Number of the week . . . or how the European Energy Efficiency Directive succeeded

Finally on June 13th, the rabbit was pulled out of the hat and an agreement was reached on a compromise Energy Efficiency Directive. According to many within the Coalition for Energy Savings, there is disappointment because the measures do not sufficiently close the gap to reach the 20% energy savings target by 2020. The Commission … Continue reading Number of the week . . . or how the European Energy Efficiency Directive succeeded →

Effect of procurement training on energy savings in small and medium-sized enterprises

Energy in Buildings & Industry, a UK monthly magazine, features in its June issue a report by the electricity company npower that shows that UK businesses are missing out on significant energy savings by not having trained staff in place to procure energy. The average SME spends about €225,000 per year. The report said that … Continue reading Effect of procurement training on energy savings in small and medium-sized enterprises →

American homes are getting bigger, but energy use is shrinking

This is a very important blog from the Washington Post. This will interest followers of the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy because it sponsored a workshop two years ago on this topic. American homes are getting bigger, but energy use is shrinking Posted by Brad Plumer, June 6, 2012 American houses are getting … Continue reading American homes are getting bigger, but energy use is shrinking →

Run, rabbit, run . . .

The negotiations on the proposed Energy Efficiency Directive are coming down to the final steps, at least the final steps under the Danish Presidency which ends this month. The last trialogue meeting is scheduled for June 13th. In particular, there are still disputes on energy efficiency obligations for energy companies, and for retrofit strategies for … Continue reading Run, rabbit, run . . . →

New head for CLASP Europe

Dr. Pernille Schiellerup has just been appointed Director of European Programmes of CLASP. CLASP provides technical assistance, training, and capacity building on all aspects of energy efficiency standards and labelling, and capitalises on opportunities to collaborate and disseminate research and best practice information. The European office, based in Brussels, is part of a global network … Continue reading New head for CLASP Europe →

Quote of the week: the lack of energy efficiency in the UK is “completely bonkers”

The boss of a British technology firm has described the UK’s lack of energy efficiency as "completely bonkers" and has called on the Government to focus more on power conservation rather than new energy generation projects. Drew Nelson, chief executive of IQE, the compound semiconductor maker, told the Financial Times that the UK was "pouring … Continue reading Quote of the week: the lack of energy efficiency in the UK is “completely bonkers” →

Paris pushes innovative solutions

The City of Paris announced this week that it had associated with the Paris Region Innovation Lab and the Paris Climate Agency to launch a call for projects dedicated to energy efficiency and to experiment with innovative solutions. "Many real estate players (museums, social landlords, businesses, public institutions) have already given their approval for a … Continue reading Paris pushes innovative solutions →

GBPN Buildings Sector Summit and Symposium

The Paris-based Global Buildings Performance Network, funded by Climate Works of the US, held a series of meetings May 30 and 31st to essentially launch the Network. The network has hubs in Europe, the US, China and India. The meetings were designed to discuss two important research projects commissioned by the GBPN and released at … Continue reading GBPN Buildings Sector Summit and Symposium →

Energy Efficiency Directive negotiations update

Concern is growing that the negotiations between the European Council, Parliament and Commission may collapse because of a lack of serious movement on the part of Council. While there has been some change of position by Council on energy efficiency obligations and cogeneration, Council seems reluctant to budge on the retrofit of buildings. There is … Continue reading Energy Efficiency Directive negotiations update →

Neither sermons nor silence

The Green Alliance in the UK has published a valuable report entitled “Neither sermons nor silence - the case for national communications on energy use”. The report examines previous Government-led national communication campaigns, including "Act on CO2" and argues that they lacked enabling policy to underpin them. There are behavioural barriers to uptake and the … Continue reading Neither sermons nor silence →