News Updates for the Week of October 17

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1.      Clinton-Backed Efficiency Program Tackling 30m Sq Ft of Commercial Space - A Los Angeles program backed by the Clinton Climate Initiative is giving building owners financing and free energy assessments, in an effort to raise the efficiency of 20 to 30 million square feet of commercial space. The LA Commercial Building Performance Partnership http://www.lacommercialbpp.com/  aims not only to help commercial property owners make their buildings more energy and water efficient, but also to save tenants money. The partners say they will offer financing at competitive rates to cover up to 100 percent of the cost of an owner’s energy upgrades. One option available through the partnership is property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing, in which building owners can secure capital and repay the costs through their property tax bill, payable over periods of up to 20 years. Improvements to building energy and water efficiency could include on-site clean energy generation, lighting and chiller plant upgrades or the installation of new technology to control and monitor energy use. 10/13 Environmental Leader

2.      Vu1 Corporation Signs Manufacturing Agreement with Huayi Lighting Company Ltd. to Supply 250 Million Units (Bulbs) Over Five Years - New York City-based Vu1 Corporation has developed a new energy efficient light bulb made in China to provide the consumer market with the first affordable, non-toxic light bulb with features consumers are demanding and not receiving from existing products. The Vu1 Electron Stimulated Luminescence™ – ESL light bulb is energy efficient and specifically designed to replace a 65W incandescent R-30 flood bulb in recessed light fixtures. The Vu1 reflector bulb gives uniform flood illumination and a light quality that is virtually indistinguishable from the incandescent lamp it replaces. www.vu1.com

3.      Sylvania LED Bulbs to Appear at Menards - Osram Sylvania released new LED bulbs at Menards stores on Oct. 11. Part of the “Ultra LED” A line, the omnidirectional bulbs are available in two wattages. The 8W is equivalent to the 40W incandescent, and the 13.5W is equivalent to the 60W incandescent. The Ultra LED BR 30 and BR 40 are replacements for the equivalent 65W incandescent models.  10/12 HCN

4.   ‘$1bn’ University Green Endowment Plan Launched - Harvard and Stanford are among 32 universities that have committed $65 million to new energy efficiency financing initiative Billion Dollar Green Challenge. The fund aims to get colleges, universities and other nonprofits to invest a total of $1 billion in self-managed “green revolving funds.” Such funds are used to finance energy efficiency upgrades that offer a quantifiable monetary saving or return. Such funds have a median annual return on investment of 32 percent.  Full lists of participating universities, coordinating partners and financial backers can be found at the Billion Dollar Green Challenge website http://greenbillion.org/ 10/13 Environmental Leader

5.      LUMEN Coalition Showcases Energy-Efficient Light Bulb Options - LUMEN – a coalition of more than 40 manufacturers, nonprofits and consumer groups – is informing consumers about the variety and benefits of energy-efficient lighting products and will unveil a new consumer-friendly website http://lumennow.org/ LUMEN is led by the Alliance to Save Energy, the American Lighting Association (ALA) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). 10/11 Alliance to Save Energy

6.      Choosing a Bulb Website - Once you make the smart choice to pick an energy-efficient bulb, you need to decide which bulb to buy for different fixtures. Companies are making this easy, by having energy-efficient options for almost every type of scenario. http://www.ase.org/resources/choosing-bulb 

7.      LED Lighting Sees Improvements with the Addition of Hybrid Capacitors - A combination of an ultracapacitor and a lithium-ion battery, hybrid capacitors are an ideal choice to power LEDs, which have bright output with low input power. Because of the low energy and power of LEDs, hybrid capacitors are a longer term energy source than other alternative energy storage solutions on the market. They provide for more energy storage with an energy density up to 115 percent more than standard electric double-layer capacitors (ELDCs). LED devices last longer, charge faster, incur fewer maintenance costs, consume less power and are more environmentally friendly. Hybrid capacitors are responsible for these benefits, and they make LEDs an attractive solution for solid-state lighting. 10/4 Environmental Leader

8.      Costs of Rare Earth Metals for Cleantech Applications to Reach $1.2 Billion by 2017 - In testimony before Congress on September 21, Mark Smith, CEO of rare earth mining concern Molycorp, said that China, which now controls some 97% of the world’s supply of rare earth metals, will continue to limit exports of the valuable elements, restricting its supply largely to domestic customers.  According to a recent report from Pike Research, demand for rare earths in the cleantech industry will reach 12,920 tons per year by 2017, up from approximately 9,000 tons annually in 2011, which could place an increased strain on global supply for these emerging applications.  Supply uncertainties will drive the cost of rare earth metals to makers of cleantech applications to at least $1.2 billion by 2017. http://www.pikeresearch.com/research/rare-earth-metals-in-the-cleantech-industry

9.      Cree Continues to Lead LED Industry with Even Brighter Lighting-Class LEDs  - Cree, Inc. to extend the advantage of its Xlamp® LED family with the announcement of new levels of performance, now delivering up to 140 lumens per watt. The XP-G LED can help lighting manufacturers reduce system cost and complexity and can make existing designs brighter and more efficient. Cree XP-G LEDs also boast the longest projected lifetime data published. www.cree.com 10/12 BUSINESS WIRE 

10.  TerraLUX Appoints Lighting Veteran Brian Dundon to Chairman of the Board - TerraLUX, Inc. announced the expansion of its Board of Directors to include former Philips Lighting Electronics CEO Brian R. Dundon. Mr. Dundon, who will assume the Board Chairman role, also served as Chair of the Lighting CEO Board for NEMA from 2006 to 2009. TerraLUX Inc. is headquartered in Longmont, Colorado and invents, designs, patents, manufactures and distributes innovative high power LED solutions for general illumination, industrial, commercial, medical and portable applications. www.terralux.com

News Updates for the Week of September 12

1.      NEMA to Host Webcast on Latest Lighting Management Technology - The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) will present a webcast on Thursday, Sept. 15 from 1-2 p.m. (EDT), hosted by Building Operating Management magazine. The event focuses on the latest lighting control technologies, strategies and systems that will enable building managers to approach net-zero energy use and achieve sustainability goals. This webinar is available at no charge. To register: http://www.facilitiesnet.com/webcasts/082311_NEMA/

2.      Restoring America's Economic Vitality - Stanford economist John Taylor mapped out this path in basic terms.¹ At its core, this plan has a target goal of generating 5 percent annual real economic growth. As Taylor observes, this new growth paradigm depends on two essential factors:

• Employment growth – In the year 2000, 64.7 percent of Americans aged 16 and over were actually employed. Today, it's 58.4 percent. Returning to the workforce participation rates we saw in 2000 would require an increase of 10.8 percent in the number of jobs filled. Allowing for the 1 percent expected annual population growth, an average 2 percent per year growth in the number of jobs would get us above 65 percent participation by 2020.
• Productivity growth – According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it has averaged 2.7 percent since 1996. This growth has been driven by the IT revolution. If not stifled, this growth is likely to continue for at least the next two decades, as new technologies build upon the existing...

http://www.audiotech.com/trends-magazine/current-issue/restoring-americas-economic-vitality/

3.      Rapid Price Drop of LED Lighting is Expected in 3Q11 - LED lighting ASPs are likely to decrease rapidly. The price of high power LEDs has been falling close to 50% in 2010-2011. The price is likely to fall another 5-10% in the third quarter. There are currently 10 LED lighting brands in the Taiwan market, and another 3-5 brands will launch in the second half of 2011. The price of 6W LED light bulbs to replace a traditional 40W lights introduced by Everlight will decrease to $11-13.71.  Price competition has been fierce in North America with LG introducing two 7.5W LED light bulbs that only cost $20.  Industry watchers estimate demand for LED lighting chips will show a 68% CAGR in the next five years. http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20110906PD210.html

http://enews.penton.com/enews/electricalwholesaling/green_biz/2011_09_07_green_opportunities/display

4.      ENERGY STAR Guidance Regarding Lumen Maintenance Performance Data – The EPA has finalized guidance regarding the content and application of lumen maintenance performance data for LED packages, LED arrays and LED modules intended for use in ENERGY STAR qualified solid state lamps and luminaires.  Its objective is to facilitate robust testing which builds upon industry best practices and helps maintain confidence in ENERGY STAR qualified lighting products.  EPA developed this guidance in consultation with LED package and array manufacturers to ensure it is informed by the latest technological developments with solid state lighting subcomponents.  The Agency intends for lumen maintenance testing and reporting to follow this guidance going forward, while providing allowances detailed in the guidance for testing and reporting already completed, as well as testing which is currently underway or in the final planning stages. 

5.      LUMEN Coalition Presents Consumer Lighting Website - Lighting Understanding For a More Efficient Nation (LUMEN) is an ad hoc consortium of organizations and professionals united to facilitate consumer educated energy-efficient lighting decisions. The interactive and informative website was developed by the Alliance for the LUMEN Coalition.  LUMEN is open to stakeholders in all industries who would like to be engaged in this effort, and encourages members from manufacturing, retail, utility, media, NGO groups, and market transformation organizations to join the LUMEN Coalition.  http://lumennow.org

6.      DOE Has Published Revised Guidelines on Testing and Reporting the Lifetime of LED Luminaires - Those guidelines make a distinction between failures that are due to design and quality problems, and those that result from normal wear-out. The latter are to be expected, but the former call for a return to the drawing board. http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/led_luminaire-lifetime-guide_june2011.pdf

7.      Shocker: Power Demand from US Homes is Falling - American homes are more cluttered than ever with devices, and they all need power: Cellphones and iPads that have to be charged, DVRs that run all hours, TVs that light up in high definition. But something shocking is happening to demand for electricity in the Age of the Gadget: It's leveling off.  In part it's because Edison's light bulb is being replaced by more efficient types of lighting, and electric devices of all kinds are getting much more efficient. But there are other factors. New homes are being built to use less juice, and government subsidies for home energy savings programs are helping older homes use less power. In the short term, the tough economy and a weak housing market are prompting people to cut their usage. From 1980 to 2000, residential power demand grew by about 2.5 percent a year. From 2000 to 2010, the growth rate slowed to 2 percent. Over the next 10 years, demand is expected to decline by about 0.5 percent a year, according to the Electric Power Research Institute.  9/7 AP

8.      Brits Buying 60W Bulbs Buy the Bushel Because of 2012 EU Ban on Some Incandescents - With the European Union’s 2012 ban on 60W incandescents drawing near, electrical distributors in England say some customers are hoarding the 60W lamps because they don’t like the look of CFLs. Check out this BBC report for details. http://livewire.electricalmarketing.com/

9.      Electricpilot.com Adds New Product Info - ElectricPilot.com, a search engine focusing on the electrical industry search engine that’s loaded with links to the websites of thousands of electrical manufacturers, electrical distributors, reps and other electrical firms, now posts new product information on its site. Alan Wulff, the company’s president and founder, says ElectricPilot.com hosts more than 20,000 companies in the electrical, communications and utility industries.

http://livewire.electricalmarketing.com/

10.  PPL Announces Energy Savings Program for Small Businesses - PPL Electric Utilities today announced a new program to help small businesses reduce power consumption and save on their electric bills. The "E-power Direct Discount" program covers up to 75 percent of the cost of upgrades such as energy efficient lighting and commercial refrigeration equipment. With the Allentown, PA power company paying most of the bill, participating businesses can see savings in their first year of participating because the savings on their electric bill will outweigh their investment.  For more information email EpowerDirectDiscount@kema.com  9/7 The Morning Call

11.  DOE Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium - The DOE Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium shares technical information and experiences related to LED street and area lighting demonstrations. The Consortium also serves as an objective resource for evaluating new products on the market intended for street and area lighting applications.  Cities, power providers, and others who invest in street and area lighting are invited to join the Consortium and share their experiences. The goal is to build a repository of valuable field experience and data that will significantly accelerate the learning curve for buying and implementing high-quality, energy-efficient LED street and area lighting. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/consortium_about.html

12.  US Smart Meter Deployments are Expected to Surge to 58M - Nearly 21 million smart meters were deployed in 2010 and more than 90 utilities companies in the United States have future deployment plans in place. Smart meters will provide utilities with an unprecedented avalanche of data on systems and customers that will help them increase reliability, hone efficiency, improve the customer experience and, ultimately, maximize profits—but none of this will be automatic. http://www.energybiz.com/insights

13.  LG Electronics Products Earn ENERGY STAR® 'Most Efficient 2011' Designation - More home appliance and consumer electronics products from LG Electronics have achieved the new "ENERGY STAR® Most Efficient 2011" designation than any other manufacturer, the global technology innovator announced today. For more information www.LG.com 9/7 PRNewswire