Renewable Energy Projects

Renewable Energy

Our Renewable Energy program focuses on all forms of renewable energy, including solar, wind, and waste-digesters. We produce legal and policy research and analysis on ways to eliminate barriers and promote renewable penetration. We engage state policy makers with advice based in analysis to produce real world results. On an international level, we are active in studying policy and project precedents to understand successful pathways.

International Renewable Energy Agency 

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) was founded in 2009 and formally established in 2011 as an intergovernmental organisation. IRENA supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future, and serves as the principal platform for international co-operation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy. IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind energy, in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity. For more information, visit the IRENA website at: www.irena.org

Hydrokinetic Energy  

Pace recently concluded a report on the legal and regulatory requirements for hydrokinetic facilities.  We convened a workshop of prominent experts to inform state policy makers.

New York Solar Initiative 

Pace plays a leadership role in informing the active solar effort in New York, consisting of a broad and diverse coalition of environmental groups, solar developers, labor groups, municipal governments, and businesses to establish a statutory solar mandate for the state. Work is ongoing to finish the job of adopting sound solar policy in New York by adopting needed long-term commitment to solar in the Empire State.  The effort would make New York a national leader in the technology.

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Fuels & Transportation Projects

Fuels & Transportation

Our Fuels & Transportation program evaluates and promotes low carbon transportation alternatives to the carbon-intensive status quo. We seek intelligent and practical improvements for the transportation sector through policy research and analysis. We engage decision-makers with our analysis, and convene and collaborate with stakeholders.

Northeast Biofuels & Bioeconomy 

Pace has joined forces with researchers from Cornell to engage and educate teachers at an elementary and high school level about biofuels and the bioeconomy.  These teachers will share their lessons with students at all levels across New York, leading to a better understanding and commitment to clean biofuels.

Clean Fuels Initiative

Pace is committed to guiding decisions makers as they seek to promote low carbon transportation alternative fuels.  We hosted a September 2012 workshop, convening state representatives from New Hampshire and Vermont down through Delaware, to focus on regional clean fuel potential, and issued several brief reports on the status of a range of alternative fuels.  We will continue to press for low carbon fuel alternatives at a Boston workshop in January 2013.

NYS Biofuels Roadmap 

Working with NYSERDA, Pace assembled an enormous team of scientists and policy experts to produce a biofuels roadmap for New York State.  As part of an ongoing effort to inform policy decisions on clean fuels, we continue to work with stakeholders and experts to update the roadmap, which can be found on our website.

Energy Efficiency Projects

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency makes good economic and environmental sense. For over 25 years, the Pace Center has sought to find the most efficient and effective ways to capture all cost-effective energy efficiency through sound public and regulatory policies, as well as through innovative financing mechanisms and legal arrangements. In various energy efficiency portfolio standard and system benefit charge processes, for example, we engage stakeholders and decision makers to cost-effectively reduce the demand for electricity and natural gas while saving consumers money.

Innovative Financing Mechanisms 

In addition to On Bill Recovery, Pace also works to advance other innovative financing mechanisms that overcome market barriers to scaling up efficiency, including Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE.  Pace also works actively at the New York Independent Systems Operators (NYISO) to ensure the comparable treatment and compensation of energy efficiency in wholesale electricity markets and resource planning.

15 x 15  

Pace has played an integral part of New York’s cornerstone energy efficiency policy known as “15 by 15” – the state’s goal to reduce electricity consumption by 15% from forecasted levels by 2015.  This entails utility and public authority-run energy efficiency programs across all sectors, as well as accelerated building codes and appliance standards, along with workforce training programs.

Green Jobs Green NY 

Pace played a key role in the passage of one of the state’s landmark bills on energy efficiency, and as a member of the GJ GNY Advisory Council continues to provide expert feedback as the state implements the program. Funded with $112 million in revenues from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, it provides residential, small business, and not for profit customers the opportunity to invest in EE projects and pay the costs back on their utility bill–known as On Bill Recovery.

Community Energy Projects

Community Energy

Our Community Energy program brings together the latest strategies in energy efficiency, cogeneration of electricity and thermal energy for heating and cooling, distributed renewable energy, smart grid and demand response through multi-building applications and microgrids. Community microgrids can integrate energy efficiency, cogeneration, solar photovoltaic, wind, geothermal, organic waste digesters and other types of renewable energy, as well as localized smartgrid and demand response applications. In addition to considerable gains in energy efficiency, microgrids make communities far more resilient in the face of more frequent intense storm events..

CHP in the City 

The Pace Center is currently working with New York City Mayor’s Office of Long Term Planning to advance multi-building CHP opportunities within the five boroughs. New York City, with its high building density and heterogeneity in building use, present tremendous potential for efficiency gains, enhanced resiliency, and utility benefits through CHP.

NECEAC

Pace is Co-Director of the Northeast DOE center, which encourages the deployment of combined heat and power (CHP), district energy systems, waste heat recovery, and other clean energy technologies throughout New York and New England. The NE-CEAC educates prospective end users and policymakers, conducts market analyses and provides technical assistance and project support services to interested end users.

Microgrids in New England 

Pace is engaging key decision makers and end users through a targeted workshop series around microgrids and district energy systems with combined heat and power (CHP). Pace has partnered with state governments in Connecticut and Massachusetts to bring together key stakeholders, utilities, and developers to develop a path towards energy efficiency and resiliency through community energy projects.

Climate Projects

Climate

Our Climate Change work focuses on direct engagement of policy makers, convening decision makers and stakeholders, as well as policy research and analysis. The goal in this work is to assist decision makers and stakeholders in developing and implementing policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We are also concerned with identifying cost-effective actions to improve the resiliency to climate change impacts, such as the extreme weather that has hit the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic in recent years.

Climate Change Resilience

The Center hosted a regional climate change impacts conference in the spring of 2012. In addition, the Center produced numerous fact sheets covering likely impacts to urban and rural environments and energy systems.

State Climate Action 

The Center’s experts have been closely involved with numerous state-level initiatives to design and implement policies to reduce greenhouse gas pollution from various sectors.

Federal Climate Action 

The Center’s experts are engaged in efforts to reduce nationwide greenhouse gas emissions under existing law, including the Clean Air Act.