News Updates for the Week of December 13

1. Rep. Upton Flips a Switch on CFL Bulbs - Three years after he led the charge to require consumers to ditch their comfortable old incandescent lights in favor of those twisty CFL bulbs, Rep. Fred Upton now wants to be the man to help undo that law if he is elected the next chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Federal officials say 272 million CFLs were sold in the U.S. in 2009, and they argue that the environmental and safety fears have been blown out of proportion. For repeal to succeed, legislation would have to pass the House and the Senate and then be signed by President Obama. 12/7 The Washington Times


2. New Buildings Institute Announces ALG Online - An all-in-one information resource covering energy-efficient lighting design, technologies, and applications, a new online edition of Advanced Lighting Guidelines is regularly updated by its editors and contributors. http://www.algonline.org/

3. Keeping Manufacturing in the United States - The U.S. solid-state lighting (SSL) industry sits on the cusp of major technology advances that will revo¬lutionize the industry and greatly accelerate energy efficiency here and around the world. The U.S. lighting industry has lost most, if not all, of its incandescent and compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) manufacturing to Asian countries in the last two decades, as well a substantial share of finished luminaire product and sub-system manufacturing, because it could not match production costs. U.S. com¬panies have made significant financial investments in SSL technology and would like to retain a larger share of this next generation of lighting. http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/ssl_whitepaper_july2010.pdf



4. NEMA-Backed Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act of 2010 Passes Congress - The U.S. House of Representatives has passed S3250, the Federal Buildings Personnel Training Act of 2010, which includes provisions backed by NEMA. Passed by the U.S. Senate in July, S3250 instructs the General Services Administration to develop core competencies for federal building managers to ensure that the buildings are safely maintained and operated at maximum performance levels. Copy of Bill: http://www.nema.org/media/pr/upload/S.3250.pdf

5. Construction Industry Loses More Jobs - The construction unemployment rate rose to 18.8% in November as the sector lost another 5,000 jobs since October, according to the Associated General Contractors of America, which just released an analysis of new federal employment data. The analysis indicates that the construction sector has been the hardest hit of any industry during the economic downturn. The construction industry has lost 2.1 million jobs since employment in the sector peaked in August 2006. 12/3 HCN

6. Solar Market to Double Next Year - Despite the uncertainty of political changes and the unsettled power markets, installations of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation will double next year. That's according to a new report that predicts 2 gigawatts of solar PV will be added in the United States in 2011. http://www.renewablesbiz.com/article/10/12/solar-market-double-next-year

7. Marin County Seeks Contractor to Change Light Bulbs - The county Board of Supervisors this week called for bids on replacing 1,688 high-pressure sodium street lights across Marin with energy-efficient LED fixtures and could cost more than $1 million. 12/3 Marin Independent Journal

8. DOE Releases GATEWAY Report on LED Retrofit Lamps - The DOE has published the final report from a demonstration of LED retrofit lamps installed at the InterContinental Hotel in San Francisco, California. This GATEWAY demonstration report provides an overview of project results including lighting performance, economic performance, and potential energy savings. The complete report is available for download at www.ssl.energy.gov/gatewaydemos_results.html


9. Dec. 14: Free DOE Webinar on the Latest Lighting Solutions - Register now to attend a free webinar presented by the DOE’s Building Technologies Program: “Commercial Lighting Solutions Web Tool: Improve Your Building Efficiency.” The 90-minute webinar will be held at noon Eastern on Tuesday, Dec. 14. The DOE’s Commercial Lighting Solutions interactive Web tool provides best practices lighting solutions for offices and box retail in both new and existing buildings. https://www.mymeetings.com/emeet/rsvp/index.jsp?customHeader=mymeetings&Conference_ID=9366099&passcode=7170033

10. GE LED Replacement Wins DOE's EnergyStar Rating - GE just launched a new 9 watt Energy Smart LED bulb that provides a soft white light (3,000K) and a 77-percent energy savings compared with a 40W incandescent bulb for $50 retail. EnergyStar tests found that the new GE LED bulb produced 471 lumens, a light-output measurement that exceeds the 450 lumens required by EnergyStar to be considered a 40W incandescent replacement. http://www.gelighting.com/na/energysmartLED/home.html

11. Lean and Green: How Sustainable Practices are Changing Retail - More retailers than ever believe that environmentally responsible initiatives are just plain good business sense. Those already winning at the POS believe this the most. But while frustration grows while waiting for consumers to start demanding greener products, Retail Winners are turning their focus to internal, more controllable initiatives. http://www.retailsystemsresearch.com/_document/summary/1209