Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI)

How Do Communities Ensure Federal Energy Programs Help Those Most in Need?

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A live webcast will be streamed at 12:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) coalition and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invite you to a briefing with EEFA partners in Ohio, Virginia, New York and California. These state leaders will discuss how they are building successful campaigns to deliver energy/cost savings and healthy home environments for low-and-moderate-income (LMI) households. Speakers will discuss how their state coalitions are using and leveraging federal energy services, such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Low-Income Housing Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), to ensure that all LMI residents have access to housing that is healthy, safe, energy efficient and affordable.

Energy Efficiency Jobs Are Green Jobs

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A live webcast will be streamed at 12:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invite you to a briefing about an upcoming EEFA report, Job Potential in Retrofitting Affordable Multifamily Housing, which will be previewed at the briefing. The report shows a large untapped job creation potential in the residential retrofit market, particularly for efficiency upgrades to affordable housing. To unlock this potential, however, the disparities in access to those energy efficiency jobs must be addressed.
Energy efficiency improvements are the largest source of clean energy jobs in the United States and a major driver of the economy. Retrofit projects also reduce emissions that pollute our air and overheat our planet, while making homes more comfortable and more affordable through lower utility bills. Indeed, energy efficiency is the cheapest, fastest and simplest way to address energy and environmental goals while providing additional benefits to society and the economy. EEFA’s multi-state analysis shows the distribution of existing energy efficiency jobs across 12 states and their 15 largest metro areas, as well as the employment potential of the sector.

Equitable Solutions to Rural Energy Burdens

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A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA), and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) invite you to a briefing about innovative utility programs that are working to alleviate energy burdens faced by U.S. rural households. The briefing will showcase how rural electric co-ops and other rural utilities can benefit from USDA funding opportunities, such as the Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) that was renewed in the latest Farm Bill. This program enables co-op members to upgrade their homes and businesses to cut their energy costs, which, in turn, supports jobs and rural economic growth by keeping more dollars in the local economy.

Nature-based Resilience for Gulf Coast Communities

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A live webcast will be streamed at 3:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing on initiatives and partnerships that are helping protect Gulf Coast shorelines and communities from extreme weather events and other coastal hazards. The briefing will showcase nature-based solutions that support coastal resilience, such as wetlands restoration and other “natural infrastructure,” as well as the “greening” of highways and other traditional “gray” infrastructure. This approach leverages the sustainable management and/or restoration of natural or modified ecosystems to protect people, communities, roadways, buildings, industries, and habitats.
Government agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Interior, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Transportation, are piloting and implementing nature-based infrastructure projects in the Gulf Coast and around the country. Such projects can be more cost effective and durable against extreme weather events than gray infrastructure, while providing additional health, environmental and economic benefits. The panelists will describe how national, regional, state and local governments and organizations are collaborating to integrate nature-based solutions into policy and practice.

Biogas: Pro-Economy and Pro-Climate

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A live webcast will be streamed at 3:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The American Biogas Council (ABC) and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invite you to a briefing about the many benefits of renewable biogas. Biogas is produced from the decomposition of organic wastes (such as agriculture residues, manure, food wastes, and sewage) in the absence of oxygen. It can be refined into renewable natural gas, and used to power vehicles, heat homes, cook, or generate electricity—just like natural gas. Biogas is a powerful driver for economic growth, particularly in rural areas in need of economic opportunities. Biogas also lowers our greenhouse gas emissions, contributes to clean air and water, and improves soil health. It turns waste, which would be a problem if not used, into valuable resources.
Briefing attendees will learn about the potential biogas resources in their states, the economic and job opportunities they offer, and important policy drivers for this promising industry.

Decommissioning: A New Era in the U.S. Nuclear Power Industry; a Critical Need for Congressional Oversight

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A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing on the new era of the U.S. nuclear power industry as its electricity generation winds down and decommissioning of nuclear power plants ramps up. Decommissioning is the process of dismantling a closed plant, securing or removing its radioactive waste, and lowering a site’s residual radioactivity. Getting it right is critical to communities’ health and safety. Getting it wrong could pose existential threats.
The U.S. civilian nuclear fleet is aging out. As civilian reactors approach the end of their operating lives, their economics have been undercut by less expensive natural gas-fired generation. Even though nuclear owners are demanding state subsidies to keep some aging plants open a while longer, it will not stop the coming wave of closures. Six reactors have shut down since 2013. Another 15 are slated to close by 2025. Most of the civilian reactor fleet will inevitably close over the next 20 years.
As plants close, previously profitable assets become liabilities owners are eager to offload. Enabled by recent legislative and regulatory changes, private companies (chiefly Holtec International’s joint venture with the Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin and NorthStar’s joint venture with French subsidiary Orano, formerly Areva) are stepping in to acquire the plants, taking over their licenses, liability, decommissioning funds and waste contracts. Their business model is to decommission as quickly and inexpensively as possible, claiming any remaining decommissioning funds as profit. Economic incentives encourage them to pack highly radioactive spent fuel into thin-walled dry storage canisters not designed for the decades or centuries of storage that may be needed. Absent a geologic repository, the companies plan to ship high-level nuclear waste to Consolidated Interim Storage (CIS) sites – one owned by Orano in Texas and another by Holtec in New Mexico.
There is currently little opportunity for meaningful input from citizens, municipalities or states into the companies’ decisions on decommissioning, nuclear waste, or use of ratepayer-financed decommissioning funds. Yet more than 80 reactor communities and communities near waste storage sites, plus countless communities along proposed radioactive waste transport routes (which traverse 75 percent of Congressional districts), will be profoundly affected by those decisions.
Waste transport, CIS and the emerging privatized model of decommissioning and waste stewardship raise dilemmas and potential safety threats that have yet to be solved, or in some cases adequately studied. Even so, Congress will be called upon this year to decide on legislation and appropriations regarding CIS, Yucca Mountain and other key issues related to decommissioning. Congress has the power to require studies and stronger oversight of decommissioning.
To explore these issues, distinguished experts including regulators, independent scientists, NGO advocates, and representatives of affected communities, will speak and answer questions at the briefing.

The National Flood Insurance Program: Critical Issues and Needed Reforms

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A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Established by Congress in 1968, NFIP provides affordable, government-administered flood insurance to property owners, renters, and businesses. However, the NFIP is more than just an insurance program, it is also intended to be a floodplain management and flood risk mitigation program. NFIP requires participating communities to adopt and enforce minimum construction and land use regulations that make them less vulnerable to flooding. With over 5 million flood insurance policies in force, the NFIP is the single largest source of flood insurance for homeowners and small businesses.
As flood risks grow around the nation, this is an important time for Congress to reform and update this vital 50-year old program to better protect people and property. Without appropriate action, a warming climate coupled with continued development in flood-prone areas will raise the human and economic toll of flood disasters while taxpayer dollars are squandered on risky, business-as-usual practices. The NFIP has reached an important crossroads. After ten temporary extensions since 2017, the NFIP is set to expire on May 31. The program is popular, but it is more than $20 billion in debt, despite the cancellation of $16 billion in debt by Congress in October 2017. Flooding is the most pervasive and costly natural disaster in the United States, and climate change is exacerbating extreme weather events. Warmer temperatures lead to more water evaporation, which makes downpours more frequent and intense, leading to more flooding. Since the 1980s, the U.S. has experienced a $100 billion increase in total flood losses each decade; however, NFIP losses did not show a significant increase until the 2005 hurricane season. Fast-paced, inadequately regulated development in areas prone to flooding is also a major cause of such rising expenses.
This briefing will provide a basic understanding of the National Flood Insurance Program, its history, its challenges, and reforms needed. The panel will provide important background and highlight new strategies for improving NFIP’s financial stability and for reducing the impacts of future floods on vulnerable populations and communities.

What Can Congress Do to Build Better Buildings?

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A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a briefing to explore how the quality of buildings contributes to the national economy and promotes healthier environments, and to learn how Congress can support such benefits. Because Americans spend over 90 percent of their time indoors, the design, construction, and operation of buildings greatly influence the health, productivity, and safety of their occupants.
As Congress develops legislation and conducts oversight around infrastructure investment, it must also consider opportunities to promote overall sustainability, resilience, and well-being. Just as Congress has incorporated “Buy America” provisions so that dollars spent in America benefit Americans, Congress should also incorporate standards and provisions into infrastructure investment to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used to promote healthy, safe, and productive environments and buildings that will benefit the occupants and, furthermore, the economy. Congress should also continue to support research and technical assistance, as well as the development of codes and standards to improve current building practices.
At this briefing, hear directly from the experts:
Understand how modern building codes provide $11 in flood, earthquake and hurricane mitigation benefits for every dollar invested; however, less than a third of communities at risk of natural hazards have adopted contemporary building codes.
Discover how light and lighting design play a role in your daily activities. Proper lighting design can help prevent depression, distraction, and a variety of other health risks.
Realize that, in the absence of a holistic focus on how buildings are designed, constructed and operated, federal investments made in buildings can fail to achieve their potential. There have been multiple deaths due to carbon monoxide poisoning in HUD-funded housing, and the federal government continues to fund the construction of buildings to standards that do not meet FEMA’s minimum requirements for post-disaster reconstruction.

Hydropower – A New Look at Opportunities for America’s First Renewable Energy Resource

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A live webcast will be streamed at 2:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and National Hydropower Association (NHA) invite you to a briefing on the role of hydropower in meeting U.S. climate and electric grid reliability and resiliency goals. In 2018, hydropower was the largest generator of renewable electricity in the United States. Beyond the benefit of providing clean, renewable energy generation, hydropower and pumped storage can also be a strategic partner for other, variable renewable energy resources. Pairing hydropower with wind and solar can help them achieve greater penetration and integration while optimizing grid performance.
Opportunities to upgrade and expand the existing hydro fleet, and for new project development, are available across the country. However, challenges holding the industry back from fully realizing this growth, including lack of valuation of hydropower’s benefits in energy and environmental markets and policy; regulatory uncertainty; and disparities in tax policy support.
This briefing will examine the energy, environmental and grid benefits hydropower (and other waterpower technologies, such as pumped storage, conduit power and marine energy) provides, as well as the policy changes needed to sustain hydropower projects and promote continued deployment. For more information, please see NHA’s newly released report: Reinvigorating Hydropower: A cornerstone of our, clean, affordable, reliable electric future.

2019 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook

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A live webcast will be streamed at 12:00 PM EDT at www.eesi.org/livecast (wireless connection permitting)
Hosted in coordination with:
House and Senate Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucuses
Sponsored by:
Business Council for Sustainable Energy and Environmental and Energy Study Institute
In its seventh year, the BloombergNEF (BNEF) and Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) 2019 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook provides new industry information and trends for the U.S. energy economy, with an in-depth look at the energy efficiency, natural gas, and renewable energy sectors, as well as emerging areas such as energy storage and sustainable transportation.