What does the future hold for utility electricity efficiency programs?

This study develops projections of future spending and savings from electricity efficiency programs funded by electric utility customers in the United States through 2030 based on three scenarios. Our analysis relies on detailed bottom-up modeling of current state energy efficiency policies, demand-side management and integrated resource plans, and regulatory decisions. The three scenarios represent a range of potential outcomes given the policy environment at the time of the study and uncertainties in the broader economic and state policy environment in each state. We project spending to increase to $8.6 billion in 2030 in the medium scenario, about a 45 percent increase relative to 2016 spending. In the high case, annual spending increases to $11.1 billion in 2030 and remains relatively flat in the low case ($6.8 billion in 2030). Our analysis suggests that electricity efficiency programs funded by utility customers will continue to impact load growth significantly at least through 2030, as savings as a percent of retail sales are forecast at 0.7 percent in the medium scenario and 0.98 percent in the high scenario.     

Future energy goals for Maryland: Greenhouse gas reductions

Legislative requirements in Maryland set very robust goals for the implementation of energy efficiency by utilities. Significant energy savings has been achieved in all customer sectors and efficiency gains have been made over time in equipment and building construction. Looking forward, utilities should implement programs to promote energy efficiency with a greater emphasis on GHG reductions. Feasibility studies need to occur, but flexibility is key given changing codes and standards and market transformation.     

Measuring persistence of energy savings after COVID-19

Publicly funded energy efficiency projects require measurement to inform climate and energy policy, craft program budgets, and determine the cost-benefit ratios of different projects. One of the key inputs into cost-benefit analyses is the concept of an effective useful life, or EUL. This value, typically measured in years, lets programs and policy makers estimate how many years the energy savings will last. For most programs, this measurement is done based on manufacturing assumptions, i.e. the laboratory determined that an LED lightbulb would last for 10,000 h, or 15 years. New programs, using a methodology known as “advanced measurement and verification (AM&V)” measure the EUL using a survival analysis of the savings. We ask the question, “At what point will this project be savings less than 50% of what it saved on day 1.” We measure the energy consumption of a facility at the meter level to determine how much energy is being used compared to when the measure was installed. COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in the ability to compare energy use across years. Not only is there a disruption from COVID-19 directly, but entire industries have fundamentally changed the way that they operate their buildings and run their businesses. We are able to extract out the impacts of COVID for many of our building’s models, but not all. Using methods derived from independent, third-party evaluators, we have developed a new way to measure the ongoing persistence of energy savings using self-report data from participants at the project level, rather than at the savings level. Doing this will allow us to compare the data from pre-COVID with the new world full of post-COVID data, and to assess the true impacts of COVID on the energy efficiency industry’s most basic cost-effectiveness assumptions.     

The public benefits of leasing energy efficient equipment

Utility-led leasing solutions can overcome several key barriers to customer adoption of new, efficient products that are overlooked by traditional energy efficiency programs or non-utility leasing programs, as a program proposed by Puget Sound Energy illustrates. By encouraging the installation of energy efficient equipment, a utility-led leasing program would generate significant benefits in terms of bill savings, enhanced comfort and quality of life, avoided energy costs, avoided capacity costs, and avoided emissions.     

Consequences of large customer opt-out: An Ohio example

Opt-out policies allow large customers to withdraw from participation in utility sector efficiency programs. Our analysis shows these policies impose high costs, including increased utility system investments due to higher demand, increased air pollution within the state and surrounding regions, higher health costs because of the increased air pollution, and lost bill savings opportunities for large customers, leading to lost economic growth. We examine the consequences using Ohio as an example.     

欧洲能效技术进展

欧洲联盟极其重视节能,采取了一系列节能措施。介绍了一些欧盟委员会的节能行动和欧盟发布的一些能效指令。节能涉及工业、交通运输业和家庭等各个方面。欧洲健全的法律体系、节能技术创新和有效的税费政策等为我国节能减排管理工作提供了启示。     

爱尔兰能效与节能状况

提高能源效率是爱尔兰可持续能源政策的重要组成部分。能源效率是国际公认的减少对化石燃料依赖的最有成本效益的方法。能源效率是爱尔兰发展绿色经济的强大基础。爱尔兰需要紧急采取重点突出的集体行动,建设高效低碳的能源系统。论述了爱尔兰住宅、商业和工业的节能经济潜力和提高能源效率的政府措施。     

江苏省能效资源潜力及能效电厂研究

介绍了江苏省能效资源潜力分析方法和工业电机等8类挖掘能效资源的DSM方案,并从成本效益的角度进行了全面分析,得出10年后江苏省能效资源可实现年累计节电量42373GWh,削减高峰负荷15335MW．具有较好的经济效益和社会效益。最后提出了能效电厂的概念．并设计了江苏省第1个能效电厂的组成方案。     

Modernizing the energy infrastructure at federal facilities: Should utilities play a bigger role?

Since the Energy Policy Act of 1992, federal facilities have increasingly used performance contracting to finance energy and water efficiency measures. Utility Energy Performance Contracts (UESCs) have received less attention despite having similar goals and processes as Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs). This paper provides a comparison between the two performance contracting models and highlights the tradeoffs that should be considered. Higher costs observed in ESPCs are driven by higher overhead and the costs of savings guarantees. These cost drivers cascade into longer financing terms and higher interest rates. These results suggest that federal agencies should explore UESCs as a potentially more cost-effective way to achieve energy savings improvements.     

新加坡的能效与节能状况

可再生能源资源的缺乏使提高能源效率成为新加坡应付气候变化的主要对策。新加坡能源效率计划委员会已经制定了提高能源效率的全国性计划,称之为"能效新加坡"。新加坡重视企业、公共机构和家庭的节能。解决交通运输系统能效问题对于提高新加坡能效发挥着重要作用。新加坡节约能源法从2013年开始生效。     

新时期电力需求侧管理

2006年是“十一五”规划的开局之年,结合我国当前能源供需实际,论述了新时期电力需求侧管理(DSM)及其当前工作重点;提出了政策法规、组织机构、激励政策及融资建议：结合江苏能效电厂项目,提出了DSM长效机制建设问题。     

Opportunities in energy: National policy approaches for addressing climate change

Last year’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report and the Fourth National Climate Assessment both showed that to limit the worst consequences of climate change by keeping global average temperature increases to 1.5 C, the United States and other countries must achieve net-zero heat-trapping emissions economy-wide by mid-century, with nearly half of those reductions occurring by 2030. Decarbonizing the electric sector is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce emissions and can help decarbonize other sectors with increased electrification. While renewable energy and energy efficiency have grown significantly in recent years due to technology cost reductions, state policies, and federal tax incentives, our rate of emissions reduction does not go far enough. Our analysis shows that a well-designed national Low Carbon Electricity Standard (LCES), Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), or increasing carbon price can help get the U.S. on a pathway for decarbonizing the power sector by 2050. The most cost-effective strategy for reducing emissions in the near-term is through the increased deployment of wind and solar, regardless of the policy. How much the generation mix shifts to low-carbon resources is a function of the stringency of the policy. These policies can also spur the development of low-carbon electricity in parts of the country that are not as far along in their transition to a clean energy economy. Allowing a wide range of carbon-free and low-carbon resources to compete against each other could deliver the most low-carbon electricity at the lowest cost and help broaden support for these policies.     

Generation expansion planning by considering energy-efficiency programs in a competitive environment

Restructuring of the electricity industry and the development of energy efficiency solutions are the two major developments of the recent power systems. Implementation strategies in the use of energy efficiency can be made by utilizing more energy-efficient equipment or increasing penetration rate of production of new sources of energy at the generating side. These new sources of energy can be renewable sources, especially wind resource and energy storage instruments such as grid-connected electric vehicles. The vehicles can be charged during the low load and discharged during peak load. In this study, wind resources and grid-connected electric vehicles are considered as an approach for energy efficiency strategies in generation expansion planning. But, because of high investment cost, great uncertainty of wind resources’ productivity and uncertainty of their supportive policies no one will invest on them without proper supportive policies in a competitive environment. So support policies for wind resource are also considered. One of the fundamental problems of supportive policies is financial support in a competitive environment. Therefore, as an innovation of the paper, grid-connected electric vehicles is used to solve the problem. In the paper, the impact of these vehicles is considered in a way that they act integrated with wind resources and thus increases the capacity factor of wind resources.     

Redefining energy efficiency: EE 2.0

This article presents a new vision for energy efficiency ("EE 2.0″) based on the concept of energy optimization and lays the foundation for subsequent articles on EE in this special issue of Electricity Journal. Energy efficiency is key to reducing the size of the energy challenge, to accelerating the achievement of its solution, and to enhancing energy productivity, but old ideas that ignore the potential benefits of electrification and narrowly equate energy efficiency with efforts to reduce consumption of a single energy source — like electricity — need to evolve. The key to affordable decarbonization is making optimal use of low-cost, emissions-free energy sources, when and where they are available.     

纽约州能源效率和可再生能源计划

美国纽约州能源研究和开发管理局(NYSERDA)提供各种计划帮助纽约州居民和企业提高能源效率。这些计划为纽约人提供了各种渠道去获得资金和技术专长,学习成熟的清洁能源技术和减少能源浪费的流程,并使得人们在省钱的同时能够保护环境。NYSERDA提供资源、专业知识和客观信息,使得纽约人可以做出明智的能源决策。NY-SERDA计划分成5个系列,每个系列代表一个互补的组提供该区域的能源重点和目标。     

工业企业能效审计及相关建议

能源审计是能源管理的重要手段和先导环节,对规范有效地开展工业领域的电力需求侧管理工作具有重要意义。从企业能效审计的范围、典型的程序和方法、审计报告等方面进行分析,并针对我国目前工业企业开展能效工作的现状,提出培育专业能效审计队伍、建立能效审计机制等工作建议。     

光源能效综合评价法的探讨

节能环保是整个人类社会的长期命题,也是我国极力倡导的主题之一,照明行业也成为国家与社会非常重视的节能环保的行业。光效是评价光源是否节能的一个重要指标,但在相同光效的情况下,光源寿命成为考虑的重要因素。因此,本文引入光源的综合能效评价法,从光源光效和寿命两个维度来综合考虑光源的节能指标。     

Failed motors: rewind or replace?

For many process users, the issue of whether to replace a failed motor with a new energy-efficient model or to repair the existing failed unit has not been so easily resolved. Many companies have never developed firm guidelines or policies regarding the replace/repair issue; therefore, many failed motors are simply repaired, sometimes repeatedly, almost by default. Generally, the apparent cost to repair a failed motor (above approximately 15 hp) is less than that of a new motor. The Energy Act of 1992 does not address this issue-there are no efficiency guidelines that must be met with a repaired unit. This article suggests that a more formal approach should be taken when making the repair/replace decision. Consideration should be given to many other factors in addition to the initial cost comparison. Such factors would include: motor age and condition; motor operating and rewind history; motor type and application; motor specifications; applicable utility rebates; and potential energy savings. Potential energy savings can be quantified if the present efficiency of the failed motor is known or can be estimated. The effect of a utility rebate, should one apply, is also easily quantified. Many of the other factors, however, are more subjective in nature and are not so easily evaluated. Nevertheless, these factors should also be considered in the overall decision-making process, as they can have a significant impact on future plant operating costs and reliability     

欧洲电力需求侧管理对中国的启示(下)——来自中国赴欧洲电力需求侧管理的培训报告

学习借鉴欧洲国家开展电力需求侧管理的经验,对促进我国电力需求侧管理深入发展、建设资源节约型社会具有重要现实意义。全面介绍了欧盟成员国在开展需求侧管理、能效管理、能源服务等方面的行政法规、标准标识、财税政策以及市场激励、市场交易、市场竞争机制,在建筑节能和发展可再生能源方面形成的相关的制度体系。分析了我国电力需求侧管理工作的不足,并从出发点、政府作用、实施重点和实施手段上进行了国际比较,对进一步推动电力需求侧管理工作提出了加强法律法规建设、加快建立激励机制、加强标准和评估体系建设、大力开发应用新技术等政策性建议。深入挖掘电力需求侧管理资源,应成为我国建设节约型社会的重要战略举措。     

欧洲电力需求侧管理对中国的启示(上)——来自中国赴欧洲电力需求侧管理的培训报告

学习借鉴欧洲国家开展电力需求侧管理的经验,对促进我国电力需求侧管理深入发展、建设资源节约型社会具有重要现实意义。全面介绍了欧盟成员国在开展需求侧管理、能效管理、能源服务等方面的行政法规、标准标识、财税政策以及市场激励、市场交易、市场竞争机制,在建筑节能和发展可再生能源方面形成的相关的制度体系。分析了我国电力需求侧管理工作的不足,并从出发点、政府作用、实施重点和实施手段上进行了国际比较,对进一步推动电力需求侧管理工作提出了加强法律法规建设、加快建立激励机制、加强标准和评估体系建设、大力开发应用新技术等政策性建议。深入挖掘电力需求侧管理资源,应成为我国建设节约型社会的重要战略举措。