Clean Energy Economy News | Online edition
Feb. 11, 2009 | Vol. 2, No. 2
Greetings,
Clean energy news is all around us these days — playing a star role in President Obama’s stimulus plan and offering a beacon of hope in job growth and business investment.
This issue includes a summary of Rob Keller’s great presentation about retailer JC Penney’s impressive gains in energy efficiency, an update on the sell-out Glenwood Springs solar rebates program, a story about retrofitting school buses from Basalt to Rangely to reduce tailpipe emissions, and a quick list of new bills of interest in the state legislature. The wonks in our readership will want to read about Rocky Mountain Institute’s new state-by-state study that compares energy efficiency to economic productivity.
Upcoming events include Colorado Mountain College’s Sustainability Series (it’s not too late to sign up!) and the March 3 Clean Power Finance Forum. In The News reports on a new life slated for Xcel’s Cameo coal-fired power plant — as a solar thermal facility; Jim Duke’s free power offer for plug-in cars passing by his place in El Jebel; and the City of Rifle’s recent testimony to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission aimed at lifting the sizing cap on solar installations.
Finally, check out Clean Energy Bits ‘n Bobs, loaded with tidbits this time!
— Heather McGregor, Editor
Clean Energy Economy News
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In this issue
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JC Penney achieves millions in energy savings
Behavior changes and mechanical upgrades combine to cut costs
JC Penney may look like a regular American department store, but behind the clothing, cosmetics and linens you’ll find a corporate leader in energy efficiency.
The company, which has 1,093 stores nationwide, is saving $4.5 million a year on energy costs by upgrading buildings, modernizing HVAC systems and motivating behavioral changes for employees. It’s been recognized at the Energy Star Partner of the Year for 2007 and 2008, and shoppers now see the Energy Star logo on their purchase receipts.
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Rob Keller
Energy management and engineering services director JC Penney Co. |
The retailer has cut energy bills at some stores by as much as 48 percent, said Rob Keller, energy management and engineering services director for JC Penney Co. Keller shared the company’s success story with a capacity crowd in Glenwood Springs at the Jan. 14 “Save Energy, Save Money” workshop hosted by CLEER and the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative.
“Managing energy effectively cuts across all sectors. We all use energy, so we all have to manage it,” Keller said. “It’s a people problem, so we have to get people to change their behavior. It’s an equipment problem. In some of our stores, we have mechanical equipment that’s as old as I am. And about half of our stores are leased, and our energy goals are not always aligned with our landlord’s.”
For Keller, effective energy management boils down to four elements:
- Executive level buy-in
- Employee empowerment
- Easily accessed and easy to understand energy management data
- Upgrades to building systems and equipment
At JC Penney, top executives value the company’s energy management efforts, and show their support by being pictured on in-house brochures and the company’s Energy Center web pages, which track energy savings accomplishments and store rankings.
The company has tapped the knowledge of employees to save energy. For example, a loss prevention manager in one store noticed that lights were left on in the stockroom, mainly because the switches were hard to find. He posted signs on the stockroom shelves that read, “Wall switch this aisle” and “Wall switch here,” so workers could easily find and turn out the lights on their way out.
“We got an immediate 30 percent reduction in electric consumption in that store,” Keller said. “This manager made sure all the store associates knew that they needed to turn out the lights, and he made it simple for them,” Keller said.
In the Tacoma, Wash., store, consultants with New Energy Technology, a Grand Junction company that is helping JC Penney and others reach their energy goals, spent a day with the store manager and maintenance staff, observing how things were done and analyzing building systems and equipment.
“Changing behavior is hard. To ensure long-term sustainability, change needs to be consistently promoted. People need to hear things multiple times. And you have to recognize achievements.”
Rob Keller
Energy Management and Engineering Services Director
JC Penney Co. |
“They opened and closed the store with the manager. At the end of the day, when the manager locked the door, the key turned on the emergency lights,” Keller said. Reconfiguring the locking and lighting system to avoid that unnecessary overnight lighting saved the store thousands of dollars.
These changes require little or no capital investment, Keller noted. “A lot of it is just getting in the store, talking with the manager and the maintenance people, and communicating about how the building should work.”
“Empowering people is key, it’s huge, and it can’t be discounted. If you are facing capital constraints and still want to make headway, here is a opportunity to do that,” Keller said.
Access to real-time data about a store’s energy use reinforces energy-saving behavior and gives store staff and corporate managers the ability to identify problems quickly.
JC Penney has installed interval utility meters at 250 stores, and for 100 of these stores, the data is available on an online “Energy Center.” These web pages give store managers an hourly readout of energy consumption over the previous 24-hour period and a comparable reading from the same day a year ago. It calculates total usage, compares costs, displays the store’s current Energy Star rating, and tracks trends in its energy intensity — the ratio between store size, business hours and energy use.
After one year of access to Energy Center data, a Portland, Ore., store saved $50,000 in energy costs, a 22 percent reduction. “That is phenomenal for a store,” Keller said. “No manager is going to leave that kind of opportunity on the table.”
Daily data also reveals mechanical problems immediately, he said. At the same store in Portland, the online data showed a sudden jump in energy use by the store’s boiler. “We got on a conference call right away with the store and the energy monitoring service to set a game plan. We got the repairs lined up and done within one week,” Keller said.
“We saw the problem, we got people engaged and we solved it. Two years ago, that problem would have festered all winter,” Keller said.
Behavior changes go even further when they’re coupled with efficiency upgrades in the building’s HVAC systems, doors and insulation. The company replaced 20-year-old mechanical equipment at a store in New York and immediately began saving more than $8,000 a month — a 40 percent cost cut. It’s a more costly investment, but the payback can be fairly rapid, Keller said.
The best bet, he believes, is to combine people and equipment.
At the JC Penney store in Sumner, Wash., the Energy Center online display is placed so all store employees can see it every day. “We got behavior changes that gave us a 22 percent reduction and a put in a lighting retrofit that gave us a 26 percent reduction, with no compromise to the sales environment.”
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Glenwood Springs pilot solar rebates sell out in one day
The Glenwood Springs solar rebates pilot program sold out on Feb. 2, the first day of the program, with demand from residential and commercial property owners overtopping available funding by more than two to one.
The Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) and the City of Glenwood Springs are funding the solar rebates pilot program with $45,000 each. The $90,000 will fund rebates at $3 a watt for a total of 30 kilowatts of installed solar power.
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Isaac Ellis and Tim Gulliksen install solar panels at a residence in Glenwood Springs in September 2008.
File photo by Heather McGregor |
“We received seven applications from businesses for a total of 34 kW, and 13 applications from homeowners for a total of 39 kW. That adds up to 73 kW of solar power that property owners in Glenwood Springs are ready to install in the next few months,” said Heather McGregor, solar rebates program manager for the Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative.
“Wow! This is a great response,” said Glenwood Springs City Councilwoman Shelley Kaup. “I think it demonstrates the demand that is in the community. I am so thankful that the city is able to partner with GEO to offer these rebates.”
“Glenwood Springs residents and business owners clearly are interested in participating in Colorado’s New Energy Economy,” said City Councilman Russ Arensman. “The overwhelming response to this one-time solar incentives program demonstrates the pent-up demand for renewable energy projects here.
“I’m really hopeful that the city can identify a permanent funding source to support additional programs to help us reduce our reliance on non-renewable fossil fuels,” Arensman added.
Because the applications received on the first day exceed the funding in the pilot program, the city government and G-NECI will hold a lottery at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Glenwood Springs City Hall. A random drawing will determine which applicants will receive a rebate confirmation, and place the remaining applicants in order on a waiting list.
The winning applicants will have 90 days after the lottery for their systems to be installed, tied to the Glenwood Springs grid, inspected and paid for. They will receive the solar rebate payment as a reimbursement once all their paperwork is submitted and approved.
“This activity will more than double the amount of solar power being generated within the Glenwood Springs Electric Department service area, which extends beyond the city limits to No Name and part way up Four Mile,” said McGregor. “At present, there are eight solar photovoltaic systems generating 21.5 kW of clean solar power. This program will raise the Glenwood Springs total to more than 50 kW.”
The solar rebates program is being managed by Garfield New Energy Communities Initiative, the county-wide clean energy program launched this year with a separate grant of $1.6 million from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Garfield County is serving as the initiative’s fiscal agent.
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School buses to get clean air retrofits
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| School buses line up near Sopris Elementary School in Glenwood Springs. |
School buses owned by six school districts in Garfield and Rio Blanco counties will be retrofitted this spring and summer with new equipment that will reduce emissions, cut fuel consumption and make the buses safer for students.
The project to retrofit all 130 buses in the six districts is being paid for through an agreement between Williams Energy and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said Lisa Silva, an air quality planner with the state agency. Williams is funding the retrofit rather than paying a fine for air quality violations resulting from its natural gas drilling and operations in the two counties, she said.
It’s part of the larger Colorado Clean Diesel Program, funded in part by the federal Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, to retrofit school buses statewide.
The prospective bidders for the work visited school district bus barns in January and inspected buses to see how the retrofit equipment needs to be configured to fit. “We looked at buses in the Roaring Fork, Garfield Re-2, Grand Valley District 16, Meeker, Rangely and De Beque school districts,” Silva said. “We tried to look at each and every bus, because even sister buses can have different configurations.”
Buses will be fitted with these parts:
- Engine pre-heater. Depending on the fit, buses will get a pre-heater that heats the engine or heats the engine and cabin. Pre-heaters decrease the need for idling to warm up the engine, resulting in emissions reduction and fuel savings.
- Diesel oxidation catalyst. This equipment curtails tailpipe emissions, preventing toxic gases from being drawn back into bus or dispersed into the environment.
- Closed crankcase filtration unit. This device prevents volatilized engine oil and other emissions from getting swept under the hood and into the cabin of the bus.
Silva said the retrofits will cost $4,000 to $4,500 per bus. CDPHE diesel engine experts will work with school district fleet managers to provide follow-up quality assurance and anti-idling information and tools. These types of school bus retrofits have been done by the thousands across the country, Silva said.
“All these things will reduce emissions and toxics exposure,” Silva said. “If school buses are not new — meaning 2007 models or later — or already outfitted this way, kids have quite a bit of exposure over time to nasty pollutants,” she said. “We calculated that kids who ride the bus every day, kindergarten through 12th grade, ride the bus 4,000 times.”
“A school bus as a vehicle is very safe in every other way,” she noted. “They have such high visibility and they are well armored, but you do want to reduce the emissions because of the duration and number of exposures.”
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Legislators push for solar access
New bills would also create rail authority, set 6-cent fee for plastic bags
Working within the limits of an extremely tight state budget, Colorado legislators are busy proposing bills that advance the clean energy economy without imposing large costs on state government.
Of particular interest are two new bills that advance solar energy, two others that would require energy usage disclosure in home sales and require large stores to charge customers for plastic bags, and another bill creating the Colorado Railroad Authority.
These come on the heels of bills introduced at the session’s start bills related to clean energy financing, energy rates, emissions reporting and efficient transportation. For details on those bills, refer to the Jan. 12 edition of the Clean Energy Economy News.
House Bill 1126: Incentives to Develop Solar Thermal Systems
Sponsors: Rep. Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Boulder, and Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Boulder
Status: Introduced Jan. 13, referred from House Transportation and Energy Committee to House Finance Committee
Allows local governments to provide the same incentives for solar thermal installations as may now be provided for solar photovoltaic (PV) electric installations, and exempts solar thermal installations from state sales and use tax.
House Bill 1149: New Home Solar Photovoltaic Pre-wiring
Sponsors: Rep. Mike Merrifield, D-Manitou Springs; Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora
Status: Introduced Jan. 14, passed House Transportation & Energy Committee, referred to House Appropriations
Requires builders of new single family homes to offer buyers the option of pre-wiring the house for easy installation of solar photovoltaic systems.
House Bill 1247: Homebuyers Energy Right-to-Know Act
Sponsors: Rep. Dennis Apuan, D-El Paso County
Status: Introduced Jan. 30, assigned to House Transportation & Energy Committee
Requires home sellers to provide buyers with energy usage and billing information for the preceding 12 months, and to disclose the dates the home was unoccupied during that time.
House Bill 1134: Create Colorado Railroad Authority
Sponsors: Rep. John Kefalas, D-Ft. Collins
Status: Introduced Jan. 13, assigned to House Transportation & Energy Committee and Appropriations Committee
Creates Colorado Rail Authority with broad taxing and bonding capabilities to develop and operate high-speed commuter rail in I-25 and I-70 corridors.
Senate Bill 156: Reduction of Plastic Bag Use
Sponsors: Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Adams County, and Rep. Joe Miklosi, D-Arapahoe County
Status: Introduced Jan. 28, Assigned to Senate Business, Labor & Technology Committee
Requires large retail stores to charge customers 6 cents a bag for plastic bags until July 2013. Proceeds from bag sales would be evenly split between the store and the state government. Revenues to the state would be used to educate people about “the upcoming plastic bag prohibition.”
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Rocky Mountain Institute ranks states
on economic productivity and energy efficiency
Rocky Mountain Institute's Energy and Resources Team has just published a report that shows the opportunity for 30 percent energy savings in the United States. Assessing the Electric Productivity Gap and the U.S. Efficiency Opportunity analyzed electric productivity state by state, and found a significant gap between the highest and lowest performing states.
Electric productivity measures how much gross domestic product is generated for each kilowatt-hour consumed ($GDP/kWh). This finding is significant because if laggard states achieved the electric productivity of the top ten performing states through energy efficiency, we would achieve electric savings equivalent to more than 60 percent of U.S. coal-fired generation.
According to Natalie Mims, consultant on RMI's Energy & Resources Team (ERT), "closing the electric productivity gap through energy efficiency is the largest near-term opportunity to immediately reduce electricity use and greenhouse gases, and move the United States forward as a leader in the new clean energy economy."
The electric productivity of top performing states, such as New York, Connecticut, and California, serves as an example of what's achievable. Those states show the nation how barriers to efficiency practices can be overcome, how state utilities can be regulated, and how new and effective technologies can be implemented.
Conversely, lower performing states have a huge opportunity to learn from the successes of higher performing states by closing their electric productivity gap using known and tested technology and policy. This will be the focus of RMI's next step, as ERT concentrates on the most cost-effective efficiency measures with the largest impact.
To complement the report, RMI has also released an interactive map ranking each state's electric productivity, which illustrates the opportunities to catch up with the best performing states. (Curious about Colorado? It ranks No. 10, with each 1 kilowatt hour producing $4.71 in gross domestic product.)
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Events
CMC offers Spring Sustainability Series
 Colorado Mountain College is offering a series of classes on the sustainability theme, including green building, home energy efficiency, solar photovoltaics, organic gardening and investing in a clean energy economy.
Most classes are for just one evening or morning in Glenwood Springs or Carbondale, and some start this week. Click here to download the flyer, visit www.coloradomtn.edu, or call 945-7486.
The Clean Power Finance Forum
Date: Tuesday, March 3
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Place: Glenwood Springs Community Center, 100 Wulfsohn Road
RSVP: Lauren Martindale, lmartindale@cleanenergyeconomy.net
Solar Energy International is launching a series of free renewable energy technology and financing workshops to be held around Colorado. First in the series is a workshop in Glenwood Springs.
The Clean Power Finance Forum workshops will provide current policy and financial information important to governments or third-party investors interested in developing renewable energy projects. The workshops are aimed at land owners, elected officials, non-profits, lenders, investors, utilities and product suppliers, and will provide a forum for informed discussion about energy investments.
SEI’s presentation will focus on the most appropriate renewable energy technologies for the area, as well as utility incentives and local policy framework. The goal is to provide information needed to step up the pace for renewable energy installations in 2009.
The series is funded by a grant from the Governor’s Energy Office.
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In the news
The Daily Sentinel, Jan. 15, 2009
Xcel to test solar generation at Cameo
By Lory Pounder
Instead of burning coal to produce steam to create electricity, Xcel Energy’s Cameo Generating Station may one day use the burning sun to generate power.
Xcel said its Cameo plant would be the company’s first trial location concentrating solar energy to produce steam for power generation. If the plan is approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, the $4.5 million project would begin this summer at the station east of Grand Junction.
Read the whole story
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Gas 2.0, Jan. 26, 2009
Man offers free charging for electric cars on his solar farm
By Nick Chambers
In the tiny Aspen sleeper community of El Jebel, Colorado, a man is on a mission. Jim Duke has always been known for his environmental streak — back in the 80s he spearheaded efforts to establish recycling and composting programs for Aspen and surrounding communities.
Now he’s spent $84,600 to install a large array of solar panels on his ranch capable of producing 15,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually — and he’s giving away the power for free to charge any electric cars who’s owners show up on his doorstep.
Read the whole story
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Aspen Daily News, Jan. 29, 2009
Rifle goes solar, and goes to battle for more
By David Frey
Rifle has fired up the final portion of its solar array, making it the largest array on the Western Slope and the second largest in the state. It would have been even larger, officials said, had state regulations not stood in the way.
Rifle is joining other municipalities this week in asking the state Public Utilities Commission to review those regulations and boost the amount of power that on-site solar arrays can provide.
Read the whole story
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Clean Energy Bits ‘n Bobs
Save the date: The New Castle Environmental Advisory Committee will be hosting the 3rd annual New Castle Energy Expo on Saturday, April 18, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the New Castle Community Center.
Kristin Kenyon, the former planning director for RFTA, has left our fair valley to take a planning position with the Federal Transit Administration Region 8 office in Lakewood.
This just in: RFTA’s systemwide ridership hit 4.86 million in 2008, a 9 percent jump over the previous record high set in 2007.
The City of Glenwood Springs is seeking proposals for a $75,000 study to evaluate geothermal resources, identify existing technologies that could be used to tap geothermal heat, and propose financing arrangements for the city to develop its geothermal resources. In a separate offer, the city government is soliciting proposals for private management of the South Canyon Landfill.
Alpine Bank has achieved a LEED Gold certification for its South Rifle bank building, making it the first LEED-certified bank in Colorado
Gov. Bill Ritter has named former state Rep. Alice Madden, a Boulder Democrat, as the state’s new climate change coordinator. Madden served in the state legislature from 2001 through 2008, and was the House majority leader. She co-sponsored legislation in 2007 that doubled the state’s renewable energy standard.
Aspen resident Chip Comins and the Aspen Renewable Energy Day (AREDAY) were among the co-hosts of the Green Inaugural Ball, held on Inauguration Day in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. The guest list included former Vice President Al Gore and Gov. Bill Ritter.
Eileen Wysocki, energy auditor for Holy Cross Energy, is in line for her own entry in the Guinness Book of World Records, after making 17 laps on snowshoes in the 24 Hours of Sunlight competition last weekend. Just how far is 17 laps? Eileen climbed and descended 48 miles and 25,534 vertical feet!
 Time to renew your vehicle’s license plate? Considering buying a Colorado Carbon Fund plate from the Governor’s Energy Office. Use the online calculator to figure your travel and household emissions, and buy offsets to qualify for license plate bragging rights.
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