17 US states agree on commitments to expand energy efficiency and renewable energy

Everyone knows the difficulty of getting agreements through America’s federal system, especially with the current Congress. Oliver Milman provides a good review in The Guardian of the bipartisan approach of governors from 17 states to accelerate the energy transition. Coalition of US states pledge to accelerate renewable energy efforts A bipartisan group of governors … Continue reading 17 US states agree on commitments to expand energy efficiency and renewable energy →

The European Commission publishes its new heat and cooling strategy communication

On February 16th, the Commission published its new strategy for heat and cooling in its series of initiatives as part of the Energy Union. This is a most welcome communication. The press release is provided below. In reading the strategy, EiD was a bit puzzled by a few of the elements. Page 4 provided a … Continue reading The European Commission publishes its new heat and cooling strategy communication →

Reflections on the annual eceee policy seminar

The annual eceee policy seminar took place on February 8th in Brussels. More than 60 experts from industry, academia, NGOs and national energy agencies attended the event. Unfortunately, EC representatives declined the invitation. The seminar was articulated around 4 presentations. First, the IEA presentation of the main findings of its 2015 Energy Efficiency Market Report. … Continue reading Reflections on the annual eceee policy seminar →

New US energy efficiency standard to bring big savings

Power adapters may be small, but they consume a lot of energy. Pierre Delforge writes on the National Resources Defense Council Staff Blog about the impact from the new performance standards that came into effect this week. Energy Efficiency Standard Effective This Week Affects Virtually All of Us A measure took effect this week … Continue reading New US energy efficiency standard to bring big savings →

New focus on energy demand and competitiveness can improve EU mandatory energy audits: new eceee report

The European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has just published an important new report on one of the important elements of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive: mandatory energy audits for large enterprises. A new eceee review of EU’s mandatory energy audit schemes points at improvements that would help make EU industry more competitive. The … Continue reading New focus on energy demand and competitiveness can improve EU mandatory energy audits: new eceee report →

Progress on the deployment of smart meters in the UK

EU Member States are required to ensure the implementation of smart metering under EU energy market legislation in the Third Energy Package. According to the European Commission, “implementation may be subject to a long-term cost-benefit analysis (CBA). In cases where the CBA is positive, there is a roll-out target of 80% market penetration for electricity … Continue reading Progress on the deployment of smart meters in the UK →

Putting the emphasis on energy efficiency in the power sector

It is heartening to read about a new power plan in the US that will place a big emphasis on energy efficiency. Hal Bernton explains in an article for The Seattle Times. Panel OKs Northwest power plan focused on energy efficiency A regional council Wednesday approved a new power plan for four Northwest states … Continue reading Putting the emphasis on energy efficiency in the power sector →

Fifth fuel? First fuel? Gains from energy efficiency “biggest energy resource, and cheapest”

Increasingly, people are starting to appreciate the impact of improved energy efficiency. In Europe, every day we are reading about “energy efficiency first” or even, as in this article, continuing to consider it the “fifth fuel.” The important point is that improved energy efficiency is finally getting the recognition it deserves because it has silently … Continue reading Fifth fuel? First fuel? Gains from energy efficiency “biggest energy resource, and cheapest” →

This week’s briefs

There are some good news items this week. They concern the upcoming World Sustainable Energy Days, the Central and Eastern European Energy Efficiency Forum and the nomination of Energy Pages for an important award in Germany. • World Sustainable Energy Days coming soon The World Sustainable Energy Days, one of the largest annual conferences … Continue reading This week’s briefs →

Now we are even phasing out CFLs

The lighting industry is going through an interesting period with great technological developments that are having an important impact on overall consumption. Diane Cardwell writes in the New York Times about the decision by General Electric to stop manufacturing CFLs in favour of LEDs. G.E. to Phase Out CFL Bulbs Just a few years … Continue reading Now we are even phasing out CFLs →