In this edition…
2009 was an exciting year for the Cambridge Energy Alliance, with the development of new program offerings, and the launch of numerous social media offerings including our community blog Warm Home Cool Planet and a new social network to help residents save energy, money, and the planet: Smarter Cambridge
The Alliance’s enhanced capacity will soon include new efficiency products and services available through the city’s utility provider. NSTAR is part of an energy efficiency provider’s coalition that is unveiling a three-year plan to deliver services to residents and businesses that will ultimately net more than $4 billion in energy savings. If the plan is approved, the coalition will begin offering an increased level of services to their customers in 2010.
In addition, CEA has been collaborating with the commercial building sector to reduce carbon emissions that comprise over eighty percent of the city’s total emissions. CEA is currently working with CDM to evaluate energy and water efficiency at One Cambridge Place, CDM’s world headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This large-scale energy and resource conservation project for CDM represents an innovative, community-based approach to making energy efficiency a reality for residents and businesses.
CDM is the first major business in Cambridge to collaborate with CEA and ConEdison Solutions on this pioneering partnership in energy and water efficiency. The proposed savings are expected to cover the cost of doing the study and the implementation of recommended measures, as well as significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pay back the investment within 6 to 8 years.
The City co-sponsored the creation of CEA to spur energy efficiency and clean energy improvements in the commercial building sector because that is where most of the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are occurring. CEA and the City of Cambridge congratulate CDM for stepping up to the plate and leading the way for our businesses. We hope many others will follow their example.
This fall, the Cambridge Energy Alliance organized its second community canvass to connect residents to home energy audits and energy saving resources. Community canvassers knocked on 1,751 doors and spoke to over five hundred households. The three day canvass garnered 162 audit requests and distributed 579 compact fluorescent light bulbs in exchange for inefficient incandescent bulbs, which will reduce 341,378 pounds of carbon emissions over the life of the bulbs. The Cambridge Energy Alliance is planning another community canvass in 2010 to share the exciting new programs available through NSTAR.
CEA’s community outreach program has reached over 580 residents this fall through events and workshops. In partnership with the city’s Fuel Assistance program, CEA gave a series of presentations at the Cambridge Learning Center—connecting English as a second language students to efficiency programs and low cost solutions to save their families money and learn about climate change. Hyosill Yang, a workshop attendee, shared that, “as soon as I arrived home, I turn off the unnecessary lights and removed plugs from outlets. I also checked the leakage of heat that may escape out of windows. It was a wonderful time for me.”
The Cambridge Energy Alliance is looking for additional groups who are interested in learning about efficiency solutions. To request a workshop for your organization, please contact Lilah Glick, Director of Community Outreach at lgick
cambridgeenergyallinace
org.
On the business front, the Cambridge Energy Alliance and the Sustainable Business Leadership Program hosted a Green Your Business Affair on November 9th to help local commercial entities learn about energy efficiency and sustainability programs. Representatives of over forty businesses came out and mingled with other interested green leaders. The event brought together representatives from the efficiency, renewable energy, nonprofit, design, and retail sectors. The Cambridge Energy Alliance and the Sustainable Business Leadership Program are planning a second Green Your Business Affair event in early 2010.
On Tuesday, January 12 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, CEA is hosting an Energy Savings workshop at the Cambridge Public Library at 449 Broadway. This free energy seminar, presented by the Massachusetts Municipal Association, stresses the importance of reducing heat usage by providing do-it-yourself sealing techniques, tips on hiring a contractor for in-depth alterations, and resources for home audits and financing alterations. Please RSVP to reserve a space at the event.
On January 23rd the Mayor’s office is hosting the city of Cambridge’s second climate congress, bringing together delegates from across the community to learn and share climate solution ideas with the city. Phil Mckenna, correspondent for New Scientist magazine, summarized the December 12th Congress on our blog Warm Home Cool Planet.
A lot happened in the energy efficiency world in 2009: from the federal stimulus tax credits, to the insulation rebates from NSTAR, to the solar incentives from the state. The Cambridge Energy Alliance has promoted each of these programs and we hope that many of you had the opportunity to take advantage of these savings. However, if you didn’t, or would like to do more to stop wasting money and start saving energy and the environment, the good news is 2010 will have even more savings available for homeowners and renters.
At the Federal Level, there has been a lot of discussion of a “cash for caulkers” program which would give rebates to homeowners of up to $12,000 to make home efficiency improvements. This program will probably supplement the existing home efficiency tax credits passed through the economic stimulus bill which are in place until December 31, 2010.
Here in Massachusetts the state will be enacting a major new efficient appliance rebate program to encourage residents to replace their aging and energy inefficient home appliances. Details on that program should be forthcoming in February. NSTAR and the other utility companies will also be expanding their energy efficiency rebates and programs in 2010 as part of their new three year program.
Locally, the Cambridge Energy Alliance will build off its 2009 program and continue to offer comprehensive services to homeowners and businesses. CEA is also premiering a called Smarter Cambridge to help people calculate their carbon footprint and work together to reduce their energy use. Many grants and other funding opportunities are also under consideration, and may soon be available to Cambridge residents.
We will keep you apprised of all these opportunities and other developments as they happen. To stay informed subscribe to email updates like this newsletter, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and our blog. Please stay in touch and we look forward to working with you in 2010!
Thanks to the dedication of several volunteers working through the summer, CEA has been able to establish a framework for evaluating energy use in neighborhoods across the city. This system has been designed with privacy in mind, and contains no information about individual users. Instead it reports electricity and natural gas consumption for all of the homes and businesses in each one of eighty regions of the city corresponding to divisions created by the U.S. Census Bureau. The hope is that with this data CEA might be able to better target areas that can most benefit from our assistance, or to gauge our impact e.g; compare the reported savings for Smarter Cambridge neighborhoods vs. actual changes in energy use.
We have not yet begun to process this mountain of data, but to give you an idea of the sort of interesting things that can be done, we’ve produced the animated map below which shows total electricity use across the city each September for the last four years. September was chosen because it’s a “shoulder month,” with mild and relatively consistent weather, calling for little to no heating or cooling, as indicated by the temperatures included in the legends. In this sample map—where white is missing data i.e; Fresh Pond, the Charles, and Harvard Square plaza in 2009—a number of patterns can be seen: the redevelopment of Inman square and the Alewife region, and increasing bio-pharmaceuticals in Central and Technology Squares. The orange circles are scaled to show the population of each “block group,” although clearly this did not remain constant year after year.
Click map for larger view.