Crediting Energy Efficiency Measures Under Air Emissions Programs

Steven Fine, ICF Consulting
Chloe Weil, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Keywords

Abstract

Energy efficiency and renewable actions have not traditionally received credit for the quantifiable emissions reductions from the electric utility grid they produce. Crediting these emission-reducing activities at the point of investment is critical to ensuring that these costeffective actions are incorporated under air emissions programs – whether under a market based cap and trade programs, or an air inventory system.

In either scenario, determining the energy savings resulting from energy efficiency measures can present a significant challenge. The electricity generated from renewable energy measures can, by and large, be accurately measured through simple metering techniques. Energy efficiency measures however face the same challenge they have traditionally confronted – how to accurately measure energy savings from these actions versus what would have occurred anyway. This paper will focus on measurement and verification challenges that an entity such as a state would face when trying to design a system to credit energy efficiency measures either under a cap and trade or an open inventory system.

The paper also examines several of the tools and protocol that have been developed to support the crediting of energy efficiency and renewable measures, such as EPA’s Conservation Verification Protocol, DOE’s International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol, New Jersey’s Protocol for Commercial, Industrial and Residential Facilities, to see if these programs could provide valuable “lessons learned” and insight into developing M&V procedures for crediting energy efficiency and renewable measures.