Marrying efficiency and renewables

A match made in heaven?

Posted by Joseph Romm (Guest Contributor) at 2:22 PM on 13 Aug 2007

Energy efficiency and renewable power together are better than either alone, according to a recent report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the American Council on Renewable Energy. Not a shocking conclusion, but an important one, especially in a world where it seems that all types of zero-carbon power are competing against each other for funding.

The report finds that synergies between renewables and efficiency would cut greenhouse-gas emissions more effectively than either alone. What kind of synergies?

Timing is one ... Efficiency can provide substantial short- and medium-term energy savings, while ... renewable energy is now limited but can expand greatly over time.

Another synergy is geography, because renewable resources are unevenly divided throughout the country, while efficiency gains are available everywhere.

A third is economic --- the report says the cost of saving energy is cheaper overall than current or new conventional power generation. Renewables, meanwhile, are often costlier than current conventional power sources, but are growing more competitive with new conventional power generation. "Combining these two resource types can reduce overall electricity system costs compared to a renewables-only approach," the report notes.

What could be achieved by marrying the two approaches?

Efficiency efforts could curb electricity use by 24 percent over 20 years, and ... by "aggressively" adding renewables to the electricity mix, carbon emissions from power generation could tumble by 46 percent.

Let's have a wedding already!

This post was created for ClimateProgress.org, a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

For story: Marrying efficiency and renewables
6 Comments | Post a Comment

Marrying renewables and efficiency

Taking either of these steps on their own can accomplish something. But integrating efficiency with renewables can achieve a whole lot more, just as they can in working with better building and automobile designs. Collectively, there is an energy future packed with lower emissions, more jobs and a LOT more energy security.

~Jim Pierobon, for myself (full disclosure: working for the American Council On Renewable Energy)

Read about and contribute to a more sustainable energy future at EnergyForward.blogspot.com and 2020energy.blogspot.com

by JR in MD at 3:38 PM on 13 Aug 2007

'energy security' was and will be the market drive

by sunflower at 3:53 PM on 13 Aug 2007

Get married and advocate for allowances together!

Joe:

We celebrate this everyday. Of course the wrinkle, when funding these with offset contracts, is who actually gets the carbon credits.

Both groups fight the same tired argument from entrenched interests and lazy policy wonks -- that those doing the work don't actually own the reductions. The utility (which reduced its emissions) does!

So let's have a marriage on the policy circles and get working for set asides or allowances to go to both. Can we interest AWEA and ACEEE in a cocktail party? Maybe a few drinks to break the ice before marriage?

Tom Arnold Chief Environmental Officer TerraPass

by TerraPassTom at 4:18 PM on 13 Aug 2007

Already married and celebrating anniversary in NJ!

Renewable energy and high effiecency building systems were married at the 31 Tannery Project to produce the First Net Zero Electric Commercial building in the US in Branchburg NJ.

Not only are they HAPPILY married, but they had a child, energy monitoring and efficiency data visualization solution that monitors, diagnoses, and historically tracks eneryg, renewable energy, and building enviornmental systems that can turn even "brown" buildings green.

Below is the short version of teh story. Check out the monitoring system at www.greenbuildingmonitoring.com

Already Green!

First commercial building to achieve Net Zero Electric

Branchburg , NJ , 2007- For the first time a commercial facility in the US produced enough electrical energy from a renewable energy source to meet its entire electric utility demand for a full year. Ferreira Construction headquarters in Branchburg NJ, utilizes renewable energy to produce all of the electricity needed to operate their 42,000 sq ft building, a combination of office and shop space.
The 31 Tannery Project exceeded expectations by not only producing all of the electric energy needed to run this facility but generated a surplus of energy. This "green" energy surplus was made available for use by other businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and use of fossil fuels. The project team invented a new proprietary, patent-pending energy efficiency and building system monitoring solution which proved critical to their success. This monitoring system can now be shared nation wide to help other companies significantly reduce their energy consumption

The US Dept. of Energy has set a goal that renewable energy buildings will be commercially viable by 2025. The 31 Tannery Project and Ferreira Construction have completed a major step forward to achieving the goal set by the DOE. A key element of this amazing project is 100% return on investment in just 5 to 7 years. The project team is committed to sharing this impressive design with the US DOE and the state of NJ. It is the goal
of Ferreira Construction and the 31 Tannery Project to educate and provide other companies with the tools to utilize standard building designs,
renewable energy, high efficiency systems, and their new patent-pending monitoring system to spread this energy efficiency strategy across the US .

Joseph Grabowski and Ed Brzezowski, the team responsible for the technology implemented, look forward to sharing this success and welcome all inquiries.

Contact John Grabowski 908-534-8655 / fg@ferreiragroup.com / website www.ferreiragroup.com

by johng333 at 8:11 AM on 14 Aug 2007

And why not a menage a trois...

Renewables + efficiency + conservation?

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.

by spaceshaper at 11:18 AM on 14 Aug 2007

Kinky!

grist.org

by David Roberts at 11:44 AM on 14 Aug 2007

ADVERTISING POLICY

You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have an account, log in. If you don't have an account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five.