This week on NVTC’s blog, Michael Canes, senior consultant at LMI, shares why smart energy usage fundamentally improves the way companies do business, and the five steps agencies can take to help their energy management.
Today’s government facility energy managers face the enormous challenge of meeting goals set through legislation and executive order (EO). For the past several years, managers have needed to increase the energy efficiency of buildings by 3 percent annually. But now, agencies also must utilize increasing proportions of renewable energy, 30 percent or more by 2025.
Meeting these benchmarks is necessary to comply with legislation, or EOs, but progressive agencies know that smart energy usage fundamentally improves the way they do business. Operating more efficiently increases program effectiveness.
We follow a five-step approach to help agencies improve energy management:
1. Assess current energy consumption
2. Identify opportunities to improve efficiency and add renewables
3. Analyze the economics of the alternatives
4. Budget and manage the finances of energy investments
5. Ensure the investments are in compliance with applicable environmental standards.
Michael Canes, PhD, is an internationally recognized economist with an extensive background in the economics of energy and climate policy. He has published a number of studies related to energy economics and policy. His PhD in economics is from the University of California, Los Angeles.
