During the first Clean Energy Ministerial, which attracted 24
governments, DOE announced that the United States will help
launch 11 international clean energy initiatives, ranging from
increased electric vehicle use to distribution of 10 million
solar LEDs to the world’s poorest.

DOE has announced $30 million in Recovery Act and FY 2010
funds to help small businesses commercialize promising new
technologies. Applications are being accepted in the
technology areas of biomass, buildings, geothermal,
photovoltaics, wind power, vehicle efficiency, and energy
transmission and storage.

DOE is embarking on initiatives to install cool roofs on its
buildings whenever practical and is urging other federal
agencies and commercial entities to do the same. Cool roofs
will reduce energy use, limit carbon pollution, and save
taxpayer money, DOE says.

The size of new single-family homes dropped in 2009,
according to a new report from a housing association, in part
to drive energy costs down. Another survey shows new
homes have steadily become more energy efficient over the
past decades.

The U.S. Department of Energy today announced 15 research
and deployment partnerships to help dramatically improve
the energy efficiency of American homes.

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today
announced a series of initiatives underway at the Department
of Energy to more broadly implement cool roof technologies
on DOE facilities and buildings across the federal government.

DOE has awarded $92 million for new Advanced Research
Projects AgencyEnergy projects in 18 states that will
accelerate innovation in clean energy technologies, increase
competitiveness, and create U.S. jobs.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced 43
cutting-edge research projects that aim to dramatically
improve how the U.S. uses and produces energy.

DOE has selected 58 projects to receive more than $76
million in Recovery Act funds to develop advanced
energy-efficiency building technologies as well as
commercial building training programs.

Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Utah have
weatherized a total of more than 9,000 homes with Recovery
Act funding so far, hitting targets that entitle them to
access all of their Recovery Act funding for DOE’s
Weatherization Assistance Program. Seven other states
already crossed that threshold.

DOE announced awards totaling more than $76 million in
funding from the Recovery Act to support advanced energy-
efficient building technology projects and the development of
training programs for commercial building equipment
technicians, building operators, and energy auditors.

Thirty-four weatherization training centers in 27 states will
receive $29 million in DOE grants under the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The energy efficiency funds
will go toward expanding eight existing training centers and
establishing 26 new ones.

DOE has ordered Aspen Manufacturing, Inc.; Summit
Manufacturing; and Advanced Distributor Products to halt the
distribution of 61 models of heat pumps and one air
conditioner model that do not comply with federal energy
conservation standards.

Stand-alone data centers and buildings that house large data
centers can now earn the Energy Star label if they are in the
top 25% of their peers in terms of energy efficiency. Those
looking to earn that label should check out the best practices
compiled by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has joined
with eight Energy Star partner utilities and state energy
efficiency programs located throughout the country in a pilot
program to target commercial building energy efficiency.

Leaders from 15 countries, the European Commission, and
the United States have held the first policy meeting of the
International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation
(IPEEC). DOE Assistant Secretary Cathy Zoi was picked as
the first policy committee chair.

Assistant Secretary Cathy Zoi of the joined leaders from 15
countries and the European Commission today at the first
Policy Committee meeting of the International Partnership for
Energy Efficiency Cooperation to promote global collaboration
on energy-saving programs and policies.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
sponsoring a national energy efficiency contest, featuring 14
commercial buildings from across the country competing to
trim kilowatt-hours. The winner will be announced at EPA’s
final “weigh-in” on October 26.

Vice President Joe Biden has announced the 25 communities
selected for up to $452 million in Recovery Act funds under
DOE’s “Retrofit Ramp-Up.” The funds will leverage an
estimated $2.8 billion from other sources for these pilot
projects.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected the
top ten green buildings for 2010, citing examples in six states
and two foreign countries of buildings which make the best
use of energy efficiency strategies such as natural
daylighting, shading, and ventilation.

DOE has selected the 20 collegiate teams to compete in the
2011 Solar Decathlon, which will be held on the National Mall
in Washington, D.C. The teams, representing five countries
and four continents, will compete to design and build the
most affordable energy-efficient and solar-powered houses.

DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
have announced changes to the certification process for
Energy Star products. Manufacturers must now submit
complete lab reports to the EPA for its review and approval.

The United States has invested $4 billion in Recovery Act
funds for the energy-efficient construction and renovation of
federal buildings nationwide. The money is being spent on
new construction and upgrades such as high-efficiency
heating and cooling, solar panels, and solar water heaters.

DOE has finalized tougher appliance standards for home
water heaters and other heating products. The new standards
will save consumers up to $10 billion over 30 years and are
part of the $300 billion that will be saved from DOE’s
increased standards on more than 20 types of products.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the
Department of Energy today jointly announced changes to
the ENERGY STAR product certification process to ensure that
only products meeting the ENERGY STAR requirements can
receive an ENERGY STAR label.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu
announced today that the Department has finalized higher
energy efficiency standards for a key group of heating
appliances that will together save consumers up to $10 billion
and prevent up to 164 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
emissions over 30 years.

DOE is committing $37.5 million in funding over the next five
years to support the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research
Center. The joint initiative will focus initially on building
energy efficiency and clean vehicles, as well as carbon
capture and storage.

DOE issued a subpoena to AeroSys, Inc. on July 23 to obtain
data necessary to determine whether certain AeroSys
commercial air conditioners and heat pumps comply with
relevant DOE energy efficiency standards.

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced
the availability of nearly $300 million in funding from the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for state-run
rebate programs for consumer purchases of new ENERGY
STAR qualified home appliances.

DOE is providing more than $448 million in Recovery Act
funding to expand weatherization assistance programs in
Alabama, Idaho, Maine, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma,
Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington,
Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

While only 12% of new homes built in the United States in
2007 earned the Energy Star label, the market share
increased to 17% in 2008, according to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. Nearly 940,000 Energy
Star-qualified homes have been built to date.

DOE is offering $3.9 billion in grants to support the
development and demonstration of smart grid technologies,
with the bulk of the money going toward awards of up to $200
million that will enable smart grid functions on the nation’s
power grid as soon as possible.

President Barack Obama and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven
Chu announced on June 29 aggressive actions to promote
energy efficiency and save U.S. consumers billions of dollars
per year.

Despite a constant projected growth in electricity use over the
next decade, the peak power demand in the United States
could be held essentially steady, according to a new report
from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Achieving
that feat would involve the widespread use of “smart” meters
and utility rates that go up with increasing demand.

DOE is awarding up to $22 million in Recovery Act funds to 24
projects that will aim to cut the costs of solar cells and
modules. The agency will also offer up to $27 million to
develop the nation’s infrastructure for solar installation
training, with $5 million coming from the Recovery Act.

DOE will hold the 2009 Solar Decathlon from October 9-18 on
the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Solar Decathlon is a
biennial competition where 20 teams
of university students develop fully-functional houses that
draw all their energy from the sun.

A former naval base on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay and a planned green community in central Florida will be two of the initial sites for the Climate Positive Development Program. The new international effort will develop large-scale urban projects with negative greenhouse gas emissions.

DOE is preparing to offer nearly $4 billion in Recovery Act
funds for Smart Grid projects and has significantly raised the
maximum awards for Smart Grid demonstration projects.
DOE and the U.S. Department of Commerce have also
announced the first set of proposed Smart Grid standards.

Some computer servers will soon carry the Energy Star label,
and on average they’ll be 30% more energy efficient than
standard servers. But that raises a question: do
semiconductors and their use in electronic gadgets help or
hinder energy efficiency? Two new reports take opposing
views.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a part of the U.S.
Department of the Interior, will invest $41 million in Recovery
Act funds to reduce its backlog of applications for renewable
energy projects. The Interior Department is also establishing
four new Renewable Energy Coordination Offices to help cut
through the red tape.

Drawing in part on Recovery Act funds, DOE plans to invest
$777 million to support 46 new Energy Frontier Research
Centers for the next five years. The new centers will study
top energy challenges such as solar energy, biofuels,
solid-state lighting, hydrogen storage, and electrical energy
storage.

Clean energy is good for human health, so it makes sense for
healthcare leaders to want to use clean energy in their
hospitals. The new Hospital Energy Alliance will promote the
use of energy efficiency and renewable energy in hospitals by
bringing together national healthcare leaders and DOE.

In an update to the ,
DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that
the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act will provide a
near-term jump in renewable power generation and a
long-term reduction in residential and commercial energy use.

This year’s top ten examples of sustainable architecture and
green building design are located in six U.S. states, plus
Victoria, British Columbia, and Beirut, Lebanon. The buildings
combine energy-saving strategies with onsite energy
sources, including solar, wind, and biomass energy.

DOE launched the Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance, a
partnership of commercial real estate owners and operators
that have volunteered to work with DOE to drastically reduce
the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of
commercial buildings.

By 2013, New York City’s Empire State Building should be
consuming 38% less energy while shaving its peak electrical
demand by 3.5 megawatts. But the real achievement of the
massive energy retrofit is the process used to devise it, a
process that can now be applied to other existing buildings.