All Posts Tagged 'efficiency' (21)

Rural small businesses can request an energy efficiency assessment by Waste Reduction Partners at a reduced cost. The energy assessment will identify cost effective energy saving measures that can be pursued by your business. WRP’s team of energy professionals has received funding support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to perform energy efficiency assessments at qualifying rural small businesses in North Carolina. The assessments can also be used by the business as part of a grant…

We're proud to announce that the North Carolina Energy Efficiency Alliance (NCEEA) won EPA's 2012 ENERGY STAR Award for Excellence. The Appalachian State University based organizations is a state-funded, nonprofit that aims to overcome market barriers to…

Please join the WNC Green Building Council on March 28 at Diana Wortham Theatre for the Green Building Directory Release Party and a presentation on Sustainable Urbanism from Living City Block. Living City Block works on community based financing strategies to address a spectrum of sustainability issues including energy efficiency, renewable energy, mobility, waste and water. On Wednesday, Chad Riley of Living City Block will be…

ATLANTA – Six organizations in North Carolina were recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as Energy Star Leaders that improved the energy efficiency of their building portfolios by 20 percent or more. Nationally, EPA’s Energy Star program helped 90 leading organizations achieve President Obama’s goal by providing them with a proven energy management strategy, which includes a focus on ongoing performance measurement and whole-building…

The North Carolina Energy Office is re-opening the ENERGY STAR® Appliance Rebate and Replacement program for North Carolina residents who recycle and replace an existing appliance with a new ENERGY STAR® qualified appliance purchased on or after January 1, 2012. Purchases must be completed at a North Carolina retail location.

Consumers may go online or call a special telephone number to start the application process to receive their rebate. The link to the N.C. ENERGY STAR Appliance…

The WNC Regional Air Quality Agency is accepting nominations for its annual Clean Air Excellence Awards, which will recognize businesses, organizations and individuals who’ve made valuable contributions to Buncombe County’s air quality. To make a nomination, complete the application form at www.wncairquality.org/awards.htm. Awards will focus on voluntary efforts such as energy-efficiency…

DURHAM, N.C., January 23, 2012 — Taking steps to improve energy efficiency and reduce its overall carbon footprint, the City of Asheville has initiated North Carolina’s first large-scale deployment of LED street lights. There are 3,643 LEDway® street lights from Durham-based manufacturer Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) being installed, with projected savings of $260,000 annually.



In the initial phase of the project, completed in June 2011, 730 street lights in Asheville’s River District…

FHA PowerSaver Program to offer low-cost financing to credit-worthy borrowers

WASHINGTON - Eighteen national, regional and local lenders will participate in a new two-year pilot program that will offer qualified borrowers living in certain parts of the country low-cost loans to make energy-saving improvements to their homes. Backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), these new PowerSaver loans will offer homeowners up to $25,000 to make…

Progress Energy customers will soon have a little more motivation to be more efficient. Progress Energy will begin sending notices to customers comparing their energy use with neighbor's of similar size homes. For the competitive type, this makes saving energy a type of competition, competing for the top score and most efficient house! These notices will begin going out in June. A little friendly competition may be just what is needed to encourage some households to save…

SALISBURY — With the looming state and local budget cuts, school systems across North Carolina are looking for cost-savings wherever possible. Some have already found success and want to energize other school systems to take similar actions.

EduCon, a Winston-Salem based energy conservation consulting company, works with school systems to reduce energy consumption and costs, which in most cases is the second highest line-item in a school system’s budget.

“Energy costs continue…

The energy efficiency programs of today will prove that we can achieve significant reductions in our energy usage as a nation while stimulating economic development and creating cleaner, healthier communities. These programs will generate the first standardized data about the benefits associated with efficient buildings. This data will inform the operators and residents of buildings about the value of investing in efficiency over time in terms of financial savings, comfort, and health. This…

Solar energy is proving so successful in North Carolina that industry advocates want to double the amount of sun-powered electricity that is required by state law.

A bill introduced Monday in the General assembly would raise North Carolina's solar energy requirement to 0.4 percent of all retail electricity sold by electric utilities by 2018. The current requirement, set by the state's sweeping 2007 green energy law, is 0.2 percent.

But despite solar energy's…

Appalachian State University has installed their very first green roof on campus. It is located at Katherine Harper Hall (formaly Kerr Scott Hall). This building is host to technology programs including Building Science and Appropriate Technology. These majors will no doubt benefit from this installation as a hands-on learning opportunity. A green roof helps to reduce energy costs while reducing green-house emissions and enhancing storm-water managment. Read more about this…

Building on a pledge in his State of the Union address to invest in infrastructure and clean energy, President Obama will unveil proposals today to improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings with tax incentives and competitive grants to states and municipalities.

Obama plans to announce the Better Buildings Initiative during today's trip to State College, Pa., home to Penn…

RALEIGH –North Carolina’s Utility Savings Initiative saved the state’s taxpayers more than $55.3 million in utility costs in the last fiscal year and avoided emitting more than 164,886 metric tons of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere, according to a report issued recently by the North Carolina Energy Office.  Since the Utility Savings Initiative was launched in 2003, the state has saved more than $325 million while investing $11 million into utility savings improvements in North Carolina…

The results of today's (12/14/10) meeting are in!

The North Carolina Building Code Council decided Tuesday to order the increase in home energy efficiency and to consider changes to building standards that could cut building costs by 15 percent. Commercial buildings would be required to meet a 30 percent improvement in energy efficiency...

Read more and watch news story…

The deadline for application submissions is August 31, 2010. Selections will be announced in…