Energy Watch

1. Ten Ways to Save Money by Going Green - If you're worried about the environment, here are 10 "green" moves you can make that also have a payback—they'll help the earth and your wallet.

1) Stop the energy leaks from your home
2) Change your light bulbs
3) Stop heating an empty house
4) Rethink your appliances
5) Stop leaving your computers and home entertainment
systems on standby overnight
6) Make the most of your green taxpayer incentives
7) Tackle your hot water heater
8) Drive a more-efficient car
9) Get a home energy audit
10) Buy an e-book reader
9/03 Wall Street Journal

2. BCAP Compliance Planning Assistance Program - In response to unprecedented federal funding through the Recovery Act, states are working hard to adopt and implement the model energy codes. With new funding comes new challenges, as states must achieve 90 percent compliance by 2017. BCAP’s CPA Program will provide 15 states with on-the-ground assistance to assess the current gaps in energy code enforcement and compliance. The BCAP Team will develop practical, targeted action plans that meet federal goals while accommodating state and local needs and concerns. The following states have been approved for the CPA Program, although not all have committed to participating yet: Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia.

http://bcap-ocean.org/compliance-planning-assistance-program

3. Light Bulb Factory Closes; End of Era for U.S. Means More Jobs Overseas - The last major U.S. factory making ordinary incandescent light bulbs will soon be closing. When it does, the remaining 200 workers at the Winchester, Va., plant, about 70 miles west of Washington, D.C., will lose their jobs. What made the plant here vulnerable is, in part, a 2007 energy conservation measure passed by Congress that set standards essentially banning ordinary incandescents by 2014. The law will force millions of American households to switch to more efficient bulbs. But the move also had unintended consequences. Rather than setting off a boom in the U.S. manufacture of replacement lights, the leading replacement lights are CFLs, which are made almost entirely overseas, mostly in China. 9/08 Washington Post

4. GE Teams with Major Utilities, Builders, and Communities to Increase American Home Efficiency by 70% - A team of technologists from GE’s Industrial Solutions, Appliances, Lighting, and Research divisions is investing $5 million with the DOE to employ a mix of energy efficiency and clean power measures to reduce energy usage for new and existing homes. GE and its project partners will assemble a comprehensive package of home energy solutions, which will be demonstrated in several test houses located in various cities throughout the western U.S., including Phoenix; Sacramento; and San Diego. GE is part of DOE’s Building Industry Research Alliance (BIRA). http://ecmweb.com/news/increasing-home-efficiency-20100902/

5. Energy Industry Companies Make the Inc. 500 List of Americas Fastest Growing Private Corporations - Several leading firms in the energy industry recently earned a spot on Inc. magazine’s prestigious 2010 Inc. 500 list, including Standard Solar, Global Wedge, GreenLogic, Vycon, Mercury Solar Systems, Cenergy, link Alteris Renewables, and Rising Sun. To access the entire list, which includes company profiles and an interactive database that may be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, visit http://www.inc.com/500

6. SMUD, City of Sacramento to Offer Energy Rebates for Small Businesses - City officials and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District next month will roll out a new rebate program for small businesses looking to install solar panels and invest in other energy upgrades. Funded by a $500,000 federal stimulus block grant from the DOE, the program also will provide energy audits for small business hoping to lower energy costs and reduce their carbon footprints. Currently, SMUD offers rebates of up to $10,000 for business customers and residential customers for energy efficiency design projects. The rebate program is SMUD's first that specifically targets energy retrofits for small businesses. 9/08 The Sacramento Bee

7. Deere Sells Wind Energy Business - Moline, Ill.-based Deere & Co. has signed an agreement to sell John Deere Renewables, its wind energy business, to Exelon Generation Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Exelon Corp. Deere said the $900 million sale, including earn-out provisions, will result in an after-tax charge of about $25 million in its fourth-quarter results. 9/01 HCN

8. Legrand Hires Rochford - Susan Rochford is now Vice President, Energy Efficiency, Sustainability & Public Policy for Legrand North America. At Legrand, Susan is passionate about putting a stop to energy waste. “We're committed to designing “energy smart” products and systems that provide significant savings in dollars and energy. As well as contribute toward LEED certification.” In this capacity, she will work closely with all the Legrand North America entities to identify, design and deliver sustainable products and solutions to meet the needs of the customers they serve.

9. LEP vs. LED - LUXIM’s LiFi® brand of Light Emitting Plasma™ is a new class of solid state high intensity light sources and is positioned to complement the emerging LED technology: http://www.luxim.com/

• Consider LED for low and mid-illuminance applications, such as 100 watt, 150 watt, and even 250 watt replacement solutions.

• Use LEP™ in high illuminance applications such as streets, parking lots, big-box retailers, distribution centers and factories.

• Wherever there is a 400 watt metal halide or HPS system (which is really 465 watts) consider replacing with LUXIM's LiFi for comparable light output using just 266 watts—a savings of 43%!

• In addition, all LiFi products can be dimmed to 20% with either analog or digital controls.