Welcome to the Alliance to Save Energy's monthly newsletter e-FFICIENCY NEWS
Industry Leader Interview: Paul Tonko
 Mr. Tonko has gained a national reputation as an expert on energy and utility issues. He was appointed President and CEO of The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority(NYSERDA) on July 1, 2007 by the NYSERDA Board of Directors. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Tonko served in the New York State Assembly, serving as chairman of the Standing Committee on Energy. He joins us this month to discuss his vision for NYSERDA, strategies for reducing consumer energy costs, and where he sees the greatest opportunity for energy-efficiency growth over the coming years.
e-FFICIENCY NEWS: If the Congress is unsuccessful in passing an energy bill this year, what do you believe can and should be done at the federal level to encourage greater energy efficiency?
Tonko: The federal government can lead by example by making federal buildings and vehicle fleets more energy efficient. Greater investment in research and development for innovative energy solutions could be made, as well as investment in renewable energy technologies to help reduce our dependence on fossil fuel and help the nation move closer to energy independence. Having said that, I am hopeful that a sound and balanced energy plan will come to fruition. Read the Full Interview
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Hollywood Goes Green
 For the first time, the entertainment industry is doing a Hollywood-based Green Business Summit - Hollywood Goes Green - focusing on green strategies, including energy efficiency. The December 11-12 conference, sponsored by NBC Universal, General Motors, and IBM, brings together leaders from the entertainment industry, corporate America, and environmental entities to explore how to adopt environmentally sound and affordable competitive practices that are also good for the bottom line. The conference will explore building design and construction, fleet management and logistics, energy conservation, usage, and measurement, and pitching and producing environmental content and story lines for films, television, and advertising. Alliance to Save Energy President Kateri Callahan will moderate a panel on the hot area of energy efficiency and renewable energy for datacenters and facilities. For more information and registration, go to www.hollywoodgoesgreen.com. To receive 20% off the registration price, use Alliance to Save Energy promotional code GR20.
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Green Job Growth Expected
 According to a new report by the American Solar Energy Society, in the year 2030 as many as 1 out of 4 workers in the U.S. could be working in the renewable and energy-efficiency industries. The report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Economic Drivers for the 21st Century, shows the green collar industry accounted for 8.5 million jobs in 2006 and more than a trillion dollars in sales, outpacing the combined revenues of Wal-Mart, ExxonMobil and General Motors. This boom is only expected to continue and with public policy support the renewable energy and energy-efficiency industry could grow to 40 million jobs and generate $4.5 trillion in 2030.
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Green Campus Program Spotlighted at CSU Conference
 The Alliance to Save Energy’s Green Campus Program served as a main feature of the recent California State University (CSU) Facilities Management Conference in Sacramento, CA. As a result of the student competition leading up to and during the event, four Green Campuses were recognized at the closing plenary. The student intern teams awarded include Humboldt State University (1st Place), UC San Diego (2nd Place), UC Irvine (3rd Place) and UC Berkeley (Honorable Mention). More
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Utility Industry’s Vision for 2025
 Participants in the EPA and DOE-facilitated National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency have released a new report that suggests that by removing barriers to and increasing investment in energy efficiency the U.S. could save more than $500 billion in energy costs and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The “National Action Plan Vision for 2025” establishes a goal of achieving all cost-effective energy efficiency by 2025; presents ten implementation goals for states, utilities, and other stakeholders to consider to achieve this goal; describes what 2025 might look like if the goal is achieved; and provides a means for measuring progress.
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Clinton Partnerships Seek Improved Efficiency
 The Clinton Foundation has announced partnerships and initiatives aimed at improving the energy efficiency of hundreds of millions of square feet of public and private real estate throughout the United States. The Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) will work with the City of Chicago to audit, increase the energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of two Chicago landmarks – the Sears Tower and the Merchandise Mart. In addition, CCI will work with the Chicago Department of Housing to develop an energy retrofit program for private tenant buildings that will leverage energy performance contracts to finance projects. CCI also announced a partnership with GE Real Estate to identify and implement building retrofits across GE’s global portfolio.
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Court Remands Decision on Light Trucks
 A federal appeals court rejected the Bush administration's new pollution standards for most sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans and ordered regulators to draft a new plan that's tougher on auto emissions.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with 11 states and five environmental groups who argued that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ignored the effects of carbon dioxide emissions when determining fuel economy standards for light trucks. The court ordered NHTSA to develop fuel standards for these large trucks or provide a better reason than the agency's argument that it has never regulated those large trucks and that more testing needs to be done.
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The Cost of Keeping the Lights On
 Retail electricity prices increased by more than 9 percent in 2006, the largest increase in the United States since 1981. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia saw average electricity prices rise by 10 percent or more, according to the Energy Information Administration’s “Electric Power Annual 2006”. Most of the increases were felt in the Eastern United States, mainly due to the lifting of retail price caps and the transition to competitive markets. One bit of good news in the report – emissions of greenhouse gases from electricity generation saw a general decline.
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LED City
Mayor John Hieftje of Ann Arbor, Michigan has pledged to replace every downtown street light with high-efficient, long lasting LED bulbs. Over 1,000 incandescent lights will be installed over a two year period costing the city approximately $600,000. Once completed, officials estimate Ann Arbor will save $100,000 per year in energy costs while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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EE Global Proceedings Available Online
To help you capitalize on your investment in EE Global, and to ensure that valuable content continues to be shared well beyond the event, we have developed a secure proceedings page which will allow EE Global participants and registered users to access and download the EE Global speaker presentations. If you did not attend EE Global and would like to purchase access to this site, please visit the site registration page.
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Around the Alliance
The Alliance would like to welcome the following new Associates this month:
Great Plains Energy
Plumbing Manufacturers Institute (PMI)
Green Building Initiative (GBI)
The Pataki-Cahill Group
Western Governors' Association
Systel Energy Solutions
The Alliance is pleased to announce the release of its winter state fact sheets. This resource provides in-depth state-by-state information on projected household winter energy costs as well as tips and energy-saving advice.
Brian Castelli, Alliance Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, spent the end of October and beginning of November in Delhi, India. He was invited to speak at the Energy Efficient Buildings India Forum 2007 on Mainstreaming Green Buildings – Smart Policies and Best Practices. More
November’s employee of the month award goes to the entire intern staff of the Alliance.
The intern crew answered the call this month, collectively volunteering and providing staffing for the inaugural Energy Efficiency Global Forum and Exposition (EE Global). Thanks interns! We couldn’t have done it without you.
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Upcoming Events
ACI’s Green Retail Conference will show retailers how to achieve real returns from investments in green initiatives. The February 20-21, 2008 conference in London, UK will focus on initiatives to encourage sustainability in sourcing, packaging and the supply chain and an examination of how to demonstrate green credentials to customers.
Carbon Forum America (CFA) 2008 is the first US industry event which combines a trade fair with a conference. Organized by the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) and Koelnmesse the event will be held at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California from February 26 – 27, 2008.
Amidst growing concerns over climate change, the environment, energy security and diminishing oil reserves worldwide, the 2007 Athens Summit - The Challenge of Change - will convene October 14-16 to act as host to a wide variety of global points of view on sustainable energy solutions for the future.
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