Southern California Green Real Estate Blog

SMART ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Edited by Jodi Summers

You have LEED, ICC, USGBC and SMART. As we haven’t covered the last acronym before, allow us to elaborate SMART stand for Specific, Measurable, Accountable, Realistic, and Time-bound, and has been used in mission and goal-setting exercises for years. According to a recent report on best practices in business energy efficiency by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, the SMART concept provides guidance to other companies seeking to develop new, or strengthen existing, energy efficiency programs.

The Pew Center report titled, “From Shop Floor to Top Floor: Best Business Practices” notes way makes the SMART concept specific and unique to energy efficiency strategies are the following characteristics:

•• Goals are organization-wide. Today’s best efficiency strategies engage most facilities, plants, and organizational units, instead of focusing on specific plants, facilities, or processes.

•• Goals are also translated into operating/business unit goals. Effective strategies need to be set, and bought into, at the operating unit level as well as corporation-wide.

•• Goals are specific enough to be measured. Effective efficiency strategies set goals with numbers and metrics that enable independent parties to verify whether the company met its targets.

•• Goals have specific target dates. Without a timeframe, there is no way to gauge how much effort or investment is needed, nor much urgency to prioritize energy efficiency compared to other needs. (According to the Pew Center survey, businesses averaged an eight-year timeframe from the base year to the year in which the target was to be met.)

•• Goals are linked to action plans in all business units.

Goals and timelines are great, but what happens when an operating unit of an energy efficiency program falls short of its goal? If it’s a good plan, effective strategies back up goals with action plans; they do facility assessments to identify the best efficiency opportunities, develop technical assistance networks, develop best-practice checklists, and make solutions accessible across the organization via web-based information, active peer networks, and other means.

•• Goals are updated and strengthened over time. The leading companies have been at their efficiency strategies long enough to show that a successful strategy reveals additional efficiency potential, leading to a reassessment point at which goals are renewed and typically increased.

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http://www.shiftportal.com/amgb/daily/files/15910/Pew-Center-EE-Report.pdf

Trusts to bring a new cooperative approach to the global climate change debate. We inform this debate through wide-ranging analyses that add new facts and perspectives in four areas: policy (domestic and international), economics, environment, and solutions.

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THE KEYS TO BEING A HIGHLY ENERGY EFFICIENT BUSINESS

Edited by Jodi Summers

This just in! This just in! The guide to the Nonresidential CALGreen Code - First Edition, August 2010 http://tinyurl.com/socalre-calgreen.

The guide to the Nonresidential CALGreen Code is another tool that makes it easier to go green. Driven by rising energy prices and growing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, and social pressures of the new millennium, cities and companies are implementing aggressive, division-wide energy efficiency strategies. Leading companies are not only setting ambitious energy savings targets, they are educating their suppliers and customers, and engaging employees at all levels of the organization to advance an ethic of energy efficiency.

A report from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change titled “From Shop Floor to Top Floor: Best Business Practices” shows that business energy efficiency yields noticeable savings. Some companies reported billions of dollars of cost savings and millions of tons of avoided greenhouse gas emissions from their efficiency efforts. Research shows that the companies that have achieved these successes share several key attributes.

1. Efficiency is a Core Strategy

• Efficiency is an integral part of corporate strategic planning and risk assessment and not just another cost management issue or sustainability “hoop” to jump through.

• Efficiency is an ongoing part of the organization’s aspirations and metrics for itself.

2. Leadership & Organizational Support is Real & Sustained

• At least one full-time staff person is accountable for energy performance.

• Corporate energy management leadership interacts with teams in all business units.

• Energy performance results affect individuals’ performance reviews and career advancement paths.

• Energy efficiency is part of the company’s culture and core operations.

• Employees are empowered and rewarded for energy innovation.

3. The Company Has Energy Efficiency Goals

• Goals are organization-wide.

• Goals are translated into operating/business unit goals.

• Goals are specific enough to be measured.

• Goals have specific target dates.

• Goals are linked to action plans in all business units.

• Goals are updated and strengthened over time.

4. The Strategy Relies on a Robust Tracking & Measurement System

• The system collects data regularly from all business units.

• The data is normalized and baselined.

• Data collection and reporting is as granular as possible.

• The system tracks performance against goals in a regular reporting cycle.

• Performance data is visible to senior management in a form they can understand and act upon.

• Energy performance data is shared internally and externally.

• The system is linked to a commitment to continuous improvement.

5. The Organization Puts Substantial Resources into Efficiency

• The energy manager/team has adequate operating resources.

• Business leaders find capital to fund projects.

• Companies invest in human capital.

6. The Energy Efficiency Strategy Shows Demonstrated Results

• The company has met or beat its energy performance goal.

• Successful energy innovators are rewarded and recognized.

• Resources are sustained over a multi-year period.

7. The Company Effectively Communicates Efficiency Results

• An internal communications plan raises awareness and engages employees.

• Successes are communicated externally.

**

http://www.shiftportal.com/amgb/daily/files/15910/Pew-Center-EE-Report.pdf

Trusts to bring a new cooperative approach to the global climate change debate. We inform this debate through wide-ranging analyses that add new facts and perspectives in four areas: policy (domestic and international), economics, environment, and solutions.

http://blogs.uscannenberg.org/neontommy_science/Pew-Research-Center.jpg

http://www.ifea.com/zencart/images/Green%20Business%20Practices.jpg

http://www.fastupfront.com/pics/green%20business.jpg

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http://cartfly.typepad.com/cartfly/images/2008/07/21/recycle_cat.jpg

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EASY WAYS TO GREEN YOUR PROPERTY

Edited by Jodi Summers

Thanks to the Green Building Update for these easy tips for greening your property and saving money on your utility bills.

1. Use light paint colors for the property’s exterior. Lighter colors reflect heat better than darker colors.

2. Insulate the attic, basement and crawl spaces of your property. Around 20% of energy costs come from heat loss in those areas.

3. Reuse old materials such as brick, stone, glass, slate and wood when building or renovating.

4. Keep doors airtight by weather stripping, caulking, and painting them regularly.

5. Have an energy audit done by your utility company or visit Energy Saver (http://hes.lbl.gov).

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http://ecodeonline.com/

http://www.allenmatkins.com/emails/nltr-green/newsletter.asp?is_id=87&utm_source=Listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=http%3a%2f%2fwww.allenmatkins.com%2femails%2fnltr-green%2fnewsletter.asp%3fis_id%3d87&utm_content=jodi%40jodisummers.com&utm_campaign=Green+Building+Update+-+May+21%2c+2010

BIG NEWS IN SOLAR EVOLUTION -> THANK YOU PETE

By Jodi Summers

PETE is the “big man on campus.” An acronym for “photon enhanced thermionic emission,” PETE offers a new solar conversion process that boasts efficiency upwards of 60% — and potentially cheap enough to compete with oil.

PETE was discovered by a Stanford University research group headed by materials science and engineering Prof. Nick Melosh.

“This is not a panacea, but is a unique method that can capture both heat and light, and may one day be a valuable part of the energy solution,” Melosh observed. “This is really a conceptual breakthrough, a new energy conversion process, not just a new material or a slightly different tweak,” said Nick Melosh, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering, who led the research group from Stanford University.

Photovoltaic solar technology, such as those used in rooftop solar panels, currently uses the semiconducting material silicon to convert the energy from photons of light to electricity. But the cells can only use a portion of the light spectrum, with the rest just generating heat, and the more heat it generates, the less efficient the process becomes. Thus, heat from unused sunlight and inefficiencies in the cells themselves account for a loss of more than 50 percent of the initial solar energy reaching the cell.

Melosh’s theory was to harvest the wasted heat energy and make solar cells more efficient. The issue to be tackled -> high temperatures are necessary to power heat-based conversion systems, yet solar cell efficiency rapidly decreases at higher temperatures. Melosh’s group figured out that by coating a piece of semiconducting material with a thin layer of the metal cesium, it made the material able to use both light and heat to generate electricity. The Stanford team wed thermal and solar cell conversion technologies. PETE actually combines both mechanisms into a singular process using a semiconductor cathode at 200 degrees Celsius.

“What we’ve demonstrated is a new physical process that is not based on standard photovoltaic mechanisms, but can give you a photovoltaic-like response at very high temperatures,” Melosh noted. “In fact, it works better at higher temperatures. The higher the better.”

Stanford documents note that, “By using the semiconductor gallium nitrate, coated with cesium, the researchers constructed a parallel plate thermionic emission device, in which higher temperatures will excite more electrons from the semiconductor cathode and generate current.”

“When photons strike the cathode, they increase the population of electrons that can participate in the thermionic emission process, which Melosh and his team dubbed ‘photon enhancement.’”

“What we’ve demonstrated is a new physical process that is not based on standard photovoltaic mechanisms, but can give you a photovoltaic-like response at very high temperatures,” Melosh noted. “The PETE process could really give the feasibility of solar power a big boost.”

Researchers envision solar concentrators, which can multiply the sun’s intensity by 500 times, focusing light on a PETE device and siphoning unused heat to drive other thermal conversion systems.

Another big step in making solar more accessible and desirable for everyone is that the technology is impressively inexpensive. Melosh notes that, “For each device, we are figuring something like a six-inch wafer of actual material is all that is needed. So, the material cost in this is not really an issue for us, unlike the way it is for large solar panels of silicon.”

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http://www.stanforddaily.com/2010/08/12/pete-could-improve-solar-tech/

http://www.energyboom.com/solar/love-pete-stanford-university-reveals-groundbreaking-solar-technology?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+energyboom+%28EnergyBoom+Daily+Briefin

http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2010/pr-new-solar-method-080210.html

http://solar.calfinder.com/blog/solar-research/stanford-pete-tech/

http://yubanet.com/scitech/New-solar-energy-conversion-process-could-revamp-solar-power-production.php

http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/08/02/stanford-harnesses-light-and-heat-with-new-solar-tech/

http://earth2tech.com/2010/08/03/in-the-lab-solar-cells-that-capture-light-heat/

http://dunbar.stanford.edu/dunbar_ges.html

http://today.slac.stanford.edu/a/2010/08-03.htm

http://www.onlineuniversities-weblog.com/50226711/take_stanford_university_classes_online.php

SEE…DOE…HUD…DOT…EPA…NGA… IS BIG BROTHER WATCHING? SOCIALIZING URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNITED STATES

By Jodi Summers

Loyal readers of this blog are well aware that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) are working together in hopes of helping American families gain better access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower transportation costs by creating affordable, sustainable communities.

Taking further steps in that direction, more government agencies are getting involved to attempt to make our new millennium existence easier all around. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have formed the State Energy Efficiency (SEE) Action Network to help states achieve the maximum cost-effective energy efficiency improvements possible in offices, buildings, industries and homes by 2020.

SEE…DOE…HUD…DOT…EPA…that’s a lot of government agencies making sure cities develop in the “proper” manner…socialized urban growth.

But, oops we wander, back to SEE…under the oversight of the EPA and the DOE, SEE will work with representatives from state and municipal governments, business leaders, public utility commissioners and others to make life in this country of energy efficiency for all.

The group plans to work from the framework set by the National Action Plan for Energy

Efficiency Vision for 2025, which was laid out in 2006…only the new goal is to make it a 2020 initiative…following the model set forth by California. You know AB 32 - California’s landmark 2006 global warming initiative.

(Not only has AB 32 been adopted by the Obama Administration, the International Code Council announced the state’s newly adopted Green Building Standards Code will serve as a foundation for commercial buildings worldwide AND California participated in the launch of China’s first GHG emissions registry. When his term comes to an end in November, Arnold Schwarzenegger should follow in the steps of former Vice President Al Gore in becoming a champion for energy programs that influence national and international policies…perhaps even work warmly with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Los Angeles’ 30/10 initiative…ah but we dream….)

SEE will offer technical assistance, and help with specific policy and program issues to advance energy efficiency efforts. Efforts may include financing solutions, residential efficiency programs and improving availability of energy usage information, etc…

Already the DOE and EPA have a request list that includes 32 state public utility commissions wanting assistance with energy efficiency programs.

SEE…DOE…HUD…DOT…EPA…and don’t forget the NGA…the National Governors Association is another national agency championing states with energy efficiency efforts.

Earlier this year, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices selected six states - Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin - to participate in the organization’s Policy Academy on State Building Efficiency Retrofit Programs.

The academy, funded by the DOE (you remember them, working with DOT among other liaisons…), is designed to help states develop strategies and action plans to improve the energy efficiency of existing building and reduce costs and emissions.

SEE…DOE…HUD…DOT…EPA…NGA… is Big Brother is watching?

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http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2257243/agencies-action-buildings

http://www.socalgreenrealestateblog.com/?p=691

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NEIGHBORHOOD + SCHOOL DISTRICT SEARCHES MAKE HOME BUYING GREENER

By Jodi Summers

So easy + so green to search for a new residential property in the new millennium National real estate search sites have become so sophisticated, they are giving residential buyers the opportunity to search for properties in specific zip codes, neighborhoods and school districts. You can do all the work online, without having to waste the time and fuel of driving around the neighborhood.

Visit any of the leading real estate residential search engines - Realtor.com, Trulia, or Zillow, and type in Sunset Park, Santa Monica, or whatever neighborhood you choose. You will get a list of properties for sale in the neighborhood AND Trulia and Zillow will display the names of hundreds of other neighborhoods on an interactive map of the city, then you can pick and choose and build searches around those neighborhoods.

“We will be moving back to the Los Angeles area from London next year,” shares Mary. “Some of these real estate websites make it so easy to learn about the neighborhood.”

The nice thing about the neighborhood concept is that the word conjures up more than just demographic information – it brings up images of a lifestyle. For homebuyers like Mary and her family, who are relocating to a new city, neighborhoods are a way of breaking down the choices.

“I like the area where I grew up, near Wonderland Avenue School in the Hollywood Hills,” she notes. “My husband, who grew up in London, envisions the California surfer life of Venice or Santa Monica. As far as the beach goes, we’ll focus on Santa Monica because of the schools. We can compare values on the internet and decide what’s best for our needs; it’s such an easy way to go.”

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http://www.inman.com/news/2010/04/26/name-your-neighborhood-new-wave-in-real-estate-search?page=0%2C0

http://www.inman.com/news/2010/04/26/name-your-neighborhood-new-wave-in-real-estate-search?page=0%2C0

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REAL ESTATE RETROFITTING STATISTICS

Edited by Jodi Summers

* Residential and commercial buildings consume 40 percent of the energy and represent 40 percent of the carbon emissions in the United States. Building efficiency represents one of the easiest, most immediate and most cost effective ways to reduce carbon emissions and save money on energy bills while creating new jobs.

* Existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting can reduce energy use by up to 40 percent per home and lower total associated greenhouse gas emissions by up to 160 million metric tons annually.

* Residential and commercial retrofits also have the potential to cut energy bills by $40 billion annually.

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http://www.energy.gov/news/8870.htm

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INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY TERMINOLOGY

Edited by Jodi Summers

Industrial Ecology is one of the finest concepts to come out of the green revolution. It also has some terminology that is uniquely its own…so we looked all the relevant terms up on Wikipedia (thank you http://en.wikipedia.org/) and would now like to share them with you…

Industrial Ecology - Industrial Ecology has been defined as a “systems-based, multidisciplinary discourse that seeks to understand emergent behavior of complex integrated human/natural systems”. The field approaches issues of sustainability by examining problems from multiple perspectives, usually involving aspects of sociology, the environment, economy and technology. The name comes from the idea that we should use the analogy of natural systems as an aid in understanding how to design sustainable industrial systems.

Circular Economy - Circular Economy is an evolving term that emphasizes strategies which a circular flow of materials and energy for environmental and monetary gain. An example of Circular Economy would be selling waste heat from one process to run another process that requires a lower temperature, thus maximizing energy efficiency by circulating emissions from one business to another.

Closed system - A closed system is a system in the “state of being isolated from its surrounding environment.” The term often refers to an idealized system in which closure is perfect. In reality no system can be completely closed; there are only varying degrees of closure.

Isolated system - In the natural sciences an isolated system, as contrasted with an open system, is a physical system that does not interact with its surroundings. It obeys a number of conservation laws: its total energy and mass stay constant. They cannot enter or exit, but can only move around inside.

Open system - Open system (systems theory), a system where matter or energy can flow into and/or out of the system, in contrast to a closed system, where energy can enter or leave but matter may not.

Eco-Industrial Park - An eco-industrial park (EIP) is an industrial park in which businesses cooperate with each other and with the local community in an attempt to reduce waste and pollution, efficiently share resources (such as information, materials, water, energy, infrastructure, and natural resources), and help achieve sustainable development, with the intention of increasing economic gains and improving environmental quality. An EIP may also be planned, designed, and built in such a way that it makes it easier for businesses to co-operate, and that results in a more financially sound, environmentally friendly project for the developer.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/

http://greeneconomypost.com/retrofitting-industrial-ecology-for-increased-profitability-and-environmental-improvement-7663.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheGreenEconomyPost+%28The+Green+Economy+Post%29

http://www.bsdglobal.com/viewcasestudy.asp?id=77

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http://amassthetruth.com/images/closed-system1.jpg

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THIN FILM SOLAR COMPANIES YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

THIN FILM SOLAR COMPANIES YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT

by Jodi Summers

The economy has slowed new development in the green sector. Capital has dried up, as has demand. In the solar panel market this combination of circumstances has lead to excess stock and a subsequent drop in price. With the help of the Green Economy Post we look at up-and-coming thin film Solar PV startups based in the US.

Using thin film Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide (CIGS) technology and the following companies have collectively raised substantial amounts of VC capital (by some measures over $1 Billion). Those in the know say CIGS thin film technology holds the promise of high efficiencies – above 10% and up to 14 or 15% conversion rates. Certainly, the materials, Indium, Gallium, Selenium are expensive they are not inherently rare.

Nanosolar

http://www.nanosolar.com/

Nanosolar has concentrated seven years and several hundred million dollars on one goal of an all-out engineering effort: to completely reinvent the design and manufacturing of photovoltaics. Founded in 2002, headquartered in San Jose, Nanosolar has developed a unique roll to roll thin film production process based on a nano-scale CIGS ink that is wet printed onto a conductive aluminum foil substrate. Large capital savings and cost efficiencies are realized by using this CIGS-on-Aluminum stack.

Mirroring their U.S. success, Nanosolar’s European panel-assembly factory, located in Luckenwalde, near Berlin is aiming for a production rate of one panel every ten seconds, which equates to an annual production capacity of 640MW.

Solar foil efficiencies for Nanosolar cells as high as 16.4% have been independently verified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and their first-generation

production is capable of delivering 11% panels. Their panels have attained IEC 61646 & 61730 product certification. And they seem to have worked out the roll to roll mass production process and are scaling up to mass production.

MiaSolé

http://www.miasole.com

The combination of CIGS thin films and the proprietary manufacturing processes enable Miasolé to produce solar products in volumes and at cost points that enable solar electricity to replace fossil fuels, including coal and natural gas. The result is a clean, locally generated source of electricity.

Headquarters in Santa Clara, MiaSolé, is a pioneer in the development of Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) thin film photovoltaic products. MiaSolé is the first CIGS thin film producer to have its modules to be certified by Underwriters Laboratory (UL) to the three most critical certification standards (UL 1703 and IEC 61646 and 61730). The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has confirmed that their panels convert sunlight into electricity with an efficiency of 10.2 percent.

The company now has a factory with an annual production capacity of 60 MW and is in the process of expanding this up to 140 MW of capacity.

Solyndra

http://www.solyndra.com/

Solyndra, based in Fremont, CA, designs and manufactures solar photovoltaic systems for the commercial rooftop market. Founded in 2005 Solyndra operates a state-of-the-art 300,000 square foot fully-automated manufacturing complex. The company is planning on going public and that it hopes to raise $300 million in capital to finance the final build-out of its second factory complex designed to produce 500 megawatts per year.

Using proprietary cylindrical modules and thin-film technology, Solyndra systems are designed to provide the lowest cost of electricity on commercial rooftops by delivering the lowest total systems costs per watt and the highest kilowatt hour production per rooftop for typical installations.

The company currently boasts more than $2 billion in back orders, as well as a $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy for building its new production facility.

In addition to a 25-year power warranty, Solyndra’s products have received UL 1703 certification for use in North America and IEC 61730, IEC 61646 for international use.

Heliovolt

http://www.heliovolt.com/

HelioVolt modules enable the rapid growth of distributed solar energy. The glass laminate modules are compatible with existing industry installation tools and practices.

Based in Austin, Texas, Heliovolt has raised $101 million for its Series B round in 2007 and has recently opened a 20MW capacity panel production facility. The company employs an innovative two- staged thin film manufacturing process, based on its

research into the fundamental physics of the CIGS semiconductor material that reduces capital costs, lowers energy used in manufacturing and promises a higher throughput.

The company’s FASST manufacturing process produces high-quality large-grain CIGS crystals using a unique combination of low-cost ink-based or Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) based nanoengineered precursor thin films and a reactive transfer printing method. Reactive transfer is a two-stage process relying on chemical reaction between two separate precursor films to form CIGS, one deposited on the substrate and the other on a printing plate in the first stage. In the second stage, these precursors are brought into intimate contact and rapidly reacted under pressure in the presence of an electrostatic field while heat is applied.

The use of two independent thin films provides the benefits of independent composition and flexible deposition technique optimization, and eliminates pre-reaction prior to the synthesis of CIGS. High quality CIGS with large grains on the order of several microns, and of preferred crystallographic orientation, are formed in just several minutes based on compositional and structural analysis by XRF, SIMS, SEM and XRD. Cell efficiencies of 14% and module efficiencies of 12% have been achieved using this method.

SoloPower

http://www.solopower.com/

SoloPower, based in San Jose, is seeking to differentiate itself from other CIGS thin film startups, by its proprietary and innovative electrochemical process for laying the thin film onto a thin, flexible foil substrate in a high throughput, roll-to-roll process.

The company claims that by using an electroplating process to bond the CIGS thin film (and presumably also the bottom and top conductor layers as well) onto the substrate that this allows it to utilize nearly 100% of the chemicals, a higher material utilization rate than for other competing CIGS thin film solar processes like evaporation, sputtering or printing.

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http://greeneconomypost.com/promising-thin-film-solar-startups-7588.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheGreenEconomyPost+%28The+Green+Economy+Post%29

THE EPA WANTS TO IMPROVE YOUR BUILDING

By Jodi Summers

Southern California Edison is one of a handful of state utilities selected to partake in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new pilot program – the Building Performance with Energy Star program. The goal of the program is similar to some of SoCal’s green building initiatives - to further improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings.

According to the EPA, energy use in commercial buildings accounts for 17 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of over $100 billion per year. Energy Star Leaders prevented the emissions of more than 220,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and saved more than $48 million across their commercial building portfolios in 2009.

The goal of the Building Performance with Energy Star program is to help utilities and state energy-efficiency programs become Energy Star Leaders and achieve greater energy savings and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by targeting whole building energy improvements with their business customers.

In addition to Southern California Edison, pilot program partners are Com Ed, MidAmerican, National Grid, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric and Wisconsin Focus on Energy.

Key elements of the pilot, which follows the EPA’s Home Performance with Energy Star program, include:

* Incorporating use of the EPA’s Portfolio Manager, the agency’s online energy measurement and tracking tool, to score building performance;

* Approaching energy efficiency opportunities in the context of findings from whole building assessments; and

* Creating a robust delivery network for whole building efficiency services.

The program will allow operators of commercial properties to realize greater savings by strategically planning and implementing whole-building energy efficiency improvements. SoCal Edison and the other selected partners are expected to help business customers plan and implement energy-efficiency improvements over time, starting with low-payback measures that can create revenue to fund capital upgrades in the future.

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http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/05/06/epa-help-states-utilities-reap-greater-energy-savings/

http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/05/06/epa-powers-building-performance-new-energy-star-program

http://www.cbpca.org/

http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/e51aa292bac25b0b85257359003d925f/23d4c522b2e723da8525771a0057a925!OpenDocument

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