The least expensive power is the power that we don’t have to
create. Not only that, but not having to
create that power can be an economic engine.
“In Colorado alone, the energy efficiency industry provides over 14,000
jobs and creates more than $1 Billion in local economic development, according
to the State of the State, a report produced by the Energy Efficient Business
Coalition (http://energyefficiencybusinesses.org).
To introduce this concept from the perspective of a business
owner, ICOSA invited Tim Heaton, Vice President and co-founder of Coolerado,
Inc. (www.coolerado.com) to talk about
his experience with energy efficiency, both the successes and the
challenges. Energy is the single largest
controllable business expense. “The
commercial real estate industry spends approximately $24 billion
annually on energy -- typically a third of variable expenses,” according to
statistics. Of that, lighting and
cooling account for 80% of that cost.
The biggest impact is in the retrofit market because new
construction accounts for only 1% of market activity. In fact, 73% of our
commercial buildings are 20 years or older.
The benefits of reducing energy costs are huge and represent big
opportunity, according to Heaton. A 10%
decrease in energy use could lead to a 1.5% increase in net operating income
(NOI). This is money that goes directly
to the business’ bottom line, emphasizes Heaton.
As we take a deeper dive on the
show, however, we see that the benefits exceed those that are directed towards
a business’ bottom line. Studies have
shown that conserving 1 megawatt of energy:
creates 22 new jobs; generates an increase of $2,230,572 in annual
economic output for the region; provides $684,536 in new wage income; produces
$125,000 in new business income for local businesses. This is yet another time on the show that we
see the impact of market failures. In
this case, if numbers show that energy efficiency is an economic engine, why
isn’t the energy efficiency industry growing in-line with its potential?
One market challenge is the
upfront cost associated with energy efficiency retrofits. To understand the challenges and some
solutions in this area we talk to Sharon Procopio, P.E. Commercial Energy
Program Administrator, City and County of Denver Department of Environmental
Health. Sharon manages the Denver Energy
Challenge for Businesses, which provides education, free support services, and
financial assistance to businesses in the City and County of Denver. (http://www.denverenergy.org/) The Denver Energy Challenge was created to
expand energy efficiency services to residents and businesses in the City of
County of Denver and its funding was derived under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act.
Because energy is a business
cost and not necessarily associated with a business’ core objective, decisions
on energy efficiency and investment are time consuming and can be
confusing. To address this, Elevations
Credit Union (elevationscu.com/energyloans) has teamed up with Energy Smart and
the Denver Energy Challenge to bring Elevations Energy Loans to eligible homes
and businesses in Denver City and County and Boulder County. This team of experts provides access to
energy advisors to help assess the business needs and make retrofit
recommendations, qualified contractors to make the improvements and loan
specialists to provide low interest loans (2.75% for homes and 3.75% for
businesses).
Under this program, Elevations
Credit Union is committing $35M in financing for energy efficient and renewable
energy upgrades for eligible homes and businesses in Denver and Boulder
Counties. Boulder and Denver Counties
have set aside $8M of grant funds to create a finance program to improve energy
efficiency of existing buildings and stimulate local economic growth. Businesses and residences can find more
information by looking at this video http://youtu.be/xzkW_wpstJk or going to the Denver Energy Challenge website http://denverenergy.org/content/energy-loans.
Join us for a more detailed
discussion on ICOSA’s Driving Force radio with Jan Mazotti (http://www.talkzone.com/shows/199/icosa.html)
and co-host for Energy 101, Kelly de la Torre.
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