The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has released a user-oriented tool to help local policymakers and stakeholders in advancing appropriate energy efficiency policies within their community.

The Local Energy Efficiency Policy Calculator (LEEP-C) allows users to enter characteristics about their community, learn about and customize policy options, draw on a database of energy and economic data, and compare the estimated impacts of different policy choices across time. Outputs include energy savings, cost savings, pollution reduction, net jobs, and others. Currently the tool includes policies focused on two economic sectors: existing public buildings and existing residential buildings.

NxGen Power LLC, headquartered in Charlotte, has completed and placed into service a 1.3 megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) array in Raleigh. The PV array is on City of Raleigh property at the Neuse River Wastewater Treatment Plant and represents the largest solar installation on municipal property in North Carolina. Progress Energy Carolinas will purchase the output of the array distribution to its customers.

The project was engineered and constructed by Southern Energy Management of Morrisville and will generate about 1.7 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per year, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1,300 tons annually. This is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from the use of about 140,000 gallons of gasoline.  

The City of Raleigh City will host the array on under a 20 year lease agreement. No city capital investment will be required for this project.

"Today’s milestone  is a culmination of a lot of hard work  and perseverance by NxGen Power, Southern Energy Management, the City of Raleigh and Progress Energy," Michael Byrnes, president and chief executive officer of NxGen Power, said. "It represents a great achievement in building the energy economy in here in NC."

Bill Johnson, who will become the president and CEO of Duke Energy  when its merger with Progress Energy is completed, is scheduled to discuss energy's role in North Caroliina's economy at the 10th Economic Forecast Forum. The event, sponsored by the NC Chamber and the North Carolina Bankers Association, has been scheduled for noon, Jan. 3 at the Sheraton Imperial hotel in Research Triangle Park.

Other participants inclue Tom Skains, chairman, president and CEO of Piedmont Natural Gas and Kevin Kabat, president and CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp who will give the keynote speech.

To read more about the forum, visit the Triangle Business Journal. To register for the event, click here.

ENERGY STAR® homes sell faster and at a higher price per square foot compared to conventional homes, according to a study by the North Carolina Energy Efficiency Alliance (NCEEA).  The study analyzed data for new homes built in 2010 in a five-county area around the Raleigh-Durham region, the Home in Henderson website reported . The study showed that the ENERGY STAR label brings significant added value to homes beyond the well-known 15 to 30 percent savings on monthly utility bills, the website said.

Tell President Obama that you support increased fuel efficiency for cars.

This fall, President Obama proposed increased fuel efficiency standards of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 for new cars and light trucks. Adopting these standards will save the average consumer up to $6,600 in fuel costs over the life of a model year 2025 vehicle. A 60-day public comment period opened Dec. 1, 2011, and ends Jan. 30, 2012.

The president needs to hear from you.

Without your comment, special interests could water down this proposal. Tell President Obama to keep the standards strong so Americans can save money at the pump, our country can import less oil, and our environment can be cleaner.

Send your comments to the president now—protect the 54.5 average mpg fuel efficiency standard!

Follow this link to get involved.

RALEIGH, NC  — The North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) remains opposed to the Duke Energy-Progress Energy merger. Wednesday’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) order rejecting the companies’ proposal reinforces NCSEA’s stated concerns.

As electricity rates continue to rise, NCSEA shares FERC’s concern that the merger will inappropriately reduce market competition. NCSEA believes that the companies’ offer of a limited amount of wholesale power into eastern North Carolina does little to reduce the merged company’s market power and is not in the public interest.

 “Over the past 11 years, NCSEA has found that the average residential ratepayer has seen their electric bill rise over 300 dollars per year,” said Ivan Urlaub, NCSEA Executive Director. “In attempting to create the country’s largest monopoly, NCSEA is concerned that Duke and Progress have set the stage for additional rate increases that the two utilities have said they will request. To reduce the amount of future rate increases, NCSEA supports measures that allow for limited market competition and provide ratepayers more options and greater control over their energy bills.”

Charlotte East, a 10 building office community on Albemarle Road in Charlotte, has completed comprehensive interior and exterior lighting improvements that will make the complex more energy efficient in addition to enhancing the building’s illumination and security. Improvements including parking lot and building up-lighting, common area and tenant lighting, were partially funded by the North Carolina Green Business Fund, and are part of more than $6 million invested in the buildings over the past five years by the buildings’ owners.

"The Charlotte East development team and our tenants are most pleased with the results of this lighting project and its benefits both immediate and longer term,” said Kevin Jensen, Vice President and Director of Operations for Charlotte East. “We are thrilled that this project improved the quality and efficiency of our lighting for the park, our tenants and the many clients that visit Charlotte East for vital needs."

A North Carolina school district is getting high marks in energy efficiency. Thirteen buildings from Henderson County Public Schools have earned ENERGY STAR labels this fall, after a thorough review from Morrisville-based Southern Energy Management (SEM). Included in the project are a dozen elementary, middle and high schools, along with the district’s Information Technology Center.

“This is an intentional move for our school district,” said Bill Parker, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services. “Maintaining energy efficient facilities is part of our school district’s Strategic Plan. We have two LEED-certified schools and saw the opportunity to pursue the ENERGY STAR label with our other facilities as a natural next step.”
 

Two solar charging stations powered up in North Carolina in Decemeber.

Biowheels Responsible Transportation dedicated the first solar charging station on Monday, Dec. 12 in Asheville. Biowheels launched the project in a partnership with federal, North Carolina, Asheville City and a slew of businesses, according to the Mountain Xpress. This Brightfield™ electric vehicle charging station is the first of four solar power generating stations to be installed throughout Asheville, the newspaper reported. The station will generate five kilowatts of solar energy annually and will be equipped with three electric vehicle chargers. Additional stations are sited for Land of Sky Regional Council off Leicester Highway, the Reuter Center on the UNC Asheville campus and at the BioWheels store on Coxe Avenue, according to the report. 

Progress Energy Carolinas and the City of Raleigh held a ribbon cutting on Dec. 15 for a similar solar-powered electric vehicle charging station at 616 S. Salisbury St. The project includes two charging stations in Raleigh that are connected to a solar photovoltaic (PV) array and battery system. PowerWorks Electric, headquartered in Moorseville, NC designed and installed the system. Advanced Energy, based in Raleigh, assisted in the design and will manage ongoing data acquisition and evaluation. GE Industrial Solutions provided the charging equipment.

• Swedish retailer IKEA will install a solar panel array on the roof of its Charlotte store by next summer, The Charlotte Observer reported. The plan is part of IKEA's program to add solar panels to nine stores and one distribution center in the southern U.S. The Charlotte store, which opened in 2009, will support 4,214 solar panels that will generate an estimated 1,330,000 kilowatt hours a year, or the energy required to power about 114 average homes.
• Progress Energy and Duke Energy say a Chevy Volt or home charger were not to blame for an Iredell County house fire. Garland Cloer, Iredell County's chief deputy fire marshal, said it appears the fire did not start in the electric car. He wouldn't say more about the fire's origin, because investigators for several agencies and manufacturers are still examining the debris.
• Wilmington was one of two cities to receive the Susan M. Burgess Sustainability Award by the N.C. League of Municipalities. The city was recognized for numerous sustainability initiatives including fuel efficiency and energy efficiency projects.