Green Energy Roadshow

The Kentucky Green Energy Roadshow will be stopping in Northern Kentucky to present a day-long workshop on renewable energy, energy efficiency and green building on April 12.

The April 12 roadshow features several workshop sessions, including "Planning the Energy Conserving Home or Business," "Policies & Incentives that Support Renewables and Efficiency: A Panel Discussion On Federal & State Programs," and "Energy Efficiency Improvement Grant and Guaranteed Loan Programs for Small Business."

In addition to the presentations, there will be educational booths and exhibits demonstrating renewable energy and energy efficient technologies.

Schenectady County considering energy efficiency legislation

Schenectady County is taking steps to improve its overall energy efficiency through better recycling practices, fleet audits and stricter purchasing policies.

Those and other incentives were announced Wednesday as part of legislation that will be considered by the Schenectady County Legislature to improve energy efficiency in its government facilities.

In addition, the proposal would require the county to purchase only Energy Star-rated products, adhere to high levels of environmental standards in its buildings and facilities and instruct employees to turn off lights and computer equipment at the end of their work days.

As part of a broader conservation effort, the county would partner with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to alert homeowners about the importance of home energy audits. County agencies also would target senior citizens, low-income households and other groups that could benefit from the audits.

Wal-mart's Green Store Saves Energy

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will open its latest generation of energy-efficient test stores this week with a Las Vegas Supercenter that uses new cooling technology to cut overall energy use by up to 45 percent.

The Las Vegas store opening Wednesday builds on advances in earlier pilot stores that reduced energy use in areas including lighting, refrigeration and water flow.

The previous pilot stores in the Midwest cut energy use up to 25 percent compared to a typical Supercenter built in 2005, the year Wal-Mart launched a broad environmental program to reduce energy use and packaging waste and to sell more sustainable products.

Wal-Mart said the new Las Vegas store adds to those savings with a new cooling system based on water evaporation for total energy savings of between 35 percent and 45 percent.

Clothes Washers Becoming More Energy Efficient

Next year, clothes washers that are much more efficient than current appliances will be coming on the market. The new washers will have to use less water than those now on sale, and they also must be more energy efficient. As of July 1, 2009, manufacturers will have to make their washers meet a higher standard if they want to qualify the appliances to carry the government's Energy Star® label.

In order to qualify, clothes washers must be a minimum of 43 percent more efficient than current federal energy efficiency standards with a maximum Water Factor of 7.5, as of July 1, 2009. The Water Factor measures water efficiency and is calculated as gallons of water used per cubic foot of capacity - the lower the Water Factor, the more efficient the clothes washer.

Then in the second phase, from January 1, 2011, clothes washers must be a minimum of 59 percent more efficient than current federal energy efficiency standards with a maximum Water Factor of 6.0.

After the 2011 criteria change for clothes washers, consumers across the country are expected to save a total of $120 million on utility bills annually.

Solar Energy To Become Cost Effective

In a move to make solar energy more cost competitive, the US Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that they will invest up to $13.7 million over the next 3 years. Eleven technology led projects will focus on developing advanced solar photovoltaic (PV) technology manufacturing processes and products.

A further 20% of costs will be shared with industry and universities making a combined investment of over $17 million.

Energy Efficiency Important To Homebuyers

When it comes to energy efficiency, homebuyers want builders to start talking it up more, even though they've already bought the message. That's the key finding of a recent J.D. Power & Associates Survey conducted for EnerQuality Corp.

According to the survey of more than 2,000 recent homebuyers in the GTA and Ottawa, virtually all buyers (98 per cent) fully expect builders to offer energy-efficient features, yet only four of 10 builders are talking about energy efficiency with their buyers.

What's particularly interesting is the linkage between energy efficiency and quality construction in the minds of homebuyers. While environmental protection, reduced monthly operating expenses and higher resale value remain the key motivating factors for buyers to invest in energy efficiency, almost a third of respondents cited higher quality construction as the most important benefit to them.

The survey also found there is significantly more satisfaction with the design of a new home when energy-efficient features have been offered – 828 out of 1,000 on the Builder Rating on Overall Physical Design Index compared to 626 when it's not offered.