 October 2006 Newsletter Contents: Guest Highlight State Updates
US PIRG Announces Campaign for a New Energy Future 
by Rob SargentEnergy Program Director, USPIRG Public concern about energy and America’s over-dependence on oil is higher than it has been at any time since the 1970s. Consumers are uneasy about gasoline and oil prices; which hit all time records this summer. Debates over how and where we get our energy have become front page news and constituencies from across the political spectrum are realizing the long-term economic and foreign policy implications of our over-reliance on oil. Recent media focus on global warming is adding to the public’s sense of urgency about the need to reduce our fossil fuel consumption. Despite high levels of public concern and strong support for clean renewable energy and conservation measures, Congress and the Bush Administration have done almost nothing to put us on a cleaner, more secure energy path. On balance, Washington officials have set us back by promoting supply side options at the expense of energy conservation and renewable energy. Now, Americans have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to dramatically shift the direction of our nation’s energy policy by demanding that our leaders support policies to reduce our reliance on oil, increase renewable energy, promote conservation and dramatically increase investments in energy-saving and renewable energy technologies to achieve these objectives. To capture this moment, USPIRG has launched the New Energy Future Campaign to show the breadth and depth of support for sensible clean energy policies. Similar campaigns have been launched at the state level in Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Maine. New Energy Future Campaign: In addition building broad public support across the country, USPIRG will, separately, be asking all congressional candidates to support policies that help the U.S. achieve four key goals:
We just completed an analysis, A New Energy Future: The Benefits of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for Cutting America’s Use of Fossil Fuels, which shows that achieving these goals would have a tremendous impact on America’s environment, economy, and national security. Reduce U.S. dependence on oil. America has the technological know-how to dramatically reduce our dependence on oil. By building cars that go farther on a gallon of gas, giving Americans better transportation choices, and using clean, renewable fuels, we can slash our use of oil, improve our environment, safeguard our energy security and, in many cases, save money. Among the steps the nation can take are increasing fuel economy standards for cars and trucks, setting goals for plant-based fuels like ethanol and biodiesel, and investing in expanded and improved public transit services. Using these and other tools we can cut America’s oil consumption by more than 7 million barrels a day – about one-third of America’s current oil use. Harness clean, renewable, homegrown energy sources. America has virtually limitless potential to take advantage of renewable energy to power our economy. The Great Plains has been called the “Saudi Arabia of wind” for its vast, high quality wind resource. Similarly, solar panels on just 7 percent of are currently covered by cities and homes could provide all of America’s electricity. By tapping our renewable energy potential, America can dramatically scale back its use of fossil fuels. According to our analysis, replacing nearly 25 percent of our energy with renewable sources by 2025 would allow us to save more than half of the natural gas per year in 2025 than is currently used in American homes, and 40 percent of all the coal America used in 2005. Save Energy. America has vast “strategic reserves” of energy efficiency. Virtually every part of the American economy has the potential to use energy more efficiently from the appliances we use in our kitchens, to the windows we use in our office buildings, and the motors we use in our factories. Cutting our use of energy by 10 percent would require reducing the amount of energy we are projected to use in 2025 by 27 percent. A series of recent studies suggest that we could cut our use of electricity and natural gas by more than 20 percent using energy-efficiency technologies that pay back their costs over time. We could get the rest of the way to our goal by investing in tomorrow’s technologies such as “zero-energy” homes that virtually eliminate the need for fossil fuels and “green” commercial buildings that slice demand for energy by 25 to 40 percent or more. Invest in a New Energy Future. By committing $30 billion over the next 10 years to the New Energy for America Initiative, we could triple research and development funding for the energy-saving and renewable technologies we need to achieve these goals. Spending $3 billion per year on federal clean energy research and development over the next decade would help us develop the next wave of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Projects could include developing the next wave of improvements in vehicle technology, investigating ways to store the energy created by wind and solar power, and finding the best ways to effectively use bio-fuels. Achieving the goal of a New Energy Future will not be an easy task, so we need leaders who are up to the challenge. By supporting these goals, candidates will send a clear message to voters that they are committed to putting American innovation to work in order to break America’s dependence on oil and put our nation on a course toward a cleaner and more secure tomorrow. The state PIRGs created U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) in 1983 to act as watchdog for the public interest in our nation's capital, much as PIRGs have worked to safeguard the public interest in state capitals since 1971. Our organization's roots at the state level, and U.S. PIRG members across the country, give us a unique "outside the beltway" perspective and provide the grassroots power necessary to influence the national policy debate. For more information on US PIRG or the New Energy Future Campaign, visit US PIRG at www.uspirg.org.
 Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance to Hold First Board Meeting by Kelly Ross-Gillespie With a fast growing population and an energy market heavily dependent upon fossil fuels, the Southeastern United States is a prime region in which energy-efficiency advocates can make a difference. Unfortunately, the Southeast region lags behind the rest of the nation in energy-efficiency programs and policies. However, help is on the way. Led by the Alliance to Save Energy, energy-efficiency supporters from across the Southeast gathered together to form the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA). The purpose of SEEA is to build regional partnerships among the SEEA stakeholders to promote and achieve energy efficiency through program activities and education for a cleaner environment, more prosperous economy, and higher quality of life in the Southeast region of the U.S. SEEA is proud to join other regional energy-efficiency alliances currently operating in every other region of the U.S. SEEA is based in Atlanta, Georgia and is active in the following 11 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Southeast is the nation’s leader in population, immigration. Consistently ranked among the nation’s largest and fastest growing regions, in 2004, 700,706 privately owned housing permits were issued across the Southeast – 34 percent of the national total (Census 2004). Electric utility energy efficiency program spending per capita in the Southeast is just one-fifth the national average, due to low energy prices. With a majority of the electricity generation coming from coal, energy savings levels experienced in other regions of the United States would significantly improve air quality across the region. In a “business as usual” scenario – without further energy-efficiency improvements – electricity consumption in the Southeast is expected to grow 45 percent by 2020 (REEP 2002). SEEA was created to help combat this scenario by creating networks that utility companies, local and state governments, and businesses can use to make energy efficiency a priority, and a reality in these states. SEEA held its first regional event in January 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia to promote the energy-efficiency tax incentives offered in the federal Energy Policy Act 2005. The workshop attracted more than 175 participants from 14 states. In August 2006, SEEA partnered with the Chatham Country-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission, Southface, Savannah Home Builders Association, and the USGBC to hold another tax incentives workshop in Savannah, Georgia, which attracted nearly 125 participants. SEEA has also held statewide meetings in Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina to educate energy-efficiency stakeholders on SEEA’s mission and goals and to also assess the status of energy efficiency in those states. SEEA plans to visit the remaining eight states of the region within the next year. The inaugural SEEA Board of Directors meeting will be held on October 12, 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia. Board members include Kateri Callahan and Brian Castelli from the Alliance to Save Energy, and representatives from Dewey Ballantine, Duke Energy, Georgia Tech, Southface, Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, North American Insulation Manufacturers Association, Owens Corning, Southern Company, and Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters. The Board will consider program and policy options, including a potential study on the energy-efficiency potential in the Southeast, and a Western Governors’ Association-like clean energy initiative. You can find SEEA on the web at www.seea.us.
Sent to Governor 9/5/06, Signed into Law 9/27/06 Assembly Bill 993 Assembly Bill 1012 Assembly Bill 1337 Assembly Bill 1407 Assembly Bill 1925 Assembly Bill 2021 Assembly Bill 2160 Assembly Bill 2264 Assembly Bill 2390 Assembly Bill 2600 Assembly Bill 2723 Assembly Bill 2756 Senate Bill 757 Senate Bill 1250 Senate Bill 1505 Senate Bill 1469 Senate Bill 1475 House Bill 2990 The Alliance Wants to Hear from You!
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