Research & Reports
The Clean Air Task Force (CATF), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) and Earthworks have released Latino Communities at Risk: The Impact of Air Pollution from the Oil and Gas Industry and a related interactive map that demonstrate, for the first time, the specific risks to Latino communities of diseases from airborne pollutants from oil and gas development.
Financing Energy Upgrades for K-12 School Districts: A Guide to Tapping Into Funding for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Improvements, is a new April 2013 whitepaper from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), U.S. Department of Energy, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors & The Rockefeller Foundation have re-released their March 2012 study on sizing and financing the Energy Efficiency market, United States Building Energy Efficiency Retrofits: Market Sizing and Financing Models. The study examines the potential size and investment opportunity of upgrading and replacing energy-consuming equipment in US real estate. The paper highlights this investment opportunity, with the potential for significant economic, climate, and employment impact.

ACORE's November 2012 report, Renewable Energy in the 50 States report provides an executive summary on the status of renewable energy implementation at the state-level. The report provides a two-page, high-level overview on the key developments that have shaped the renewable energy landscape in each state, including information on installed and planned capacity, markets, economic development, resource potential and policy. The report is a "living" document that will continue to evolve with updates and periodic revision.
Recently, disclosure policies that encourage or require the provision of energy-use information to renters, buyers, owners and operators of buildings have begun to break down barriers to investment in efficiency measures, according to a September 2012 review released by Policy Matters Ohio. The new report reviews the barriers to adoption of energy-efficiency measures, lays out basic elements of existing energy disclosure policies, and describes how communities have put good policies in place. It’s one piece of Policy Matters Ohio’s “Sustainable Communities Toolkit,” which serves as a resource to reporters, community stakeholders, policy makers, and others interested in a high-road approach to development that protects the environment, boosts the economy and promotes equity.
As the energy efficiency of products, homes, and businesses improves, it becomes less expensive to operate them. The rebound effect, as described in this August 2012 whitepaper from ACEEE, is a postulate that people increase their use of products and facilities as a result of this reduction in operating costs, thereby reducing the energy savings achieved. Periodically over the years, some analysts raise questions about the rebound effect, arguing that it is a major factor that needs to be accounted for when analyzing energy efficiency programs. This paper is written in “question and answer” format and is designed to summarize what we know, what we do not, and—given what we know—how large the rebound effect is likely to be.
As cities like Los Angeles, Seattle and Milwaukee are showing, policymakers have an opportunity to support good jobs through incentives for building owners to improve energy efficiency. As some of the largest real estate centers in the nation take up the "green" retrofitting of commercial buildings, a new briefing paper from the National Employment Law Project shows that these projects not only have the potential to improve energy efficiency, save money and help the environment - they are also powerful job creation tools. August 2012.
On July 18, 2012, New Energy Cities released Powering the New Energy Future from the Ground Up: Profiles in City-Led Clean Energy Innovation, a report featuring 34 small- and medium-sized cities that are pioneering a wide range of solutions in energy efficiency, renewable energy, electric vehicles, and carbon-reducing transportation strategies.
Working paper from ACEEE: Role of Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives in the Context of Tax Reform. This paper reviews experience with current and past energy efficiency tax incentives and based on this experience provides some guidelines on the most effective ways to apply limited funds to maximize long-term energy savings. The paper also includes an analysis of the costs and savings of 13 specific proposals, ranking them on federal cost per million btu of energy saved. July 2012.
June 20, 2012 marked the launch of EnergyFactCheck.org, a new and useful online resource for anyone engaged in the debate over clean and renewable energy. Providing real-time information, EnergyFactCheck.org is designed to help ensure both sides of the story are told by responding to inaccuracies and misrepresentations with the facts. EnergyFactCheck.org was created in partnership with the Surdna Foundation and Spitfire Strategies, and is a resource of the American Council On Renewable Energy.


IMT and the Appraisal Institute recently released a guide to energy performance and property valuation, entitled Recognition Of Energy Costs and Energy Performance in Real Property Valuation: Considerations and Resources for Appraisers. May 2012.

The California Statewide Benchmarking Process Evaluation is a report submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission on the plausible impact and possible obstacles of implementing California's rating and disclosure policy. The first few pages provide a great summary. April 2012.

Enterprise Green Communities released their Incremental Cost, Measurable Savings Updates report, to illustrate the cost effectiveness of the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria and outline the long-term benefits of green building methods. ECC Board Member Dana Bourland is Enterprise's Vice President of Green Initiatives and is featured in the report. 2012.



Utility Programs Available to Reduce Energy Costs in 40 States: Natural gas utilities have been instrumental in helping their customers manage and reduce their energy costs by providing programs that assist their customers with improving the energy efficiency of their homes. A new report released by ECC partner ACEEE, A National Review of Natural Gas Energy Efficiency Programs, documents the rapid growth of these types of programs across the U.S. January 5, 2012.

