Letter from the President’s Desk: Energy Efficiency Award Winners and Appliance Standards Get an A+

Dear Friends,

As students around the country are receiving honors and accolades in this graduation season, it is fitting that we’ve chosen this month to announce the Alliance to Save Energy’s “shining star” award winners for 2011! 

Energy Efficiency Awards Dinner

The Alliance’s Dinner and Awards Committee, chaired by our Board member Mike Lawrence of Johns Manville, had a really tough time picking this year’s winners as we received 75 incredibly strong and compelling nominations.  The caliber of competition speaks volumes about the impressive rosters of innovation, hard work and success that are the hallmarks of this year’s honorees. 

It is my pleasure to share with you the impressive line-up of winners who will be feted this October 4th, at our 19th-annual, black-tie event here in Washington: the Evening With the Stars of Energy Efficiency Awards Dinner!  I hope you will make plans now to join business, government and thought leaders from around the world this fall to honor:

• Briggs & Stratton – Galaxy Star,
• Alliance Associate Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute – Super Nova Star,
• Solutions for Energy Efficient Logistics – Andromeda Star,
• Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland – I-Star Star,
• ThinkEco  – Innovative Star, and
• Daniel Yergin – Charles Percy Award for Public Service.

I’m looking forward to a fun, inspirational night on October 4th and I’m hopeful that you will be on hand for what promises to be an unforgettable event! 

New Consensus Standards Will Save Consumers Billions

Many pundits and prognosticators have proclaimed that “nothing will get done on energy issues” at the federal level this year.  I’m delighted that our friends at DOE have proved them wrong.  Last week, DOE established the first-ever regional standards for central air conditioners and furnaces, as well as strengthened national standards for heat pumps.  The new standards, which will be rolled out in the next five years, stand to save consumers billions. Kudos to the collaboration between fellow advocates and industry that helped make this possible and to the hard-working folks at DOE! 

In addition, we achieved an important milestone in the path to enactment of the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill, S. 1000, with the conduct of a full Senate Energy Committee hearing on the bill last week. I was honored to serve as a witness at the hearing, and very encouraged by the warm reception that S. 1000 received by the many senators who attended the hearing. We are hoping for a mark-up of the bill before the July 4th recess and are working hard for the introduction of companion legislation in the House. 

Building on Strong Support for Energy Efficiency

Others may dismiss the prospects for meaningful energy legislation this year, but at the Alliance, we believe that energy efficiency policy is an area where there remains great opportunity to build bi-partisan consensus to use this most abundant resource as the foundation for a sustainable energy future.

If I sound optimistic, it is because I am.  And how could I not be when looking at the incredible progress on energy efficiency that is being made by this year’s award winners and nominees; the important advancements in federal appliance standards; and perhaps most importantly, the hopeful signs of growing bipartisan support for the Shaheen-Portman bill that our advocacy efforts are uncovering?

Yes, the road ahead is paved with enormous challenges, but this season of celebrating successes and accomplishments should remind us all that all things are possible through hard work and diligence! 

Best,

Kateri Callahan