Energy Improvements Can Save Greater Cincinnati $60 Million and Create Over 300 Local Jobs

http://aceee.org/press/2011/12/energy-improvements-can-save-greater
Cincinnati—Energy efficiency upgrades to the area’s homes and nonprofit buildings can save area residents $60 million in lower energy bills and create more than 300 local jobs, according to a study released today by the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance.

The study, conducted by the University of Cincinnati’s Economics Center and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, is the first of its kind in the region. Researchers found that routine energy upgrades, such as installing more insulation and reducing drafts, as well as upgrading heating and air-conditioning units, will also reduce energy-related air pollution.

“My mom used to say, ‘Close the door, you are letting the heat out.’ That’s what we have here. Our house is our community and we have dollars leaking out,’’ said Jeff Rexhausen, Associate Director of Research at the University of Cincinnati’s Economics Center. “The dollars are leaking out because we are spending them on energy. If we saved money on energy, we could spend our money on other things and that would improve our local economy. That’s really what this report is about.’’

Researchers of the study, commissioned by the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, examined energy, building, census, and environmental data for Hamilton, Boone, Campbell, and Kenton Counties, which are all served by the nonprofit group. The Energy Alliance provides low-cost financial incentives for homeowners and nonprofit groups to make energy efficiency upgrades. The report, “The Energy Efficiency Market in the Greater Cincinnati Region: Energy Savings Potential and Strategies to Improve Performance of Residential and Nonprofit Buildings,” quantifies the level of economic impact those upgrades can make to the region.
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Researchers found that if 69,000 homeowners and 460 nonprofits make energy improvements using the Energy Alliance’s program, they would save $22.2 million in 2020 and $59.6 million in lower energy bills in 2030. Further, most homeowners would see immediate cash savings in the first year of the energy upgrade and an average savings of $500 a year for 18 years.

The Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance is one of only 35 organizations in the country to be awarded a grant through the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Neighborhood Program. The mission of the program is to transform the energy efficiency market. What that means for the Energy Alliance is investing in technology, workforce development, and financing solutions to dramatically increase both the supply and demand of the market.

To date, the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance has provided expertise and funding to weatherize 325 Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky homes with such improvements.

As homeowners save money on their energy bills, their spending will shift and create the need for jobs in other sectors of the local economy, researchers said. They calculated that around 317 local jobs would be created in 2030 in the areas of construction and manufacturing as well as in trades and services. Those jobs would pump an additional $13 million into the local economy.

"Energy efficiency is the cheapest, cleanest, and fastest energy resource available to the Cincinnati region. The Energy Alliance programs are a great deal for home and building owners who take advantage of them, utility customers on the whole, and the economy of the region in general," said the report’s lead author Eric Mackres, who is a senior policy analyst for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Researchers also projected that energy upgrades provided through Energy Alliance programs would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 250,000 metric tons, nitrogen oxides by 340 metric tons, and sulfur dioxide by 1,640 metric tons in 2030.
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To view the study go to: http://aceee.org/research-report/e116

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy www.aceee.org acts as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors.
Press Release dated December 2, 2011

The Evolving Impact of the Ogallala Aquifer: Agricultural Adaptation to Groundwater and Climate

http://www.nber.org/papers/w17625 
Agriculture on the American Great Plains has been constrained by historical water scarcity. After World War II, technological improvements made groundwater from the Ogallala aquifer available for irrigation. Comparing counties over the Ogallala with nearby similar counties, groundwater access increased irrigation intensity and initially reduced the impact of droughts. Over time, land-use adjusted toward water-intensive crops and drought-sensitivity increased; conversely, farmers in water-scarce counties maintained drought-resistant practices that fully mitigated higher drought-sensitivity. Land values capitalized the Ogallala's value at $26 billion in 1974; as extraction remained high and water levels declined, the Ogallala's value fell to $9 billion in 2002.

by Richard Hornbeck and Pinar Keskin
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) www.NBER.org
NBER Working Paper No. 17625; Issued in November 2011

Studies Prove the Economic Boost that Comes from Wind Energy Development

http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/news/2011/1582.html
National Renewable Energy Laboratory Energy Analyst Eric Lantz knows all about the job creation and economic development that comes with the development and operation of wind power. In fact, he is the author of a study titled, "Economic Development Benefits from Wind Power in Nebraska: A Report for the Nebraska Energy Office."

"What we found actually is that employment ranged, just from construction alone on average, roughly 1,000 to 2,000 workers per year. During the operations period, when the full amount of capacity is up and running, we actually estimated that that would support 2,200 to 4,000 workers. Those are per year estimates. And a significant portion of the higher number is the result of that significant local ownership component. That really does bring about much greater economic development activity.

In total, Lantz says the study estimated that building 7,800 megawatts of wind power over a 20-year period would bring 7.8-billion to 14.1-billion to the state of Nebraska throughout the construction and operation period.

Earlier this year, Lantz co-authored another study on the economic development benefits of wind energy for the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority. He says the study was more comprehensive including a look at wind development up to 9,000 megawatts and building the transmission to move that wind out of the state but showed comparable results.

"We estimated about 4,000 to 6,000 Wyoming jobs per year would result during a 10-year construction period and then during the operations period we estimated it would support about 2,300 to 2,600 Wyoming workers. Just in terms of dollars, there were some peak years of economic activity in which we estimated that there would be more than a billion dollars each year from construction and operations related activities. And then when just doing the operations alone, that's about 380-million dollars per year."

Lantz typically looks forward with his work—evaluating economic development if a project or set of projects are built. But he also looks back to see if his results are consistent with actual results.

"We're always trying to go back and look to see how our modeling compares to what actually happens on the ground. And that's done with both the methodologies that we use, as well as those that others are using. And in general, we found that things are relatively consistent. But we do tweak our models from time to time just to ensure that that consistency remains."

Lantz does note the indirect impacts of wind power are harder to measure but says the ripple effect definitely provides for additional economic activity at multiple layers—including in the area of manufacturing.

Audio with Eric Lantz, NREL energy analyst (MP3 2.6 MB)
National Renewable Energies Laboratory www.nrel.gov
September 1, 2011

Air Quality and Exercise-Related Health Benefits from Reduced Car Travel in the Midwestern United States

http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1103440
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Automobile exhaust contains precursors to ozone and fine particulate matter, posing health risks. Dependency on car commuting also reduces physical fitness opportunities.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify benefits from reducing automobile usage for short urban and suburban trips.

METHODS: We simulated census-tract level changes in hourly pollutant concentrations from the elimination of automobile round trips ≤ 8 kilometers in 11 metropolitan areas in the Upper Midwestern U.S. using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Model. Next, we estimated annual changes in health outcomes and monetary costs expected from pollution changes using EPA’s Benefits Mapping Analysis Program (BenMAP). In addition, we used WHO's Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) to calculate benefits of increased physical activity if 50% of short trips were made by bicycle. 

RESULTS: We estimate that annual average urban PM2.5 would decline by 0.1 µg/m3 and that summer O3 would increase slightly in cities but decline regionally, resulting in net health benefits of $3.5 billion/year (95% CI: $0.4–$9.8 billion), with 25% of PM2.5 and most O3 benefits to populations outside metropolitan areas. Across the study region of approximately 31.3 million people and 37,000 total square miles, mortality would decline by approximately 1,100 deaths/year (95% CI: 856 – 1,346) due to improved air quality and increased exercise. Making 50% of short trips by bicycle would yield savings of approximately $3.8 billion/year from avoided mortality and reduced health care costs (95% CI: $2.7 – $5.0 billion). We estimate that the combined benefits of improved air quality and physical fitness would exceed $7 billion/year. 

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that significant health and economic benefits are possible if bicycling replaces short car trips. Less auto dependence in urban areas would also improve health in downwind rural settings.

by Maggie L. Grabow, Scott N. Spak, Tracey Holloway, Brian Stone Jr., Adam C. Mednick, Jonathan A. Patz Environmental Health Perspectives http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov
Received: 12 January 2011; Accepted: 05 October 2011; Online: 02 November 2011
via/hat tip National Public Radio (NPR) http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/11/02/141937325/secret-to-a-long-healthy-life-bike-to-the-store

Editorial: MSD rate increase worth the price in clean water, economic benefit: STLtoday.com

http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/article_71c3d30b-9466-5251-9cb7-5e8e2c3414e0.html
In a series of public hearings over the next month, area residents will have an opportunity to be heard about the massive rate increase coming to area sewer bills over the next several years.

Because the Metropolitan Sewer District failed to upgrade its system for decades, it is being forced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to spend more than $4 billion in the next couple of decades doing what it should have been doing all along.

The status quo is what results when one of the oldest and largest sewer systems in the country doesn't keep up with growth. In heavy rains, MSD's combined stormwater-sanitary sewer system dumps raw sewage into rivers, basements and backyards. That hasn't been permitted for decades, but MSD had not gotten around to fixing it.

Folks testifying at public hearings should remember: It's not all MSD's fault.

It's our fault, too, and the fault of our parents, for not doing what our grandparents and great-grandparents did before us: Agree to tax themselves at a reasonable level to pay for the infrastructure that will enable future growth.

Nobody will be happy about having sewer rates double in the next 20 years, and then double again a decade or so after that. But even when MSD bills rise from their current average of $27 to more than $80 per month when all the work is done, they still will be below the rates that many people pay in cities of comparable size to St. Louis.

And this is what the public will get in return: clean, safe water and one of the most massive economic development and jobs projects in our city's history.
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Billions of dollars will be spent beginning next year on reconstructing the country's fourth-largest sewer system. That means an infusion of construction jobs, engineering contracts, concrete work and all the ancillary economic benefits of $4.7 billion in spending.

For political reasons, our community put off this work for decades. Now it's time to pay the piper. When our region needs an economic boost, investing in a massive construction project that will make our water clean for the next generation makes good sense.

To make the project work and deliver immediate economic benefits, voters — probably in next April's municipal elections — will need to approve a bond issue of around $1 billion. Otherwise, the work will be delayed, take longer and cost even more.
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By the Editorial Board STLtoday.com, August 13, 2011

FOR FULL EDITORIAL GO TO:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/article_71c3d30b-9466-5251-9cb7-5e8e2c3414e0.html

Maximizing Health Benefits and Minimizing Inequality: Incorporating Local-Scale Data in the Design and Evaluation of Air Quality Policies

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2011.01629.x/abstract
Abstract: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency undertook a case study in the Detroit metropolitan area to test the viability of a new multipollutant risk-based (MP/RB) approach to air quality management, informed by spatially resolved air quality, population, and baseline health data. The case study demonstrated that the MP/RB approach approximately doubled the human health benefits achieved by the traditional approach while increasing cost less than 20%—moving closer to the objective of Executive Order 12866 to maximize net benefits. Less well understood is how the distribution of health benefits from the MP/RB and traditional strategies affect the existing inequalities in air-pollution-related risks in Detroit. In this article, we identify Detroit populations that may be both most susceptible to air pollution health impacts (based on local-scale baseline health data) and most vulnerable to air pollution (based on fine-scale PM2.5 air quality modeling and socioeconomic characteristics). Using these susceptible/vulnerable subpopulation profiles, we assess the relative impacts of each control strategy on risk inequality, applying the Atkinson Index (AI) to quantify health risk inequality at baseline and with either risk management approach. We find that the MP/RB approach delivers greater air quality improvements among these subpopulations while also generating substantial benefits among lower-risk populations. Applying the AI, we confirm that the MP/RB strategy yields less PM2.5 mortality and asthma hospitalization risk inequality than the traditional approach. We demonstrate the value of this approach to policymakers as they develop cost-effective air quality management plans that maximize risk reduction while minimizing health inequality.

by Neal Fann, Henry A. Roman, Charles M. Fulcher, Mikael A. Gentile, Bryan J. Hubbell, Karen Wesson and Jonathan I. Levy
Risk Analysis via Wiley Online Library http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com; © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis
Volume 31, Issue 6; June, 2011, Pages 908–922; Article first published online: May 26, 2011
DOI: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2011.01629.x
Keywords: BenMAP; inequality; PM2.5; susceptible; vulnerable

Valuation of ecosystem services from rural landscapes using agricultural land prices

Abstract: Agricultural lands, primarily managed for crops and livestock production, provide various ecosystem services (ES) to people. In theory, the economic value of the service flows that can be captured privately is capitalized into land prices. This study proposes an integrative framework to characterize the ecosystem services associated with agricultural lands. Using that framework, we demonstrate how hedonic analysis of agricultural land prices can be used to estimate the private values of land-based ES. The model is estimated with data from southwestern Michigan, USA. Results suggest that ES values are associated with lakes, rivers, wetlands, forests and conservation lands in rural landscapes. Ecosystem services that support direct use values, such as recreational and aesthetic services, are likely to be perceived by land owners and capitalized in land prices. Some regulating services that provide indirect use values may be partially capitalized in a land parcel's relationship to natural resources and landscapes. Other ES from the land parcel and its surroundings are unlikely to be capitalized due to lack of private incentives, unawareness, or small perceived value. The private ES values measured in this study highlight opportunities to design cost-effective public policies that factor in the value of private benefits from agricultural lands.
Research Highlights
► Land prices can reveal the economic values of many ecosystem services.
► A new framework shows when land prices can measure ecosystem service values.
► Recreational and aesthetic ecosystem services have high value in southern Michigan.
► Surrounding landscapes and nearby water bodies add value to parcels of farmland.
► Environmental values embodied in land prices can help design conservation policy.

by Shan Malow and Scott M. Swinton; both of the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Michigan State University, 20 Cook Hall, East Lansing, MI, USA. Tel.: + 1 517 256 5043; fax: + 1 517 432 1800.
Ecological Economics via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 70, Issue 9; 15 July 2011; Pages 1649-1659
Special Section - Governing the Commons: Learning from Field and Laboratory Experiments
Keywords: Rural landscapes; Hedonic; Ecosystem services; Agricultural land price; Geographic Information System

Historic Home Produces More Energy Than it Consumes

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robyn-griggs-lawrence/historic-home-produces-mo_b_852148.html
Matt and Kelly Grocoff just received the March/April utility bill for their 110-year-old Folk-Victorian home in Ann Arbor, Michigan's Old West Side Historic District. It was -$68.44 -- and yes, that's a minus sign before the dollar sign. Matt and Kelly's home -- America's oldest net-zero energy restoration and Michigan's first net-zero house -- has been retrofitted so that it produces more energy than it consumes.

Matt and Kelly use less than 10,000 kilowatt hours of total energy per year. Their 8.1 kW SunPower solar panels (which cost them $19,000 -- less than an SUV -- after a tax credit and utility incentive) supply that and more -- enough to earn them money back from the local utility. In addition to eliminating their energy bill, Kelly and Matt expect to earn an additional $1,100 per year by selling renewable energy credits back to the utility company.

...Their 2,200-square-foot home -- complete with drafty old windows, lead paint, zero insulation, a 50-year-old furnace, asbestos siding, a gas-powered mower in the shed and even a few pieces of coal scattered around the back yard -- was a dream come true. Their goal was to turn the historic home from an energy hog into an energy producer.

In addition to installing solar panels, the Grocoffs improved their home's windows, added weatherstripping and installed a geothermal heating and cooling system. All those fixes, plus careful living, have reduced the home's energy load by 70 percent--and all the while the Grocoffs have kept the National Trust for Historic Preservation folks happy. 'This is not a gut rehab or a pre-recession large-scale remodel,' Matt says. 'This is an affordable and practical restoration that we hope is an example for others to follow.'...
Matt estimates they will eliminate $83,210 in energy costs over 20 years and receive more than $23,000 in renewable energy credits from their utility company. 'That's a $106,000 return that we will keep in our community in Michigan to help restore our economy,' Matt points out. Because energy efficiency and renewables have a guaranteed return, 'Kelly and I believe it's the safest place to put our money,' Matt says.
Did we mention that our house is also the most comfortable house in the neighborhood?' Matt adds. 'We want to show everyone how cozy saving civilization can be.'
Matt and Kelly Grocoff's Total Energy InvestmentInsulation: $3,600 (not including tax credits or incentives)

UltimateAir ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator) :$3,000

Window restoration: $6,000 (restored 110-year-old windows)
Wattstopper motion sensor light switches: $500
Showerheads: $80
Smart Strip: $50
CFL and LED light bulbs: $150
Energy monitor: $150
Storm windows with low-E glass: $1,600 (including 30 percent federal tax credit)
Geothermal heating/AC and hot water (3 ton): $13,000 (with 30 percent federal tax credit)
Solar/PV system: $19,000 (after utility incentive and federal tax credit)
TOTAL: $47,130


By Robin Griggs Lawrence
Huffington Post www.huffingtonpost.com
April 2, 2011
FOR FULL STORY GO TO:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robyn-griggs-lawrence/historic-home-produces-mo_b_852148.html