Monthly Archives: December 2017

Environmental Evaluation of the Trump Administration’s 1st Year

December 2017

Recently, President Trump boasted about the number of regulations he repealed or otherwise inactivated, as the most in history. We’re not sure how factually true that statement is, but it certainly is true that the most active agency in carrying out this de-regulation was the USEPA. There have been a number of roll backs of Obama Administration rules and initiatives, headed by the Clean Power Act, as part of the Trump Administration’s desire is to encourage coal production. A recent article also stated that not only has the agency lost much in the way of personnel, but it is enforcing existing rules with much less vigor than in the recent past, even under a past Republican administration. See https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/10/us/politics/epa-enforcement-methodology.html

In addition, the Trump Administration has cut drastically environmental and public health research and has scrubbed mention of Climate Change from its websites, educational materials, and conferences, including terminating research in these areas.

One of the few areas that the USEPA has remained active is in Superfund cleanups. The degree of cleanup has accelerated in the past year. Many think prioritizing certain Superfund cleanup projects coincides strongly with where valuable mineral and oil and gas deposits are found, which can be profitable for future owners or miners in the area.

However, one other area that has disappointed many in the environmental community is the President’s vigorous attempt to free up federal land for mining and oil exploration, including the Arctic Wildlife Refuge and several national parks, such as Bears Ears National Monument, in which President Trump announced that the section of this monument that is protected from private use and exploration will be reduced by 1 million acres or 85%, the largest reversal of national monument protections in US history. The proposed change has been challenged in court by conservation groups.

The good news in all of this is that this news has galvanized the environmental community and many citizens, worried about the impacts of repealed environmental rules on the health and wellbeing of millions in this country. Many states will maintain and strengthen their rules. Several political candidates have discussed environmental concerns, something that rarely happens. In addition, global images, such as extreme haze and people walking around with filters in India and China have shown all the importance of smart, workable environmental regulations.

However, all in all, 2017 was not a good year for environmental protections and governance in the U.S.

CCES has the experts to help your company stay in touch with environmental regulations and provide technical assistance on how to comply in the least expensive, yet reliable way, without disrupting operations. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.

Climate Change News End of Year – 2017

Trump Administration Reiterates Objection to Paris Climate Agreement

The big US climate change news of the year is President Trump’s announcement that the US will pull out of the Paris Climate Accord because developing nations would get to play by a different set of rules from those of the US. The Paris Accord is voluntary, however, as each country would determine how much greenhouse gas emissions it can reduce. At the time the Accord was signed, the Obama Administration said it would decrease US GHG emissions by 28% by 2025. The U.S. is already about halfway to meeting the goal due to large turnover of coal-fired power plants to natural gas and other changes, triggered by market forces. Meanwhile, China said that its GHG emissions would rise before tapering off around 2030 because of power plants already operating. As a developing country, China would be permitted to prioritize growth, even though it is the world’s largest GHG emitter. In addition, the richer nations will contribute to a $100 billion fund, seen as an investment, to help developing nations reduce GHGs. These areas are what the current administration object to, although the US would be the only nation in the world not to be part of the Accord if it pulls out.

While President Trump, despite discussions with world leaders, reiterated his desire for the US to pull out of the Paris accord late in the year. However, a series of horrific disasters (several major hurricanes and rain events and wildfires in California) in the second half of this year have widely been analyzed as having been worsened by climate change. As a result, public opinion polls indicate a solid majority of Americans (even conservatives) believe that climate change is real and harmful, and a majority believe the government should do something about it. Whether that will cause President Trump to reverse course and stay in the Paris Accord is unknown.

In the meantime, a number of US states and cities have stated that they will pursue policies that would reduce GHG emissions in alignment with those required of the Paris Accord. California is perhaps the most resistant to the federal rejection of the global agreement, and is looking to forge an agreement with other nations and provinces to establish a market-based system to encourage major GHG emitters to decrease emissions by global standards. Massachusetts has confirmed its goals initially formed through their Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008, an 80% reduction in GHG emissions by 2050. Both New York State and New York City have active plans to achieve the same goals.

EIA Projects 0.6% Annual Growth in GHG Emissions

The US Energy Information Administration projects that growth in global GHG emissions from energy-related sources will drop to 0.6%/year through 2040 despite increased energy consumption. See https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/ieo/. GHG emissions rose by about 1.8% per year from 1990 to 2015.

The EIA says that this decrease is/will be caused by the continued switch to renewable sources of energy, estimated to rise in use by an average 2.3% per year between 2015 and 2040. Nuclear power consumption is estimated to increase by 1.5% per year over that period. The small rise in GHG emissions is still projected despite these advances because of increases in energy-using processes due to projected business growth.

The EIA projects the average growth in commercial energy use of 1.2% per year from 2015 to 2040, with the highest rates of growth in developing nations.

US Supreme Court To Rule on Solar Power Growth and Regulation

On December 1, the US Supreme Court announced it would hear a case about whether a utility can charge ratepayers a fee for having solar panels. SolarCity initially sued Salt River Project, an Arizona utility, over its 2015 decision to charge a fee for solar power systems operated by individuals. SolarCity argued that these fees were implemented in order to make rooftop solar systems too expensive to be competitive, in violation of federal antitrust laws. Salt River Project argued that they had the right to levy this fee as part of its statutory pricing process, exempting it from federal antitrust laws.

A district court and circuit court made different rulings. The US Supreme Court expressed interest in deciding whether utilities are exempt from antitrust laws in its decision and rate and fee-setting process. The Court’s decision, expected in June 2018, will be closely watched by the solar power industry for its future ramifications.

CCES has the technical experts to help your entity (company or municipality) remain knowledgeable about changes in climate change rules and policies throughout the US, and about changes in technologies to help you assess the right policy and GHG emission reduction goal that is right for you. And to enable you to maximize financial benefits from addressing climate change. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.

DOE Plans Major Changes To Its Appliance Energy Conservation Program

On November 21, 2017 the US DOE issued a Request for Information (RFI) that provides notice DOE is considering wholesale changes to its energy conservation standards program. The current program for reducing energy consumption contains mandatory, minimum efficiency standards for appliances and other consumer, commercial, and industrial products that must be revisited every six years. The RFI suggests that the Trump Administration may replace this mechanism with a more market-oriented one. The RFI specifically solicits feedback on how trading schemes might be applied to energy conservation. The Federal Register notice was published on November 28 (see https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/11/28/2017-25663/energy-conservation-program-energy-conservation-standards-program-design) giving interested parties 90 days to comment (February 26, 2018).

The Energy Policy Conservation Act (EPCA) requires the DOE to set minimum energy conservation standards for over 60 consumer, commercial, and industrial products. Manufacturers and importers must test and certify that their covered products meet all applicable energy conservation standards prior to initial distribution and annually after that. EPCA also requires DOE to review each energy conservation standard at least every six years for potential revision. This contains an “anti-backsliding” provision, preventing the DOE from loosening energy conservation standards for any reason.

The Trump Administration has put on hold several new energy conservation standards promulgated late in the Obama Administration. DOE Secretary Perry has called this program “overly burdensome”.

The RFI solicits feedback and suggestions on how market-based approaches might be used to improve energy efficiency. The RFI uses as a model established market-oriented approaches in other areas, such as the automotive corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards, which permit automobile manufacturers to average the fuel efficiency of their automobiles across their entire fleet rather than have to comply with the individual fuel efficiency standard of each vehicle class. The RFI also cites the USEPA Acid Rain Program, a large regional cap-and-trade program, which succeeded in achieving significant reductions in power plant SO2 and NOx emissions by creating emission credits to be bought and sold to meet mandatory reduction goals. The RFI wishes to achieve energy use reductions at high efficiency and reduced cost.

The RFI is the DOE’s first significant attempt to modify the energy conservation standards program since it was enacted in 1987. Any changes to the rule can significantly impact energy and electricity usage and with that energy costs for all businesses and residents nationwide, greenhouse gas emissions and management of our electric grid, including the number and types of power plants nationwide. The public and manufacturers and importers of appliances have until February 26, 2018 to submit ideas and comments to the DOE for consideration in its redesign of the program.

CCES has the experts to help you plan and design your energy management program to maximize the direct financial benefits of minimizing energy use, including the most energy efficient equipment. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.

Another Financial Benefit of Energy Efficiency: Improved Space Utilization

This blog and newsletter have published many articles substantiating the many different ways a building owner, manager, or tenant will benefit financially from implementing smart proven energy efficiency strategies. Besides saving on one’s direct energy bill, there is improved asset value, making space more attractive to increase demand from tenants, reduced O&M, and higher productivity and retail sales. Now here is another one. Philips Lighting recently released a study estimating that businesses globally could reduce their office space per employee by as much as 50% and realize savings of up to $1.5 trillion just in reduced rental costs if office buildings were refurbished to the most efficient current standards. $220 billion of the savings is estimated for North America. Real estate costs are a major concern to any business; any opportunity to reduce the fixed cost of rental space can be very beneficial. See: https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3017951/refurbish-offices-to-save-usd15tr-philips-lighting-tells-business

These estimations were based on the results of an actual move by a major Deloitte office into a space considered very advanced in terms of energy efficiency. Deloitte reduced their space utilization from 50.2 sq. ft. per full-time employee to 24.9, not only saving on the amount of space they needed to rent, but on their energy costs, too, as they had less space to condition, light, and service. Deloitte also attributed increases in worker productivity and wellbeing in the new space, in part, due to the energy efficiency improvements.

The new office space used by Deloitte uses LED lighting and smart technology allowing employees to adjust the lighting and temperature at their own workspaces via a smartphone app. The system also provides building managers with real-time data on both energy usage and office utilization to help maximize energy and operational efficiency, based on data collected by sensors embedded in the lighting.

CCES has the technical expertise to help your office or any other space become more energy efficient, whether your goal is, like Deloitte’s, to be high tech or whether your goal is more modest. We can help you incorporate the right technology for your budget and goals to attain the greatest financial benefit, whether it be controlling real estate costs, utility costs, or to boost productivity and asset value. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.