Listen to Mississippi Public Radio interview of Bo Smith, Cornerstone Lending and Dr. Ben Mokry, Senior Vice President at MHC explain the program

“This program will have an enormous impact on the 48 communities statewide that have been identified as having high foreclosure rates,” said Dianne Bolen, Executive Director of MHC. “Over the next twelve months, the Home Buyer Advantage program will help homebuyers get good value for their money while simultaneously helping their neighbors protect the value of their homes. It’s a real win-win situation for everyone involved,” she continued.

MHC estimates the Home Buyer Advantage program will help home buyers purchase 600 to 700 foreclosed properties in Mississippi. Qualified home buyers purchasing a foreclosed property are immediately eligible for a $14,999 grant. The second component of the Home Buyer Advantage Program provides an additional grant of up to $25,000 based on the buyer’s credit score. The grants are forgiven over a period of five years for the initial grant and an additional five years for the credit score-based component.

“The Home Buyer Advantage program will provide much-needed stability to communities across Mississippi that have been impacted by foreclosures,” explained Dr. Ben Mokry, Senior Vice President at MHC. “By this time next year, we will have helped these communities avoid the blight of foreclosure to remain healthy and vibrant. That is our ultimate goal with the program,” he added.

The Home Buyer Advantage program is funded by the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which was created in 2008 by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act. MHC has until September 2010 to utilize its $20.7 million grant before the unused funds must be returned to the federal government. The following communities are eligible for the Home Buyer Advantage program: Batesville, Booneville, Brandon, Byhalia, Canton, Carthage, Clarksdale, Cleveland, Clinton, Coldwater, Columbia, Columbus, Corinth, Greenville, Greenwood, Grenada, Hattiesburg, Hernando, Holly Springs, Horn Lake, Itta Bena, Jackson, Kosciusko, Laurel, Lumberton, Madison, Magnolia, McComb, Meridian, Natchez, Nesbit, New Albany, Olive Branch, Oxford, Pearl, Petal, Pontotoc, Raymond, Ridgeland, Senatobia, Southaven, Starkville, Sumrall, Terry, Tupelo, Vicksburg, Walls, and Yazoo City.

For more information about the Home Buyer Advantage program, including detailed program guidelines and a list of approved lenders, visit www.mshomecorp.com/hba. Parties who wish to learn more about the Mississippi Home Corporation should contact MHC directly at 601.718.INFO (4636) or at www.mshomecorp.com.

If Harry Truman were running for president today, he’d probably ‘Give ‘em Green,’ rather than ‘Give ‘em Hell.’ Bill Clinton’s campaign slogan would be, ‘It’s the environment, stupid.’ And Herbert Hoover might be promising a solar panel on every roof, rather than a chicken in every pot – and the pot would sit on a smart-metered stove, powered by a plug-in hybrid, eligible for renewable energy certificates.

Today, green credentials count. Hardly a day goes by without a mayor, governor or legislator claiming some sort of first, best or highest green energy goal.

That’s why the state energy efficiency scorecard, released this week by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, is significant. It carries political currency.

Bragging rights go to California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon and New York,* the top five states (in that order) doing good by energy efficiency.  Some red faces, however, might be found in Nebraska, Alabama, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Wyoming, the group that ACEEE says “most needs to improve.”

States are expected to continue their pursuit of energy efficiency into the next decade. The ACEEE reports that utility ratepayer-funds for efficiency will likely grow from $3.1 billion in 2008 to $5.4-$12 billion in 2020.

What’s most interesting is that so much money and effort is being put into energy efficiency now – during the Great Recession – when states face deficits. This defies conventional behavior: Historically, Americans worry about the environment only when the economy is sound.  It appears that green energy advocates have successfully imprinted in the American psyche a link between renewable energy and efficiency and economic prosperity.

In Part 2 of this interview, Lisa Cohn of Energy Efficiency Markets continues her interview with Josh Schellenberg, senior analyst at Freeman, Sullivan & Co. about California’s statewide base interruptible program, one of the largest DR programs in the country, with nearly 1,000 MW of load reduction capacity. Josh has a blog at www.energydsm.com.

For example, would it have been wiser if Congress pursued cap and trade one year and a renewable energy standard another? I’ve asked this question a lot during interviews the past few weeks, and received a range of responses. But what I found most enlightening, at least from an energy efficiency perspective, was a webinar offered by Bill Prindle, vice president at ICF International.

Here’s what I took away: Energy efficiency helps the carbon reduction cause. But the carbon reduction cause doesn’t do much for efficiency.

Most versions of cap and trade programs now on the table do not recognize the value of demand-side resources in reducing emissions.  Credit goes to emissions reductions at the power plant level, not at the retail customer level. So while my new, efficient heat pump will cut my energy use and therefore carbon emissions, this action is not acknowledged anywhere in a cap and trade system. Cap and trade offers no financial reward to the consumer or business that invests in energy efficiency measures.

In a perfect world, lawmakers would rethink cap and trade to encompass demand-side efficiency. But it appears that political and technical obstructions make that difficult. This is bad news – and downright odd – given that energy efficiency is widely acknowledged to be the cheapest way to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

So what’s to be done?

In Part One of this interview, Lisa Cohn of Energy Efficiency Markets interviews Josh Schellenberg, senior analyst, Freeman, Sullivan and Co.–who specializes in demand-side program evaluation–about the role of DSM in integrating wind into the grid.

Listen!

Tax credits are now available for home improvements:

• must be “placed in service” from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010
• must be for taxpayer’s principal residence, EXCEPT for geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters, solar panels, and small wind energy systems (where second homes qualify)
• $1,500 is the maximum total amount that can be claimed for all products placed in service in 2009 & 2010 for most home improvements, EXCEPT for geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters, solar panels, fuel cells, and small wind energy systems which are not subject to this cap, and are in effect through 2016
• must have a Manufacturer Certification Statement to qualify
• for record keeping, save your receipts and the Manufacturer Certification Statement
• improvements made in 2009 will be claimed on your 2009 taxes (filed by April 15, 2010) — use IRS Tax Form 5695 (2009 version) — it will be available late 2009 or early 2010
• If you are building a new home, you can qualify for the tax credit for geothermal heat pumps, photovoltaics, solar water heaters, small wind energy systems and fuel cells, but not the tax credits for windows, doors, insulation, roofs, HVAC, or non-solar water heaters.

Product Category Product Type Tax Credit Specification Tax Credit Notes Insulation Insulation Meets 2009 IECC & Amendments 30% of cost, up to $1,500¹ FAQ on Insulation.

Check to see if you have Home Performance with ENERGY STAR in your areas. Adding insulation to your home is covered. Windows & Doors Windows, Doors, and Skylights Before June 1, 2009:
Must meet ENERGY STAR criteria

After June 1, 2009:
U factor <= 0.30

SHGC <= 0.30 30% of cost, up to $1,500¹ Not all ENERGY STAR labeled windows, doors, and skylights qualify for tax credit.

More information Storm Windows & Storm Doors In combination with the exterior window over which it is installed:

1. has a U-factor and SHGC of 0.30 or below
2. Meets the IECC

Package systems:
SEER >= 14, EER >= 12 30% of cost, up to $1,500¹ FAQ on Central ACs.

FAQ on Air Source Heat Pumps.

Note — not all ENERGY STAR products will qualify for the tax credit. Air Source Heat Pumps Split Systems:
HSPF >= 8.5, EER >= 12.5, SEER >= 15

Package systems:
HSPF >= 8, EER >= 12, SEER >= 14 30% of cost, up to $1,500¹ Natural Gas or Propane Furnace AFUE >= 95 30% of cost, up to $1,500¹ FAQ on Furnaces and Boilers.

Note — not all ENERGY STAR products will qualify for the tax credit. Oil Furnace AFUE >= 90 30% of cost, up to $1,500¹ Gas, Propane, or Oil Hot Water Boiler AFUE >= 90 30% of cost, up to $1,500¹ Advanced Main Air Circulating Fan No more than 2% of furnace total energy use. 30% of cost, up to $1,500¹ FAQ: What if the fan qualifies, but the furnace does not? Water Heaters Gas, Oil, Propane Water Heater Energy Factor >= 0.82
or a thermal efficiency of at least 90%. 30% of cost, up to $1,500¹ FAQ on Water Heaters. Electric Heat Pump Water Heater Same criteria as ENERGY STAR: Energy Factor >= 2.0 30% of cost, up to $1,500¹ Biomass Stove Biomass Stove Stove which burns biomass fuel to heat a home or heat water.

Thermal efficiency rating of at least 75% as measured using a lower heating value. 30% of cost, up to $1,500¹ FAQ on Biomass Stoves. Geo-Thermal Heat Pump Geo-Thermal Heat Pump Same criteria as ENERGY STAR:

Closed Loop:
EER >= 14.1, COP >= 3.3

Open Loop:
EER >= 16.2, COP >= 3.6

Direct Expansion:
EER >= 15, COP >= 3.5 30% of the cost All ENERGY STAR geo-thermal heat pumps qualify for the tax credit.

What about water-to-water geothermal heat pumps?

Must be “placed into service” before December 31, 2016. Solar Energy Systems Solar Water Heating At least half of the energy generated by the “qualifying property” must come from the sun. Homeowners may only claim spending on the solar water heating system property, not the entire water heating system of the household.

The credit is not available for expenses for swimming pools or hot tubs.

The water must be used in the dwelling.

The system must be certified by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC). 30% of cost All ENERGY STAR solar water heaters qualify for the tax credit.

Must be placed in service before December 31, 2016. Photovoltaic Systems Photovoltaic systems must provide electricity for the residence, and must meet applicable fire and electrical code requirement. 30% of cost Must be placed in service before December 31, 2016. Small Wind Energy Systems Residential Small Wind Turbines Has nameplate capacity of not more than 100 kilowatts. 30% of cost Must be placed in service before December 31, 2016. Fuel Cells Residential Fuel Cell and microturbine system Efficiency of at least 30% and must have a capacity of at least 0.5 kW. 30% of the cost, up to $500 per .5 kW of power capacity Must be placed in service before December 31, 2016. Cars Hybrid gasoline-electric, diesel, battery-electric, alternative fuel, and fuel cell vehicles Based on a formula determined by vehicle weight, technology, and fuel economy compared to base year models There is a 60,000 vehicle limit per manufacturer before a phase-out period begins. Toyota and Honda have already been phased out. Credit is still available for Ford, GM and Nissan.

For more information visit: Fueleconomy.gov

Use IRS Form 8910 for hybrid vehicles purchased for personal use.

Use IRS Form 3800 for hybrid vehicles purchased for business purposes. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles $2,500–$7,500 The first 250,000 vehicles sold get the full tax credit (then it phases out like the hybrid vehicle tax credits).

Effective January 1, 2009.

¹Subject to a $1,500 maximum per homeowner for all improvements combined.

Below are three ideas that caught my attention this week as I covered the industry. Perhaps you have your own head-tilters to add. Please do!

By the way, two decades ago solar and wind power were pretty much oddball ideas. Consider that before judging any comments.

• A 14-year-old boy in an impoverished African village, who has never heard of the Internet, built a working windmill out of scrap material

Too poor to attend school anymore William Kamkwamba went to a US-sponsored library to try to keep up on his learning. There the Malawian boy found diagrams for building windmills and painstakingly followed the directions to bring electricity and water to his famine-stricken village. He scavenged for junk and found old bike parts, pipes and fans to make it work. His fellow villagers thought he was crazy until he succeeded. His story is chronicled in his book, “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.” http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/

There is some irony here that an attempt has been underway for 10 years to build offshore wind power on wealthy Cape Cod, with no luck. Maybe the region needs to hire Kamkwamba as a consultant.

• Baby you can drive my combined heat and power car

We’ve all heard that combined heat and power is a highly efficient approach to heating, cooling and electrifying schools, stores, office buildings, factories, hospitals, and multi-famly housing complexes. But cars? Thomas Blakeslee, president of the Clearlight Foundation, posits that we could achieve far greater fuel efficiency if, rather than feeding ethanol directly into cars, we used it to fuel combined heat and power plants that would in turn electrify cars. The efficiency would be so great, we could drive these electric cars 22 times farther on CHP electricity than if we used the same acre of corn to make ethanol. http://www.clrlight.org/CHPethanol.htm

• Energy efficiency: The invisible hand that Adam Smith never saw

Energy efficiency is often discussed in terms of how much money it can save a household or business on utility bills. But how about what it can save an economy? Environment Northeast issued an interesting report in September that investigates what efficiency can do for state gross product. The macroeconomic report found that every $1 million invested by a state in energy efficiency increases gross state product by $7 million. http://environmentnortheast.org/

Replacing home heating oil with heat pumps

Lisa Cohn of Energy Efficiency Markets interviews Tom Twist, sustainability educator for the Chewonki Foundation in Maine about replacing home heating
oil with heat pumps. He talks about the quick payback and why more residents don’t take advantage of the technology.

Is small business being left out?

The US has about 29.6 million small businesses and they employ over half of the nation’s private sector. They hire 40% of our high tech workers, make up 97.3% of our exporters, and generate most of our innovations, according to SCORE.

Still, we hear small business often say it gets the shaft when it comes to public policy; it just doesn’t have the political clout of big business.

What’s this got to do with energy efficiency? I’ve been wondering – suspecting actually – that small business is getting left out of the energy efficiency boom sweeping the United States.

I admit that my evidence is purely empirical and cursory. I have been trying to collect case studies from the Eastern states for an energy efficiency guide that I am collaborating on with my colleagues at RealEnergyWriters.com. I’ve put out a request for the case studies from small businesses to my many good sources, as well as through the social media.

I’ve received profiles of schools, colleges, hospitals, and manufacturing facilities – all non-profits or large energy users. Where I wonder is the dry cleaner, the Mom & Pop shop, the car wash?

I don’t mean to imply there are no small business efficiency programs. Several people have directed me to Efficiency Maine’s program, which does not target small businesses per se, but does serve many. I’ve also received some great examples from United Illuminating in Connecticut.

Manufacturers and data centers are low-hanging fruit that energy service companies like to pursue. Homeowners have consumer groups pressing state regulators on their behalf. But who is pushing before state utility commission’s to be sure small business gets its fair share of the vast amount of efficiency funding now being distributed?

Perhaps the fault lies with small business, itself. Overwhelmed by trying to operate in this economy, do small business owners have the time to think about energy efficiency?  It’s likely few even realize funds and financing mechanisms exist in several states to help them with upfront capital costs.

Energy Efficiency Markets Podcast

Levelizing the Playing Field for Demand Response Providers

Lisa Cohn from EE Markets interviews Audrey Zibelman, Viridity Energy’s president and CEO and a former CEO of the regional transmission organization PJM. She describes efforts to establish market rules that will allow demand response providers to receive the same compensation as generators.

Expect to see this number a lot in energy discussions over the next few years: 2.5 cents/kWh. It is the average cost of energy efficiency, a figure pegged this week in a new report by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. http://www.aceee.org/press/u092pr.htm.

This number is big news because it is so small.  As a resource, energy efficiency beats out all conventional power sources on price.  (See chart below.) Moreover, it’s a price that has been dropping. Five years ago energy efficiency cost 3 cents/kWh.

But just because something is cheap, doesn’t mean people will buy it. How much energy efficiency will make it into the nation’s energy shopping cart?

Efficiency boomed in the early 1990s, but then busted later in the decade when deregulation allowed many utilities to shed their efficiency programs. It is resurging now, part of push by state and federal policy makers to green and ‘smarten’ energy supply.

Most utilities do not make money on efficiency, and this is part of the reason it busted in the late 1990s. Perhaps as important, efficiency’s branding was off. It was seen as an extra, a nicety to pursue out of goodwill when a utility or state had some extra money.

ACEEE and other efficiency advocates are trying to reshape the image. They refer to efficiency as a fuel – just like wind, sun, coal, natural gas, oil. And they want efficiency to be the ‘first fuel.’ This means that when a utility is planning its energy supply, it first applies as much efficiency as is cost effective and plausible, before it builds more expensive new power. Some eastern states are already using this planning concept. In addition, many states have set specific energy efficiency goals, some very aggressive.

That is why ACEEE’s 2.5 cents/kWh becomes so important. It is a kind of marker against which other resources will find themselves competing more and more in policy planning.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of states are decoupling utility profits from kilowatthour sales or instituting other financial incentives that inspire utility support for efficiency.

Of course, our economy cannot prosper on efficiency alone, but many studies indicate we still have a lot of waste in the system.  So as an energy planner, if you were confronted with increased demand – and are not dealing with policy or system issues that require generation or transmission as a solution – which of these would you pursue first?

Credit: Cost figures from ACEEE, “Saving Energy Cost Effectively: A National Review of the Cost of Energy Saved through  Utility Sector Energy Efficiency Programs,”  September 2009, http://www.aceee.org/press/u092pr.htm.

Visit Elisa Wood at http://www.realenergywriters.com/ and pick up her free Energy Efficiency Markets podcast and newsletter

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Lisa Cohn of Energy Efficiency Markets interviews Ujjwal Bhattacharjee, a principal consultant with PA Consulting Group who specializes in renewable energy and energy efficiency. He evaluates energy efficiency in Massachusetts green buildings from 2004 – 2007.

When America was its infancy the growth of this city was largely fueled by the need to build a better hub and city of “greatness” for the future, one with a mix of financial services and small industry. The city grew and is truly symbiotic as a one of the greatest cities in the world.

But its time for a new act for this great city. While the banking crisis has taken its toll its still a vibrant but very expensive city. It has little room to build upon a working class and what does it mean to live and work in city in our new economy.

I agree with the premise that its time to look to the infrastructure. The need for better public transport, better services in outer areas and the need for affordable housing in and outside of the city. This is a prescription that is for any city.

Having lived in San Francisco that saw great growth but very strident and cautious growth that led to outrageous prices in real estate while income fell flat and now in Seattle with the ubiquitous townhouses lining every street, absurd housing prices and the still ever growing sprawl in response I have to agree that without real improvements to the infrastructure a city cannot function well.

San Francisco tried to be responsive with making grand laws to get health care, free wi-fi, higher minimum wages and varying other “green” bills to make living in the City possible for a diverse group it did nothing to stop the ever growing white wealthy class taking over the city. Seattle is struggling with its light rail and trolleys to nowhere while realizing the best they can do to draw industry is poaching an investment bank from Tacoma to move north to the empty Washington Mutual building. Irony not lost.

And this brings New York.. bridges, roads and subways built in the times of grandeur dilapidated and pushed to extremes. Borough’s (the burbs) of NY still seen as being undesirable as more and more families, the backbones of cities, moving there and still seen as almost pioneers to a city that is largely populated by the rich and the white and very poor that serve them.

There is a real need to build our infrastructure to serve ALL the population and what a great way to build those green jobs that the maligned Van Jones wished for all. There is nothing more needed than building better public transport, better improved outlying areas to reduce the need to commute and maintain a better diverse city that has housing that is both rich and green for all. Schools that serve all the populations and not just the poor while the rich attend private academies.

The idea that the infrastructure is something that the Government is solely responsible is not true. There is nothing stopping private industry in taking on these projects and building new business models to find new business. We argue incessantly about the Government running everything and yet we turn to them to repair the largest and most significant part of our communities. While private developers are left to build nothing but commercial and residential properties that right now are at their highest glut.

Is it not time to see and demonstrate how we can prove the role of the private sector in making our cities and communities great again? And then in turn free up that financial obligation which will allow the Government to give us health care in return?

Source: GreenGoddess

Making a Difference with Green Community Strategies – Environmental sustainability and climate change issues are consuming the nation’s attention. As of February 2008, nearly 800 mayors have pledged to “meet or beat” the Kyoto Protocol greenhouse gas emission reduction target for the United States. Local leaders of cities and regions are adopting a wide array of green community strategies: “green” municipal operations and construction standards, alternative forms of transportation, and “energy smart” growth. Hear about these and other innovative implementation strategies.

There is a direct connection between heat loss and heat gain as it relates to your home’s protective skin, also known as the building envelope. Ideally your home should maximize heat retention during the winter and minimize heat gain during the summer. The best energy efficient design should incorporate a well sealed and insulated wall structure that helps protect you from temperature change and block unwanted moisture and air from entering your home. These mechanisms are known as transmission and air leakage.

Thermal resistance (your home’s wall insulation) and surface area are two factors that govern the rate of heat transmission. Air leakage is measured in CFM (cubic feet per minute) and depends on the surface area of the holes in your home and the pressure differences between the outside and inside. A large difference in temperature, known as ∆T (Delta “T”), creates a greater pressure. Maintaining a balanced interior pressure will improve indoor air quality. Sealing or reducing the number of air leaks in your home not only stops unwanted air infiltration (both cold or warm air) but also lowers the amount of moisture that rides along the air flow path and helps maintain pressure balance.

A second source of pressure change occurs when air leaks in through the building skin as a result of your home’s air conditioner. Air leakage into your home is often 2-3 times greater when the air handler (your air conditioners’ fan motor) is operating. The unit “de-pressurizes” your home and increases the opportunity for air infiltration. Stopping the holes will lower the pressure difference.

A third, and often overlooked, pressure change can occur as a result of leaky ducts in either the supply or the return air chamber of your heating system. This type of unbalanced system can also create a depressurized “combustion appliance zone” (CAZ). An example would be a back drafting chimney (and its accompanying odor) or a flame roll-out of the water heater. Both have been known to cause house fires. Also, if you’ve noticed that as you shut a bedroom door the last few inches the door is “sucked shut”, you should have a balance test performed on your heating system. These “out of balance” pressure zones can create unhealthy conditions by pulling unwanted air from a water heater exhaust (can create dangerous level of carbon monoxide) or an increased level of soil gases (radon).

Maintain your home by regularly checking for and repairing air leaks to your heating system and your home’s skin. Doing so will help keep your family healthy and lower your energy bills at the same time.

Listen to How Air Affects a House

This podcast series is excerpted from a two-day class called “Building Science Fundamentals” taught by Dr. Joe Lstiburek and Dr. John Straube, of Building Science Corporation.