American Solar Energy Society » greenhouse gas emissions http://www.ases.org Leading the Renewable Energy Revolution Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:14:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association Receives Grant to Catalyze the Market for Zero Net Energy Homes! http://www.ases.org/the-northeast-sustainable-energy-association-receives-grant-to-catalyze-the-market-for-zero-net-energy-homes/ http://www.ases.org/the-northeast-sustainable-energy-association-receives-grant-to-catalyze-the-market-for-zero-net-energy-homes/#comments Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:01:38 +0000 Chelsea Dunbar http://www.ases.org/?p=11936 NESEA_logo_black_wtextThe Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) has a mission to advance the adoption of sustainable energy practices in the built environment. The organization was awarded a $125,000 grant by the Boston-based Barr Foundation last month to catalyze the market for “zero net energy homes”- which actually generate more energy than they use. In Boston, the release of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings accounts for 74 percent of the city’s carbon footprint. The building of these homes and encouraging the adoption of techniques of extremely energy efficient building can substantially reduce building related GHG-emissions. This type of work is not only cost effective, but it also improves indoor air quality and associated health outcomes, and it a generator of local jobs that cannot be outsourced.

More than five years ago NESEA introduced its annual “Zero Net Energy Building Award”, which offers a $10,000 prize for the best example of a building in the Northeast that produces more energy than it consumes. Since then nearly 30 applicants from seven states have been eligible for this prestigious award. With this grant, NESEA plans to tackle three barriers to the widespread adoption of zero net energy buildings: lack of access to examples of successful projects, lack of widespread technical knowledge with respect to how to complete these projects, and perceptions that zero net energy construction is not cost effective. NESEA is taking action by creating a database of zero net energy homes in the Northeast, with a goal of at least 30 case studies by the end of the grant in June 2014. NESEA will also produce a white paper to share the best practices learned from the examples that populate the database and provide training, via a 10-week online course. Participants in the course will learn how to model and undertake a residential zero net energy project. Students who complete Rosenbaum’s course and subsequently undertake a net zero project will be eligible for tuition reimbursement, as well as an additional stipend if they submit their project into the NESEA database. These efforts have great potential to deliver a substantial decline in GHG-emissions from buildings in the Northeast.

Source: Press Release: Breaking- We’re Going To Catalyze The Market for Zero Net Energy Homes

]]> http://www.ases.org/the-northeast-sustainable-energy-association-receives-grant-to-catalyze-the-market-for-zero-net-energy-homes/feed/ 2 CARB Chair Discusses California’s Just-Implemented Cap-And-Trade Program! http://www.ases.org/carb-chair-discusses-californias-just-implemented-cap-and-trade-program/ http://www.ases.org/carb-chair-discusses-californias-just-implemented-cap-and-trade-program/#comments Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:51:38 +0000 Chelsea Dunbar http://www.ases.org/?p=11440 ArblogowCalifornia Air Resources Board (CARB) Mary Nichols spoke of California’s new cap-and-trade program at the sixth annual VerdeXchange conference. This program is aimed at cutting the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by providing a market mechanism allowing emitters to buy offsets and emission permissions and to also sell them if they switch to using renewables. This program places a hard cap on emissions that will ratchet down over time. CARB now has an electronic auction platform which will take place in late February, and will be offering 12,924,822 GHG allowances for sale. There have also been purchase limits developed to regulate the number of allowances one entity may purchase from the share of allowances sold at a quarterly auction. Companies subject to this program will also be able to achieve compliance through the purchase of offsets approved under protocols that California developed. California is determined for this cap-and-trade program to be successful, which will be greatly affected by remaining strict legislation on accounting standards.

Source: greentechmedia. CARB Chair Mary Nichols on Carbon Trading

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