Community Energy Opportunity Finder : Case Stories

Northeast Residential Energy Star® Appliances Initiative
(www.neep.org/residentialappliances/index.html)
This initiative, sponsored by Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships,mInc. and others, is a residential market transformation program that promotes the acceptance of high-efficiency appliances in the residential market. Currently, it is promoting high efficiency clothes washers by creating a sustained demand for clothes washers that use less water and energy than standard washers.

Energy Star® Residential Lighting Program
(www.appliedproactive.com/northwestlighting.htm)
Administered by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), this program is found in some 130 different utilities in the Northwest. This particular program promotes Energy Star lighting products and works toward increasing the availability of such products.

Chicago's Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT)
(www.cnt.org)
The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) identified high-energy costs as a chronic factor in Chicago's high rate of housing abandonment. Landlords were raising rents, or deferring maintenance to meet these bills, both of which threatened the supply of affordable housing. Through its policy advocacy efforts, the Center secured a $15 million commitment, $5 million from the City of Chicago and $10 million from the People's Gas Light and Coke Co., for the Chicago Energy Savers Fund, a one stop residential energy conservation program. Then, the Center anchored a consortium of citywide and community groups, which successfully bid to manage the program through a network of eight Community Energy Centers managed by the community groups. The program was responsible for the retrofit of 12,000 units of low- and moderate-income housing. The multi-family components of the program resulted in average energy savings of twenty-four percent, representing $1.5 million per year.

GasNetworks Efficiency Programs
(www.gasnetworks.com/efficiency/applications.asp)
This is a collaborative program operated by numerous utilities including Bay State Gas Company, Berkshire Gas Company, KeySpan Energy Delivery, New Gas Company, NSTAR Gas, and Unitil Fitchburg Gas and Electric Company. The program promotes the installation of Energy Star gas furnaces, hot water boilers, and steam boilers to residential, small commercial, and industrial businesses. It does so through rebates and education of customers, builders, developers, and contractors.

Shade Tree Program
(www.sactree.com/trees/shade_trees.htm)
Operated by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and the non-profit Sacramento Tree Foundation (STF), this program offers free shade trees to residential and commercial customers. The shade trees reduce the amount of heat absorbed by a building thus reducing electricity use for air conditioning.

Cool Roof Program
(www.smud.org/commercial/saving/service/roof.html)
This market transformation program was designed by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District to expand the commercial retrofit and new construction roofing market to include highly reflective and emissive roof coatings and materials. It has done this by offering roofing contractors in Sacramento incentives and rebates on Energy Star®
Energy Star® Monitor Power Management Program
(http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_power_management)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency started this program to help organizations realize energy savings by managing computer monitor power use. Software automatically activates low-power sleep modes when monitors are not in use. An organization with 1,000 computers can typically save $17,000 annually with such a program.

Xcel Energy's Lighting Efficiency Program
(www.xcelenergy.com/XLWEB/CDA/0,2914,1-1-3_749_4481-779-5_406_664-0,00.html)

Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium – Lighting Retrofit
Before the stadium was demolished, Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates fans were treated to a show of efficient energy use at home games. After hearing of a lighting retrofit at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium, the chairman and the capital projects coordinator of Three Rivers Stadium implemented a $234,000 lighting retrofit that cut the stadium's power bills by $113,000 a year, paying for itself in about two years.

Multifamily Low-Income Program
(www.efficiencyvermont.com/index.cfm?L1=86&L2=170&L3=299&sub=bus)
This program is operated by Efficiency Vermont and offers new and existing low-income multifamily housing weatherization assistance. This is a comprehensive energy efficiency program and depending on the needs of the home, its measures could include building shell improvements, lighting, appliances, high-efficiency HVAC systems, high efficiency water heating, and fuel substitution where applicable.

Indiana Low-Income Weatherization and Refrigerator Replacement Program
(www.cinergypsi.com )
Operated in conjunction with the State of Indiana Weatherization and Indiana Community Action Programs, this program helps low-income families reduce their energy bills through weatherization, energy assistance, and education.

Assisted Multi-Family Building Program (AMP)
(www.getenergysmart.org/GES.portal)
Operated by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), this program is offered to households eligible for public assistance. Its "whole-building" comprehensively assesses buildings to determine what energy efficiency measures are needed. Depending on the owners' resources, financing options include low-interest loans and federal, state, local, and utility grant.