View the interview on Plattes Energy Week. Submit your comments below.

How are you seeing enthusiasm for energy efficiency rising?

The extensive retrofit project is the first under the Victorian Government’s Greener Government Buildings program, a new initiative designed to reduce the government’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, cut energy use and costs and save water. By 2018 the program aims to implement Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) or similar projects at sites that account for 90 percent of the state government’s total energy consumption, implementing projects that comply with an eight year payback period. The program was developed by the Department with the support of the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), a project of the William J. Clinton Foundation.

The first Greener Government Buildings project includes 11 office buildings in Melbourne’s business district as well as five regional office buildings, which together represent the majority of the Government’s owned office portfolio. When completed later this year, the retrofits in these buildings are forecast to reduce energy use by at least 33 per cent, water use by 8 per cent and GHG emissions by 9,400 tonnes annually, which together will save $1.4 million (AUS) in operational costs per year.

Several patented Australian technologies are part of the retrofit, including the Shaw Method of Air Conditioning and E1 lighting. The project is also forecast to deliver a net present value (NPV) of more than $6 million (AUS), thus creating both positive financial and environmental outcomes.

“Johnson Controls is working hand-in-hand with local contractors and suppliers in Australia, applying our global expertise as a provider of energy solutions,” said Michael Harris, vice president and managing director, energy solutions, Johnson Controls. “Optimizing a facility’s operating and energy efficiency is the logical first step in reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and a very cost-effective, efficient way to go green.”

The improvements are being made under an EPC model in which the guaranteed energy savings over the life of the contract offset the cost of the upgrades. This is one of the best practice models that CCI works on with global building owners. Johnson Controls’ contract with the Department of Treasury and Finance is for 10 years.

This is not the first time CCI and Johnson Controls have collaborated on an energy efficiency project. CCI and Johnson Controls are part of the team that is helping the Empire State Building in New York City reduce its energy use by 38 percent and energy bills by $4.4 million a year. Johnson Controls is currently working with the Victorian government, other Australian state governments and large private organizations to roll out the energy performance contracting model to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions in major Australian cities.

At a recent CleanTech analysts meeting, CEO Steve Roell said “megatrends” such as rising energy prices, greenhouse-gas reduction and sustainability fit well with the company’s expertise in energy management. There is “money to be saved and money to be made,” said Roell, in the adoption of greener energy practices.

Read more in Industry Week. Submit you comments below.

How are energy costs and climate change impacting your business?

By signing SB 624 in Green Bay yesterday as part of a package of economic development bills, Governor Jim Doyle has enhanced the power of local governments in Wisconsin to use property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing as a revenue-neutral tool to create jobs, reduce energy bills, and protect the global climate.

The bill expands Wisconsin’s existing legislation so that municipalities can now make commercial and industrial properties eligible to participate in PACE financing programs, in addition to the residential properties covered by legislation passed in May of last year.

PACE programs, also known as tax lien financing programs, allow private property owners or lessees to voluntarily join a “special energy improvement district” in order to finance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and/or water efficiency projects in their buildings through an additional assessment on their property tax bill over the functional life of the equipment (e.g. 5-20 year term).  Building owners typically don’t have the cash for the upfront investments required for such improvements, even if the measures pay for themselves quickly in utility bill cost savings.

The new legislation also makes Wisconsin the second state in the union (after California) to allow water efficiency improvements in buildings to be financed under PACE programs.  This means improvements such as low flow water fixtures or irrigation controls that reduce a building’s water usage could be financed under a special PACE assessment.  Freshwater scarcity is an increasing global concern and water savings also translate to energy savings.  Water and wastewater utilities account for 30-40% of the electricity used by mid-sized cities. This policy leadership will strengthen Southeast Wisconsin’s position as an international hub of water technology.

The bill was introduced by Senators John Lehman and Jim Sullivan; and was cosponsored by Senator Julie Lassa and Representatives Jason Fields, James Soletski and David Cullen in the Assembly. 

To learn more about PACE, visit the Institute for Building Efficiency website.

Soon we will have mandatory disclosure galloping over Capital Hill, forcing owners of larger offices to disclose their energy rating.

But is this mechanism the sure-fire cannon in the war against climate change that will, it is often claimed, shame small property owners into a cleaner, greener building profile?

The general manager of energy and sustainability for Johnson Controls, Peter Moser, is highly doubtful.

Read more in The Fifth Estate. Submit your comments below.

What measures will encourage small property owners to make their buildings more energy efficient?

Anthony Malkin, the owner of the Empire State Building, is an environmentalist — but he’s also a capitalist. If he’s going to spend $20 million on an energy retrofit of his famous skyscraper, he wants a guaranteed three-year payback and long-term savings.

So, Malkin and a team of experts from the Clinton Climate Initiative, a program of the New York-based William J. Clinton Foundation; Rocky Mountain Institute, a Boulder, Colo., “think-and-do tank”; Jones Lang LaSalle, a global real estate investment firm with headquarters in Chicago, and Johnson Controls Inc., a Milwaukee-based firm that serves the global building efficiency market, spent nine months quietly examining 67 ways to reduce energy use at the pre-World War II office tower.

Read more on Miller-McCune. Submit your comments below.

What incentives are needed to stimulate more energy efficiency retrofits of existing buildings?

In today’s economic climate, the casual observer might not expect much investment in energy efficiency upgrades, renewable energy technology, or green building this year.

Yet results from a new study suggest that 60% of building decision makers plan to invest in energy efficiency, 31% are considering solar energy projects, and 33% are targeting green building certification for new construction projects.  In fact, 32% of executives say that they actually invested more in energy efficiency because of the recession over the last 12 months.

During March of 2010, Johnson Controls partnered with the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) to conduct a survey of more than 1,400 decision makers responsible for making investments and managing energy use in commercial buildings across North America. 

Now in its fourth year, the annual Energy Efficiency Indicator is a unique study that monitors trends in priorities, practices, and investment plans among those on the front lines of energy management.

65% of those surveyed this year say they are paying more attention to energy efficiency now than they were last year.  The percentage planning to invest in energy efficiency is also on the rebound in 2010, after falling between 2007 and 2009.  Fifty-two percent of respondents plan to make capital investments in energy efficiency, up from 46% in 2009.  Sixty percent expect to spend part of their operating budgets on efficiency programs, up from 55% last year.

The business leaders and facility managers surveyed point to a variety of factors driving these efficiency investments, but the most important factor is energy cost savings, considered significant by 97% of respondents. Most expect energy prices to rise in 2010.  On average, a 7% increase in the price of energy is expected.

Other important influences include enhancing public image (63%), taking advantage of government and utility incentives (62%), and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (62%).  The climate factor appears to be growing in importance this year, up from 57% considering it a significant factor in 2009.

In the wake of the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen, 75% of business leaders believe that significant energy and climate legislation is likely to be passed in the next two years.  That statistic has actually decreased from 85% last year. Yet, despite lowered expectations for legislation, more and more organizations are making voluntary commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

And as organizations put strategies in place to meet these climate commitments, energy efficiency is at the top of the list.  This year’s survey results suggest that organizations are using a variety of strategies to reduce their emissions, including virtual work strategies, renewable energy purchases, and supply chain management.  Among these options, most respondents identify energy efficiency in buildings as their top climate strategy.  Improving energy efficiency in buildings is the most powerful and cost-effective lever that organizations can use to lower their emissions.

We intend to continue monitoring and reporting on these important trends by conducting the Energy Efficiency Indicator across the world on an annual basis.  The survey is currently being conducted in eight major languages in countries across Europe and Asia with results to be released during the summer of 2010.

Additional details and materials about the survey and our findings are available on the Johnson Controls website.

Even if every building built from this date forward consumed zero energy, the built environment would still produce enough greenhouse gasses to raise the carbon level to dangerous new heights. 

What we need is a new dedication to retrofitting existing buildings with the latest in energy efficient technologies + a change in occupancy.  Tenants need to feel comfortable wearing a sweater in winter and not wearing a suit and tie in summer.

Read more on Sustainable Design Update. Submit your comments below.

What are your ideas for greening buildings?

As a part of Western’s strategic plan for 2010-2012, all new buildings on campus will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards, including the new College of Education and Behavioral Sciences building, Ryan-Downing said.

Additionally, in the coming months, Johnson Controls will be making improvements to the infrastructure on campus including solar hot water heating for the pool at the Preston Center.

Read more in the College Heights Herald. Submit your comments below.

What’s happening on your campus related to energy efficiency and renewable energy?

A group of companies and organizations led by Google urged President Obama Monday to help promote actions that would make it easier for consumers and business to see how much energy they use and to take steps to curb their energy use.

In a letter to the president, the groups urged action to help energy consumers see the sources and causes of their energy consumption, data on the cost of their energy use, and information on how electricity is used.

Read more at NationalJournal.com. Submit your comments below.

What steps do you think the government should take to educate consumers about their energy usage?