode Island has raised almost $7 million for efficiency through the first five auctions. Read: "R.I. gets carbon tax money," Peter Lord, Providence Journal, September 15, 2009. The state has also finalized rules for distributing auction proceeds to programs that will help customers reduce energy use and save on their bills.
ENE's RGGI Auction Tracker tracks the allocation of allowances and distribution of auction proceeds in each state through the fifth auction held in September 2009. It has been an important tool for industry, advocates and policy makers who are tracking RGGI's progress as a regional climate solution and precedent for policy elsewhere.
The success of the RGGI program to date is an important precedent, especially as federal leaders move to consider cap and trade as part of comprehensive climate legislation.
As a leading stakeholder that helped guide the creation and implementation of RGGI, ENE has valuable experience and information to offer in terms of the northeast policy as a model. Visit ENE's RGGI Web page.
