Enabling Policies
A. New York City, NY—Green Codes Task Force
B. Berkeley, CA—Residential Energy Conservation Ordinance (RECO)
C. Austin, TX—Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure (ECAD) Ordinance
D. Washington, DC—Energy Benchmarking and Disclosure for Public and Large Commercial
Buildings

Program Partnerships
E. Portland, OR—Clean Energy Works Portland
F. Chicago area, IL—Energy Savers multifamily existing buildings program
G. New Bedford, MA—Community Mobilization Initiative
H. Marshfield, MA—Marshfield Energy Challenge

Each case study includes general program information, policies and best practices. Check out the full report here: http://aceee.org/files/pdf/white-paper/Local-EE-Implementation.pdf

Improving energy efficiency reduces operating costs and enhances comfort in existing buildings. Investing in energy efficiency should be an obvious choice when renovating a building, but many building owners face roadblocks that make the process challenging. They might need expert advice on which energy efficiency upgrades to implement, or they might have trouble financing the improvements. A new program through the Nicor Gas Energy Efficiency Program (EEP) makes investing in energy efficiency easy and affordable for owners of commercial, industrial, and multi-family buildings.

The Nicor Gas EEP Economic Redevelopment Program focuses on serving communities that are in need of economic redevelopment, as well as businesses and organizations that create jobs, offer social services or provide affordable housing. The program offers financial incentives and extensive technical assistance, helping building owners with every step of the process from evaluating energy efficiency needs to applying for rebates and finding qualified contractors.

“The Nicor Gas Energy Efficiency Program is a helping hand to our customers and communities,” says Jim Jerozal, Nicor Gas Director, Energy Efficiency. “This new Economic Redevelopment Program allows us to target resources to make sure building renovations in challenged areas are as cost-effective as possible. By leveraging energy efficiency to lower lifetime operating costs, entities in TIF districts and Enterprise Zones can spend less on their buildings and more on other improvement initiatives.”

Projects that complete the recommended energy efficiency upgrades can qualify to receive up to $100,000 in rebates. The exact amount of incentive is based on the energy efficiency features implemented and energy saved. The more the upgrades improve energy efficiency, the larger the incentive. In addition to receiving incentives, projects that complete energy efficiency improvements will benefit for years to come, enjoying lower energy costs and greater occupant comfort.

In addition to financial incentives, the program offers extensive technical assistance (valued at up to $20,000) to help building owners through every step of the process. Qualifying projects receive a complete evaluation of the building and a report detailing recommended energy efficiency upgrades, estimated savings, and incentives available from the Nicor Gas EEP and other programs. The program also assists customers in applying for incentives, provides design review, and offers construction oversight to ensure quality results.

Projects that qualify for this program include those that are located in, or promote economic development in, Enterprise Zones, TIF districts, or other economically challenged areas. Other projects that could qualify are those that create jobs, offer social services, rehabilitate brown fields or vacant buildings, or provide affordable housing. Qualifying facilities should be at least 10,000 square feet.

To apply for this program or for more information, please contact the Nicor Gas Energy Efficiency Economic Redevelopment team at 773.328.7040 or ERP@cntenergy.org or visit NicorGasRebates.com/programs/economic.

CNT Energy Executive Director Anne Evens contributed to this exciting announcement.

“Including energy efficiency data on homes for sale in Chicagoland is an innovative and important step by MRED. Multiple listing services do more than just provide listing data — they empower homeownership decisions. Utility bills are often a substantial portion of the monthly cost of owning a home. Today’s additions by MRED ensure that consumers in Chicagoland will have access to the best data on green and energy efficient homes for sale and make more confident home buying choices.”

Laura Stukel has been working closely with CNT Energy and has long been advocating the integration of energy efficiency data in the MLS. Here is what she had to say about the announcenment:

Value is so important in the current market, and energy efficiency is a great way to stand out with value. MRED is keeping up with important trends to make it easier for buyers to find homes with energy efficiency remodeling. Being able to search for the Illinois Home Performance with ENERGY STAR certificate rewards sellers for smart improvements and ensures buyers they are getting a more efficient home.

This is very exciting development to properly convey affordability and sustainability to interested homebuyers. It will also raise the value for homeowners to invest in energy efficiency in their home. This a positive step towards making Chicago’s homes and buildings more energy efficient.

Click here for the full press release from MRED.

Preserving affordable housing in Chicago takes creative solutions. CIC has earned this tremendous honor by its willingness to serve markets that other financial institutions have generally ignored. Low and moderate-income neighborhoods have particular needs to address community development and affordable housing. CIC not only provides attractive loan products to building owners in these communities but also holds intensive property management education.

The award is very well deserved, and it recognizes the great work CIC has accomplished. The grant also gives CIC a tremendous opportunity to build off its work, strengthen its capacity and expand its impact to more buildings and more communities.

Many congratulations!

Watch this video below to learn more about their award and read the MacArthur Foundation write up here.

“We have billions essentially sitting untapped in our apartment buildings. We can harness that by simply setting better policies for efficiency for apartment buildings,” said Anne McKibbin, CNT Energy policy director and coauthor of the report. “Partnering with utilities is a crucial part of the process. Building owners and other housing industry players need to work with their utilities, engaging them directly and in local and state regulatory proceedings,” she said.

Energy efficiency upgrades improve the bottom line for multifamily building owners, help maintain affordable housing, decrease financial risk for lending institutions, and improve occupant comfort. However, building owners often have difficulty finding technical assistance, financing, or qualified contractors to upgrade their buildings. “Maximizing energy efficiency is a win-win for apartment residents, building owners, energy utilities and our energy infrastructure,” said Doug Bibby, President of the National Multi Housing Council. “This report offers excellent ideas that we hope spur further cooperation between multifamily owners and utilities to create a more efficient partnership.”

Better coordination between apartment building owners and energy utilities could address that, according to the report’s analysis. The study finds that there is a vast, largely untapped opportunity to engage utilities in providing effective energy efficiency programs that target the multifamily sector. The study examines utilities’ involvement in energy efficiency efforts across the country and identifies strategies that the multifamily building community can use to work together for improved efficiency. “We are thrilled to explore partnerships with apartment owners as a way of better serving our customers and reaching our energy efficiency goals. This paper outlines some important next steps for collaboration,” said Duane Larson, Director, Energy Efficiency Strategy, Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

The report identifies regions where the multifamily sector could see particularly dramatic benefits from improvements in energy efficiency policy. These include Florida, Illinois, Texas, and the District of Columbia—regions that have a substantial number of multifamily buildings and energy policies that leave significant room for improvement.

“Utilities and local regulations vary dramatically from state to state and region to region, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution,” says Eric Mackres, ACEEE senior policy analyst. “The common thread is that partnering with the utility is crucial. This report outlines a variety of strategies that can help the multifamily housing sector to engage electric and natural gas utilities in order to expand the resources available for energy efficiency retrofits.”

This report was made possible by support from the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and Living Cities.

The full report is available online at http://www.cntenergy.org/publications/. Those interested in learning more are invited to participate in a Webinar on February 13 at 1 p.m. CST. For details, go to http://www.cntenergy.org/calendar/ or call (773) 269-4037.

CNT Energy helps reduce energy costs in households, buildings, and communities. CNT Energy is a division of the Center for Neighborhood Technology. Since 1978, the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) has been a leader in promoting urban sustainability—the more effective use of existing resources and community assets to improve the health of natural systems and the wealth of people, today and in the future. CNT Energy combines rigorous research with effective solutions to help consumers and communities control energy costs and become more energy efficient. For more information, visit www.cntenergy.org.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy acts as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors. For information about ACEEE and its programs, publications, and conferences, visit http://www.aceee.org.

For more information contact:
Stephanie Folk, CNT Energy
Phone: (773) 269-4085
E-mail: sfolk@cntenergy.org

In September, the Center for Neighborhood Technology in Chicago organized the Green MLS/Better Buildings Roundtable to get a better handle on opportunities and challenges. The event was held at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. The goal was to explore the current situation using seven Better Buildings markets as a sample.

The meeting brought together approximately 25 contributors from the seven markets, as well as their counterparts at several key trade organizations. The group was an unprecedented mix, and was roughly balanced between four key stakeholder groups: multiple listing service (MLS) operators; Realtors; appraisers; and home performance and energy efficiency professionals.

The seven markets included: Santa Clara County and Los Angeles County in California; Boulder, Colorado; Chicago Metro in Illinois; Westchester County, New York; Portland, Oregon; and Charlottesville, Virginia. National stakeholders included the Appraisal Institute, Building Performance Institute (BPI), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), EcoBroker International, Institute for Market Transformation (IMT), National Association of REALTORs (NAR) and the National Home Performance Council (NHPC).

Participants discussed how stakeholders can work together to build the market for energy efficient homes. Looking forward, there was support among participants for opportunities that would encourage the most future progress:

1. Create a clear path for valuing green and energy efficiency improvements.

2. Create a roadmap for the big pieces:

• Financing energy efficiency improvements (from education on products available to appraisal and loan closing)
• Valuation metric (established metric to link performance savings to value)
• Education and outreach

CNT Energy is currently documenting the viability and scope of related follow-up projects, as well as encouraging participating individuals and organizations who were inspired during the event to pursue their own ideas.

Click here for a summary of the roundtable discussion.

Click here for the complete report on the roundtable.

To stay current on developing progress, please contact lstukel@cntenergy.org.

New Tricks for Older Homes: The Latest Resources – Anne Evens

Seize new opportunities with knowledge of how emerging resources, incentives and advice can make older homes more appealing in today’s market. Familiarize yourself with the programs, financial resources and opportunities that are already working for colleagues and their buyers and sellers. Discover ways to use energy efficient modeling, power saver loans and other innovations to improve the quality of an existing house and generate sales advantages for your sellers and saving for your buyers.

An Update on the Greening of the MLS, Lenders & Appraisers – Laura Reedy Stukel

Experts will enlighten you on the successes, failures, and ongoing battles in leading the movement towards the greening of MLS groups, lenders and the appraisal communities. Hear the latest developing news and statistics about these important components to the green building process. By arming yourself with this current and crucial information, you will then know what you can do to help.

Energy Savers has retrofitted more than 6,200 apartments and saved building owners an average of 30 percent on their utility bills or roughly $10,000 per year. The Bank of America contribution will make it possible to improve an additional 2,600 additional homes, according to CIC. Since its inception, CIC has made 52 Energy Savers fund loans for a total of $3.8 million. None have defaulted.

Bank of America created this new grant program to deliver low-cost capital to local community lenders with expertise in energy retrofit financing as a way to help create jobs, improve affordability, and reduce carbon emissions. CIC is one of nine Community Development Financial Institutions or CDFIs awarded funding nationwide. IFF is the other Chicago-based CDFI to receive funding from Bank of America.

To learn more about the Energy Savers program, go to: http://www.cntenergysavers.org/