ACEEE hopes Congress backs energy efficiency

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Towards the end of 2014, the 113th U.S. Congress scurried to act on various bills that will impact energy efficiency; however, according to The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), little was accomplished over the past two years.

ACEEE hopes the 114th Congress, which convened this month, will “accomplish much more.”

Here’s how the old Congress wrapped up its work on energy efficiency:

  • Congress did appropriate money for the rest of 2015 for most federal departments. The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy received $1.93 billion, an increase of nearly $25 million from the previous year. The advanced manufacturing office and weatherization assistance programs received increases of 11 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively. Also included were buildings, vehicles and federal energy managements programs, each receiving small cuts.
  • Additionally, energy efficiency tax incentives were extended to the end of 2014. The tax extenders package included provisions on energy-efficient commercial buildings, various residential energy-efficient retrofits, such as heating, cooling and water heating systems, windows and insulation. The new Congress will have to decide whether to extend credits again to cover 2015.
  • Although the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014 was not passed, it is hoped the bill will be reintroduced this year. The bill promotes energy efficiency in rental properties, encourages commercial building energy-use benchmarking and disclosure, adjusts efficiency standards for “grid-connected” water heaters and promotes energy efficiency in federal data centers. ACEEE says it played a substantial role in several of these provisions.