Tag Archives: Finance

Energy Efficiency and Renewables Drives Smart Grid Technologies Market – Research & Developments

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The market for smart grid technologies is evolving rapidly as the need for a more responsive, automated power grid rises worldwide.  …

Source: www.navigantresearch.com

>”The fundamental technology for injecting intelligence into the grid has been in existence for years – more than a decade in some cases. However, the past 18 to 24 months have seen accelerating technological advancements and shifting priorities among utility industry stakeholders.

Transmission system upgrades are driven by the need to interconnect offshore or remote wind and solar farms, as well as ongoing electrification across Asia Pacific and developing regions. Falling costs for devices and communications networking, combined with the increasing emphasis on reliability and energy efficiency, will lead to robust growth in the substation and distribution automation (SA and DA) markets. Meanwhile, government mandates, especially in Europe, will drive strong smart meter penetration gains over the next decade. At the same time, utilities are facing more competition than ever and squeezed margins. These issues, along with the proliferation of smart devices in the grid, will drive impressive growth in demand for more powerful utility IT solutions and analytics. Navigant Research forecasts that global smart grid technology revenue will grow from $44.1 billion in 2014 to $70.2 billion in 2023.

This Navigant Research report analyzes the global market for smart grid technologies, with a focus on transmission upgrades, SA, DA, information and operations technology (IT/OT) software and services, and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). The study provides a detailed analysis of the market drivers, challenges, and trends, as well as regional and country factors, for each smart grid technology segment. Global market forecasts for revenue, broken out by technology, application, component, and region, extend through 2023. The report also provides profiles of key grid infrastructure vendors and includes information on 150-plus other types of companies, major global utilities, and smart grid-related industry associations.

Key Questions Addressed:

Which smart grid technology segments are the largest and how quickly are they expected to grow?

What are the key market drivers and challenges for each smart grid technology segment?

What are the most important new trends affecting the pace of investment in smart grid technologies?

What regional factors are affecting the pace of investment in smart grid technology?

Who are the key vendors in each category of smart grid technology?   […] “<

See on Scoop.it – Green Energy Technologies & Development

Canadian green building market shows strong growth into future reported by CaGBC

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The Canadian green building market has grown in the last few years and is expected to continue its strong growth in years to come, according to a recent report released by the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC).

Source: dcnonl.com

>”The report projects the figure to grow in upcoming years and a shift to happen as firms ramp up their green projects to more than 60 per cent. The main factors triggering the green trend include companies wanting to do ‘the right thing’ when it comes to social and environmental responsibility.

“Doing the right thing was very important to a lot of the respondents, which surprised me…obviously the Canadian industry has a lot social consciousness” added Mueller.

Companies are also experiencing significant cost savings through various efficiencies.

Eighty two per cent of building owners and developers report decreases in energy consumption compared to similar buildings and 68 per cent of owners/developers report decreases in water consumption.

In Canada, businesses reduced their operating costs by 17 per cent through green buildings in 2014, ahead of the global average of 15 per cent in 2012.

[…]

 

The top sectors currently with green projects expected to be certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) are, new institutional construction, new commercial construction, new low-rise residential, new mid and high-rise residential, and existing buildings/retrofit.

“In the public sector, the institutional sector, there’s a very strong commitment to build buildings to the LEED standard,” Mueller added. “Our focus is very much on building the LEED standard.”

Green Building is also beginning to build a strong business case for itself, according to the report.

Thirty seven per cent of owners project a spike in occupancy rates, 32 per cent expect improved tenant retention, 26 per cent expect improved lease rates and 13 per cent forecast a higher return on investment.

The median payback period for investment on a new green building is eight years, according to the report.

According to Mueller, owners and developers who are repeat green builders usually maintain a positive experience, but it’s the first timers that need to be shown the right steps in pursuing green building.

“If you’re an owner doing it for the first time, you have to be diligent, you have to be prudent to select the right consultants,” he said. “You have to do your due diligence and we certainly will be at the council to help first-time users to apply the LEED program and to make sure they have a positive experience.”<

Cost Effective ‘net zero’ energy in Jerseyville, Illinois subdivision

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Lexington Farms, an affordable housing project of rental homes [built in Illinois].

Source: www.stltoday.com

>”Rooftop solar panels and wind turbines mounted over garages power all 32 homes at Lexington Farms, a new Jerseyville subdivision designed to provide residents no-cost electricity. […]

“Over the course of a year the solar array and wind turbines provide all the energy needed to power heating and air-conditioning systems, along with other household electricity needs,” said Jeff Lewis, president of MidAmerica Solar. “While similar technology has been used in homes, it hasn’t been done on this scale in an entire subdivision.” […]

Each home can produce up to 7.2 kilowatts of energy from roof-mounted solar panels.

Wind turbines mounted on masts over garages provide up to 1 kilowatt of additional energy. Lewis said tests were conducted to make sure the turbines’ vibrations were so slight as to be unnoticed by the homes’ occupants.

Ground-mounted solar panels at the subdivision’s entrance generate power for the community center.

Lexington Farms’ three-bedroom homes rent for $590 per month to families with incomes of $41,000 or less. The houses have central air conditioning, heat, hot water and other appliances that are powered by electricity generated by the solar panels and wind turbines.

The Illinois Housing Development Authority provided more than $2.5 million in assistance for the project, including federal low-income housing tax credits and federal stimulus money. Funding also came from a $260,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Economic Opportunity and financing from Sterling Bank.

Included in the project are 16 streetlights that operate entirely off the electrical grid.

The streetlights, made by MidAmerica Solar, have their own wind turbines and solar panels that provide electricity to energy-efficient LED lights and a backup battery. The lights used to come from China. Now they come from a small factory in Affton.”<

Buildings are biggest source of GHG’s in Vancouver & City recommends Energy Retrofits

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Buildings spew more than half of all Vancouver’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions every year and detached houses are the biggest culprit […] That fact is key to a staff recommendation that council adopt an energy retrofit strategy for existing buildings to drastically cut GHG emissions.

Source: www.vancouversun.com

>”About 40,000 of Vancouver’s 77,000 detached homes were built before 1960. The report said most older homes could improve their energy efficiency with weather sealing, wall and attic insulation, furnace/boiler/hot water heater replacements and replacing old windows with new energy-efficient glazing.

About 55 per cent of GHG emissions in Vancouver come from buildings and of those detached homes create 31 per cent of building emissions, the report said.

That compares with industry’s 20-per-cent share and 18 per cent from multi-unit residential buildings.

The city’s Greenest City Action Plan has targeted a 20-per-cent reduction in GHG emissions from Vancouver buildings by 2020, which would eliminate 160,000 tonnes of emissions annually — the equivalent of taking 40,000 cars off the road.

The report recommends the city partner with BC Hydro and/or FortisBC to study the effectiveness of using thermal imaging to identify poorly insulated homes.

[…]

… common energy-efficient building practices today include using vinyl or wood window frames instead of aluminum, along with the use of heat pumps, solar panels and drainwater recovery systems.

But Kerchum noted it can cost nothing to improve a home’s energy efficiency.

[…]

A recent Vancouver city initiative to improve energy efficiency in Vancouver homes — the Home Energy Loan Program — had a very low participation rate among homeowners.

The program called for homeowners to have an energy audit by a federally licensed auditor, who would recommend the best ways to reduce a home’s carbon footprint.”<

Affordable Housing Designed for Net Zero

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See on Scoop.it – Green Building Design – Architecture & Engineering

Lexington Farms, a single family affordable housing development in Illinois, looks to be LEED Platinum and net zero via clean energy on each house.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:
“The model under which these modular homes are made available to residents is rather unique. They were built for those making less than $41,000 a year, and were reportedly provided to these people in a rent to own situation at a set monthly lease cost of $590. Each 1,425 square foot, three bedroom dwelling is green down to its core via an array of eco technologies. Owners apparently had to be provided with a special manual to educate them about the various green technologies they are living with. So what exactly is under the hood of each green home in Lexington Farms? According toUrban Green Energy, the impressive list includes one of the firm’s 1,000 watt eddyGT vertical axis wind turbines; 7,200 watt photovoltaic solar roof panels; Energy Starappliances; U35-rated, argon gas filled windows; R-21 wall and R-49 attic insulation; low-flow water fixtures and WaterSense toilets; sustainable landscaping with efficient irrigation systems; recycled construction materials; low VOC paints and energy efficient, fluorescent light fixtures. At the time of construction is was said the IHDA invested more than $2.5 million into the project, providing federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds and federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to finance it. The federal tax credits, noted the IHDA, “were a result of a special allocation for counties hit by severe flooding [and] generated an additional $6.7 million in private equity for the development.” Overall, these green homes aimed for net zero energy usage via the renewable energy features. An additional $260,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity further supported the development.”

See on earthtechling.com

Fracking chairman: shale gas not going to cut prices

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Rennie Campbell's avatarenergy & water insights

Lord Browne, former head of BP and current chairman of the UK’s largest shale gas company Cuadrilla, said this week that fracking is unlikely to reduce gas prices. In a speech at the London School of Economics he also said that…

  • the recent strike price agreed between the government and EDF for nuclear power was “very, very expensive”
  • oil and gas currently receive more subsidies than renewable energy, which he described as “like running the heating and air conditioning at the same time”

The economic, geological, regulatory and social differences between the UK and US mean it is highly unlikely that the shale gas revolution being experienced in North America can be translated across the Atlantic, with even modest production unlikely before the mid-2020s according to most in the industry.

Despite repeated assurances from David Cameron and George Osborne that shale gas will reduce prices, Browne has recognised…

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California Building Code Title 24 Will Revolutionize Efficiency Financing for Buildings

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See on Scoop.it – Green Building Design – Architecture & Engineering

If successful, Title 24 will open the door to increased amounts of energy efficiency financing, expanded sources of capital and lower financing costs.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>California’s Title 24

Title 24 is California’s body of state building codes. These codes have been revised to move the building industry toward comprehensive building solutions with a goal of achieving Zero Net Energy (ZNE) residential and commercial buildings. In a ZNE building, the annual building’s energy consumption is equal to the building’s onsite renewable energy generation. California has set a goal for all new residential construction to be ZNE by 2020 and for all new commercial construction to be ZNE by 2030. Additionally, the repurposing and remodeling of existing buildings that are of a size-threshold defined by Title 24 will also have to comply with Title 24 revised codes.

Financing a “smart” Zero Net Energy building

The challenge of financing any energy efficiency or renewable energy project is in providing assurances to the source of capital that the project will actually generate sufficient cost savings to cover financing costs plus repayment of invested capital. The number one challenge for winning energy efficiency investments is the uncertainty in documenting bill savings results. Too often, the cost savings generated by an investment in energy efficiency is lost in higher electric bills as new loads are added and utilities raise rates.

Information technologies that monitor, control and financially operate a building through links to real time prices of grid-supplied electricity are the foundation for enabling Title 24 project financing. Smart ZNE buildings will operate to optimize the economics between reducing building demand, reducing energy consumption, on-site generation, use of on-site energy storage and purchases of grid electricity.

What will further enable the financing of ZNE buildings is the ability of enabling information technologies to “look forward” in time to proactively shape a building’s operation and grid purchases to financially support the building’s project financing. The technologies that can achieve these results have already been invented. What California is pursuing through its Title 24 code revisions is a massive economies of scale push for these technologies to drive their costs down and increase their ability to be financed.

The sales pie just got bigger…a lot bigger

Beginning in 2014, Title 24 will blow the sales doors open for smart building technologies, energy efficiency technologies, onsite energy storage and renewable energy technologies. Title 24 will create a new competitive landscape for architects, general contractors, sub-contractors and vendors based upon their ability to offer price competitive services and products that comply with Title 24 codes. The construction industry’s sales path for energy efficiency projects will no longer be anchored by utility incentives that support targeted energy efficiency upgrades like re-lamping a building with more efficient lights. The new sales path will be based upon cost-effectively delivering code compliance to achieve financeable building performance. New competitive advantages will be won by contractors and architects that offer building performance assurances to building owners and financing sources.<

See on www.triplepundit.com

Infographic – Energy Efficiency – Variable Speed Motors & Drives

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See on Scoop.it – Green Building Operations – Systems & Controls, Maintenance & Commissioning

Infographic – Energy efficiency. A solution.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

Industry has been reported to consume between 40 and 60% (UN Report) of the world’s electrical supply.  Motors are the largest consumer of the industrial electrical supply and the greatest opportunity for industry wide savings.

Many motors are over-sized and run inefficiently.  Variable speed drives can significantly reduce industrial operating costs, with attractive payback period and reductions in energy consumption by up to 50% or more.

See on www.abb.com

How Real Estate Energy Managers Can Use Big Data to Schedule Building Energy Retrofits

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See on Scoop.it – Green Building Operations – Systems & Controls, Maintenance & Commissioning

Big Data remains a fairly nebulous concept for many real estate professionals, including those who stand to gain tremendously from it right now: real estate energy managers.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>To effectively time energy retrofit measures, energy managers can first develop those measures. New energy analytical tools such as FirstFuel identify and develop measures, and even estimate a range for capital cost. It does this analysis remotely over the course of a day just by analyzing hourly electricity data (which is sometimes also stored by the utility); no time-intensive on-site energy audit is required. Another new tool is Retroficiency, which provides a high-level look at energy performance improvement potential using the same interval data and, with minimal additional data from the IWMS, can further develop retrofit measures to investment-grade level.

After identifying energy-retrofit measures for the portfolio using remote energy analysis tools or more standard on-site energy analysis, energy managers can create a new retrofit measures database in the IWMS. Having this new database on hand enables managers to integrate energy retrofit opportunities with space management, maintenance and capital upgrade needs, and potentially other real estate issues. Such integration drives down the incremental cost of an energy retrofit, which is the gross cost minus the avoided cost of otherwise required capital or space upgrades.<

See on blog.rmi.org

Qualifications and Documents for Comprehensive Reserve Fund Studies

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See on Scoop.it – Green Building Operations – Systems & Controls, Maintenance & Commissioning

As of May 5, 2001, the Condominium Act 1998 requires all existing and new condominium corporations to have a “Reserve Fund Study” undertaken. This article outlines some of the key aspects of Reserve Funds and the Studies.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>[…]The regulations to the Condominium Act stipulate the minimum liability insurance requirements; $1,000,000.

6. What Information Does The Corporation Need To Provide?

Once you have hired a consultant, he/she will require information about the condominium corporation. This will include the following:

  • As-built drawings and specifications.
  • The Declaration and Description.
  • Reciprocal cost sharing agreements.
  • Previous reserve fund studies.
  • The most recent audited financial statements.
  • What the current annual contribution to the Reserve Fund is.
  • Repairs or replacements to the common elements that have already been completed and when.
  • Similarly, scheduled future work needs to be accounted for.
  • A summary of problems being encountered by the Corporation that should be reviewed.
  • As an example, water penetration concerns.

7. What Is The Process?

The process is as follows:

  • The consultant is provided the above information. One of the most important are the drawings. They will be reviewed prior to visiting the site in order for the consultant to become familiar with the overall design and construction schemes.
  • Site inspection. In order to have an understanding on the current condition of the common elements, visual inspections are undertaken. Problem areas noted above can be reviewed. After the first study, the next study update can be completed without a site inspection. The next update must include a site inspection.
  • The report is then prepared (see next question). The drawings are used to “take-off” quantities such as roofing, exterior wall cladding, asphalt, hallway finishes etc that will assist in preparing the replacement/repair cost budgets. It is recommended that a draft report should be submitted in order for the Board and Property Manager to review it prior to it being finalized. The consultant should be available to attend a meeting to review the report.
  • Upon receiving direction from the Board of Directors, the Reserve Fund Study is finalized and submitted. […] 

See on www.maytower.ca