News Updates for the Week of January 24th

1. EPA Makes Cleanup Tips for Broken CFL Bulbs 'Much More Realistic' - CFLs are known to pose some risks when they break, and now the Environmental Protection Agency has revised guidelines for their safe disposal. CFLs, sold for as little as a dollar each, account for about 20% of bulbs sold in the United States, up from less than 2% in 2000, says a September 2010 Department of Energy report. EPA says consumers should properly dispose of CFLs by checking for local recycling places on Earth911's website, www.earth911.com A survey finds 72% of U.S. households use at least one CFL, compared with 82% that use incandescents and 27% using LEDs. 1/17 USA Today


2. A Roadmap for America’s Energy Future H.R. 5899 - The GOP bill titled “A Roadmap for America’s Energy Future” uses untapped energy resources throughout our nation to bridge the gap between current energy consumption and our nation’s long-term goal of transitioning to renewable and advanced energy alternatives. The Energy Roadmap recognizes that many options are available to secure our long-term energy security. The bill leverages these alternatives to produce a diverse energy portfolio that would offer much greater stability in the long run, as well as more affordable prices. http://nunes.house.gov/_files/SummaryoftheEnergyRoadmap.pdf

3. 2011 Rebate Programs Have Started - Many electric utilities and government organizations across the nation have been busy updating their rebate guidelines for 2011. A majority have already released their new programs, with others to have them by the end of the month. While every program is different, some of the most common changes we have seen are higher rebate amounts, additional restrictions on which lighting systems may qualify for rebates, and the addition of LED lighting solutions into their programs More good news is that incentives for energy efficient commercial lighting now cover 78% of the US, which is a 30% increase from the same time last year. http://www.briteswitch.com/newsletter/Jan11-1.html


4. LEDs: Rebates Are Rapidly Growing - LED is the new buzzword when customers are looking to upgrade to efficient lighting. Their energy efficiency has improved over the past few years and as the cost of LED solutions fall, they are making their way into many mainstream applications. Energy Star established regulations for many LED solutions, prompting rebate programs to start offering incentives for these products. The chart below shows a rebate analysis for just a few of the LED product categories. http://www.briteswitch.com/newsletter/Jan11-2.html


5. NEMA Publishes Incandescent Bulb Phase-Out Brochure – NEMA has published a brochure that clarifies the upcoming phase-out of incandescent light bulbs. Beginning in 2012, and a year earlier in California, traditional 100-watt, 75-watt, 60-watt, and 40-watt bulbs will be phased out, with a completion date of 2014. Based on the average number of sockets per household, NEMA estimates that American households will save an average of $143 on electric bills when the transition is complete. http://www.nemasavesenergy.org/assets/_cxFki8alkGc9XKG6n78cA.pdf


6. One Billion Square Feet of LEED Certified Green Building Projects Worldwide - Late in 2011, the total footprint of commercial projects certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Green Building Rating System surpassed one billion square feet. Another six billion square feet of projects are registered and currently working toward LEED certification around the world. Since it was first introduced to the marketplace in 2000, over 36,000 commercial projects and 38,000 single-family homes have participated in LEED.


7. Existing-Home Sales Rise Sharply - Existing-home sales rose sharply in December, when sales increased for the fifth time in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Completed transactions of single-family houses, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops rose 12.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million in December. Despite the surge, the figure is 2.9% below the 5.44 million-pace in December 2009. 1/20 HCN


8. Housing Starts Finish Year on an Off Note - If housing starts are going to gain 20% in 2011 as recently predicted, they're going to have to pick up the pace. Data released Wednesday morning shows housing starts in December were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000 -- that's down 4.3% from November and down 8.2% from the December 2009 rate. For the full year, the total number of starts finished at 598,200, slightly ahead of 2009's record low of 583,000. However, a bright spot appeared in the measure of building permits for December, which jumped 16.7% to 635,000. Single-family building permits were at a rate of 440,000, up 5.5%. 1/19 HCN


9. Renewables Trending Higher - Renewables are gaining a greater share of domestic energy production according to the latest government figure released by the U.S. Department of Energy. The race between renewables and nuclear power is tightening. More specifically, renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass/biofuels, geothermal, solar, water, and wind) accounted for 10.9 percent of domestic energy production and increased by 5.7 percent compared to the same period in 2009. Meanwhile, nuclear power accounted for 11.4 percent of domestic energy production but provided 0.5 percent less energy than a year earlier. Among the renewable energy sources, biomass and biofuels accounted for about 52 percent, hydropower for 31.5 percent, wind for 10.5 percent, geothermal for 4.6 percent, and solar for 1.4 percent. 1/19 EnergyBiz


10. Milwaukee to Revamp Energy Efficiency Program - Milwaukee is revamping a program aimed at encouraging homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient and will unveil it this spring. The city will instead apply stimulus funds to help create a revolving loan fund for the projects when it relaunches the ME2, or Milwaukee Energy Efficiency program to help bring down the interest rate or extend the loan terms for city homeowners who want to pursue energy efficiency upgrades. Details of the program will be unveiled soon, though more information is available at a new website, www.smartenergypays.com 1/20 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel


11. Additional Rebates Offered for Energy-Efficient Home Improvements - The Maryland Energy Administration has announced $1 million in rebates for energy-efficient home improvements through the Maryland Home Performance program. Consumers should go to www.mdhomeperformance.org to find a contractor and determine what improvements they need. Then they can download an application from www.energy.maryland.gov to reserve their rebate. 1/20 The Baltimore Sun


12. Codale Launches Year-Long Energy Savings Campaign - Codale Electric Supply, Salt Lake City, Utah, has announced the schedule for its “2011: A Year of Energy Savings” program, a year-long series of trainings, sales promotions and events focused on energy-saving products and technologies. The program will cover several energy-efficient product categories, including LEDs, CFLs, skylights and daylight harvesting, as well as sustainable power management equipment such as switchgear, variable-frequency-drives (VFDs), transformers, capacitors, soft starts and power monitoring. Details can be found at www.codale.com/2011YES 1/18 Jim Lucy http://livewire.electricalmarketing.com/


13. FTC Halts Phony Green Agency - An organization that called itself “Tested Green” -- and claimed to certify green products for as much as $549.95 -- was put out of business by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). More than 100 customers paid various fees to have their products endorsed by Tested Green between February 2009 and April 2010, according to the FTC. Owner Jeremy Ryan Claeys claimed that the testing labs were independent, when in fact he owned the operations. Claeys advertised, marketed and sold environmental certifications using both mass e-mails to prospective consumers and the website www.testedgreen.com The company’s marketing claimed that Tested Green was the “nation’s leading certification program with over 45,000 certifications in the United States.” The FTC complaint alleges, however, that Tested Green never tested any of the companies it provided with environmental certifications, and would “certify” anyone willing to pay a fee of either $189.95 for a “Rapid” certification or $549.95 for a “Pro” certification. 1/19 HCN


14. UN: 1.6 Billion People Still Have No Access to Electricity - The United Nations called Monday for a clean energy revolution that would provide electricity to the world population, including the 1.6 billion people who currently have no access to it. Biomass fuels and coal are traditional energy commodities for some 3 billion people out of the world population of 6.8 billion. 1/17 McClatchy-Tribune Regional News