Month: December 2011

Study: Repayment for Energy Efficiency Improvements through Utility Bills a Growing Trend

On-bill financing, an innovative tool that allows customers to pay for energy efficiency investments though their utility bills, is becoming more widely available across the country and extending opportunities to historically underserved markets, according to a new study released today. The study, On-Bill Financing for Energy Efficiency Improvements: A Review of Current Program Challenges, Opportunities, and Best Practices,was released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and profiles 19 existing on-bill financing programs in 15 states. The study finds that these programs are poised to address financing gaps that have not been historically addressed by other energy efficiency financing mechanisms.

On-bill financing generally refers to a financial product that is serviced by, or in partnership with, a utility company for energy efficiency improvements, and repaid by customers on their monthly utility bills. In many cases, energy savings are sufficient to cover the monthly payments for the financing so that the total monthly charge on utility bills is less than or equal to the pre-investment amount. Programs can be tailored to meet the needs of industrial, commercial, and residential customers.

“The great thing about on-bill repayment is that it can serve a broad array of markets with diverse needs. It is a versatile financing tool that can be combined with a variety of different sources of capital and implementation strategies,” observed Casey Bell, lead author of the report.

“On-bill financing programs can leverage a utility’s unique relationship with energy customers improving access to funding for energy efficiency investment, especially for historically underserved markets such as rental, multifamily buildings, and small businesses,” said ACEEE Executive Director Steven Nadel. There is also potential for traditionally credit-constrained customers to gain access to financing through modified underwriting that takes bill payment history into account.

Energy efficiency loan programs are a low-risk investment according to a recent ACEEE report, and on-bill financing is no exception. Default rates for on-bill programs are frequently less than 2%. There is evidence to suggest that customers tend to prioritize the payment of utility bills, which contributes to low default rates, and some program administrators are exploring the potential of bundling on-bill loans with other financial products and creating a secondary market for capital. Creating a secondary market could help bring programs to scale, since many of these programs have participation rates of less than 1% of eligible customers.

On-bill programs are still generally in their infancy. These programs are facing some challenges to adoption and scalability, including funding the upfront costs for utilities with a need to modify their billing systems, a perception by some that utilities need to behave like a financial institution to participate in on-bill financing, and the need for more information on the performance of energy efficiency financing as an asset class.

“As the number of on-bill programs grows, we anticipate many opportunities to learn from experience,” said Bell. Important considerations for augmenting and implementing on-bill programs include understanding underlying financial incentives, and applicable laws and regulations, as well as how risks are distributed amongst stakeholders.

This report is the third in an ACEEE series on energy efficiency financing. Prior reports include Energy Efficiency Finance 101: Understanding the Marketplace and What Have We Learned from Energy Efficiency Financing Programs? This report can be downloaded at http://aceee.org/research-report/e118.

Oxford University Press acquires two journals from Preston Publications

Academic publisher Oxford University Press (OUP), a department of the University of Oxford, has announced the acquisition of two titles – Journal of Analytical Toxicology (JAT) and Journal of Chromatographic Science (JCS) – from Preston Publications, in a transaction managed by DeSilva+Phillips. With this acquisition, OUP seeks to further strengthen it STM journal portfolio.

Journal of Analytical Toxicology is a peer-reviewed, international toxicology journal, focusing on potentially toxic substances and drug identification, isolation, and quantitation. It presents state-of-the-art techniques that address current issues in toxicology. Articles in JAT emphasise practical application and introduce improved and novel techniques for use in clinical, forensic, workplace, sports testing (doping), and other toxicology laboratories. JAT is published 9 times per year, with one issue per year designated as the Society of Forensic Toxicologists’ Special Issue.

Journal of Chromatographic Science is an international scientific journal providing in-depth information concerning the practice and theory of chromatography. The editorial content focuses on research papers describing practical, preparative applications and analytical methods relevant to a broad range of analytical laboratory work. JCS is published ten times per year.

42 Years of Mother Earth News available on new DVD

Mother Earth News has announced a new archival DVD, which includes all content from 2011. From the promotional material:

We have digitized more than 12,000 articles and web posts and compiled them in a searchable format so you can have 42 years of Mother Earth News at the tip of your fingers. The easy-to-use interface will allow you to search for each and every article published in Mother Earth News between 1970 and 2011.

Cost is $40 through December 15. Full retail is $59.95.

EPA Annual Enforcement Results Highlights Commitment to Address Largest Pollution Problems with Greatest Community Impact

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its annual enforcement and compliance results. EPA’s enforcement and compliance program enforces environmental laws that protect our nation’s air, land and water by taking action to cut illegal pollution and protect people’s health and communities. In fiscal year Fiscal Year 2011, EPA enforcement actions led to more than 1.8 billion pounds in pollution reduced, an estimated $19 billion in required pollution controls and approximately $168 million in civil penalties.

“Our annual results reflect the fact that a strong and effective enforcement program is good for responsible businesses, public health and communities across the country,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “As we continue our focus on the most serious pollution problems, we expect to see better environmental performance and greater public health benefits.”

In FY 2011, EPA enforcement resulted in commitments to:

  • Install pollution controls for a cleaner tomorrow: $19 billion invested to improve environmental performance and compliance efforts, a record year, including $3 billion dollars to clean up hazardous waste in communities
  • Protect people’s health from dangerous pollution: 1.8 billion pounds of harmful air, water, and chemical pollution reduced and 3.6 billion pounds of hazardous waste reduced, properly disposed of or treated
  • Deter illegal pollution through civil penalties: $168 million in civil penalties assessed ($152 million in federal penalties and $16 million in actions taken jointly by EPA and state and local governments)
  • Fight environmental crime: $35 million in fines and restitution, $2 million in court ordered environmental projects and 89.5 years of incarceration to deter future violations and hold violators accountable
  • Invest additional resources in affected communities: $25 million committed by companies through enforcement settlements to conduct supplemental environmental projects in communities

Cases under EPA’s national enforcement initiatives, which focus enforcement and compliance resources and expertise on serious pollution problems affecting communities, produced the majority of commitments to install pollution controls and led to settling important cases, including the settlement with the Tennessee Valley Authority, which will lead to up to $27 billion in annual health benefits and provide $350 million for environmental projects to benefit communities.

More information on EPA’s FY 2011 enforcement and compliance results:
http://epa.gov/compliance/resources/reports/endofyear/eoy2011/index.html

More information on EPA’s national enforcement initiatives: http://epa.gov/compliance/data/planning/initiatives/index.html

EPA Awards More Than $1 Million in Environmental Justice Grants to Protect People’s Health and Annouces 2012 Solicitation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it awarded more than $1 million in grants to 46 non-profit and tribal organizations working to address environmental justice issues nationwide. EPA also announced it is seeking applicants for $1 million in environmental justice small grants expected to be awarded in 2012. EPA’s environmental justice efforts aim to ensure equal environmental and health protections for all Americans, regardless of race or socioeconomic status. The grants enable non-profit organizations to conduct research, provide education, and develop solutions to local health and environmental issues in communities overburdened by harmful pollution.

“Community-based action and participation in environmental decision-making are critical to building healthy and sustainable communities,” said Lisa Garcia, EPA’s senior advisor to the administrator for environmental justice. “By supporting local environmental justice projects in under-served communities, we are expanding the conversation on environmentalism and advancing environmental justice in communities across the nation.”

The 2011 grants support activities including projects to protect children in the Boston-area from lead poisoning and asthma, conduct research on air quality in a portside Philadelphia community, and provide support to residents on the Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota to repair failing septic systems and identify water that is unsafe to drink.

The 2012 grant solicitation is now open and will close on February 29, 2012. Applicants must be incorporated non-profits or tribal organizations working to educate, empower and enable their communities to understand and address local environmental and public health issues. EPA will host four pre-application teleconference calls on December 15, 2011, January 12, 2012, February 1, 2012 and February 15, 2012 to help applicants understand the requirements.

Environmental justice means the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of race or income, in the environmental decision-making process. Since 1994, the environmental justice small grants program has provided more than $23 million in funding to community-based nonprofit organizations and local governments working to address environmental justice issues in more than 1,200 communities. The grants represent EPA’s commitment to expand the conversation on environmentalism and advance environmental justice in communities across the nation.

More information on the Environmental Justice Small Grants program and a list of grantees:
http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/grants/ej-smgrants.html

Environment Justice Small Grants 2012 Request for Proposals and schedule of pre-application teleconference calls:
http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/resources/publications/grants/ej-smgrants-rfp-2012.pdf

Ky. power station to implement algae carbon capture project

Read the full story in Biorefining Magazine.

The staff at East Kentucky Power Cooperative’s Dale Power Station in Winchester, Ky., is excited about a new project led by the University of Kentucky’s Center for Applied Energy Research that will bring algae photobioreactors onsite to the Dale Power Station starting this winter. Rodney Andrews, CAER director, spoke with Biorefining Magazine about the project and how his team hopes to overcome the common hurdles associated with using algae to capture CO2 flue gases from coal-fired power plants.

Navy to increase purchase of advanced aviation, marine biofuel

Read the full story in Biorefining Magazine.

The commercilaization of advanced biojet and marine fuels into the U.S. military infrastructure took a major step forward on Dec. 5 as the Defense Logistics Agency signed a contract to purchase 450,000 gallons of advanced drop-in advanced biofuels for the U.S. Navy from Dynamic Fuels LLC, a joint venture between Tyson Foods Inc. and Syntroleum Corp. San Francisco, Calif.-based Solayzme Inc. will help Dynamic Fuels fulfill the contract, which the Navy and the USDA report is the single largest purchase of biofuel in government history.

Activists begin work on recycling archive in Illinois

Read the full story in Waste & Recycling News.

Neil Seldman, president of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), Dan Knapp, co-founder of Urban Ore, and others have started the U.S. Recycling Archives project at the University of Illinois-Springfield…

The U.S. Recycling Archives will allow for research and analysis of economic and environmental policy decisions influenced by technology, social activism, entrepreneurs, corporate resistance and corporate leadership, Seldman said.

The Norris L. Brookens Library at Illinois-Springfield will be the repository of recycling documents which Seldman said moved recycling to the forefront of economic and environmental policies at all levels of government, business and in individual households.

Three new pollution prevention fact sheets available

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center has released three new pollution prevention fact sheets. They are:

Best green and environmental books of 2011

Read the full story at Mother Nature Network. The list includes:

  1. The Best Science and Nature Writing of 2011, edited by Mary Roach
  2. Once and Future Giants: What Ice Age Extinctions Tell Us About the Fate of Earth’s Largest Mammals, by Sharon Levy
  3. The Beekeeper’s Lament: How One Man and a Half a Billion Honeybees Help Feed America, by Hannah Nordhaus
  4. Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green Technology, by Alexis Madrigal
  6. Homegrown and Handmade: A Practical Guide to More Self-Reliant Living, by Deborah Niemann

My favorite of the year, which wasn’t listed, is Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author,Who Went in Search of Them by Donovan Hohn.

Urban Waters Small Grants

Proposals due January 23, 2012.
Download the full solicitation.

EPA expects to award between $1.8 to $3.8 million in grants for projects across the country that will contribute to improved water quality and community revitalization. The goal of these Urban Waters Small Grants is to fund research, studies, training, and demonstration projects that will advance the restoration of urban waters by improving water quality through activities that also support community revitalization and other local priorities. The funding is part of EPA’s Urban Waters program, which supports communities in their efforts to access, improve, and benefit from their urban waters and the surrounding land.

Can Flash Mobs Engage Consumers on Green?

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

The potential for random acts of spontaneous choreography to ignite sustainable brands.

Companies Shifting to Cloud Computing Save Energy & Cut Waste

Read the full post at GreenBiz.

It’s a good thing the rise of cloud computing is essentially unstoppable: New research shows just how much energy companies can save from a migration, even while the same research shows even wider business benefits from cloud computing.

A study just published by CSC asked more than 3,600 IT decision makers across eight countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia about how and why their companies migrated to remote computing options. While the top-level findings, especially around green IT, were not surprising, the broad array of benefits businesses accrued from the cloud chart some new territory.

VIDEO: Urban farmers face water issues

Watch the video from Great Lakes Echo.

Urban farmers in Flint, Mich., have run into a problem – finding water for their crops. The challenge stems from zoning laws, unwilling neighbors and chemicals.

Filmed and produced by Michigan State University’s  School of Journalism and by the Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media.

Learn about toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing

Via ToxMap.

Hydraulic fracturing (also called hydrofracking or fracking) is a process in which millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to break apart rock in order to release oil and natural gas.

The US EPA Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program requires facilities in certain industries that manufacture, process, or use significant amounts of toxic chemicals, to report annually on their releases of these chemicals. Hydraulic fracturing is currently not a TRI-covered industry and so is not represented in TOXMAP.

EPA scientists are conducting a study of hydraulic fracturing to better understand any potential impacts on drinking water and groundwater. Congress has released a report on hydraulic fracturing (PDF, 156 KB) that lists 29 toxic chemicals used in fracturing (see Table 3 of this report). Visit the Toxmap Blog for additional information on specific chemicals used in fracking.