Environmental Law & Policy Center

The Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC) has been a strong advocate for energy efficiency since its inception. In 2002, thanks in large part to the efforts and leadership of Howard Learner and the energy team at ELPC, an innovative Energy Title (Title IX) was included for the first time in the Federal Farm Bill. Title IX provides more than $200 million in financial incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy development on family farms and ranches. Since that time, ELPC has actively promoted the funding to farmers and small business owners to ensure the viability of the program into the future. Demand has increased markedly for the program and specifically for the energy efficiency grants, which now comprise 51 percent of the total awards.

ELPC worked very closely with Senator Harkin and a bipartisan group of senators who introduced in September the new "Rural Energy for America Act of 2006," an ambitious farm energy bill that would increase current Farm Bill clean energy funding to $250 million annually by 2012. ELPC has also been working with other environmental, energy and agricultural colleagues to prepare for and increase funding for the energy efficiency programs in the 2007 Farm Bill.

In Illinois, ELPC waged a successful two-year public advocacy campaign for an energy efficiency building code. In 2004 the Illinois General Assembly passed the Illinois Energy Efficient Commercial Building Act, HB 4099, and the bill was signed by Governor Blagojevich. HB 4099 requires all new construction or substantial rehab of existing buildings to meet energy efficiency standards established by the International Energy Conservation Code. It covers all commercial, industrial and multi-unit residential properties.

Nationwide, Illinois was the largest energy-consuming state in the nation without an energy efficient building code, and one of only twelve states with no energy code for commercial construction. The projected energy savings resulting from the new energy code range from 3.8 trillion Btus five years after adoption to 22.3 trillion Btus twenty years out. This year, ELPC staff are currently working to extend the efficiency bill to residential buildings as well.

Furthermore, ELPC was the main catalyst for the creation of an Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard in the Sustainable Energy Plan submitted by Governor Blagojevich to the Illinois Commerce Commission. In August of 2005, the Commission issued its initial approval of the plan, and in January 2006 ordered the establishment of dockets for the proceedings. Under the Efficiency Portfolio Standard, utilities will purchase increasing percentages of energy efficiency demand reductions through a competitive process parallel to the utility purchases of power. Thus the plan supports the purchase of negawatts on equal footing with the purchase of megawatts, a genuinely visionary plan.

In all three instances—the Energy Title of the Farm Bill, the Commercial Building Code, and the Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard—these landmark policies would not have come into being without the efforts of ELPC staff. In each instance, ELPC staff and Executive Director Howard Learner have brought diverse stakeholders to the table as energy efficiency supporters. ELPC is the key non-profit sustainable energy partner of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Ranking Member Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) commended ELPC for “its bipartisan approach in promoting solutions to our nation’s challenging environmental problems. In proposing ideas for an energy title, we noted that the ELPC provided input to legislators on both sides of the aisle to craft policies aimed at the development of clean biomass energy, wind power and energy efficiency programs and technologies.” DCEO concurs and is very pleased to submit this nomination for the Andromeda Award.