JOE ROMM Global warming expert BLAIR HAMILTON Efficiency Vermont

“Accelerating the Pace: Broadening and Deepening Efficiency Efforts” was the theme for the 11th annual National Symposium for Market Transformation, held in Washington, D.C., March 13-14.

For two days, representatives from energy-efficiency organizations, industry and government agencies examined current efforts to save energy, with an emphasis on increasing the breadth and effectiveness of these programs.

The opening plenary, featuring presentations by Joe Romm and Blair Hamilton, set the tone for the conference, stressing the urgency to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.

It’s not enough to run energy-efficiency programs, they said. We have to do much more and we have to do it much better.

Romm, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Energy & Climate Solutions, served as an acting assistant secretary of energy during the Clinton administration and is a recognized expert on global warming.

He detailed the ramifications of unchecked emissions, explaining what we need to do in the near and long term.

Hamilton, Policy Director for Efficiency Vermont, provided some concrete solutions for program administrators who want to ramp up their efforts to reduce energy consumption.

Throughout the Symposium, sessions focused on “broadening and deepening” the savings impacts – and thus the emission-reduction capabilities – of energy-efficiency programs.

“This conference underscores what we all believe,” said CEE Executive Director Marc Hoffman in his opening remarks. “Energy efficiency is going to be the cornerstone of every solution to global warming.”

Why we must act now
“We have basically ignored all the warnings of global warming for three decades,” said Romm. “We have about a decade [to begin some meaningful action].”

Ten more years of inactivity, he warned, could lead to a rise in sea level of 6-12 inches per decade. Other effects of global warming can include droughts, forest fires, an increase in tropical storms and loss of tundra.

“We’re not there yet in terms of public policy [supporting measures to curb global warming],” Romm said. “Scientists are there but the public is not.”

Our current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is 380 parts per million (PPM), with an increase of 2 PPM per year, according to Romm. “An increase to 550 PPM could lead to an 80-foot rise in sea level,” he said.

Quite simply, he said, we cannot let this happen. “Global emissions must peak by 2025,” said Romm. “We must cut CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2050. We must stop building traditional coal plants and we must have cars averaging 60 piles per gallon in 2040.”

Romm sees plug-in hybrid automobiles as a viable method for emission control. Plug-in hybrids use a conventional wall socket to recharge their batteries and have an “electric-only” range of 20 to 60 miles, well within the daily average of most drivers.

“Plug-ins will be the biggest new market for electricity since air conditioning,’” he said. “They could displace half of our gasoline consumption.”

Summing up the urgency of the situation, Romm called the current global warming crisis as “the gravest security threat to our way of life in 50 generations.” He called for a “World War II-scale effort now – or else.”

What can we do?
Hamilton explained how efficiency program administrators can step up their efforts, noting that the biggest barrier is not technology or economics.

“It’s infrastructure,” he said. “We need a wide range of high-efficiency products that are competitively priced and easy to get. And we need a competitive infrastructure of efficiency-related service providers ready and able to support energy-saving efforts.”

To reach an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, Hamilton noted that we need to take immediate action in three areas:
      · Maximizing energy efficiency
      · Massively reducing energy use
      · Maximizing renewable energy supply

“Efficiency is our cleanest and cheapest energy resource,” he said. “It can, should and will be called upon to provide 30-50 percent of our future energy requirements.”

In order to do so, however, a different – more comprehensive – strategy must be used. Efficiency programs need to go “wider and deeper,” said Hamilton.

“We’re going to need more energy-efficiency program participants and more savings per participant. We need to affect more decisions and produce more savings per decision.”

Many utilities have already responded, as evidenced by increases in programs and funding throughout North America. Citing CEE data on per capita energy-efficiency budgets by state, Hamilton pointed out that Vermont’s annual per capita spending for energy efficiency is tops in the nation. It has increased from $28.16 in 2005 to $38.31 in 2007, with $48.89 projected for 2008.

In addition, said Hamilton, new markets should be explored. Solid-state lighting, data centers, consumer electronics, water heaters and micro combined heat and power units (for the home) are product areas that have significant, and largely untapped, potential. He also called for higher efficiency targets in new construction.

“Comprehensive and custom program approaches can produce greater savings in retrofits,” said Hamilton. “The ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach goes only so deep.” Other strategies worth exploring include programs focused on upstream stakeholders, community-based projects and the targeting of geographic regions.

Consumer education is another avenue that requires our attention. “It’s time to focus on appropriately-sized buildings, equipment and appliances,” Hamilton said. “Let’s find ways to make downsizing an attribute, making ‘using less’ a value rather than a sacrifice. Increased energy labeling, for consumers and businesses, and better energy controls are also very important.”

Yet another energy-saving opportunity lies in the location of buildings. By making offices and other work areas accessible by public transportation, we can make further impacts on CO2 emissions.

“We’re going to need a big ramp-up,” said Hamilton. “We’ll need tens of thousands of people to implement the work. It’s going to take time and we need to get going now.”

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