SOLAR TODAY - January/February 2011

perspective Swinging the Pendulum

Irene PÉrez Law: Interim Executive Director
Leading the Rene WabLe eneRgy RevoLution
SOLARTODAy.ORg
sOLaR TODA Y®
by MARgOT MCDONALD

The recent election brought us good news here in California, with the sound defeat of Proposition 23 and the state-wide candidates who endorsed it. It was a strong affirmation that voters believe in
renewable energy, both as a sustainable long-term future and as a short-term
creator of jobs.

The news across the country, however, looked grim. Cynics pointed
out that more than half the newly elected conservative House members
have gone on record to say they don’t believe in a human cause for climate
change. Some observers — including Republican activists like Karl Rove
and Michael McKenna — predicted that the new majority in the House will
prefer gridlock to any form of action on energy and may in fact work to roll
back Environmental Protection Agency regulations regarding emissions
and destructive practices like natural gas fracking.

However, along with allied organizations, we at the American Solar
Energy Society (ASES) believe there is ample opportunity for progress on a
number of energy-related fronts during the 112th Congress.

Editorial Gina R. Johnson: Editor/Associate Publisher editor@solartoday.org Seth Masia: Deputy Editor Corey Dahl: Managing Editor Mike Koshmrl: Editorial Intern Solartoday.org Brooke Simmons: Manager of Online Publishing Design Allison J. Gray: Art Director Peggy Doyle: Designer Dan Bihn: Photojournalist Contributors Richard Crume, Rona Fried, Chuck Kutscher, Joseph Mc Cabe, Liz Merry, Mick Sagrillo, Robert Ukeiley

Margot Mcdonald is
chair of the american
Solar energy Society.
contact her at chair@
ases.org.

•;A;national;renewable;electricity;standard;has
bipartisan support, though it may be redrawn as
a clean energy standard so as to include nuclear
power and natural gas. Sen. Lindsey Graham
(R-S.C.) has already introduced such a bill.

•;The;extension;of;production;tax;credits;for
renewable energy projects has broad support.

•;The;broader;adoption;of;natural;gas;as;a
motor fuel, framed as an energy-independence
measure, could likely make progress. House
Speaker John Boehner has expressed support for
broad energy reform in the direction of energy
independence.
Regardless of what Congress does or doesn’t
do, rapid progress on renewable energy is hap-
pening regionally, especially in the Northeast and
in Western states from Washington to Arizona
and Colorado. The huge utility-scale projects
now under construction in California, Nevada
and Arizona are just the most visible examples.
Local authorities are pushing ahead rapidly to
support distributed photovoltaic installations
and metropolitan infrastructure for the emerging
electric vehicle market. All these market-driven
developments create economies of scale that will
make renewable technologies cost competitive
nationwide.
Meanwhile, at the end of October, members of
the International Code Council approved changes
to the 2012 International Energy Conservation
Code (IECC) building codes, requiring new and
renovated residences and commercial buildings to
use 30 percent less energy than current standards
require. Because 47 states base their own building
codes on the IECC, this is a huge step forward for
architecture and the building trades in the United
States, where buildings account for 40 percent of
energy use and 67 percent of electricity consump-
tion. In California, the CALGreen building code,
designed to improve building energy efficiency,
material conservation and resource efficiency and
environmental quality also takes effect this Jan. 1.

Advertising Annette Delagrange: Director of Sales, Colorado and Outside the U.S. adelagrange@solartoday.org P: 630.234.9187 Bonnie D. Hunt: Eastern Sales Manager bhunt@solartoday.org P: 215.750.7692 P: 800.598.7947 F: 215.741.4698 Rob Simonelli: Western Sales Manager rsimonelli@solartoday.org P: 562.431.1630 F: 562.431.1530 Shari Heinlein: National Sales Assistant sheinlein@solartoday.org P: 303.443.3130 F: 303.443.3212

Magazine Advisory Council
Gabriela Martin, Chair
Dan Bihn Paul Notari
Richard Crume Alejandro Palomino
Frank Kreith Mick Sagrillo
Chuck Kutscher Bob Scheulen
Joseph McCabe Robert Ukeiley
Dona McClain Jane M. Weissman
ASES Operations
Bradley D. Collins: National Campaign Director
Christy Honigman: Director of Development
Chris Stimpson: Executive Campaigner
Solar Nation, a program of ASES
Carolyn Beach: Membership Manager
Richard Burns: National Solar Tour Manager/
Chapters Liaison
Kristin Conrad: Web Development Manager
Kate Hotchkiss: National Solar Conference Manager
Dona Mc Clain: Program Coordinator
Elena Hoffrichter: Bookkeeper
Christine Howard: Special Projects/
Web Development Assistant
Ann Huggins: Member Services

ASES Board of Directors
Margot McDonald, Chair
Jeff Lyng, Chair-elect
Bill Poulin, Treasurer
Jason Keyes, Secretary
John Reynolds, Immediate Past Chair
Toni Bouchard David Hill
Richard Caputo Nathalie Osborn
David Comis David Panich
Gregory Edwards Tehri Parker
Trudy Forsyth Jeff Peterson
Allison Gray Phil Smithers
Mary Guzowski Mark Thornbloom

SOLAR TODAy (ISSN: 1042-0630) is published nine times per year by the American Solar Energy Society, 4760 Walnut Street, Suite 106, Boulder, Colorado 80301, 303.443.3130, fax 303.443.3212, ases@ases.org, ases.org.