According to the Consortium for Energy Efficiency, it looks like program budgets are going up for Energy Efficiency programs exceeding 3.7 billion. That's right. That's a B for billion. This takes into account Canada as well. I am hoping south of the border can be quoted next year as it will be interesting what Mexico is doing around this. I went to CEE last month and found it very helpful in learning the landscape. It gave me a lot of insight and their website is very helpful resource.

2007 Efficiency Program Budgets Exceed $3.7 Billion
CEE Reports on Budget Data for Third Year

This year’s report on the size of efficiency program industry in 2007 shows the magnitude of programs in both the U.S. and Canada. Taken together, these programs, all ratepayer-funded, are now an industry, shaping both supply and demand for efficient products in both markets.

U.S. programs reached $3.1 billion, an 18 percent increase over 2006. While Canada has long sponsored efficiency programs, this is the first year the data have been aggregated in one place. Canada adds another $.6 billion, bringing the total to $3.7 billion. Budgets include commercial and industrial, residential, low income, and load management programs, along with the other expenditures necessary in different regions with varying conditions.

The impact of these programs is also available for 2006. The efficiency program industry saved Canadian and U.S. ratepayers an astounding $5.4 billion in 2006. That figure is based on energy savings of 59,800 GWh of electricity and 162.6 million therms of gas. Thus, efficiency programs abated 36 million metric tonnes of CO2, an increase of 7 million tonnes over 2005 savings.

The CEE report is available in two formats. You can request a printed overview report from CEE, or you can visit the Web site at http://www.cee1.org/ee-pe/2007/index.php3 for details by state, region, and province and by sector.



CEE
CEE is a consortium that brings together efficiency program administrators from across the U.S. and Canada to discover, through conversation, credible, unbiased solutions to issues in the efficiency program industry. As a collective entity, the individual efficiency programs of CEE are able to partner not only with each other, but with other industries, trade associations, and government agencies. By working together at CEE, administrators multiply the effect of their funding dollars, exchange information on best practices and, by doing so, achieve greater energy efficiency for the public good.

Bleaders: Yes, there are contrarians out there that do not believe in energy efficiency, and there are, in this case, researchers who have come to the unfortunate conclusion that energy efficiency will not curb energy consumption, but we cannot as a nation or as a world let these types of rather paradoxical and radically simplistic studies move us away from conserving energy at all costs that are reasonable to sustain our world.

It is the conclusion of this study that exactly in the areas where energy efficiency has increased has energy consumption increased, even doubled. Well, that is because we have focused on the areas of greatest energy consumption. But what the study did not find or attempt to conclude is how much energy would have been consumed without these energy efficiency measures. This makes this, in my mind, a bit of a flawed analysis, or at least one worth questioning what the initial premise was.

In conclusion, I do not believe these types of reports are of benefit except to conclude that 'more can be done,' and at this piont, I would say, this writer could have put more of his effort into saving his own energy and the energy of his publisher.

Study: Energy efficiency leads to greater consumption

Filed from Houston 12/27/2007 11:08:48 PM GMT

USA: A new report released last month by CIBC World Markets, "The Efficiency Paradox," outlines how energy efficiency initiatives and regulations often end up increasing consumption. CIBC World Markets Chief Economist and Chief Strategist Jeff Rubin, author of the report, found an "efficiency paradox" in which consumers have been able to use the cost savings generated by more efficient products to invest in additional energy consuming products.

Rubin notes, "While seemingly perverse, improvements in energy efficiency result in more of the good being consumed - not less."

So I decided what to do. I'm going to move my old corporate blog from Sun (my former employer) over to here. I don't know if I can migrate the contents or not, though. Anyone know if you can move blog contents from an old site to a new one? My old blog is http://blogs.sun.com/cohen

p.s

Here is my first actual post.

No solution is perfect, so you need to make sure to recycle your CFLs when they burn out. This does not mean you should not use CFLs. They last much longer, are about the same price now as incandescent bulbs, and use much less energy. Also, they're more reliable than they used to be, thanks to Energy Star.

So be good to the world. Immediately switch all the lightbulbs to your house to this type. Make the switch today. Check with your local utility. They will likely have some freebies to give you.

And you should also make sure to do an energy assessment on your house. It's often free! Check with your utility.