It’s that time of year for reflection. Those of us in the clean energy business had a lot to be thankful for in 2014. Here are some of the trends and developments that are making the top of our “nice list” at Xergy this year.
The 2014 Nice List
You – we’ve continued to enjoy the people and organizations that helped make 2014 a success. If you are a client, partner, collaborator, supporter: thank you! We can’t wait to join you again in 2015!- Powerful, well-produced investigations of climate change economics – Two standout climate reports got our attention this year. The New Climate Economy project contends that tackling the climate problem could essentially be a no-cost proposition, when taking the long view. A little less sanguine, the Risky Business project provides insights into the U.S. regional risk profile associated with climate change.
- Efficiency surpasses renewables – With the continued boom in solar PV, sometimes it’s hard to remember that our best energy resource is simply not using energy at all. This year, efficiency reached a milestone as the International Energy Agency reported that the global market for energy efficiency surpassed renewables at $310 billion. IEA’s report acknowledges efficiency as “the invisible powerhouse in IEA countries and beyond, working behind the scenes to improve our energy security, lower our energy bills and move us closer to reaching our climate goals.” The blue LED—a key enabling technology on the path to solid state lighting—even won the Nobel Prize in physics this year. It couldn’t be a more exciting time to be working in this field.
- Renewables continue to gain in the U.S. – Renewables, solar PV in particular, continued to build an undeniable momentum in the U.S. this year. Deutsche Bank estimated that rooftop PV would reach grid parity in all 50 states by 2016. Even in our own remote Four Corners region, 2014 saw a massive push on PV installations, with the local Solarize La Plata campaign responsible for over 100 installs alone or over 500 kW (kudos to the volunteers and our friends at 4CORE for making this happen).
- Intelligent efficiency (and demand response) comes of age – intelligent efficiency, “smart” devices, the smart grid, the Internet of Things—in 2014, these buzzwords started to gain some meaning in our industry. Residential energy management firms like Nest Labs and Ecofactor continued to expand their utility program offerings and, more importantly, published actual results from pilots including tens of thousands of homes. The U.S. General Services Administration’s Green Proving Ground program also began evaluating a number of different intelligent efficiency, demand response, and energy storage applications, including Comfy, Building IQ, and Q Coefficient. We are thrilled to be providing services to innovators in this rapidly evolving space.
- Bright spots for cooperation on environmental issues – with the prospect of votes on the Keystone XL pipeline and potential rollback of executive actions regulating power plant emissions coming in 2015, we can’t get too excited about Congress at the moment. However, we saw miraculous proof that diverse stakeholders can come to terms through the passage of the Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act in 2014. The law puts 100,000 acres of wild lands near Xergy’s home in Southwest Colorado under federal management and protection, 40,000 of it as wilderness. Many thanks to Senator Bennet (D-CO) and Representative Tipton (R-CO) for finding a common cause and giving our region a reason to celebrate the democratic process.
The 2014 Naughty Short List
Coal delivery!
- The climate continues to “weirden,” the warnings from the experts are none too cheery, and the band plays on
- The continued popularity of “rolling coal.” We’re pretty sure there are better ways to retrofit your diesel.
- Ongoing irrational backlash against AMI (smart meters)
- The prospect of cheap(er) gas and all those extra miles travelled
- The new Congress
- The old Congress
And so during this holiday season, we step back and feel energized by the collective successes of our industry this year, and look forward to build on them in the year to come. Happy holidays and best wishes for more clean energy wins in 2015!