News Updates for the Week of April 18

1. Marijuana Growing Gobbles Electricity, Study Finds - A new study estimates that indoor pot-growing operations in the United States burn about $5 billion worth of electricity annually, or roughly 1 percent of national power consumption. That’s enough electricity to power two million average homes. The study estimated that a single joint contains the equivalent of roughly two pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of running a 100-watt bulb for about 30 hours on the California grid. Marijuana is considered the nation’s largest cash crop, with a production value estimated at about $40 billion annually. 4/17 NY Times. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/marijuana-growing-gobbles-electricity-study-finds/?hp

2. DOE Municipal Consortium Posts Draft Street-Lighting Specification - The US DOE Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium has posted drafts of street-lighting specification documents for review and is taking public comments through May 2. The documents are designed as a template for street-lighting buyers who are focused on solid-state lighting (SSL) projects. Buyers such as municipalities and utilities can use the documents as a base for their procurement specifications. The consortium has posted three documents on http://www.ssl.energy.gov/resources.html

3. ABC Reports on Construction Unemployment for March - Despite the loss of 1,000 jobs in March, the nation’s construction industry unemployment rate edged down to 20% for the month, according to the April 1 employment report by the U.S. Department of Labor, as analyzed by the Associated Builders and Contractors, Arlington, Va. Year-over-year, construction employment is down by 36,000 jobs, or 0.6%. Today’s rate is lower from 21.8% in February and 24.9% posted in March 2010. 4/15 EC&M

4. AEP-PSO Lauded for Energy-Efficiency Programs - AEP-PSO's energy-efficiency programs reduced electricity use by 39 million kilowatt hours last year, the Tulsa, OK-based utility reported Tuesday. Efficiency initiatives such as Energy Star New Homes, home weatherization for low-income customers and lighting retrofit incentives could help push that savings to 57 million kilowatt hours in 2011, the utility said. The federal Energy Star program includes efficiency standards for homes, appliances and office buildings. The utility indicated that the programs could cost $80 million, but the resulting efficiencies could save as much as $186 million. 4/13 Tulsa World

5. Energy Commission Awards $500,000 for New Lighting Research - The California Energy Commission awarded $500,000 for a research project to develop a more cost-effective way to manufacture light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Funding comes from the Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program. On Wednesday 4/13, the Commission approved $500,000 to Applied Materials, Inc. of Santa Clara to develop an improved and more cost-effective way to manufacture LEDs. The project's total cost is $8,718, 911. Applied Materials is providing $4,225,000. The company received a $3,993,911 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act award from the U.S. Department of Energy. http://www.energy.ca.gov/,  http://appliedmaterials.com/

6. Lime Energy Awarded Multi-Year Contract for Long Island Power Authority Small Business Energy Efficiency Program - Lime Energy has been notified that it has won the contract as the exclusive provider for the Small Business Energy Efficiency Program for the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). The projected value of the five year contract is $7.3 million per year. The program will offer incentives of up to 70% toward the cost of energy efficiency upgrades to qualifying small business customers in specific distribution load pocket areas of Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. LIPA created the Small Business Direct Install Energy Efficiency Program as part of its customer-funded $900-plus million "Efficiency Long Island" strategy to defer distribution and generation system upgrade costs by reducing peak energy demand. Under the contract, Lime will enter into direct contracts to provide turnkey lighting retrofits with qualifying load pocket to customers who choose to participate. http://www.lime-energy.com/

7. Siemens’ Outsider CEO Pushes for Growth Around the Globe - Peter Loescher was the first non-Siemens employee in 160 years recruited to lead the German industrial giant in 2007. Loescher aimed to resolve the bribery scandal and move Siemens further into the company’s growth markets, such as India, China and the United States. He now intends to expand its energy, health-care and lighting businesses and has already boosted profit in the company’s financial-services division. Loescher shared his thoughts and business strategy in a recent interview in Washington. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/siemens-outsider-ceo-pushes-for-growth-around-the-globe/2011/04/13/AFptARqD_story.html?nl_headlines

8. 5-Year Deadline Sought for Ridding NYC Schools of PCBs - The federal Environmental Protection Agency and the New York City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, are both calling for replacing school light fixtures that are leaking PCBs in five years or less, putting more pressure on the Bloomberg administration to speed up its planned time line of 10 years. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/5-year-deadline-sought-for-ridding-schools-of-pcbs/

9. 2011 ENERGY STAR Winners - The EPA has announced the 2011 ENERGY STAR winners that have demonstrated leadership and commitment to protecting America’s health and environment through energy efficiency. 111 ENERGY STAR partners have been selected - manufacturers, retailers, public schools, real estate companies, home builders, and hospitals. For the fill listing of 2011 ENERGY STAR award winners, visit www.energystar.gov/awards

10. Now Open: EW’s 2011 Top 200 Survey by Doug Chandler April 15th, 2011 - Electrical distributors: It’s time to stand up and be counted. Don’t let your company be left off the list as we compile the 2011 edition of Electrical Wholesaling’s annual Top 200 listing of the largest electrical distributors in the United States. You can fill out the survey online: Electrical Wholesaling 2011 Top 200 Survey

11. Acuity Brands Launches Expanded Outdoor LED Lighting Portfolio - Acuity Brands, Inc. has announced a major expansion of its outdoor LED lighting portfolio. Offered as Acuity Brands® LED Outdoor, the expanded portfolio includes existing and newly introduced luminaires from six of the Company’s leading lighting brands, Lithonia Lighting®, Hydrel®, Tersen®, American Electric Lighting®, Antique Street Lamps™ and Winona Lighting®. The Company’s comprehensive outdoor LED luminaire product families are now grouped into customer-friendly and easy-to-find major categories that identify the four primary outdoor lighting experiences of DRIVE, PARK, WALK and VIEW. All of the new Acuity Brands LED Outdoor luminaires will be on display at the Lightfair International Tradeshow, booth #1801, May 17-19, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pa.