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energy efficiency policy

Voter Support for Efficiency = Metal to the Pedal, Thing to the Floor

By Energy Rant One Comment
It may be that I pay more attention compared to several years ago, but there seems to be a lot of churn in energy efficiency policy today. Some states, particularly those with a short track record in efficiency, are getting squeamish or have backed off. These include Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and Michigan. With excess capacity, we have utilities, and in some cases their political (money) support against intervenors, and that is a fairly weak position for efficiency in some states, including some of those just listed. There is nothing better for our industry than the need to build power plants…
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Federal Fuel Mileage Con Job

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Government No Comments
A few weeks back I lampooned the federal government’s desire to implement energy efficiency policy, and in particular, Shaheen Portman.  You can view the key elements of that in that post, but one thing mysteriously missing is automobile mileage – the crown jewel of federal energy efficiency regulations.  Why is this?  I don’t know, but one thing I can explain is how these regulations are as modern as building codes for ancient pyramids.  Nobody knows why pyramids were ever built, but I’m sure it involved male instincts prior to the development of calculus.  For example, put a guy in charge of…
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Governors Crush Shaheen-Portman

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Government 5 Comments
This week’s post is brought to you by the National Resources Defense Council.  Yes indeed; states are leading the way in energy efficiency and  considering the bumbling federal government that can’t get anything done or come close to living within its means,  supporters of Shaheen-Portman in our industry should think long and hard or short and easy about what they wish for. Most states have a genuine interest in the well being of their citizens across the entire state.  They balance their budgets, sometimes by force (law), and this is also the expectation of state governments and citizens alike.  Expectations…
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Politics and Energy Efficiency

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
I recently read an article from a management consulting firm regarding what not to do when using social media for marketing.  First on the list: don’t talk about politics.  So what does Jeff do?  Fly right into the storm.  Politics and energy efficiency are directly linked in regulated utility markets in which we live, so this is an obvious critical subject. Recently, the National Academy of Sciences released a report, “Political Ideology Affects Energy-Efficiency Attitudes and Choices”.  One of the main points talks about environmental benefits and CO2 reductions as a benefit to buying energy efficient products, and it is…
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Flying Rodents

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 2 Comments
Before I get to this week’s rant, or I should say, this week’s primary rant, I need to share this with you.  Just before the holidays in Strange Magic,I tore into hands-free energy audit software.  All you need is an address and billing information and voila, there it is; an energy audit that tells you everything you need to know to cut your energy bills by a certain guesstimate. This week I came across an apparent competitor to the one discussed in Strange Magic, so I viewed their online charting and graphics.  They present analysis via bar chart for various…
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Tri-Gen EE

By Energy Efficiency, Government No Comments
My mother informed me during my annual July 4 visit to her house that I’m getting more gray hair.  Thanks for that information, Mom.  I can do things such as exercise and stretch to keep my body in a youngish condition but I’ve never heard of anything not fake that keeps non-silver hair growing from my melon like a chia pet. As I’ve gotten older I have taken a much greater interest in history to determine cause and effect.  While figures never lie and liars never figure, or something to that affect, I think I can look at data and…
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