Do your part - participate in Earth Hour

Turn out. Take action.
Be part of this historic event.March 28, 2009, 8:30 pm local time
World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals, businesses, governments and organizations around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – to make a global statement of concern about climate change and to demonstrate commitment to finding solutions.

Visit the Earth Hour website for more information. Wath the great 3 minute video here!

Chevron Energy Solutions, Hawaii office, will be participating as well. Spread the word!

What is Earth Hour?
Earth Hour is World Wildlife Fund's global initiative where individuals, businesses and governments turn off their lights for one hour to show their support for action on climate change. Earth Hour is a symbolic event designed to engage people from all walks of life in the climate change discussion to send a strong message to our political leaders that we want them to take meaningful action on climate change.

The largest climate event in history where millions of people around the world will unite by turning off their lights for one hour, Earth Hour, to demand action on the climate crisis.

When is Earth Hour?
Earth Hour 2009 takes place on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 8:30 pm–local time.
Just like New Years Eve, Earth Hour will travel from time zone to time zone starting at 8:30pm in New Zealand.

What do we hope to accomplish through Earth Hour 2009?
Through Earth Hour, WWF hopes to create political momentum for enacting national climate legislation and a global climate treaty. Through Earth Hour, WWF will continue to educate and raise awareness about the climate crisis and offer ideas and solutions that people can merge into their daily lives. Through Earth Hour, WWF aims to unify people's voices from around the world who are demanding action form our elected officials to solve the climate crisis.

What happened during Earth Hour in 2008?
Earth Hour 2008 was an important step in the fight against climate change. Over 50 million people, including an estimated36 million in the U.S., representing over 400 cities on all seven continents turned out their lights in the largest climate event of all time.

The movement captured the public's imagination with lights going out at some of the world's most iconic landmarks including the Sydney Opera House, Bangkok's Wat Arun Buddhist temple, the Coliseum in Rome, Stockholm's Royal Castle, London's City Hall, New York's Empire State Building, Sears Tower in Chicago and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Other symbols going dark included Cola-Cola's famous billboard in Times Square and the Google homepage.

Chevron Energy Solutions Named One of the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies

Chevron Energy Solutions Named One of the World's 50 Most Innovative Companies

SAN FRANCISCO, March 3, 2009 — Chevron Energy Solutions, a unit of Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX), was named by Fast Company magazine as one of "The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies." The company also ranked in the top five on the magazine's list of "Most Innovative Clean Energy Companies."

"We are honored to be recognized on Fast Company's Top 50 List," said Jim Davis, President of Chevron Energy Solutions. "It helps raise awareness of our work to bring energy efficiency and renewable power to government, education and business facilities."

Fast Company selected and ranked the 50 companies in its February 2009 issue based on examples of success and strength, including character and finances. (See http://www.fastcompany.com/fast50_09) According to the magazine, the companies illustrate the power and potential of innovative ideas and creative execution and are the kinds of enterprises that will redefine the future and point the way to a better tomorrow.

Chevron Energy Solutions was recognized for the company's innovative approach, which is to help schools, government buildings and other large facilities lower their energy costs and carbon footprint through energy-efficient technologies and renewable power systems. Since 2000, Chevron Energy Solutions has developed hundreds of projects across the country and become the largest installer of solar power for education institutions in North America. The company's projects have saved customers an average of 30 percent in energy costs and more than $1 billion to date.

About Chevron Energy Solutions
Chevron Energy Solutions designs and builds sustainable energy projects that increase energy efficiency and renewable power, reduce energy costs, and ensure reliable, high-quality energy for government, education and business facilities. Since 2000, Chevron Energy Solutions has developed hundreds of projects involving energy efficiency and renewable energy for government, education, and business customers in the United States. Its parent, Chevron Corporation, is investing across the energy spectrum to develop energy sources for future generations by expanding the capabilities of alternative and renewable energy technologies.

Contact:
Juliet Don, Chevron Energy Solutions, 415.733.4673

Obama recognizes the need for efficiency!

Obama is on the right track. If we want to help turn this economy around, focusing on energy efficiency can provide financial savings for tomorrow while creating jobs today. I have broken down some his statements on energy efficiency to explore the viability of his plan. All position statements are taken directly off of his website.

Improve Energy Efficiency 50 Percent by 2030
This is a bit of a stretch. On average, one could expect to improve energy efficiency on buildings by 20 -40% depending on the age of the building and what has been done to date. To achieve this, there will need to be continued breakthroughs in heating and cooling technologies and the widespread adoption of LED lighting. This is achievable, but in this economic environment I do not see a lot of money going into R&D to improve these technologies. Obama will have to find ways to incent additional research in efficiency since most capital is going into renewable energy generation. You have to set your goals high, so I am happy this is the over-arching goal. Let's look at some of the supporting initiatives:

• Set National Building Efficiency Goals: Barack Obama will establish a goal of making all new buildings carbon neutral, or produce zero emissions, by 2030. Obama will establish a national goal of improving new building efficiency by 50 percent and existing building efficiency by 25 percent over the next decade to help us meet the 2030 goal.

A very lofty goal to have new buildings be carbon neutral. I think this will be a stretch for this really to work since new carbon neutral buildings will have to cost less than traditional buildings. I do not see this happening. Therefore success is dependent upon end users "pulling" this through as the beneficiaries of the carbon neutral buildings. Otherwise developers mainly focused on value engineering and reducing upfront cost will win. There will have to be some major technological breakthroughs or financial incentives to see this happen.

Most existing buildings could be 25% more efficient in a year. I think he missed the mark here by giving this a decade. The technologies to accomplish this objective are all commercially viable while making financial sense today. There isn't anything prohibiting 25% efficiency in existing buildings other addressing the issue of competing uses of capital budgets in both the public and private sectors. Zero or low interest loans (through some of the bailout money given to financial institutions) could be used to spur this along in the private sectors. The public sector would benefit more from legislation requiring this level of efficiency. Energy services companies can provide the public sector everything from engineering to project management, including financing.

• Establish a Grant Program for Early Adopters: Obama will create a competitive grant program to award those states and localities that take the first steps to implement new building codes that prioritize energy efficiency.

The devil is in the details on this one. In concept I am supportive of this initiative. To really move the public sector, financial incentives in these tough times will be a good motivator. The leaders will also develop a "gameplan" which other states will be able to replicate, thus increasing efficiency and renewable energy at the state level in addition to the feds.

• Invest in a Digital Smart Grid: Obama will pursue a major investment in our utility grid to enable a tremendous increase in renewable generation and accommodate modern energy requirements, such as reliability, smart metering, and distributed storage

A smart grid is key to an efficiency and renewable energy, as well as reliability. Distributed storage is THE key to broad deployment of renewable energy. While the technology exists, improvements are need and the costs need to come down. I am happy Obama wants to invest in this, however I am concerned about the implementation. Many utilities across the country, despite what they say publicly, do not want to lose load on their system. They also don't have the expertise to develop a smart grid. Will the money just go to their friendly consultants with little results? I hope there will be accountability on any funds given to utilities.

Obama is off to the right start, and as the details continue to come out on his plans, I become more optimistic that many of the goals that Obama has laid out will become reality.

Chevron Energy Solutions Expands Into Hawaii

HONOLULU, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Chevron Energy Solutions announced today the opening of a new office in Honolulu and its selection by the State of Hawaii as one of the state's pre-qualified energy service companies. This selection allows the company to perform energy services -- including developing and installing cost-reducing energy efficiency improvements and renewable power facilities -- for public entities in the state effective December 1.

"We are very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Hawaii's public education and government agencies to develop projects that will lower energy costs and reduce the carbon footprint of facilities," said Jim Davis, president of Chevron Energy Solutions. "We are uniquely positioned to satisfy the unprecedented growth in demand for energy saving and renewable power projects and to work with the State of Hawaii to achieve their renewable energy and efficiency goals."

Brian Kealoha has joined Chevron Energy Solutions as Regional Manager and will lead the company's Hawaii operations. Kealoha has more than 14 years of experience working in the energy industry and has a bachelor's degree and MBA from Gonzaga University. He is a Certified Energy Manager, Certified Lighting Efficiency Professional and Certified Demand Side Manager and has lived most of his life in Hawaii.

About Chevron Energy Solutions
Chevron Energy Solutions, a division of Chevron (NYSE: CVX), designs and constructs sustainable energy projects, including building and renewable energy systems, that increase energy efficiency, reduce energy costs and ensure reliable, high-quality power. Since 2000, Chevron Energy Solutions has developed hundreds of projects involving energy efficiency or renewable power for education, government and business customers in the United States. Its parent, Chevron Corporation, is investing across the energy spectrum to develop energy sources for future generations by expanding the capabilities of alternative and renewable energy technologies. Chevron spent approximately $2 billion on alternative and renewable energy development between 2002 and 2006, and expects to spend more than $2.5 billion between 2007 and 2009.

Contact: Al Chee, Chevron, 808-682-2313

Juliet Don, Chevron Energy Solutions, 415-733-4673

SOURCE Chevron Energy Solutions

Where have I been?

It's been a busy summer. I am now District Manager for Chevron Energy Solutions. I made the move because I believe CES is best suited to help our state reduce its energy footprint. CES has had substantial success in the public sector with over 950 successful projects averaging around a 30% reduction in energy usage. Most notably CES has been very helpful to K-12 schools, an area of concern here in Hawaii. Here is information on the Green Apple Award for Climate Change...

Chevron Energy Solutions Receives Green Apple Award for Climate Change

SAN FRANCISCO, September 11, 2008 — The Collaborative for High Performance Schools announced today that it has selected Chevron Energy Solutions to receive the 2008 Green Apple Award for Climate Change. The award recognizes the company's work with school districts nationwide to capture energy and cost savings through energy-efficient facility improvements, conservation and solar power projects. Savings can be applied towards new textbooks, computers, building renovations and other important priorities, while also reducing the school district's carbon footprint. The projects also provide an opportunity for students to learn about how energy efficiency and renewable power can combat climate change.

"Chevron Energy Solutions demonstrates exceptional leadership in assisting schools across the country to adopt high performance best practices," said Charles Eley, Executive Director of the Collaborative for High Performance Schools. "Through their efforts, more than eighty school districts have reduced their energy consumption by twenty-five percent on average. Chevron's program demonstrates their commitment to improving the environment for our nation's schoolchildren."

Some examples of Chevron Energy Solutions' school district projects are:

San Jose Unified School District (California) – The district will save more than $25 million in energy cost savings over the life of the 5.5 megawatt solar power system that Chevron Energy Solutions is designing, building, operating and maintaining. As a result, the district also expects to reduce its demand for utility power by 25 percent, which will lower carbon dioxide emissions by 37,500 tons -- equivalent to planting 400 acres of trees.

Milpitas Unified School District (California) – Chevron Energy Solutions is constructing a 3.4-megawatt solar power system that will save the district more than $12 million in energy costs. It is anticipated that the system will generate 75 percent of the district's total annual electricity needs through solar energy and 100 percent of the district's power during the peak-demand summer months.

Chambersburg Area School District (Pennsylvania) – Energy-efficient improvements developed by Chevron Energy Solutions are saving the district nearly $3 million. The company upgraded and replaced lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, installed new energy management and control systems, replaced roofs and windows, installed an energy information system, and performed water conservation retrofits at eight of the district's schools.
Williamson County Schools (Tennessee) – Chevron Energy Solutions provided 27 buildings with facility improvements that are saving the district nearly $900,000 while improving indoor comfort. As a result of this program, the district received the state's Pollution Prevention Partnership Award and an Energy Star Award, the only such award given to a school district in Tennessee.

"We are honored to receive the 2008 Green Apple Award for Climate Change," said Jim Davis, president of Chevron Energy Solutions. "In recognizing our partnerships with school districts, the Collaborative for High Performance Schools is helping to raise awareness that education institutions can become energy efficient, reduce their carbon footprint, achieve cost savings, and improve their learning environment all at the same time."

The award was presented to Chevron Energy Solutions by David Thorman, California State Architect, during a luncheon in Sacramento that was attended by more than 300 government and district officials.

About Chevron Energy Solutions
Chevron Energy Solutions designs and constructs sustainable energy projects, including building and renewable energy systems, that increase energy efficiency, reduce energy costs and ensure reliable, high-quality power. Since 2000, Chevron Energy Solutions has developed hundreds of projects involving energy efficiency or renewable power for education, government and business customers in the United States. Its parent, Chevron Corporation, is investing across the energy spectrum to develop energy sources for future generations by expanding the capabilities of alternative and renewable energy technologies. Chevron spent approximately $2 billion on alternative and renewable energy development between 2002 and 2006, and expects to spend more than $2.5 billion between 2007 and 2009.

About the Collaborative for High Performance Schools
The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) is the nation's first green building rating program developed especially for school learning environments. The mission of CHPS is to improve the quality of education for our nation's schoolchildren by facilitating the design of a new generation of high performance schools: places of learning that are environmentally sustainable, healthy and comfortable. For more information about CHPS, visit: www.chps.net; for more information about Greentools, visit: www.chps.net/greentools.

Contact: Juliet Don, Chevron Energy Solutions
415-733-4673

I'm Back!!!

I finally solved the issues with my web hosting company. What an ordeal. Anyway, here is some information I recently shared with the Honolulu Advertiser...

Honolulu Advertiser Story

BUSINESS BOOMING FOR COMPANIES CONSULTING ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Not everyone is screaming about rising energy prices. For companies consulting on ways to lower energy bills, the jump in electricity prices has been a boon.
At Energy Industries, one of the largest locally based companies specializing in this, business is up about 40 to 50 percent, said Brian Kealoha, senior vice president.
He said many companies call after taking steps such as asking people to turn off lights in unoccupied rooms and putting in water-heater timers and compact fluorescent light bulbs.

"At that point they're stuck and they don't know what they can do," said Kealoha, who says consultants can come in and conduct audits to see where the best savings can be achieved. Usually this involves three areas — more efficient lighting systems, air conditioning and water heating.

New fluorescent T-8 fixtures with electronic ballasts can help reduce lighting costs by up to one-quarter, while use of more directed light and fewer fixtures may help achieve more light in needed areas at even lower costs, Kealoha said.
In terms of air conditioning the consultants can help decide whether systems with years of life left can be replaced. It may be that newer models can pay for themselves within a few years and produce a greater savings than keeping the dated technology, Kealoha said.

Then there are solar water heaters or heat pumps that can produce hot water for buildings and cut electricity bills, Kealoha said.
While photovoltaic systems have attracted a lot of attention, people should look first at efficiencies that can be achieved. Photovoltaic systems generally take longer to break even, while lighting systems are quicker. Kealoha said by making the efficiency changes first the amount of electricity needed from a photovoltaic system is lessened.
Businesses are "realizing they have to do more than what they can do on their own," Kealoha said. "We've definitely seen an upturn in people interested in seeing how they can reduce their energy costs."

Concentrated Solar Power Taking Center Stage

Solar electrical systems aren’t only being considered for homes and business buildings. Concentrated Solar Power or CSP is rapidly becoming the "other solar".

Concentrated Solar Power typically consists of a trough and a linear parabolic reflector that concentrates light onto a receiver positioned along the reflector's focal line. The reflector is made to follow the sun during the daylight hours by tracking along a single axis. A working fluid (oil, water) flows through the receiver and is heated to high temperatures before transferring its heat to a distillation or power generation system. Trough systems are the most developed CSP technology. The Solar Electric Generating System (SEGS) plants in California and Plataforma Solar de Almería's SSPS-DCS plant in Spain are representatives of this technology

CSP is evolving from large scale generation facilities like SEGS to small solar farms and eventually sited on commercial rooftops. One company leading this charge is Sopogy. Sopogy already is in the process of planning and building a 1-megawatt solar farm using its technology at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority on the Big Island.

Instead of employing photovoltaic cells that convert light to electricity, the system makes use of curved mirrors that intensify and focus sun energy on a pipe filled with a fluid. After being heated, the fluid can be used to drive turbines and generate electricity, for use in absorption electricity or steam creation. While the technology has been around for more than 30 years, Sopogy says it has a design that makes the process more efficient.

Pretty exciting stuff...the "other" solar may soon be mainstream.

2007 Energy Bill - Left in the dark?

It is pretty disappointing that the 2007 Energy Bill signed by President Bush at the end of last year did not renew solar and conservation tax credits for homes. While focusing on fuel standards for vehicles, it completely missed the boat on the extension of these tax credits.

Here are some home energy highlights, thanks to a summary of the bill by the Alliance to Save Energy:

Appliance energy efficiency. The bill establishes new external power supply efficiency standards, based on the standards of California and other states; updates and creates new appliance efficiency standards and test procedures and provides for a regular review of those procedures; updates boiler efficiency standards and creates an electricity use standard for furnace fans; creates regional, climate-specific standards for furnaces, air conditioners, and heat pumps; requires DOE to include consideration of energy consumed while in standby mode for appliances already addressed by efficiency standards in their active mode; and directs the Federal Trade Commission to require energy labels for televisions, personal computer monitors, cable and set top boxes, and digital video recorders.

Building efficiency. The 2007 Energy Bill directs DOE to set standards for manufactured housing that are at least as stringent as the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) national model code. There are also lots of provisions to increase the energy and water efficiency of government buildings and to create green building demonstration projects. The latter’s effect on housing? The government’s purchasing power moves whole industries—in this case it moves the building industry in the right direction.

Lighting. The Energy Bill directs DOE to set performance standards for general-service lightbulbs to achieve a 25%–­30% savings compared to incandescent bulbs by 2012–14. The bill also directs DOE to establish Bright Tomorrow Lighting prizes for the development of solid-state lighting.

Green jobs. The Energy Bill authorizes a Department of Labor energy efficiency and renewable energy worker training program, and establishes within the Office of Solar Energy Technologies a grant program to create and strengthen solar-industry workforce training and internship programs for installation, operation, and maintenance of solar-energy devices.

The bill also supports the recommendations offered by a group from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, including that of Home Energy Magazine Technical Editor Steve Greenberg, for greening the capitol complex, a set of buildings in Washington, D.C., including the Capitol, office buildings, and the capitol complex power plant. No mention is made of hot air energy recovery efforts from the chambers where Congress does its business.

First things First - Think efficiency before renewable energy

Before you start putting solar panels or wind turbines on your building, you should be sure you won’t be wasting that energy in your inefficient building. When it comes to spending money on energy projects, the efficiency side is where you really should spend it first. Consider these facts:

1. The return on investment on energy efficiency measures far exceeds those of any renewable energy system.
2. By making your building as efficient as possible first, you can minimize the size (and cost) of the renewable energy system you are interested in.
3. The saving of a kilowatt hour through efficiency has the same impact on the reduction of carbon emissions and imported oil as one created by a renewable energy system.

If your car has a leak in its gas tank, would you keep filling it up with premium gasoline only to let it drain out? The same goes for your building. You need to tighten up the energy leaks before investing in any type of generation system.

There are many opportunities for efficiency within commercial buildings. Advancement in lighting, air conditioning, and control technologies has resulted in large increases in efficiencies. This can provide significant dollar savings to your facility.

The fact is that the economics are in place for energy efficiency projects today. Energy prices over the past couple of years have increased significantly. Most utilities offer rebates for the installation of energy efficient technology. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 allows for tax deductions as well. This makes a typical return on investment for an energy efficiency project between 40 and 75%. If you finance these projects, you are able to create a positive cash flow situation from day one without any out of pocket expense.

Renewable energy is an important part of our future. How we get there is through a portfolio of energy efficient measures combined with renewable energy systems. Forming a comprehensive energy plan for your building will help achieve these goals. Having a strategy will ensure proper system integration, the most favorable return on investment and the need for less energy consumption.

So before you go out and purchase that solar system, take a look at your building and make sure you are as efficient as possible and you don’t have any energy leaks!

Na Oiwi Olino

For those of you who missed it, here is my interview energy efficiency and sustainability on the Na Oiwi Olino radio show with Brickwood Galuteria and Kimo Kahoano.

http://www.streamaudio.com/listen/cox.asp?station=KKNE_AM&streamtype=archiveaudio&filename=NOO_2007-11-02.mp3