Mainstreaming Intelligent Efficiency

I’m in San Francisco for the first ACEEE Intelligent Efficiency Conference, “Mainstreaming Intelligent Efficiency.” After attending last night’s opening reception, I can tell this is going to be a great mashup of the energy efficiency and the information and communications technology (ICT) communities.  These groups are traditionally unaccustomed to meeting together but will be coming together more often now that intelligent efficiency and the fast-approaching Internet of Things are at the cusp of transforming both worlds.

My primary role at the conference will be as moderator of a panel I put together, titled “National Policies to Developing Broader Adoption of Intelligent Efficiency,” and I’m expecting some lively discussion! DESSC Co-Chair Stephen Harper, ACEEE’s Neal Elliott, key representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and California Energy Commissioner Andrew McAllister will join me on the panel.  

We’ll be focusing on what the government is already doing to help mainstream intelligent efficiency, and what more it could do in this regard.  I expect this to be a broad discussion, and I’m hoping we will have an important conversation on the government’s role as market leader, research leader, and regulator in these areas:

  • How will EPA’s ENERGY STAR program adapt to intelligent efficiency, in contrast to its traditional focus on freestanding products and components?
  • While DOE is active in such programs as Open Energy, Green Button, and the Better Buildings Challenge, what more can it do?  Is there a role for DOE energy efficiency standards in intelligent efficiency?
  • California is a global leader on clean energy and energy efficiency, but what will it do on intelligent efficiency?
  • Are the ICT industry and the energy efficiency community doing all they can together in this area, or are they not looking beyond their own silos and fixated on old debates like energy efficiency standards, rather than collaborating on new opportunities and policy innovations to help mainstream intelligent efficiency?

This should be fun.  You can follow the conference on twitter using the hashtags #intelligentefficiency and #ACEEE_IE.

 

 

Public Policy Tags: Energy, Intelligent Efficiency, Environment & Sustainability

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