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Monthly Archives

October 2011

Efficiency, Politics, Policy, and Economy

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Government No Comments
Recently, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released its annual state rankings for energy efficiency.  We noticed Wisconsin slipped a few pegs to 16 while Iowa remains near the top at 11.  The top states for EE programs include the usual suspects: California, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York. As we discussed the rankings in house, my comment was, you probably don’t want to be in the top 10 on this list because those states are on the business-unfriendly end of the spectrum.  They have big EE spending congruent with heavy regulation. So you guessed it; this rant…
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What Are They Thinking?

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
Montana, Theisman, McMahan, Simms, Aiken, Young, Favre, Elway, Brady, Johnson, Rothleshamburglar, Manning, Manning, Brees, Rodgers.  Connection?  If you know anything about football, you know these guys are quarterbacks, and probably know they all won a Super Bowl or three.  If you don’t know anything about football, I commend you and I’ll get this prelude out of the way quickly. Virtually no team has won the Super Bowl with a mediocre quarterback.  The only one I can think of is the Baltimore Ravens, somewhere around 2000.  After looking it up: Trent Dilfer.  How did this miracle occur?  They played the Giants. …
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Water-Boarding Over Picasso, Any Day

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Renewable Energy No Comments
I had a really bad week last week – nothing significant occurred to me in the world of EE, and nothing really enraged me or even made me snicker, although I could always rant about federal spending on EE and renewable energy.  Actually, if you are so inclined, Kim Strassel from The Wall Street Journal takes it to Rick Perry and Mitt Romney, if you are interested.  Who would name their kid “Mitt”?  What kind of a name is that?  Is that short for Mitchell?  Mitt for short, with two ts?  Or is it short for Mitten?  Why are there…
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The Super Genius Grid

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Government, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, Utility Stuff 3 Comments
The barrier to having a decent energy policy is very similar to the barriers of solving illegal immigration.  Both the left and the right have their own vested interests in not fixing the problem.  I see the political spectrum as a circle, not a line from far left to far right.  It is a circle because when views get so extreme, they are supported by both the far left (e.g. Dennis Kucinich) and far right (e.g. Ron Paul).  Personally, I respect both of these guys and I have no doubt they are sincere in their beliefs and want the best…
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TGTBT You Can Believe In

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Utility Stuff 2 Comments
In 1984 was not like 1984, I talked about greeting change with gusto to win the future but with few specifics.  This post will cover one such “innovative” way for all stakeholders to benefit from energy efficiency. The typical utility-sponsored energy efficiency portfolio works like this: A small percentage of billed energy consumption, aka a rider is paid by customers to fund EE programs. Programs provide incentives for energy efficient equipment and in some cases services such as studies. Evaluators determine impacts attributable to programs and make recommendations for improvement. Regulators oversee it all to help ensure consumers aren’t being…
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