Efficiency First

Incandescents Going Dark in Europe
E.U. nations grapple with new restrictions on the sale of old-style light bulbs
Starting this week, shops in the European Union will no longer be permitted to buy or import most frosted incandescent light bulbs – the first step in a phased ban on the sale of all incandescent bulbs. According to [...]

Efficiency First is proud to announce we are now 500 members strong. Thank you for all of your support from calling Congress, traveling to DC, tracking SEP’s & writing your newspaper.
We are currently in 42 states and need your help to continue to grow into all 50. Look to see where we are missing:
http://www.efficiencyfirst.org/member/

Congress is back in DC and the Senate is heating up talk on climate and energy legislation. The REEP provisions have strong support, but the public needs to hear from you.  This is an opportunity for your customers and prospective customers to understand the importance of home retrofits.
We need you to help us make a [...]

New National Lobbyist for Efficiency First

The Efficiency First Board of Directors is pleased to announce that climate change policy strategist Kara Saul Rinaldi of the firm Environmental Resources Management (www.ERM.com) has been appointed to manageWashington, D.C. lobbying activities on behalf of the association. An internationally recognized expert in energy and climate policy, Ms. Rinaldi has more than [...]

Partisan legislators talk up false claim that Waxman-Markey will cost families over $1,700 a year
Last Sunday on Meet the Press, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) repeated a talking point that’s been making the rounds among conservative bloggers and a few legislators on the fringe of the energy policy debate in Washington. In the course [...]

SolveClimate blogger explores options for ramping up the energy retrofitting industry
Clean tech and environmental policy writer Amy Westervelt has posted a solid overview of the state of the building retrofit industry in her blog at SolveClimate.com. After stating the basic premise that “Retrofitting existing buildings to make them more energy efficient is by far the [...]

More on ARRA Green Workforce Funding
Five DOL grant solicitations to provide $500 million for green jobs development
In June of this year, the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of labor announced five grant competitions totaling $500 million to fund projects that will prepare workers for green jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable [...]

Congratulations to Matt Golden, our national chair, and his wife Kristen on the birth of his first child.
Wayka Wren Golden

DOE to Fund up to $454 Million for Retrofit Ramp-Ups in Energy Efficiency
September 14, 2009 — U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced a new $450 million program designed to catalyze a nationwide energy upgrade that experts estimate could save $100 million annually in utility bills for households and businesses. The Recovery Act’s “Retrofit [...]

Limited Impact of Stimulus Funding on Home Performance Market
Recent study shows only modest gains in efficiency retrofitting despite $4.3 billion in new federal tax credits
GigaOM’s earth2tech blog site reported earlier this week on new research into the real impact of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding on the home energy retrofit market. According to a [...]