Lowering energy costs, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and putting people to work: Introducing a project that does it all

I wanted to avoid being Seattle-centric with this blog, and have been moderately successful so far. But Seattle is where I have lived and worked — and am now studying — for 25-plus years, so it is the community I know best. It doesn’t hurt that Seattle is a center for lots of progressive activity supporting conservation, legislation favoring distributed energy, and green technology research and jobs.

So, I introduce you here to the Energy Efficiency Project Development and Finance Program, which provides financing, installation and maintenance of energy saving systems in large downtown Seattle buildings. This can mean improvements to or replacement of steam distribution systems, heat substations, heat exchangers, heat recovery systems, water conservation systems and/or HVAC systems.

How it works:

• The customer has no out-of-pocket or capital costs. Program customers sign a seven-year (average) energy services agreement that allows the customer’s utility to pay for the retrofit cost from the resulting savings in energy enjoyed by the customer. Customers pay for the improvements with their 20 percent or more savings in their gas, steam, electric and water bills. 
• In most cases, the energy and dollar savings are greater than the energy services agreement payments, so customers have net cash flow savings even while paying for the retrofit. Once the agreement is completed, the customer pockets all the savings. In many cases, this means tens of thousands of dollars per year. In addition, the energy service agreement payments can be treated as operating expenses and not as capital improvement expenses.
• The partnership handles everything — financing, installation and maintenance. Once a customer signs on, the project is 100 percent managed for them.
• The program lowers project costs for customers thanks to its partners’ arrangement for utility and carbon reduction incentives through the City of Seattle.

The partners in the Energy Efficiency Project Development and Finance Program are MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions, MacDonald-Miller Energy Capital Solutions, the Energy Efficiency Finance Corporation, and customers of the Seattle Steam Company. Other customers outside the Seattle Steam system will be on board soon.

The program has been met with great enthusiasm by many facilities managers and sustainability representatives. A contract has already been signed with the Washington Athletic Club and contracts with other large building owners are in process.

Meanwhile, The Seattle Foundation leaders are so excited about the program, they are making plans to invest $1 million as part of the capital pool arranged by the Energy Efficiency Finance Corporation to finance these projects.

No matter what the primary incentive of participants is — financial, environmental or community — everyone benefits. The program:

• Cuts customer energy costs by more than 20 percent
• Reduces carbon in the atmosphere, thereby moderating Seattle’s impact on climate change
• Creates economic activity and jobs from resources that we already have

“We make a compelling business offer to building owners that simply can’t be passed up,” said John MacLean, president of project partner Energy Efficiency Finance Corporation. “With this program, leaders of companies and organizations that own Seattle buildings can do their part for the environment and the economy, and save money and improve their facilities at the same time. We want to accelerate and create a culture of energy efficiency investment in Seattle. This is a scalable model that is likely to gain considerable national attention and be adapted by communities nationwide.”

In search of “community based” energy projects

Here are three more interesting websites for organizations that support community based energy, one focusing on wind nationwide; one on rural homes, schools, farms and businesses; and one on urban centers in the Southwest.

“Windustry”

Windustry® promotes progressive renewable energy solutions and empowers communities to develop and own wind energy as an environmentally sustainable asset. Through member-supported outreach, education and advocacy they work to remove the barriers to broad community ownership of wind energy.

Windustry's programs include an information hotline, educational materials, advocacy for wind energy policy, outreach events for communities and a biennial national conference on community owned wind energy.

Wind power development comes in many shapes and sizes, but local or community ownership of wind turbines contributes most significantly to local economic development benefits. Essentially, Community Wind means that one or more members of the local community have a significant financial stake in the project. Examples of Community Wind projects include farmer-owned wind turbines, school wind projects, municipal utility or rural electric cooperative wind installations, and tribal community wind projects.

Windustry encourages community wind projects by developing practical tools, information and expertise to help communities and landowners evaluate the feasibility of a community wind project.

The Rural Assistance Center

A product of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Rural Initiative, the Rural Assistance Center was established in December 2002 as a rural health and human services "information portal." RAC helps rural communities and other rural stakeholders access a full range of available programs, funding and research that enable them to provide high-quality health and human services to rural residents.

Among their services are grants that they provide for renewable energy and weatherization programs and projects of rural homes, schools, farms and businesses.

The Urban Energy Program at Columbia University

From their website:

Around the world, cities have begun to examine their energy use and plan for a more sustainable energy future, employing a range of energy efficiency, energy conservation, and ‘clean energy’ strategies. Climate change concerns are giving a new prominence to these efforts, compounding longstanding worries over local energy security, air pollution levels, or economic competitiveness.

Shifting to a new energy path and reducing a city’s carbon footprint requires an understanding of the various technological solutions open to cities and the many institutional factors influencing their implementation. New policies and market instruments promoting the mitigation of — and adaptation to — climate change are similarly complex when viewed at the city level.

The Urban Energy Program at Columbia University's Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and Public Policy (CEMTPP) employs innovative approaches to analyze urban energy markets, governance, and technology and their links to a wide range of important public policy goals. The Center's research provides local policymakers and other stakeholders with an understanding of the institutional and other system barriers to (or sometimes, opportunities for) change. Their work involves economists, planners, regulatory specialists and technology experts, both from within the Columbia University community and at partner institutions around the world.

CEMTPP's Urban Energy Project comprises:
• Original research on local energy governance and markets
• Urban Energy "Academy" for local authorities and other market stakeholders
• Secretariat of the Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN)
• Student research opportunities

SOLAR IVY? University of Utah student leading what may be first installation in North America

Thomas Melburn grew up in St. Louis and attended two different colleges in California before he finally landed as a junior at the University of Utah in Salt Lake 1.5 years ago. His school-hopping ended up being a good thing: He is now leading the installation of what he says isn’t just the coolest renewable energy project he has ever heard of — it may also be the first installation of its kind in North America.

Tom heard about solar energy-producing “ivy” from friends who are interested in solar energy. Majoring in environmental and sustainability studies, he immediately understood the potential for installing this product on his campus — located at 4,000 feet above sea level and enjoying about 300 days of sunshine per year — and funding it through the school’s Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund. The fund collects $2.50 from each of the university’s 40,000 undergraduate and graduate students per semester to create a $200,000 annual fund for student-driven sustainability initiatives.

Tom contacted the solar ivy manufacturer, Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology in Brooklyn, NY, and learned that if he were to be successful with installing solar ivy on a school building wall, it could represent the first such installation in North America.

“I went around campus and scouted out possible places for it to be installed, took the measurements, and the manufacturer came back with a cost analysis and computer-generated pictures of what the ivy would look like,” Tom said. “I developed my proposal, estimating the cost of what the system would save the school, and applied. I asked for $42,000 and the Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund agreed to give me $30,000. That meant I only had to raise $12,000 to make it happen.”

Tom has raised the balance needed by requesting donations among students and faculty — a $25 pledge pays for the balance due on a $60 leaf after the grant contribution is applied. A substantial donation by a friend has allowed him to meet his fundraising goal.

For his project, Tom selected the 800 square-foot, south-facing wall of a 1950s-era, undergraduate, brick building. Orson Spencer Hall, a very energy inefficient building, is located on a main corridor that every university students walks frequently. The photovoltaic ivy will be mounted on the second floor, beyond the reach of people on the ground, and will blend well with existing landscaping.

Anchors and steel mesh will be screwed to the wall, with a minimal impact to the brick, and the “ivy leaves” will be attached to the mesh. The leaf system will plug into an electrical input inside the building, which then connects to the entire university’s energy grid.

Each of the 800 or so 12 x 12-inch solar leaves has a 10 x 10-inch solar panel. The leaves — of different shades of green to mimic biological ivy — are made from 100 percent recycled materials, mostly plastic. The university’s symbol, a big U, is also integrated into the design.

Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology offers different types of solar panels, including an organic one that is completely biodegradable but is less efficient than other types of panels. Tom has selected a panel that’s reasonably priced, efficient, and less detrimental to the environment than are silicon solar panels.

The project is moving quickly now, Tom said. “It’s been a wild ride — a pretty much full-time job for the last 10 to 11 months — constantly meeting with people, getting approvals, and talking to architects and engineers, biology and chemistry students — it’s been fascinating.

“The panels are being manufactured now and are scheduled for installation in late spring or early summer,” he continued. “We’re also selecting the most cost-efficient contractors to install the system. People are jumping out of their seats… to do this installation. Since we sent out a press release about our project at school, Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology has been bombarded with work, so this has been great for the university and for the company.”

The solar ivy investment won’t pay for itself for 15 to 20 years — the wall of ivy is expected to generate about 3 kW, enough to power all of the electricity needs of a house. “And we won’t be able to tell where the energy is distributed, even though we will be able to receive data on performance and output,” Tom said.

But that’s not what counts the most with this project, he explained: “My proposal was approved based on the fact that… we’re increasing awareness of new technologies and innovations, and of our reliance on archaic fuels to power our lives. I figure this project is a transition for students to look at and say, hey, this is the kind of stuff we should focus on as we create new energy technologies for future generations.”

Now a senior, Tom has applied to grad schools. Columbia’s Masters in Public Affairs in Environmental Science and Policy is his top choice. He’s also applying to programs that offer joint business and environmental science master’s degrees. “I’m more and more interested in how we come to terms with the environmental policies in our world, and I think the interdisciplinary approach to solving these problems is very important,” he said.

Meanwhile, a few other conservation and renewable energy projects are perking at
the University of Utah, also funded by the Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund and also benefiting the university’s electrical grid. For example, Tom said, faculty advisor Kent Udell has invented and is creating “ice ball cooling,” which involves freezing water during the winter deeply underground on the campus, and then releasing the cold little by little during the summer to cool the buildings.

Tom is hopeful for the future of renewable energy. “Renewable energy technology is evolving very quickly,” he said. “Solar will become less expensive as coal gets more expensive. Once we reach equilibrium, we’ll see more serious efforts toward renewable energy technologies.”

For more information about local renewable energy initiatives involving youth and post-secondary students, check out Focus the Nation.

Exploring a post from the Innovation Policy Blog: A Note to Joe Romm and Tom Friedman: Sorry, we need an RD&D, RD&D, Deploy, RD&D, RD&D, Deploy Clean

I really enjoyed reading this blog post issued earlier this month by Matthew Stepp, a blogger on energy issues for Innovation Policy (tagline: Innovation is not a partisan issue). He is a research analyst with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and specializes in climate change and clean energy policy. His research interests include clean energy technology development, climate science policy development, transportation policy, and the role innovation has in economic growth.

In his very well-written post, he challenges Joe Romm of Climate Progress and The New York Times’ Tom Friedman in their assertions that our country should put most of our time, effort, policy and public dollars into rapidly deploying as much existing clean technology as possible — because that’s how we’re going to cut carbon emissions — and that we not focus so much on “RD&D,” research, development and demonstration.

“The problem with this approach,” writes Stepp, “is that it ignores that clean energy is not cost-competitive with fossil fuels in most circumstances without significant government support, and won’t be (competitive) without RD&D…. “

He went on to write: “I absolutely agree with the need for action. Climate change is a dangerous problem that we are decades behind in addressing. And we should pick as much ‘low-hanging fruit’ as we can in the meantime to lower emissions and buy us some time, like building out energy-efficiency, limiting non-carbon greenhouse gases, and aggressively pursuing resiliency efforts. But we have to recognize that trying to build out uncompetitive clean technologies through just regulations and subsidies is not a solution.”

His blog attracted nine comments, all on the same day, written by Alan Nogee, a clean energy consultant; James A. Lewis, another Innovation Policy contributor; Tyler Bryant, an energy policy analyst with the David Suzuki Foundation; and Jesse Jenkins of the Breakthrough Institute. Each has a unique take on the balance that must be struck between RD&D and deployment. Ultimately they seemed to agree that both have to take place simultaneously in order for serious progress to be made. If this issue interests you, the blog and its comments are well worth a read.

Announcing a new blog by the Northwest Energy Angels, investors in regional "cleantech" ventures

As an MBA student intern at Northwest Energy Angels, I have helped to create a new blog for the organization. The blog, titled Cleantech Investor Insight, formally launched today.

The Northwest Energy Angels is a membership organization of Pacific Northwest private, accredited investors who focus their investments on regional “cleantech” ventures. When it was formed in 2006, it was the first early-stage investment group in the United States to focus exclusively on cleantech industries.

While this blog topic may seem to depart a bit from the focus of my own blog, it actually doesn’t: A number of the technologies that the Angels have funded are, in fact, being used in community based conservation and renewable energy production programs.

The Angels’ goal is to add value for entrepreneurs and help make ventures profitable for both management and investors. The cleantech industry lies at the intersection of their desire to make successful angel investments, their personal values and the world they want to leave our children. Most Angel members place a high value on sustainability, the ecosystems that support life on earth, and social responsibility. They are passionate about fueling growth in the Pacific Northwest economy.

“The Northwest Energy Angels are the most serious, thoughtful and cohesive energy angel group in the country,” says Nancy Floyd, Angel Advisory Council member and the founder and managing director of the venture capital firm Nth Power.

The group includes seasoned angel investors and venture capitalists, as well as new angels learning by participating in a cooperative and supportive environment. The Angels empower members by providing them with tools for successful angel investing provided by a business network of investors, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, executives, scientists, engineers, bankers and attorneys, and also by providing high-quality deal flow, cooperative due diligence and relevant, timely education. To date, members have invested about $5.5 million in 32 companies.

Distributed Energy: Exploring a website and its publications

Today I spent a chunk of time exploring a website titled: The Journal of Energy Efficiency and Reliability, which I found by doing a search for distributed energy blogs. The site and its journal offer the following:

Get the latest information on state-of-the-art energy efficiency, reliability and onsite power installations. Distributed Energy – The Journal of Energy Efficiency and Reliability reaches more than 20,000 subscribers. Published seven times annually, Distributed Energy addresses the concerns of the readers regarding the vulnerability of their operations and facilities to power interruptions and explores solutions for increasing energy self-reliance.

This is a very cool find for someone like me, who is learning a lot about local energy initiatives and energy independence. The site, published by Forester Media, which is the publishing arm of Forester University in Santa Barbara, CA, seems to take a variety of angles in their content, going from the technical, to public policy and regulation here and overseas, to local programs and success stories.

I must say that I am befuddled by the fact that none of the featured weekly blogs by DE Editor Elizabeth Cutright or by other DE featured bloggers has been commented on. If, in fact, what Tom Osdoba said at Net Impact last fall is true (see my earlier post) — that by the year 2020, 45 percent of renewable energy in this country will come from distributed sources — where’s the buzz? Why aren’t environmentalists, entrepreneurs and elected officials all over a site like this, sharing and dissecting products, ideas, policies and initiatives? Perhaps its time hasn’t come yet….