EERE: New Fuel Economy Standards and the Top Ten Green Buildings

A weekly newsletter from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The EERE Network News is also available on the Web at: www.eere.energy.gov/news/enn.cfm April 30, 2008 News and Events Proposed New Standards to Increase Fuel Economy by 25% by 2015 EPA Establishes New Energy Star Criteria for Set-Top Boxes American Architects Name Top Ten Green Buildings for 2008 Los Angeles Approves an Aggressive Green Building Ordinance Maryland Approves Wide-Ranging Clean Energy Bills Austin Energy Maintains U.S. Lead in Green Power Sales Energy Connections Researchers Note Rising Levels of Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases

News and Events Proposed New Standards to Increase Fuel Economy by 25% by 2015 The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed new fuel economy standards last week that will result in a 25% increase in fuel economy by 2015. The proposed new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards apply to cars and light trucks—pickups, vans, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs)—starting with vehicles in model year 2011, most of which will go on sale in late 2010. The proposed standards increase fuel economy by 4.5% per year for five years, ending with model year 2015. For passenger cars, the proposal would increase fuel economy from the current 27.5 miles per gallon (mpg) to 35.7 mpg by 2015. For light trucks, the proposal calls for increases from 23.5 mpg in 2010 to 28.6 mpg in 2015. The proposed standards are the first step in implementing a 40% increase in fuel economy by 2020, as mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. See the DOT press release and the article from this newsletter on the energy act. If the new standards are put in place as proposed, they will save nearly 55 billion gallons of fuel while cutting roughly 521 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Drivers that buy the new vehicles covered by the standards will collectively save more than $100 billion in fuel costs over the lifetime of the vehicles. The DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will accept comments on the proposed standards for 60 days after their publication in the Federal Register. In addition, the NHTSA is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to address the potential environmental impacts of the proposed standards and is seeking suggestions on the environmental issues and reasonable alternative to be addressed in the EIS. The NHTSA is also requesting information from automakers on how they plan to meet the proposed rules. See the full proposal and related documents on the NHTSA Web site. Although the new standards will mandate increases in fuel economy starting in late 2010, the current record-high prices for gasoline and diesel fuel are causing consumers to emphasize fuel economy now, and that shift in mindset is already influencing automakers' production plans. On Monday, General Motors Corporation (GM) announced that it will cut production of its full-size trucks by eliminating one production shift at four North American assembly plants: three that build full-size pickups and one that builds SUVs. The changes will cause GM to produce 138,000 fewer full-size trucks this year. On Tuesday, GM launched a new edition of its Chevrolet Cobalt, called the XFE for "Xtra Fuel Economy." Available in manual-transmission versions of both the sedan and the coupe, the Cobalt XFE will achieve an estimated 25 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway through the combination of a revised engine calibration, low-rolling-resistance tires, and a higher gear ratio in the fifth gear. The Chevrolet Cobalt XFE is on sale now. The American Automobile Association's "Fuel Gauge Report" listed new record highs for motor fuels on Tuesday, with the national average for regular gasoline hitting $3.607 per gallon and diesel fuel hitting $4.244 per gallon. See the GM press releases on the production cuts and the Cobalt XFE, and for the latest fuel prices, see the Fuel Gauge Report. EPA Establishes New Energy Star Criteria for Set-Top Boxes The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized new Energy Star requirements for set-top boxes on April 23. Starting on January 1, 2009, new cable, satellite, and telecom set-top boxes that carry the Energy Star must be at least 30% more efficient than conventional models. The requirements will tighten further in 2011. The new Energy Star requirements for set-top boxes are the logical follow-up to the new Energy Star requirements for televisions, which will take effect on November 1. The Energy Star program is a joint effort of DOE and the EPA. See the EPA press release. The EPA will also partner with the cable, satellite and telecommunications companies to encourage them to deploy more Energy Star-qualified set-top boxes. Starting in 2009, partners in the program will have to assure that either half of their new set-top boxes carry the Energy Star or that at least 10% of the set-top boxes used by their subscribers are Energy Star-qualified. The latter option increases to 25% of the set-top boxes in 2010. The partners must also assure that the set-top boxes work as intended and must educate their customers about the benefits of Energy Star-qualified set-top boxes. See the new set-top box specifications and partner requirements on the Energy Star Web site. American Architects Name Top Ten Green Buildings for 2008 The Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life in New Orleans, Louisiana, is oriented to take advantage of prevailing breezes. Walls cooled with chilled water and air-cooled metal ceilings help to keep the building comfortable during hot summer days. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment have named the top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green building design solutions for 2008. The efficient buildings draw on a variety of energy-saving technologies, including efficient lighting, daylighting, passive solar heating, natural ventilation, thermal mass, earth berms, and green roofs. For mechanical heating, the buildings draw on a range of technologies, including a wood-pellet boiler, radiant floor heating, and ground- and air-source heat pumps. Cooling technologies include demand-controlled ventilation and fans with variable-frequency drive motors. Four of the buildings employ displacement ventilation, which provides air at more moderate temperatures at low velocities, in a way that gradually displaces the stale air in the room with the fresh ventilation air. One of the top ten buildings, the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center even features "Earth tubes," pipes buried below the foundation to moderate the temperature of incoming ventilation air. The buildings range from a temporary, modular building for exhibits to a high-rise condominium. Most are institutional buildings, including a library, a visitor center, two K-12 school buildings, two university buildings, and the headquarters for a foundation. The AIA's Top Ten Green Projects program is sponsored in part by DOE and the Energy Star program, a joint effort of DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The projects will be honored at the AIA 2008 National Convention and Design Exposition in Boston, Massachusetts, in mid-May. See the AIA press release and top-ten list. Los Angeles Approves an Aggressive Green Building Ordinance Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed a law on Earth Day that requires all new large building projects in the city to meet green building standards. Touted as the most aggressive green building plan of any big city in the United States, the new law requires any new building with more than 50,000 square feet of floor space or consisting of more than 50 units to meet the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building standard of the U.S. Green Building Council. In exchange, the city will work with builders to speed up approvals and to remove obstacles in the municipal code for elements of sustainable building design, such as green rooftops, cisterns, and permeable pavement. Builders who go the extra step to pursue LEED Silver certification will benefit from expedited processing of their building applications. See the mayor's press release (PDF 33 KB) and the city's green building Web page. Download Adobe Reader. Maryland Approves Wide-Ranging Clean Energy Bills Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley signed a package of energy bills last week that will set new renewable energy requirements for the state, institute utility energy efficiency programs, and offer new funding and incentives for clean energy. House Bill (HB) 375 more than doubles the state's requirements for renewable power, requiring 20% of the state's electricity to be produced from renewable energy by 2022. Compared to previous legislation, the new law slows the growth in the so-called renewable portfolio standard (RPS) over the next several years, then accelerates it starting in 2011. It still maintains a requirement for 2% of the state's power to come from solar energy by 2011. On the energy efficiency side, HB 374 establishes a state goal of achieving a 15% reduction in per capita electricity use and peak demand by the end of 2015. The bill requires the state's utilities to implement energy efficiency programs and tasks the Maryland Public Service Commission with tracking progress toward the goal. In addition, HB 376 requires buildings constructed or renovated solely with state funds to meet tough green building standards, equivalent to a silver rating from the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system. The governor also approved HB 373, which encourages transit-oriented development. See the related press release from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. In terms of funding and incentives, HB 368 establishes the Maryland Strategic Energy Investment Fund, which combines utility fees for non-compliance with the RPS along with proceeds from the sale of greenhouse gas allowances under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The fund will invest in a wide range of clean energy projects and programs. HB 377 increases the grants under the Solar Energy Grant Program, which now offers grants of $2,500 per kilowatt of solar electric power, capped at $10,000, and 30% of the cost of solar water heating systems, capped at $3,000. It also enhances the Geothermal Heat Pump Grant Program, which now offers grants of $1,000 per ton of cooling capacity, capped at $3,000 for residential systems and $10,000 for non-residential systems. The bill also exempts solar energy equipment and geothermal heat pumps from sales and use taxes and exempts solar energy equipment from local property taxes. Finally, HB 117 creates easements for solar energy systems to prevent projects that would block the sunlight. It also prohibits unreasonable restrictions on solar energy systems, such as homeowner association covenants against their installation. See the governor's press release. Austin Energy Maintains U.S. Lead in Green Power Sales The municipal utility for Austin, Texas, sold more than 577 million kilowatt-hours of electricity from renewable sources in 2007, holding onto its top spot in the United States for utility sales of green power, according to DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). More than 800 utilities across the United States offer voluntary green programs to their customers, according to NREL, which released its annual ranking of the leading utility green power programs on April 22. Total utility green power sales exceeded 4.5 billion kilowatt-hours in 2007, about a 20% increase over 2006. For the sixth time in a row, Austin Energy leads the pack for total sales. Austin Energy also comes in second for its percentage of total electricity sales that are green power sales, at 5%, beat out only by the Edmond Electric, the municipal utility for Edmond, Oklahoma, which is at 5.7% of total electricity sales. Other leading utilities include Xcel Energy, which has the greatest number of participants in its program at 75,534. Helped by its huge size, Xcel Energy has led that category for the past five years. On the smaller end of the scale, the municipal utility for Palo Alto, California, led the nation for the third year in a row in terms of the percentage of customers participating in their program. The municipal utility achieved a 20.4% participation rate, pulling far ahead of its nearest rival, the municipal utility for Lenox, Iowa, which has a 14.3% participation rate. See the NREL press release and the top ten lists of utility green power programs (including links to earlier lists) on the Green Power Network Web site. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also updated its list of the leading purchasers of green power. The list has changed little over the past three months, with Intel Corporation still leading overall, Whole Foods Market leading the retail pack, the U.S. Air Force leading among government agencies, and the City of Dallas, Texas, leading among local governments. However, the University of Pennsylvania managed to overtake New York University in green power purchases, helping the Ivy League to win the crown as the top conference for green power purchases. The EPA announced the conference champs on Monday. See the EPA Green Power Partnership Web site, the EPA press release and the College & University Green Power Challenge Web page.

Energy Connections Researchers Note Rising Levels of Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported last week that the levels of carbon dioxide and methane in Earth's atmosphere increased significantly in 2007. Global levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased by 0.6%, or 19 billion tons. More troubling is a 27-million-ton increase in methane, which hasn't increased since 1998. NOAA researchers attribute the methane increase to rapid industrialization in Asia and rising emissions from wetlands in the Arctic and tropics, but they're not quite sure which sources are causing the sudden increase. But so far, the effect remains relatively small: even accounting for methane being 25 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, last year's rise in methane levels would be equal to about 675 million tons of carbon dioxide. Last year's rise in carbon dioxide levels was 28 times larger. See the NOAA press release.

This newsletter is funded by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and is also available on the EERE Web site. You can subscribe to the EERE Network News using our simple online form, . If you have questions or comments about this newsletter, please contact the editor, Kevin Eber.