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What an exciting week here at the Alliance! It opened with a press conference to launch the inaugural Clean Energy Week (be sure to catch the webcast of this event), which the Alliance is spearheading with a number of other clean energy advocates. If you haven't yet caught one of the many presentations, talks, or receptions associated with this event and you happen to be in snowy Washington, I urge you to visit the CEW website and find one that fits your schedule.
FY2011 Federal Budget Proposal: the Details
Also on Monday, the Obama Administration released its FY2011 budget proposal. As I noted in our follow-up press release, the administration's energy efficiency requests were mighty strong, calling for increased funds for energy efficiency projects while the rest of his budget asks remained relatively flat. And although there were some areas in which we hoped to see more robust funding asks (namely, the U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR Program) – and rest assured, we will continue to advocate for more funding when it comes time for the Congress to appropriate this budget – we are nonetheless heartened by the president's attention to energy efficiency.
Specifically, the proposal included a $2.35 billion DOE budget request for energy efficiency programs in FY 2011 (about $1.5 million above this year's funding), concentrated in four areas: Building Technologies ($231 million, $9 million over FY10); Industrial Technologies ($100 million, $4 million over FY10); FEMP ($42 million, $10 million over FY10); and Vehicle Technologies ($325 million, $14 million over FY10). You can review the Alliance's policy analysis for more detailed information on these requests.
CEEP Website Launch
One last thing I want to note (and you can read about it in this week's newsletter): one of the newest members of the Alliance “family” of programs, the Clean and Efficient Energy Program (CEEP), recently launched its innovative new website, www.cleanefficientenergy.org, and I encourage you to take a look at this groundbreaking project. This is a space for utility professionals to convene ‘virtually', share best practices in energy efficiency, and hear success stories and challenges from others in their field.
I am convinced that this unique platform will help propel energy efficiency in the utility sector to achieve major savings – for customers and for companies both – and we at the Alliance are proud to share this “victory” with our two Associates and CEEP partners, the American Public Power Association, and the Large Public Power Council. Last but certainly not least, kudos go to CEEP Project Manager Emily Zimmerman, who spent many days and nights working with Web designers to perfect the site and prepare for the launch. Congratulations to all involved – this was a great and worthy effort. Now that the site is “live”, we know the best is yet to come!
Best,
Kateri Callahan
President, Alliance to Save Energy
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