Buyers of new homes in Washington state will save hundreds of dollars each year on energy bills as a result of newly updated state building energy standards that took effect last week. The newest version of the Washington State Energy Code, which became mandatory for new construction across the state on January 1, is approximately 18% to 25% stronger than the previous standard.
According to a study by the U.S. Department of Energy, a family living in a home constructed in accordance with the new standards will save an average of $300 every year compared to a house built to meet the previous standard. These savings, according to an analysis by the Department of Commerce, will pay for the marginal cost increase of building a more efficient home in about three years.
Included in the new energy conservation code are requirements for better insulation, more efficient lighting and windows, testing to identify and correct leaky air ducts, and other “off-the-shelf” technologies that will yield cost-effective energy savings for home and business owners alike.
Almost 13,000 new homes were built in Washington in 2009 alone. This year’s code upgrade is expected to save home and business owners across the state $154 million annually by 2030, reduce energy use by 26.4 trillion Btu, and prevent more than 1.5 million metric tons of global warming pollution–the equivalent of taking nearly 300,000 cars off the road.
Ohio Is Home to 171 Companies in Wind and Solar
Ohio has 106 companies involved in the wind power industry and 63 Ohio companies in the solar energy supply chain, according to a new study by the Environmental Law & Policy Center.
The report finds that wind industry suppliers employ over 7,500 people
in Ohio and, according to the Ohio Department of Development, solar
manufacturing has created over 1,500 solar jobs statewide.
The report notes that strong regulatory and tax policies are key to
growing any industry, and the wind industry is no exception. The
proposed strong federal renewable energy standard would help grow the
local economy by increasing Ohio’s export opportunities for both wind
power and manufactured wind turbine components and professional
services.
“Wind and solar power has created thousands of good jobs across Ohio,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “Longstanding manufacturing companies are retooling to supply the growing clean energy market and new businesses are expanding. Smart policies can continue that growth.”
Farmers Sue Over Chesapeake Bay Protection
The largest U.S. farm group is suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over new rules that are meant to reduce pollution in Chesapeake Bay.
The American Farm Bureau Federation is now part of the chorus of industry groups accusing the EPA of over-regulation.
The EPA created a wide-ranging "pollution diet" plan to clean up the Chesapeake Bay in response to a separate lawsuit, filed by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which accused the EPA of neglecting to protect the Bay throughout the Bush administration.
Under the new plan, states along the Bay are required to control runoff from agricultural and urban lands. If they fall behind schedule in reducing nitrogen, phosphorous and sediment run-off, mandatory controls on agriculture could go into effect by 2013.
Bob Stallman, president of the AFBF, said "this diet threatens to starve agriculture out of the entire 64,000 square-mile Chesapeake Bay watershed."
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