See also Participant Support Programs
Green Lights Investments Are Earning Interest
Green Lights Investments Are Earning Interest
The US Environmental Protection Agency's Green Lights Program is paying dividends to its appr. 2300 participants - and to society as a whole.
For years the idea of environmental protection meant mandatory requirements and end-of-the-pipe technologies. Big business and regulatory agencies did not always find themselves sharing the same goals. Then came the US Environmental Protection Agency's landmark program, Green Lights (see IAEEL Newsletters 1/92, Big Business Sees the Light and 3/93, Growing Green Lights).
This program, launched in 1990, couples environmental protection with corporate America's desire for profitability. Voluntary implementation of energy-efficient lighting technology is the link. After nearly six years and a great deal of evolution, Green Lights is paying dividends.
In the United States, lighting accounts for ~25% of the electricity demand, with 80-90% of that share going to light industrial and commercial buildings (lighting in light industrial and commercial buildings accounts for ~20-22% of the total electricity demand). At the onset of the program, it was estimated that if energy-efficient lighting were to be used in every case where it was profitable, the electricity required for lighting would be reduced by approximately 50%.
TOTAL SAVINGS ARE GROWING
As a result of the lighting investments by organizations involved in Green Lights, savings totaled 3.2 billion kWh as of November 1996. Savings to-date are valued at $247 million for Green Lights participants and are projected to grow to ~$1 billion by the year 2000 (See Table 1: Green Lights Program Impacts and Projections).
Due to the reduced load, there has been a reduced need to expand production capacity, resulting in a savings of about 900 million dollars which would have otherwise gone to constructing new utility power plants (at ~$1 500/kW). Harmful emissions (including greenhouse gases) have been reduced by ~2.1 million metric tons each year, which is equivalent to getting 300 000 cars off of US roads.
A Green Lights partnership is created when participants sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the EPA. Within five years of signing, partners agree to upgrade (i.e. retrofit) 90% of the square footage that can be upgraded profitably without compromising lighting quality. To date, over 490 million m^2 (~5 billion sqft) has been committed for lighting retrofits, equaling 8% of the commercial building floor space in the country.
With 2 300 participants, including partners, allies and endorsers, Green Lights has grown considerably since its inception. See Table 2 Green Lights Participants. .
It is anyone's guess as to how many corporations would have installed energy-efficient lighting technologies without the guidance of Green Lights. Other programs and policies promote efficient lighting, and it is almost impossible to isolate the impact of each. Green Lights program leaders believe that the strategy of demonstrating the low-risk profitability potential to top-level decision-makers has helped get lighting upgrades high on their priority lists. Green Lights staff commonly see situations where companies have done some efficient lighting retrofits prior to joining the program. However, the changes are generally limited to very small areas in their facilities. Once these corporations join Green Lights, the aim to improve lighting efficiency becomes corporate policy.
A WIDER FOCUS
Commercial lighting technologies have come light years owing to the increased demand for higher quality and efficiency created by energy-efficiency initiatives over the past years. In the early days of the program, the conversion from magnetic ballasts with T12 lamps to electronic ballasts with T8 lamps was the leading technology for Green Lights participants. Savings amounted to 20-30% for this particular technology change. Today's Green Lights participants are installing a far more diverse set of measures, including dimming ballasts, daylighting controls, more efficient fixtures, a constellation of compact fluorescent lighting applications, occupancy sensors and LED exit signs. There has also been a marked increase in the use of operations and maintenance practices, such as commissioning, which enhance lighting efficiency.
Always an issue with energy-efficient lighting, it is easier to specify an efficient solution than it is to properly implement it. Difficulties in properly applying daylighting controls or occupancy sensors are familiar examples. Another problem is that these systems are not commissioned. Through a suite of information products, the EPA has actively worked to provide program participants with accurate, up-to-date information and special training workshops. An Internet list-server, web site, toll-free hotline and automated fax service are among the support services offered to program participants. See Sidebar Participant Support Programs
Green Lights participants typically use 48% less lighting energy with a 45% internal rate of return on their investment - a wise move by any measure. Yet, finding the up-front capital required to implement projects can still pose a formidable barrier. The Green Lights program actively helps members to identify financing options (e.g. self-financing, third-party financing from ESCOs and others, utility incentives, municipal bonds).
Out of the $789 million dollars that has been invested in upgrades, $128 million was in the form of rebates. The current trend of utility deregulation in the US may spell the end of traditional rebates (See also: Utility Deregulation: DSM Dawn or Dusk?, IAEEL Newsletter 2/95.)
It remains to be seen whether utilities will devise new models of delivering demand-side management services that help Green Lights partners as much as rebates once did.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
-
Increasing Focus on Small Businesses: The original target audience of the Green Lights Program was major corporations. Yet currently, over 38% of the participants, both allies and partners, are small businesses (defined by companies with under 100 000 square feet floor space, appr. 10 000 m^2).
These companies are especially sensitive to overhead costs and have repeatedly demonstrated that efficiency in lighting is just as profitable for small facilities. With most US businesses falling into this category, the program focus has shifted to take a serious look at small businesses. An MOU is being designed to specifically meet their needs.
- Energy Star Buildings Program: The Energy Star Buildings Program is targeting successful Green Lights partners. This is a comprehensive strategy whereby building envelope and mechanical systems, such as distribution systems and heating and cooling equipment, are profitably improved to reduce energy consumption. The program aims to significantly reduce the energy costs connected with operating commercial and industrial buildings in the U.S. (currently ca $70 billion dollars annually).
- Beyond the United States: Many countries have considered emulating the Green Lights approach. The "EKO Energi" program in Sweden was originally inspired by Green Lights, but took a different approach by addressing multiple end-uses in commercial and industrial buildings. China has also started a project modeled after the program.
(See also: China - A Lighting Giant, IAEEL Newsletter 3/94.)
Some of the larger Green Lights partners operating subsidiaries outside the US have implemented the program in their foreign facilities, particularly in Canada and Mexico.
Fawn Smiley
Resources:
To learn more about Green Lights, contact:
US Environmental Protection Agency, Air and Radiation (6202-J)
Green Lights/Energy Star Program,
401 M Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20460, USA
Green Lights/Energy Star Hotline: +1 202 775 6650
Green Lights Faxline: +1 202 775 6680
http://www.epa.gov/greenlights.html
International Issues (Bill vonNeida):
E-mail:VonNeida.bill@epamail.epa.gov