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Council on Environmental Quality Blog

  • Harnessing America’s Energy Future in the Great Lakes

    Posted by By Victoria Pebbles on May 29, 2012 at 11:57 AM EST

    Editor’s Note: This blog introduces readers to Victoria Pebbles, Program Director at the Great Lakes Commission based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

    Last week, the Great Lakes Offshore Wind Energy Consortium met for the first time. This fledging group is comprised of representatives of five states (Il, MI, MN, NY and PA) and 10 federal agencies that signed a federal-state Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on March 30 this year to cooperate on siting offshore wind in the Great Lakes. Not dissimilar to international protocols which set forth rules for intergovernmental cooperation, the three non-signatory states can sign the MOU at any time in the future.

    The MOU aims to “promote the efficient, expeditious, orderly and responsible evaluation of offshore wind power projects in the Great Lakes.” Signatories are committed to documenting their existing regulatory frameworks for offshore wind by June 30, 2013. This “regulatory roadmap” will provide a starting point for identifying opportunities to improve coordination and efficiencies with evaluating applications for offshore wind projects. The agreement also commits the signatories participate in pre-application consultations and joint application reviews — a practice that sometimes occurs with other projects but one that should become more standard practice as a result of the MOU. Ultimately, signatories are also committed to applying lessons through the Consortium when evaluating future offshore wind proposals. 

    The best lessons are learned from actual experience. At this time, all eyes are on Lake Erie where the only active Great Lakes offshore wind project is being planned for a 20-30 megawatt (MW) pilot project seven miles offshore downtown Cleveland. The developer, Freshwater Wind, enjoys broad-based community support from the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo), a private, non-profit regional corporation working to build wind turbines in Lake Erie and stimulate an offshore freshwater wind industry.

    Companies all around the Great Lakes see the offshore wind industry as a catalyst for employing the region’s outstanding engineering and manufacturing assets to design and build the offshore wind turbines; and using the region’s natural assets, the Great Lakes and connecting waterways, to move these large products to other parts of the country and overseas. 

    That is why it is important for the Great Lakes Offshore Wind Energy Consortium to carefully complete its work. Then, when more proposals for offshore wind in the Great Lakes come, and they will come, states and federal agencies will have a rational policy framework for evaluating proposed offshore wind power projects in the Great Lakes that is efficient, expeditious, fair, and responsible. 

    Victoria Pebbles is Program Director at the Great Lakes Commission

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  • Increasing Energy Efficiency and Reducing Costs in Federal Buildings

    Posted by Dan Tangherlini on May 18, 2012 at 2:47 PM EST

    As part of GSA’s core responsibility of delivering savings to government agencies, GSA has awarded a contract with IBM to work with leaders in the building sciences industry to install low-cost, high-value, networked technologies in 50 of the federal government’s most energy intensive buildings. This smart building strategy will connect building management systems to a central, cloud-based platform, improving energy efficiency and saving up to $15 million in tax dollars annually.

    Under the terms of the contract, IBM will develop an innovative system to monitor, in real-time, building performance nationwide and stream data to a central facility.  This, in turn, will give employees and building managers useful information on building operations allowing for faster analysis and more informed decision-making. Additionally, when the system is fully integrated, the buildings’ tenants and managers will be able to view the performance of their buildings on public dashboards with analysis on energy savings and recommendations on how to further increase efficiencies.

    As additional federal buildings are constructed and other facilities are upgraded, those buildings will also be managed with this platform. We expect that this initiative will keep buildings performing at peak efficiency and increase cost savings across the federal portfolio.

    GSA’s plan to meet the requirements of President Obama’s Executive Order on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance (EO13514) includes a goal of reducing energy consumption in federal buildings by 30 percent by 2015. Smart building technology is yet another approach that GSA is taking to increase performance and decrease costs in government buildings. It’s clear that this GSA initiative will begin a new chapter in energy efficient strategies that will deliver important savings to the taxpayer.

    For additional information on GSA’s smart building efforts please visit: gsa.gov/smartbuildings.

    Dan Tangherlini is Acting Administrator of the General Services Administration.

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  • Environmental Justice: From Strategic Planning to Action

    Posted by Gary S. Guzy on May 17, 2012 at 10:49 AM EST

    What does it take to integrate environmental justice principles into our programs and services? 

    The answers poured in enthusiastically from senior officials across the Federal Government at a recent special Deputy Secretary-level meeting of the Environmental Justice Interagency Working Group. I hosted this meeting along with U.S. EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe to mark the completion of an historic strategic planning effort.

    Building on the Obama Administration's commitment to strong environmental and health protections for all Americans, Federal agencies and offices have been revisiting and re-invigorating their approach to environmental justice. We set out our roadmap for concerted Federal Government action last year in an interagency Memorandum of Understanding, in which agencies committed to publishing environmental justice strategies and annual progress reports on their implementation of those strategies. When the deputies gathered at our meeting, the final strategies had just been released. To ensure their relevance and rigorous implementation, the strategies reflect public input, and they focus on engraining environmental justice principles in core Government practices and programs. 

    We agreed it was time to transition from strategic planning to action. As a Working Group, we decided that  to succeed, we must prioritize our actions and leverage existing resources as much as possible, including through developing and expanding public-private partnerships and sharing best practices across agencies. I jotted down the following examples to give you a sense of what this means in practice:

    • Deputy Secretary David Hayes described the Department of the Interior's work with private companies to help provide renewable energy to remote Native Alaskan communities.
    • Assistant Secretary Howard Koh from the Department of Health and Human Services indicated that the health impact assessment tools that the Department is developing will enable federal decision-makers across the Government to identify and consider public health impacts, including those that disproportionately apply to low-income and minority communities.
    • The Department of Energy and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are developing staff and stakeholder training on environmental justice principles which may be applicable to other Federal offices as well.

    As someone who worked in the Federal Government when we first began considering environmental justice principles two decades ago, I am heartened by where we are headed today. With newfound direction and momentum, we are answering the call for systematic and durable applications of environmental justice principles to our programs and services, so we can see meaningful results.   

    Gary S. Guzy is Deputy Director of the Council on Environmental Quality

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  • Supporting our Troops with Better Energy Options

    Posted by Frank Kendall on May 3, 2012 at 1:43 PM EST

    Last night, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta addressed an Environmental Defense Fund reception in honor of the Department of Defense's leadership in advancing our nation’s security though transformative 21st century clean energy and environmental initiatives. 

    He remarked that from a security and financial perspective, we have a deep commitment to finding better energy options. For example, reducing the amount of fuel used by our equipment translates to fewer loads for supply convoys, which insurgents have targeted in places like Afghanistan. And the less we spend on fuel and energy, the more we have for other critical defense priorities. That's why, next year, DoD will invest almost $3 billion in energy efficiency and renewable energy. You can read Secretary Panetta’s remarks here.

    For our combat forces, we're investing in better generators and microgrids for our combat bases, hybrid engines for ships and vehicles, and more efficient aircraft. While some of these investments are long-term, many will result in immediate returns. For example, the Marine Corps’ Experimental Forward Operating Base (ExFOB) has been testing energy efficient and renewable technologies that make the Marines more flexible, agile, and lethal. 

    The Marine Corps KickOff Their 2012 Experimental Forward Operating Base initiative at Camp LeJeune, NC

    The Marine Corps kicked off their 2012 Experimental Forward Operating Base initiative at Camp LeJeune, NC on May 2 with Assistant Secretary of Defense Sharon Burke. Marines across Afghanistan are using energy efficient and renewable technologies to become more flexible, agile, and lethal. (Photo from the US Marine Corps)

    3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment deployed in 2010 with first generation ExFOB gear. The results spoke for themselves. The Marines operated two patrol bases solely on renewable energy, reduced energy use by 90 percent at a third base, and executed a three-week foot patrol without battery resupply, reducing load on Marines by 700 lbs. In less than a year, technologies demonstrated at this first ExFOB were deployed widely to combat forces in Afghanistan.

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  • The Youth Sustainability Challenge: Creating an America Built to Last

    Posted by Nancy Sutley and Lisa P. Jackson on May 2, 2012 at 3:00 PM EST

    Today we are excited to announce a new initiative in partnership with America's young leaders. We're asking you, America's youth, to tell the world how you're fostering sustainability and creating an America built to last. Starting today, submit your video message for the Youth Sustainability Challenge and share how you're making a difference.

    This June, leaders from around the world will convene in Rio de Janeiro to mark the 20th anniversary of the historic "Earth Summit," formally known as the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The conference is an opportunity for the world to engage in a global conversation and take action to build a healthier and more sustainable future for our planet.

    Here at home, we are focused on taking action to protect the health of our families and communities, and build a strong and growing economy and middle class. Americans are already working together to create innovative solutions to our shared global challenges, including through clean energy innovations and investments that support hundreds of thousands of jobs and have put us on track to double renewable energy generation in the U.S. by the end of this year.  

    The Obama Administration will continue to support American innovation and smart investments that will build a strong and healthy country and economy. We also believe that real progress begins with individuals who take action in their own homes and their own communities. That's why, as we prepare for the conference in Rio, we are challenging America's future leaders to do their part.

    This Tuesday, May 8, Obama Administration officials and youth sustainability leaders will gather for an event at the White House to mark the launch of this Challenge. But you can get involved now. Join the conversation. Encourage others to do the same. Demonstrate how you have power to create an America built to last – and to change our world for the better.

    • Twitter: Use the hashtag #EarthDayEveryDay
    • Facebook: Update your status and profile image

    Nancy Sutley is Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality

    Lisa P. Jackson is the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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  • Champions of Secure Energy

    Posted by Katherine Hammack on April 19, 2012 at 4:18 PM EST

    Editor's Note: This blog introduces readers to Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment.

    Today in a special White House ceremony, I was privileged to meet, listen to, and help recognize nine individuals from around the nation who are being acknowledged as Champions of Change for Innovations in Renewable Energy.

    Among those being recognized is U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Alan Samuels, a Reserve Officer assigned to the Army Reserve Sustainment Command in support of the Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM), a part of the Army Material Command. Samuels deployed to Afghanistan for nine months in support of RDECOM's initiative to stand up a science and technology collaboration and integration center in theater. During his deployment he organized and led efforts for a 1-mega watt micro grid project the Army installed in Bagram. This project reduced power outages by 50 percent and fuel consumption for power generation by over 20 percent.

    When not serving as an Active Reserve Officer, Lt. Col. Samuels is a Department of the Army civilian, working as a research chemist studying remote sensing technology at Edgewood Chemical Biological Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Throughout his deployment Samuels continued to work with the Center's Army Science and Technology programs, offering them a "boots on the ground" perspective that allowed them to fine tune the Army's emerging technologies to better meet the needs of our war fighters.

    Power and energy are a serious focus of the United States Army. In theater, 70-80 percent of our logistics efforts are focused on moving fuel and water. Fuel and water must be transported by convoys which are often targeted by our adversaries. Any reduction in the amount of fuel we use translates into fewer convoys, and thus fewer lives lost protecting that fuel.

    Today, we witnessed firsthand how the military and civilians are working to find better ways for America to manage their power and energy resources. My personal congratulations go to Lt. Col. Samuels, and those who were recognized today as Champions of Change for Innovations in Renewable Energy.

    Katherine Hammack is Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment

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