Sophie Shnapp, a Paris-based policy analyst working on the energy performance of buildings, attended last week’s eceee Summer Study, as did many of you. As you will see by her views on the event, it certainly gave her much to reflect about. So, what do you think about her idea? Sounds good to EiD!
To the energy efficiency community: A shared voice and vision
The IEA estimates that, by 2050, a 6°C rise in global temperatures will take place even if current policy initiatives are respected. Although the precise levels of climate change sufficient to trigger a tipping point remain uncertain, the risks associated with multiple tipping points increase as global temperatures rise and these risks stand to be irreversible and potentially detrimental to many lives on Earth.
In 2015, a double challenge is being faced. The global population is growing at the same time as GDP levels are rising, and this will result in higher demand for energy and increased climate change uncertainty. However, by using less with more, and more with less, through investment in resource efficiency and divestment from fossil fuels, it is possible for demand to increase at the same time as consumption decreases. The energy efficiency community must demonstrate that resource and energy efficiency is cost-effective in the long-term, and is an immediate and profitable approach to reducing energy consumption whilst creating jobs and providing many other societal benefits.
The energy efficiency community understands this and such points were raised repeatedly over the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ECEEE) summer study in Hyeres, France, last week. What is the energy efficiency community doing wrong? Why are they struggling to show that the cheapest energy is the energy we don’t spend, efficient energy? These are some of the many questions that arose when discussing the problems faced in trying to place energy efficiency into the limelight. So, what can be done to change this? One solution that was heard frequently over the course of the week was that the community must know their audience and continue to repeat, emphasise and re-repeat the facts and best-case examples that are likely to bring energy efficiency to the attention of those that can make a difference, the economic and finance ministers.
In order to access the finance required to support the paradigm shift essential to reduce energy consumption, the core economic and finance ministers need to be brought onside and understand the multiple benefits that energy efficiency offers. Communications to policy-makers need to be in sync with the most up-to-date facts and findings months, if not years, before any financial and political decisions are made. This means that the most important visible examples, findings and reports need to be raised and pressed home well before governments decide on mandates. The energy efficiency community must organise itself to produce a strong collective impact and shared vision and act as a single agent in bringing about the necessary paradigm shift. This is essential in order to give the same powerful message to those who count in decision-making.
A Collective Impact approach can act as a strong and powerful manifestation model to get energy efficiency the attention it must have. The energy efficiency community should start a Collective Impact campaign, bringing single actors, companies, the industry and all stakeholders together as part of one ambitious movement to support resource and energy efficiency. As a first step, the community should decide and agree upon the immediate and binding targets they want to see come out of the Paris climate talks later this year. When the community comes to an agreement upon the ambitions of the targets, all companies and lobbyists should use the same data in their campaign in the months approaching the G20 Climate Summit. One shared voice, one shared vision, one shared target.
Let us hear from you. We know that business as usual is no longer feasible. Something has to change and we need for all of us to be involved. Would you be part of the EE Collective Impact campaign?
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 
Policy makers will have first to change their policies to accept energy efficiency in the mix: if getting my neighbour’s vote depends on him to keep his job at the automaker he works for, policy makers will hardly support measures to end waste and change consumption habits that conflict with most of people’s means of living while they really don’t have any alternative yet. Had you seen whose ads support the most viewed sports events on TV? Yes, automakers or similar unsustainable industries that A) Employ zillions of people B) Get money from other zillions that consume their products. So, unless we change a lot as a society, energy efficiency will always be the “nice to say and write” (including Francisco) but the hardest thing to do as it directly conflicts with our stupid way of constructing “progress”… And I only make my leaving working on IT Energy Efficiency so I’ve learnt this the hardest way. There are lots that make a living writing about efficiency but to act is harder than to do, usually.
I started my website Gajetest.com to educate and let people know of the alternatives that are not part of a hippies socilist movement. But hard scientific fact. We have no energy crisis. We have a crisis in how we produce energy. When I started Gajetest.com an honest information and in the near future reliable place to purchase state of the art renewable energy systems. I thought the hardest thing would be logistics and marketing clean sustainable energy products. I had no idea (so okay I was naive) that I would find out that I can comfortably say that 95% of Americans
1. Do not know of the affordable Off-Grid Technology out there, and that it works very well. So well that reactors building should only be something talked about in insane asylums.
2. Believe that the Power Companies have their best interest at heart. They have had the knowledge for YEARS of clean viable ways to maintain a clean stable power grid with clean energy. Clean energy is just not Solar and wind, other countries have equipment a lot of us do not even know exists. And has been in use for years.
3. That the Power Companies would move so fast (I really thought they would wait a little longer) to denounce Solar and other Renewable energy that is Grid tied to their Grid as unstable and and therefore detrimental to the Power Grid. Because, of Solar’s fluctuating power. Indeed, they would go so far to Ban Solar power Grid-tied systems like they have in Hawaii the largest user of Solar power in America and that is only 10%. Google: HECO bans Solar
4. The power you produce from Solar wind or whatever alternative clean energy system you are using is much cleaner than what comes from the Power companies. So you electronics last longer using clean electricity. Hook up an oscilloscope to the wall plug and test it to a alternative energy pure sine wave inverter you will see a dramatic difference.
In addition, Scientific American wrote a article saying that all the power companies claims about harm to the grid from solar was completely false.The only thing Solar power hurt was the Power Companies bottom line. (Solar does its best work at the prime rate charge time where they charge us higher rates to keep us from using too much energy and harming their power grid so we are told.)
So say a car lot Paid $800.00 a month to the Power Company. Then they installed Solar panels as an awning to protect their cars. This could mean that the Power Company could owe them lots of money or credits, instead of the money they were getting now the Power Company has to pay. You can’t run a business like this and as we learned when we bailed out the auto and Wall Street CEO’s do not give up their bonuses. Now it is according to the state you live in if you get money for your power or credits. Some states actually make the Power Companies pay for the power they harvest from their customers. If your going to pay for panels and tie to the grid you have become part of the Power Companies energy source so in essence you are a energy farm.
So one of my first problems was to really understand how little the average person knows about renewable energy. The Power Companies have predicted their own demise in 15 to 20 years. One inter office memo went as far to say in 15 to 20 years finding a fossil powered power company will be like trying to find a pay phone is now. The only thing that the Power Company conglomerates can hope to do now is to introduce legislation to keep people from producing their own power.Saying it is dangerous. Don’t laugh they already tried that move in Canada it didn’t work.They have been trying to regulate solar power systems in Canada for years. Because, they haven’t figured out how to charge you for a free resource. And the zillions of dollars would hopefully shift to America being the leader in state of the art renewable energy equipment. Meaning jobs and manufacturing
. We have no need for reactors,or the absolute oxymoron “Clean Coal. No need for Fracking to harvest natural gas. Which one of the ingredients was found to be diesel fuel. They actually tried to use the Colonel Sanders approach to secret recipe and said they did not have to divulge what was in the soup they are pumping into the earth. Some environmentalist (by the way thank you guys) to steal some samples had them tested and the rest is written in history. However, even with this knowledge Fracking is still being used. The energy conglomerates are wealthy and powerful and have purchased many politicians.That is why my company specializes in Off-Grid systems, and with our new non-toxic backup battery system batteries that are guaranteed for 10 years, and non toxic to the workers who build them nor the environment small powerful and maintenance free. We have the technology now to take any business or residence from Antarctica to the North pole Off-Grid with affordable systems.I am very much a supporter of anything that reduces the need to build reactors have three mile Island or Chernobyl Japan taught us nothing? We think we are smarter than they are? We will make no mistakes ? Hubris in our country is admirable but arrogance can kill us all. It’s not a matter of using less energy. It is a matter of utilizing the abundance of clean energy all around us.There is no energy shortage we have to break from the Power Companies before they using us destroy the planet for human habitation.
Mercy I just wrote a long heart felt truth about renewable energy and the supposed energy shortage. So I will not write it all over again it was too long anyway I am very passionate about this topic.
First let’s be clear there is no power shortage. There is a clean energy shortage. Don’t make the mistake to confuse the two. If we want to make the wrong choice and get our electricity the way we have from the Power Companies.
Power Companies that just like Detroit automakers refused to change, and laughed and said no American will buy those funny little Japanese cars. The same automakers that went bankrupt, and when we bailed them out they made cars that look an awful lot like the funny Japanese cars. Cadillacs are now competing and winning against Mercedes Benz. But like an alcoholic it took them to hit rock bottom before they changed.
Well we can’t wait for them, our time is running out. I’m sorry to have to tell you this but their is no energy shortage or crisis. There is only the way we produce energy that is in jeopardy and killing us. The technology behind renewable energy makes it that you can take any factory or home Off-Grid using clean inexpensive energy. The Power Companies have had this information for years. And did nothing; because, it would cost them to change. So they make up an energy shortage charge us more for our own good, (so we use less) and continues to want to build reactors. Use Fracking (which in some cases has found to be injecting diesel fuel into the earth to push up the gas. Destroying clean water. And folks Clean water is the commodity that we are short on and we are destroying it?
We at Gajetest.com are trying with articles and blogging to educate people on the technology that is already availible. Inexpensive, clean energy in abundance. No matter if you live in Antarctica or the North Pole there is a stable renewable energy system that will work for you or your company. In addition, the energy that you produce is cleaner in the power itself. Think of drinking from a bubbling crystal clear mountain stream, now picture drinking from that same stream after it goes through three miles of garden hose. The clean energy you make and store and use yourself is cleaner which makes all of your electronics last longer it’s just a true statement.
It used to be that acid lead batteries were your only choice of power storage. Extreme environmentally toxic batteries was the only way to store large amounts of energy except if you have a water reservoir then that is another clean way to store energy. However, now we have truly non-toxic batteries that are guaranteed for 10 years. No lead acid battery can say that, and a lead acid battery is heavy environmentally harmful to dispose of, even the workers building the things are harmed. In addition, the best of them and most expensive are rated at 800 to 1000 recharge cycles; whereas, the new batteries are completely environmentally safe.
These batteries have a ten year warranty with no maintenance, light, smaller, not harmful to workers who build them, and rated with over three thousand recharge cycles. The oldest still running battery is the Edison battery that is 50 years old and it still works. This battery is in the same Li-ion family as the new LiFePO4 batteries. No one knows how long these new batteries will last. They could outlast the solar panels or energy system that they hold power for. And if you take in their life span fast charge rate slow discharge rate you are looking at a battery that is cheaper than lead acid batteries.
So yes I’m behind any campaign that brings attention to the stupidity of the Power Companies. They have had YEARS to get it together. But just like the American automotive industry they will hit bottom before they change and then we will have to bail them out? Or will we let them to continue to Build reactors. Use Fracking to harvest Natural Gas (look up Fracking they sometimes use diesel fuel to pump into the earth. Let’s not overlook my favorite oxymoron Clean Coal we still have people dying horrible deaths from Black lung a common occurrence of coal miners. And the scrubbers they use what do they do when they clean the scrubbers of all the gunk they saved from the air? Where does it go?
It’s time to take responsibility for our power needs they are affordable systems out there that will fit ant situation from Antarctica to the North Pole we can have clean reliable energy. This is not a dream it is obtainable right now!
(And this was the short version)
Tinkerer
Tinkerer: you are basically right on ignorance and powe companies lobbying against solar, here in Spain they are already banning solar. But you are simplifying the problem: electricity is only 30% of the energy we need and solar will not (nor renewables of any kind) be enough for long years.