Letter from the President’s Desk: LUMEN, Watergy, Student EE Awards

Dear Friends,

Congress has just returned from a two-week recess for Spring Break, so we’re taking a hiatus from our usual policy talk until next week – when we expect BIG NEWS from our Honorary Chair, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Stay tuned for another note from me on this very exciting and important news from Capitol Hill.  But, in the meantime, I take this opportunity to tell you about some of the great and important work the Alliance is doing beyond the policy front:

LUMEN: An Innovative Lighting Campaign

Waves of misinformation have been spreading on the new light bulb standards, and the Alliance is here to set everything straight. We knew that a successful, national transition to efficient lighting would require a coordinated, concerted and continuing effort by a broad array of stakeholders.  For this reason, the Alliance has joined with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and the American Lighting Association to spearhead a consumer outreach and education campaign that now includes more than 40 partners.  I wish I could take credit for the clever campaign name – LUMEN, for “Lighting Understanding for a More Efficient Nation” – but it is the handiwork of the talented NEMA staff!

With our LUMEN partners, we have developed materials and a strategy to monitor and rapidly respond to inaccurate news stories about lighting. To date, the Alliance has secured positive media coverage for EE lighting, including stories in The Washington Post, USA Today and The Hill as well as on TV and radio, including NPR. In the coming weeks we will be unveiling a website, educational tools and point-of-sale displays conveying a unified message about the benefits of efficient lighting. That message will focus on how EISA requires increased efficiency – and does not ban incandescents or mandate CFLs. In fact, consumers will have more lighting choices than ever before, and will save energy and money with the new efficient bulbs. 

While we already have 43 partners and six government “advisors,” we do not yet have dedicated funding for the effort and we always welcome new partners.  If you want to join us in this important consumer education and outreach initiative, please contact our EVP for Communications, Gail Hendrickson, at ghendrickson@ase.org.

First U.S. Watergy Project to Save Big on Energy, Bills

Our Industrial Team has established the very first Watergy project in the United States, which involves seven Bucks County (Pennsylvania) Water and Sewer Authority (BCWSA) facilities. We just concluded the first assessment, and I am proud to say that the energy and water efficiency changes being put in place at the seven facilities will save BCWSA more than 20% in annual energy expenses.

These estimated savings of $361,000 per year mean BCWSA's Watergy investment will be paid back in only about two years, and then the county will continue to reap the savings for years and years into the future. We detailed our work with BCWSA at this week’s "EE Noon: The Watergy Approach" seminar on May 4, and hope to start new Watergy projects across the nation.

Green Campus Program Sweeps Student EE Awards

Finally, on the very good news front, for the 7th straight year the Alliance Education Team’s Green Campus Program has swept the Best Practice Awards in Student Energy Efficiency in California!  The UC San Francisco Green Campus interns were awarded based on their series of successful energy efficiency assessments at four campus-owned housing locations. The Cal State Fullerton Green Campus team developed a course guide and for-credit internship program, and conducted an LED lighting retrofit.

Our winning teams from UC San Francisco and Cal State Fullerton will be recognized for their accomplishments at the 8th Annual California Higher Education Sustainability Conference this summer in Long Beach, California.  We couldn’t be more proud to have a hand in helping to bring forward the next generation of energy efficiency advocates. 
                                                             
So, as we gear up for a big week on Capitol Hill, we enter into this new phase with a wealth of new work and forward progress on many other fronts.

I hope you all are having a terrific spring,

Best,

Kateri Callahan