The Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) is hosting it's annual Midwest Energy Solutions Conference at the InterContinental Chicago from January 7-9. Shortly after, the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is holding it's 2009 Winter Conference at the McCormick Center Chicago from January 24-28. A third noteworthy conference is also taking place in January, the Association of Energy Service Professionals (AESP) is hosting it's 19^th National Energy Services Conference & Expo (NESC) in San Diego from January 26-29. MWE2 will be attending both the MEEA and AESP conferences, if you will also be in attendance, drop me a line at kdunn@mwe2.com.

With a need to prioritize credits based on regional issues and the increased importance of energy efficiency in commercial buildings, the USGBC membership unanimously approved an update to the widely used LEED rating systems. Launching in March of next year, LEED 2009 re-weights several credit categories and allows for extra points that have been identified as priorities within a specific environmental zone. For example, a new building previously could obtain a maximum of 10 points for the Optimize Energy Performance category, with LEED 2009, the maximum is 19.

Earlier this month, American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy (ACEEE) released the 2008 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. Several Midwest States made a strong showing by cracking the “Top 10” for the first time; including Minnesota and Wisconsin.

States with recently launched Energy Efficiency programs, such as, Illinois can expect to climb substantially over the next few years as funding levels grow from $8.5 Million Statewide in 2007 to over $50 Million Statewide in 2008. The funding levels are planned to increase to over $100 Million and $150 Million in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

Not to be outdone, other Midwest states have also announced government mandated Energy Efficiency Programs. Utilities in Ohio are expected to launch large EE incentive programs in early 2009 and Michigan is scheduled to begin during the summer of 2009. Both Ohio and Michigan will provide funding in the same range as the newly launched Illinois programs.

Midwest Energy Efficiency, LLC announces the addition of the company to ComEd’s Smart Ideas for Your Business and Ameren Illinois Utilities’ ActOnEnergy trade ally network. Both ComEd and Ameren offer substantial rebates for energy efficiency retrofits and replacements ranging from prescriptive rebates for common measures, such as, $22 for high efficiency LED exit signs, to rebates based on annual energy (kWh) savings for custom measures. ComEd offers rebates for the custom approach ranging from $0.03-$0.07/kWh saved depending on project life, while Ameren offers a flat $0.05/kWh saved for all eligible measures. Both programs are funded through 2010 with varying incentive pools for each program year.

Additional reasons to participate in energy efficiency activities besides monetary compensation from your local utility include:

• Lower energy bills today and in the future

• Reduced carbon footprint • Help decrease the need for new electric power plants

• Increased employee productivity due to better comfort levels and improved corporate image

To learn more about how your company can take advantage of these incentives, or to learn about energy savings opportunities at your facility, contact us today.

Being “green” is in vogue, so we here at MWE2 thought we would pass along this helpful article from the US Green Building Council. Some ideas are truly novel and easy to perform, while others... well you be the judge.