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NEW England HVAC Insider News
Danfoss EnVisioneering™ Symposium Addresses Climate & Energy Policy.
Experts Weigh in on Climate Change Legislation, the Role of HFCs and the New Energy Landscape
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More than 60 HVAC&R industry
professionals convened
in the U.S. Capitol in Washington,
DC, on July 24 at the
11th Danfoss EnVisioneering
symposium to discuss new
climate change legislation,
the role of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants and the
new – and rapidly changing –
energy landscape.
Speakers included key policymakers,
government agencies
and other experts: Laura
Haynes, U.S. Senator Thomas
Carper’s offi ce; Mike Burke,
U.S. Senator Benjamin Cardin’s
offi ce; John Thompson,
U.S. State Department; Deborah
Estes, Senate Energy &
Natural Resources Committee;
Danielle Rosengarten, U.S.
Senator Joseph Lieberman’s
offi ce; Kevin Fay, Alcade &
Fay; and Drusilla Hufford, director,
Stratospheric Protection
Division, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
Senator Cardin of Maryland
officially sponsored the forum,
which was open, candid and
extremely timely, giving participants
a first-hand account
on policy development.
Keynote speaker Kateri Callahan,
president of Alliance to
Save Energy, stated, “Energy
efficiency offers enormous
potential for savings in ALL
sectors. By capturing the potential
available from existing
technologies with an internal
rate of return of 10 percent
or more, we could cut global
energy demand growth by half
or more over the next 15 years.
In other words, global energy
demand in 2020 would decline
by an amount equal to almost
150 percent of the entire U.S.
energy consumption today.”
Story
continues below ↓
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Senate Committee
Expects Investment in
Clean Energy
The Senate Energy &
Natural Resources Committee’s
American Clean Energy
Leaders Act (ACELA), now
under discussion, would
establish a new Clean Energy
Deployment Administration.
An entity within
the Department of Energy,
this administration would be
responsible for a transmission
grid upgrade, an energy
efficiency title (both residential
and commercial), and a
demonstration project for
carbon capture and storage
technology.
In the process,
the administration would
double the investment in
clean-energy research and
development.
Industry Perspective on
Energy Efficiency
Stephen Yurek, president
of the Air-Conditioning,
Heating, and Refrigeration
Institute, commented that the
Waxman-Markey bill, while
well-intentioned, contained
provisions of concern to the
HVAC&R industry, particularly
with regard to building
codes.
Yurek said the act “would
effectively allow any jurisdiction
in the nation to enact its
own energy policy through
the use of prescriptive building
codes,” a situation he
said would impact the ability
of manufacturers to provide
products to residential and
commercial customers in
the most timely, efficient and
economical way.
A better way, he said,
would be for Congress to
provide greater incentives
for consumers to upgrade
their older, less efficient
equipment.
“If a reduction in energy
intensity is the goal – as
Congress has said many
times it is – the focus has to
be on upgrading the nation’s
installed base of heating and
cooling equipment,” Yurek
said. He advocated for a
combination of federal tax
incentives and state and utility
rebates for the purchase
of energy-efficient products,
perhaps using the Energy
Star® designation as a guideline
for eligibility.
Wilkins concluded: “Clearly
our industry is amidst some
of the most important and
transformational policy on
climate, energy and refrigerants.
This policy will have
resounding implications for
our businesses as we move
forward. It’s important that we
are engaged with the policy
community to ensure the right
path for our industry.”
For more information about
Danfoss, visit: www.danfoss.
us. For more information
about EnVisioneering, visit:
www.envisioneering.danfoss.
com
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