{"id":24330,"date":"2023-08-17T13:06:31","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T17:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/?p=24330"},"modified":"2025-04-27T11:09:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T15:09:58","slug":"the-best-of-times-energy-management","status":"publish","type":"aee-news","link":"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/ar\/aee-news\/the-best-of-times-energy-management\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best of Times | Energy Management"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/energy-management-1-1024x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24354\" width=\"344\" height=\"227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/energy-management-1-1024x680.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/energy-management-1-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/energy-management-1-768x510.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/energy-management-1-1536x1020.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/energy-management-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 344px) 100vw, 344px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>In all our years, NOW is the \u201cbest of times\u201d for energy efficiency projects. In this very short article, we will address some energy trends, and then: <strong>some very hard, tangible reasons why\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Many countries are expanding their policies regarding: electrification, decarbonization, resiliency and other desired outcomes to deal with climate change.\u00a0 Non-governmental associations like ASHRAE and others are embracing these terms too. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:21px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Within many companies, organizations, schools, governments, etc., goals have been set and activities are underway to be aligned with the clean energy transformation, as well as other sustainability trends.&nbsp; Emissions\/sustainability reporting standards are driving higher expectations on everyone.&nbsp;<em>For example, if a major multinational company is required to report emissions, then reporting may be required by its upstream and downstream suppliers too, which may have a 10-fold effect.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Decarbonization via Electrification will require a more robust grid, as BBC recently did a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-66359093\">short video<\/a> piece on.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/ar\/certified-energy-manager\/\">CEM<\/a>s are probably the best-positioned people to solve these temporal\/energy issues.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Market forces in real estate and corporate sustainability reporting are increasing the appetite for \u201cgreen\u201d investments. CEOs as well as corporate real estate owners want to look good by being \u201cgreener\u201d than their competition.&nbsp; In fact- renters are willing to pay a premium for certified \u201cgreen spaces\u201d\u2026 so landlords have a financial stake (or loss) depending on their actions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>ESGs, net zero commitments and regulatory compliance are popular terms today.&nbsp; Corporate hedge fund managers are showing a preference for green options, and these preferences drive change from the top down.&nbsp; <em>More corporate funds may be available for your energy project (because it helps satisfy a regulatory need or corporate goal towards \u201csustainability\u201d or \u201cdecarbonization\u201d, etc.).<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the US. We have tax incentives that encourage renewable energy projects such that the <strong>return on investments can be greater than 15% per year (for 25 years in a row), which beats most other investments available<\/strong> (especially when you consider the very low risk of energy projects).&nbsp; <em>Note the 15% per year is <u>only counting the energy savings, and also would get larger<\/u> if grid prices continue to increase. <\/em>Did you know that <strong>US Tax Credits can range from 30% to over 50%<\/strong>?&nbsp; Non-profits and government buildings can also take advantage of the tax credits.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Beyond renewables, many energy efficiency projects are eligible for 179d tax deduction benefits, which <strong>can turn a 25% ROI project into a 35% ROI<\/strong> or more.&nbsp; <em>179d benefits can be for your building, your client or your personal gain if you know how.&nbsp; Non-profits\/government buildings can receive benefits from 179d too.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>CEMs have an opportunity to understand these motivations and align strategic projects that improve value creation for their company and clients.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to favorable economics, evidence already shows that an energy transition is underway.&nbsp; Did you know California\u2019s efforts in renewable energy (and efficiency) has turned the \u201cduck curve\u201d into a \u201ccanyon\u201d? As the image below from EPRI shows, there is so much solar energy being produced that the California Independent System Operator\u2019s load goes to zero during parts of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"846\" height=\"582\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/GRAPH-CEM.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-24331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/GRAPH-CEM.jpg 846w, https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/GRAPH-CEM-300x206.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/GRAPH-CEM-768x528.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/GRAPH-CEM-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 846px) 100vw, 846px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This graph is from EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute), data published by CAISO (California Independent System Operator)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As everyone is witnessing this Summer\u2026 it is hotter and the sense of urgency for a more sustainable planet is increasing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, artificial intelligence is getting a lot of attention, and changing some parts of our industry.&nbsp; The good news is that AI may help you improve your project! &nbsp;One easy benefit is that AI can help you write reports and consider new (AI) perspectives.&nbsp; <em>If you haven&#8217;t played around with ChatGPT, that might be something you want to look into because it&#8217;s far more powerful than Siri or Alexa. <\/em>AI and automation is also showing up in areas like performance contracting, building modeling and even using blockchain. These are terms that CEMs need to know to be \u201cup-to-date\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The time is NOW\u2026 Certified Energy Managers have more tools\/leverage to get projects approved (and we have less excuses to fail).&nbsp; You have every reason to master the new skills and get more projects approved\/implemented! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This article was written by: Eric A. Woodroof, Ph.D., CEM &amp; Randy Hoff, Ph.D., PE, CEM<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The CEM Annual Update is happening October 17-18, 2023. This popular two-day non-certification program is designed to update current global Certified Energy Managers (CEM) on the most current energy-related trends, strategies, best practices, technologies, and regulations. Learn more about attending in the <a href=\"https:\/\/education.aeecenter.org\/products\/us-annual-update-for-certified-energy-managers-cem-training-program-2023-virtual-101723-101823\">\u0646\u062d\u0646 <\/a>\u0648 <a href=\"https:\/\/education.aeecenter.org\/products\/international-annual-update-for-certified-energy-managers-cem-training-program-2023-virtual-101723-101823\">\u062f\u0648\u0644\u064a<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":24352,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","topic":[],"class_list":["post-24330","aee-news","type-aee-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/aee-news\/24330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/aee-news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/aee-news"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aeecenter.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=24330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}