NEEA NEWSLETTER

MARCH 2010

NOTE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: A New Era of Energy Efficiency Much of the talk around energy efficiency today references “a new era” that promises to not only tackle climate change and reduce our dependence on oil, but also help our economy rebound with green jobs. I am pleased to see that there is momentum to turn this talk into action. Here in the Northwest our priorities around energy efficiency have never been more clear... [Read Now]

UNDERSTANDING BEHAVIOR CHANGE & HOW TO VERIFY ITS IMPACT: Q&A With Karen Horkitz In November of 2009 Karen Horkitz, director of NEEA’s evaluation and partner services, attended the 2009 Behavior, Energy & Climate Change (BECC) Conference. We sat down with Horkitz, who shared key take-aways from the BECC conference and discussed trends and opportunities for measuring the impact of behavior change initiatives. Horkitz brings to the discussion more than 20 years of experience in brand and product management, marketing research and strategy, and performance measurement and analysis... [Read Now]

NORTHWEST ADOPTS AGGRESSIVE BUILDING ENERGY CODES: NEEA Prepares Education & Training Outreach to Building Community According to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, the Northwest has saved nearly 3,900 aMW through energy efficiency from 1978 to 2008, which is the equivalent to powering four cities the size of Seattle each year. Of this 3,900 aMW, 1,500 aMW are the direct result from more stringent building codes and product standards alone. This year the Northwest continued to show its national leadership in energy efficiency by adopting aggressive energy code updates, locking in long-term energy savings for the region for years to come. [Read Now]

NEEA AT-A-GLANCE Environmental Protection Agency Recognizes NEEA with 2010 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded NEEA with the 2010 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award in recognition of its continued leadership in protecting our environment through energy efficiency. NEEA’s accomplishments were recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 18, 2010... NEEA Adopts Aggressive 5-Year Sustainability Plan As part of its commitment to sustainability, NEEA is focusing on its own environmental footprint. In December 2009, NEEA completed a comprehensive sustainability assessment of its 2009 carbon and social impacts. Based on this assessment, NEEA has adopted five 5-year sustainability goals... [Read Now]

NEEA RESIDENTIAL INITIATIVES AT-A-GLANCE NEEA Exceeds Year-End Goals for Northwest Ductless Heat Pump Pilot Project NEEA ended 2009 by greatly exceeding its Northwest Ductless Heat Pump Pilot Project installation goals. By the end of 2009, NEEA installed 3,899 ductless heat pump (DHP) units in 59 utility areas, exceeding the project goal by 56 percent... [Read Now]

NEEA INDUSTRIAL INITIATIVES AT-A-GLANCE NEEA Executive Director Makes Business Case for Energy Efficiency at Second Annual Industrial Energy Efficiency Summit Representatives from industry, government, utilities and supporting organizations across the Northwest gathered in Portland for the second annual Industrial Energy Efficiency Summit, which reinforces industry’s commitment to a collaborative, regional energy efficiency strategy to sustain the vitality of the industrial manufacturing sector in the Northwest... U.S. DOE and NEEA Recognize ‘Save Energy Now’ Leaders The United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) and NEEA Recognized ‘Save Energy Now’ leaders at the 2010 Industrial Energy Efficiency Summit January 20... NEEA Launches Northwest Energy Management Demonstration Project Website NEEA recently launched the new Northwest Energy Management Demonstration Project website to help participating companies succeed in implementing comprehensive energy management systems and be among the first in the world to register for ISO 50001 in 2011... [Read Now]

COMMERCIAL INITIATIVES AT-A-GLANCE NEEA Holds Seventh Annual Portland BetterBricks Awards NEEA held its seventh annual Portland BetterBricks Awards February 11, where it honored 12 green building professionals... NEEA Partners with Cushman & Wakefield to Publish Green Building Opportunity Index New Index Marries Real Estate Economics with Green Design Metrics NEEA’S BetterBricks initiative recently partnered with Cushman & Wakefield to publish an innovative Green Building Opportunity Index, a comprehensive ranking of the top 25 U.S. markets for high-performance, energy-efficient office buildings... [Read Now]

NEEA EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AT-A-GLANCE NEEA Re-Opens Unsolicited Proposal Process NEEA has re-opened its unsolicited proposal process as part of its initiative to engage the region in dialogue about emerging technology opportunities and promote regional innovation... The DesignLights™ Consortium Releases Listings of Qualified Lighting Products NEEA is supporting the DesignLights™ Consortium (DLC), a national group promoting increased efficiency and quality in lighting products. The DLC recently released a Qualified Products List for qualified solid-state lighting commercial lighting products that are not currently covered under ENERGY STAR... The Northwest Outlines an Emerging Technology Roadmap NEEA and the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), with the support of regional and national energy efficiency experts, recently completed an energy efficiency technology roadmap that identifies emerging technology trends for the next 20 years... [Read Now]

NEEA PARTNER SERVICES INITIATIVES AT-A-GLANCE NEEA Re-Launches Northwest Research Group, Convenes First Meeting On November 10, 2009 NEEA convened the first meeting of the recently re-launched Northwest Research Group... NEEA Completes Discovery Phase of Online Regional Energy Efficiency Portal NEEA recently completed the discovery phase on a project to develop an online regional energy efficiency portal that will facilitate regional communication and collaboration... [Read Now]

RECENTLY RELEASED REPORTS NEEA recently posted the following reports: Home Appraisers Qualitative Market Research Study Evaluation of Codes and Standards Initiative 2009 Northwest Commercial Building Stock Assessment [Read Now]

UPCOMING EVENTS [Read Now]