Published by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association | www.NEMA.org | March 2016 | Vol. 21 No. 3

the magazine of the electroindustry

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FEATURES

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ECO BOX

Gold Medallion Homes Bespeak Decades of Energy Efficiency...................................................................8

Net-Zero Home Embodies the New Era of Energy Efficiency ....................................................................10

Clean Power Plan Presents Challenges and Opportunities to De-carbonize the Grid .................................12

Energy Storage: The Role Energy Storage Plays in a High-Renewable Energy Future ................................14

DC Microgrids Gain Popularity in Commercial Buildings .........................................................................16

Putting Sustainable Energy to Work in the Developing World ................................................................18

Recycling Revisited .............................................................................................................................20

Increased Awareness Creates New Paradigm in Recycling .....................................................................22

Taking Sustainability to New Heights ...................................................................................................23

Refurbished Medical Imaging Equipment: Sustainable, Safe, and Effective ............................................24

ei, the magazine of the electroindustry Publisher | Tracy Cullen

Editor in Chief | Pat WalshContributing Editors | Ann Brandstadter,

Christine Coogle, William E. Green III

Economic Spotlight | Tim GillCodes & Standardization Trends | Vince Baclawski

Government Relations Update | Kyle PitsorArt Director | Jennifer Tillmann

National Advertising Representative | Bill Mambert

CONTENTS

ei, the magazine of the electroindustry (ISSN 1066-2464) is published monthly by NEMA, the Association of Electrical Equipment and Medical Imaging Manufacturers, 1300 N. 17th Street, Suite 900, Rosslyn, VA 22209; 703.841.3200. FAX: 703.841.5900. Periodicals postage paid at Rosslyn, Va., and York, Pa., and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NEMA, 1300 N. 17th Street, Suite 900, Rosslyn, VA 22209. The opinions or views expressed in electroindustry do not necessarily reflect the positions of NEMA or any of its subdivisions.

Subscribe to ei, the magazine of the electroindustry at www.nema.org/subscribe2ei.Contact us at comm@nema.org.

Follow NEMA:

Did You Know...The Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016 includes provisions to increase efficiency in building codes, federal buildings, and schools.

Learn more at www.nema.org/Energy-Policy-Modernization-Act

Newsmakers NOTES

DEPARTMENTSGovernment Relations Update ...............................................................................................................5

NEMA Expert Testifies at FERC Technical Conference on Supply Chain Security..................................................................................5

California’s Performance Standards for LEDs Represent Potential Step Backwards ............................................................................5

Net Metering Rules Evolve in Solar-Rich States ...................................................................................................................................6

Final Version of China’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances Regulation Now Available ..................................................................7

Redo of California Prop 65 Proposed Rule Still Troublesome ...............................................................................................................7

Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act Includes “Single Window” System ........................................................................................7

Electroindustry News ..........................................................................................................................26

Rockin’ @ 90 with NEMA ....................................................................................................................................................................26

Code Actions/Standardization Trends ...................................................................................................27

What’s Happening in Midwest Code Development ..........................................................................................................................27

This Month in Standards for March 2016 ..........................................................................................................................................27

Dominica Adopts ANSI C12 Metering Standards, Expands NEMA’s Global Profile ..........................................................................28

International Roundup .......................................................................................................................29

Reducing Trade Barriers to Innovation and Sustainability .................................................................................................................29

Economic Spotlight .............................................................................................................................30

Renewable Energy Advances Repel Threat from Lower Natural Gas Prices ......................................................................................30

Business Conditions Indexes Rebound in January Following December Retreat .............................................................................31

NEMA Officers .......................................................................................................................................................................................3

Comments from the President ..............................................................................................................................................................3

View from the Hill .................................................................................................................................................................................4

Listen to the Expert .............................................................................................................................................................................32

I Am NEMA ..........................................................................................................................................................................................32

Next month we will explore the market potential of the city as a “system of systems” connecting energy, water, transportation, buildings, and communications sectors.

Coming in April…32Retiring Harry Massey draws on his past to affect the future.

10Greg Galluccio and Dixie Comeau design a net-zero home.

4Senator Lisa Murkowski discusses the Energy Policy Modernization Act.

FROM THE PRESIDENTOfficersSustainability, a word we all hear frequently, is the theme of this month’s issue. It carries both a literal and familiar meaning, so allow me to clarify our use of the word in this magazine. While the textbook definition asserts that something is sustainable if it can be used without being completely consumed or destroyed, we are focusing on a second meaning: the capacity to repeat a process indefinitely. What better example of a repeatable process is there than manufacturing?

This second meaning aligns closer to trends in the environmental arena, as well as concepts surrounding stakeholders’ roles in corporate philosophy. Increasingly stakeholders seek a deeper understanding of a company in addition to reviewing the financials and this is where the sustainability discussion leads us.

More than 20 years ago, the notion of triple bottom-line accounting—scrutinizing the impact of any process on the planet, people, and profits—was introduced. I believe this is a useful construct when thinking about how NEMA members embody the principles of sustainability.

Planet: Environmental Sustainability Our members’ products constitute the essential elements of the electrical world, increasingly in transportation and dramatically in medical imaging systems. These systems influence the capacity for repeatability, especially when they save energy in homes, buildings, and industrial facilities or integrate renewable energy generation. Beyond supporting energy efficiency, renewable energy, and an electrified transportation sector, the NEMA community strives to satisfy the needs of today’s society while preserving and protecting resources for future generations.

People: Social Sustainability NEMA manufacturers value their customers, employees, and other stakeholders in two important ways. First, they drive local economies and global industries by employing tens of thousands of people in well-paying jobs that allow families and communities to thrive. Second, medical imaging and radiation therapy technologies play a nearly irreplaceable role in healthcare by enabling the accurate and early diagnosis and treatment of disease and injury. As with other electrical products, this enriches quality of life for billions of people around the world.

Profit: Financial Sustainability All companies seek financial sustainability and their investors require it. Without profit, there would be few incentives to develop innovative technologies and even less investment. Large and small, our members stand out as leaders in research and development. Financial sustainability ensures that NEMA members can continue to make advancements in the energy- and life-enhancing technologies that contribute to broader social wellbeing.

Whether or not companies integrate triple bottom-line accounting formally into their corporate fabrics, when measured against these three attributes, NEMA members deserve a salute for the progress they have made—and continue to make—for a sustainable future. ei

Kevin J. Cosgriff President and CEO

NEMA electroindustry • March 2016 3

ChairwomanMaryrose Sylvester President & CEO GE Lighting

President & CEO Current, Powered by GE

Vice ChairmanMichael Pessina Co-CEO & President Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.

TreasurerDavid G. Nord Chairman, President & CEO Hubbell Incorporated

Immediate Past ChairmanDon Hendler President & CEO Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc.

President & CEOKevin J. Cosgriff

SecretaryClark R. Silcox

It’s been almost a decade since the Senate considered a broad energy bill. But in that same timeframe, our nation’s energy landscape has gone through a vast transformation. What were conversations of energy scarcity have turned into conversations of energy abundance.

Now, we are exporting liquefied natural gas and, as of the New Year, we have the ability to export American crude oil—reflecting a change in federal energy policy that was put in place over 40 years ago. This drastic change in our energy landscape underscores the need to update and modernize our nation’s energy policies in order to keep energy abundant, affordable, clean, diverse, and secure.

Increasing energy efficiency and innovation are great places to start. Increasing energy efficiency not only reduces energy usage but also reduces the costs of energy for the end user. My broad, bipartisan energy bill, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016 (S 2012), includes provisions aimed at increasing efficiency in building codes, federal buildings, and schools, while directing each federal agency to reduce energy usage, to name a few.

But it doesn’t end there. Increasing energy efficiency requires a skilled workforce to put in place new energy efficiency technologies. My broad, bipartisan energy bill would make career skills training a priority.

It would promote energy-efficiency efforts to allow low-income families to reduce their energy bills while allowing

states to directly invest in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy emergency preparedness—among other key programs.

Increasing energy efficiency and promoting innovation of new energy technologies go hand in hand. The good news is that the United States is a global leader in innovation. The most successful innovations give us more energy, reduce the amount of energy that we use, and lower the costs of energy usage; and the best way to promote innovation is through responsible federal policies.

In the Energy Policy Modernization Act, we make sure that the federal government is a partner in progress to energy innovation. The Department of Energy has played an important role in promoting innovation. Key programs like Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which makes investments in ideas that are too early for private-sector investment, are transforming the energy sector.

The bill also supports innovation in a number of areas: energy efficiency,

storage, and distribution; vehicles, hybrid microgrid systems, and recycling; geothermal power; marine and hydrokinetic energy, and many other developing technologies.

My home state, Alaska, is an example to the rest of the world when it comes to energy innovation. Innovation is essential to moving rural communities off diesel and onto more sustainable, locally generated, and less-expensive energy systems. Alaska is bringing innovative technologies to communities around the state through a variety of

state-run programs largely financed by the revenues derived from our oil production.

Whether it is through federal research and development, state programs, or private capital, promoting innovation and energy efficiency are clear ways to lower energy costs and realize a future with cleaner air and cleaner water.

The broad, bipartisan energy bill that I developed with

colleagues on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee would make efficiency and innovation priorities while putting in place measures to improve energy supply and infrastructure. The Energy Policy Modernization Act is an important step forward to ensuring that our nation’s energy resources are abundant, affordable, clean, diverse, and secure for generations to come. ei

Senator Murkowski, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman

Ű Updating and Modernizing Our Nation’s Energy PoliciesSen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman

Contact your senator to support the Energy Policy Modernization Act, S 2012 .

Visit www.nema.org/support-the-energy-policy-modernization-actTa

ke A

ctio

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4 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

View from the Hill

Ű NEMA Expert Testifies at FERC Technical Conference on Supply Chain SecurityNEMA Industry Director Steve Griffith addressed staff and commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) at a technical conference on critical infrastructure protection supply chain risk management on January 28. Mr. Griffith spoke about the efforts of electrical manufacturers in establishing consensus guidelines and best practices that address the supply chain integrity of electrical products used as part of the bulk power system.

“As the manufacturers of critical grid equipment, NEMA members play an important role in strengthening the cybersecurity of the electric sector supply chain. Electrical manufacturers understand that a secure supply chain is essential to a secure grid and that cybersecurity features should be built into, not bolted onto, manufacturers’ products,” Mr. Griffith said. “They also understand that managing cybersecurity supply chain risk requires a collaborative effort and open lines of communication between electric utility companies and the manufacturers of critical electrical grid systems and components—both hardware and software.”

Mr. Griffith highlighted the efforts of electrical manufacturers in establishing guidelines and best practices that address U.S. supply chain integrity throughout the four stages of a product’s lifecycle: manufacturing, delivery, operation, and

end of life. These best practices were published by the NEMA Cybersecurity Task Force as NEMA CPSP 1-2015 Supply Chain Best Practices (available at www.nema.org/Supply-Chain-Best-Practices).

Mr. Griffith also noted that electrical manufacturers support voluntary industry consensus standards and guidelines (such as Supply Chain Best Practices) to address cybersecurity and supply chain risks, and at this time NEMA does not believe there is a need for FERC to adopt mandatory reliability standards for manufacturers’ supply chains.

Other participants in the FERC Technical Conference included NEMA member Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, electric utilities, grid operators, federal agencies, information and communication technology companies, and security firms. ei

Patrick Hughes, Senior Director, Government Relations and

Strategic Initiatives, NEMA | patrick.hughes@nema.org

NEMA Industry Director Steve Griffith spoke at a FERC conference about the efforts of electrical manufacturers in establishing consensus guidelines and best practices that address supply chain integrity. Photo by Patrick Hughes

Ű California’s Performance Standards for LEDs Represent Potential Step BackwardsOn January 27, 2016, the California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted performance standards for light-emitting diode (LED) lamps that some believe are too aggressive and may hamper adoption in the state after implementation in 2018.

NEMA staff and members testified before the commissioners on January 27 that the standards, based more on visual appearance than energy efficiency, represented a potential step backwards. NEMA Lamp Sales Index reports, available on the NEMA website, clearly demonstrate a sharp increase over the past 12 months in LED lamp sales,

to the tune of 237 percent over 2015 and rising. This was caused by strong industry efforts to balance price and performance options.

Widespread national adoption for LED lamps did not begin to grow noticeably until the industry achieved good performance in the $10 range. Today, satisfactory sub-$5 products are widely available, which puts the purchase price of LED lamps on par with incandescent halogen products, their strongest competitor.

The CEC admits in its analysis that the price of lamps in California is likely to

increase as a result of the increased visual performance requirements for color appearance. The same analysis admits that the California-preferred lamps are less energy-efficient than today’s most popular designs.

NEMA supports energy efficiency and the preservation of consumer choice options for performance and price. ei

Alex Boesenberg, Manager, Government Relations, NEMA |

alex.boesenberg@nema.org

NEMA electroindustry • March 2016 5

Government Relations Update

Ű Net Metering Rules Evolve in Solar-Rich StatesThe price of solar photovoltaic systems fell by more than 50 percent between 2009 and 2014, and annual solar installations in the U.S. increased by approximately 1,100 percent over the same time period.1

This solar boom has been fueled by three primary drivers: falling equipment and installation costs, federal and state tax credits and rebates, and net metering. The third—net metering—allows utility customers in 45 states to sell excess solar power back to the utility at the retail rate.

This mechanism has come under scrutiny by a number of state utility regulators as they seek to adapt utility regulations to a more modern electric system. California, Nevada, and Hawaii are among the most recent states to reexamine their existing net metering policies.

California On January 28, 2016, the California Public Utilities Commission voted 3–2 to uphold the state’s net-metering policy at the retail rate, at least until 2019. California did change the rules to allow for a one-time interconnection fee (approximately $75–$150); a minimum bill charge; “non-bypassable” charges of $0.020–$0.023/kilowatt-hour (kWh) to fund low-income, energy-efficiency, and other public-benefit programs; virtual net metering for residents of multifamily buildings; and mandatory time-of-use rates for new net-metering customers.

Existing net-metering customers can retain their current rate for 20 years from the date of their interconnection.

HawaiiOn October 12, 2015, Hawaii ended its net-metering program for new customers, although existing customers will retain their previous net-metering arrangement. 1 www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-industry-data

New solar customers now have two choices: self-supply or grid-supply. Under the self-supply option, residential and commercial customers will not be credited for exporting excess solar generation to the grid and will have minimum bills of $25 and $50, respectively. The grid-supply option will offer customers a fixed rate of $0.15–$0.28/kWh for generated electricity (residential retail rates in Hawaii averaged $0.37/kWh in 2014).

As solar costs continue to drop and behind-the-meter installations continue to rise, additional states are likely to revisit their net-metering rules in the coming months and years. How these rules are set will determine the number of solar installations and, by extension, the NEMA members’ products installed to support solar systems.

nevadaOn December 22, 2015, the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) unanimously approved revised net-metering rules for new and—controversially—existing customers

that would increase monthly charges, prompting major solar installers SolarCity and Sunrun to announce that they were ending their operations in Nevada.

On February 12, 2016, the PUCN reaffirmed their decision but extended the timeline for instituting the changes from four to 12 years. Now, the new rules will impose a fixed charge that will rise from $12.75 to $38.51 by 2028. The new rules will also decrease the rate paid to net-metering customers from the retail rate to the wholesale rate (a reduction from $0.11 to $0.09/kWh, progressively falling to $0.026/kWh in 2028).

This controversial decision has drawn criticism from both political parties, including Governor Brian Sandoval (R-Nevada) and Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. A legal challenge of the decision is expected. ei

Patrick Hughes, Senior Director, Government Relations and

Strategic Initiatives, NEMA | patrick.hughes@nema.org

6 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

Government Relations Update

Ű Final Version of China’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances Regulation Now Available

Ű Redo of California Prop 65 Proposed Rule Still Troublesome

Ű Trade Facilitation and Enforcement Act Includes “Single Window” System

Changes to the product design and labeling restrictions embodied in the so-called China Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulation came a little closer to reality on January 21 with the publication of the Administrative Measures for the Restriction of the Use of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Products (known as China RoHS 2) by the Ministry of Information & Information Technology (MIIT).

According to an unofficial English translation, the rule will take effect July 1, 2016, at which time the original China RoHS of February 2006 “shall be rendered null.”

In November 2015, after nearly a year of stakeholder consultations and commentary, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) surprisingly withdrew its proposed rule changes for Proposition 65 and issued a new draft for public review.1

NEMA members are among the many industry sectors closely watching this rulemaking and urging OEHHA to limit any expansion of Proposition 1 www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65/CRNR_notices/

WarningWeb/2NPRArticle112715.html

Recent passage by the Senate of compromise legislation to reauthorize the trade functions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will facilitate timely processing of lawful trade by providing the agency with greater authority and more tools to prevent the importation of products that do not conform to U.S. requirements.

Specifically, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act authorizes CBP to work with U.S. regulatory agencies,

This rule represents China’s version of the European RoHS Directive, enacted initially in the EU in 2003 and recast 8 years later. China’s approach—expressed as “management methods”—generally tracks with the European Directive, but there are notable differences. The Chinese rule is principally a substance declaration measure, imposing marking requirements with information needed for product recycling purposes.

In addition, the scope of China RoHS 2 remains unclear. MIIT has indicated that hazardous material thresholds similar to those under European Union RoHS will apply to a catalogue of “electrical and

65’s burdensome impact on product suppliers, retailers, property owners, and other regulated parties.

The only state program of its kind, Proposition 65 allows for private enforcement of its warning requirements. This has spawned an industry of plaintiffs’ attorneys who file legal action against companies for failing to warn or providing inadequate warnings. The cases often end with manufacturers paying exorbitant settlement fees to avoid lengthy court proceedings.

including the Department of Energy, to implement the “single-window” approach to the electronic filing of trade documents. The bill also contains a key provision that specifically permits CBP to work with U.S. manufacturers to prevent the importation of products that violate intellectual property rights.

Despite these positive aspects, the compromise excludes a reform and renewal of the import duty suspension process. This represents a missed

electronic products,” but the catalogue has not been released.

Additional guidance on compliance with the new rule will be provided in a “frequently asked questions” document, but there has been no indication from MIIT as to when that document will be available. ei

Mark Kohorst, Senior Manager, Environment, Health & Safety, NEMA |

mark.kohorst@nema.org

A review of the new proposal reveals some improvements over the earlier version that was withdrawn, but significant problems remain and NEMA joined a long list of companies in submitting comments on the draft. Expectations are that OEHHA will issue the final rule in early fall of this year, with manufacturers required to comply two years after the date of adoption, in 2018. ei

Mark Kohorst, Senior Manager, Environment, Health & Safety |

mark.kohorst@nema.org

opportunity to reduce costs for U.S. electroindustry manufacturers. This provision, if enacted, fairly recognizes that manufacturing components that are unavailable from domestic sources should not be penalized with a duty charge. ei

Craig Updyke, Director, Trade and Commercial Affairs, NEMA |

craig.updyke@nema.org

NEMA electroindustry • March 2016 7

Gold Medallion Homes Bespeak Decades of Energy Efficiency

Pat walsh, editor in Chief, neMa

The year was 1957. The place, new suburbia. The event, the dawn of the Gold Medallion Home™. Welcome to the all-electric generation.

NEMA, which at the time included appliance manufacturers in its membership, created the Gold Medallion Home Program to identify and promote all-electric domiciles as the epitome of modern life. Trademarked 10 years later, the premise was simple: using a lot of electricity would stimulate the demand for home appliances, make them more affordable, benefit manufacturers, and ultimately help the country prosper.

As mid-century America boomed and power plants proliferated, the cost of electricity went down. Gone were the Great Depression and World War II; in their place were years of promise and affluence. Elvis rocked, President Kennedy promised to put a man on the moon, and electricity was cheap.

Previously existing houses were stigmatized by coal- and oil-burning furnaces, which were neither clean nor economical. In contrast, Gold Medallion Homes were both. All electric, from baseboard heaters to appliances, with plenty of electrical receptacles in between, they were forward-looking and sleek. Entire neighborhoods were planned and built with medallion homes as the standard.

Utility companies and appliance manufacturers profited by encouraging homeowners to consume more power by buying more electrical products. To maintain this high demand, the electroindustry launched Live Better Electrically (LBE), an effective mass marketing campaign that was supported by electric utilities and major electrical manufacturers. Its goal was simple: encourage homeowners to consume more electricity.

Medallions, usually affixed next to the doorbell, branded mid-century all-electric homes. Using the Gold Medallion Home model, LBE had several aims:

• Provide prospective homebuyers with a recognized symbol of electrical excellence

• Raise electrical standards in new construction

• Help builders sell homes by promoting the benefits of electrical living

• Show existing homeowners features and fixtures that could be used in their present homes

• Upgrade existing home electrification

Cindy and Paul Molitor of Retro Revival pose with a Gold Medallion Home plaque in front of a mid-century home. Photo by Pat Walsh

Photo by Ann Brandstadter

8 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

Gauging SuccessTo earn a gold medallion, a house had to be solely sourced with electricity for heat, light, and power; have full 150-ampere service with a specified number of outlets and switches per linear foot; and include specific appliances like an electric range, refrigerator, and even air conditioner—customary now, but revolutionary then.

Those of a certain age might recall Queen for a Day, arguably the first reality television show. Indicative of the social value placed on electrical appliances, it pitted four women against each other to compete for prizes based on hardscrabble lives pockmarked by misfortune, disease, and desertion. The audience would determine who demonstrated the most dire straits by means of an “applause-o-meter.” In addition to a sable-trimmed velvet robe, bejeweled crown, and bouquet of long-stemmed red roses, the winner invariably would take home a washer and dryer, home range, or other appliance approved under LBE guidelines. Losing contestants got smaller prizes, such as toasters. Sponsors included the major appliance manufacturers, of course.

According to the Edison Electric Institute, LBE was a huge success. By some estimates, the nationwide goal of one million Gold Medallion Homes was achieved, although actual data is unavailable.

Today, all-electric homes reflect not a decreased appetite for electricity, but a hunger for abodes that are energy-efficient, internet-connected, and sourced from renewables. Welcome to the new generation of all-electric sustainability. ei

Ms. Walsh is the director of publications at NEMA.

From Gold to Premium The success of the medallion homes led to the NEMA Premium® programs. While the products are different, its goal is to stimulate demand for electrical products that will save consumers money by increasing efficiency.

The NEMA Premium motors program provides highly energy-efficient products that meet the needs and applications of users and original equipment manufacturers based on a consensus definition of “premium efficiency.” Instead of a gold medallion, it uses the NEMA Premium logo. It is estimated that the campaign saves 5,800 gigawatts of electricity. This translates to preventing the release of nearly 80 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the next 10 years—equivalent to keeping 16 million cars off the road.

The NEMA Premium Efficiency Transformer Program helps utilities, commercial buildings, and industrial plants incorporate super high-efficiency electrical transformers into their operations. It is based on NEMA TP 1-2002 Guide for Determining Energy Efficiency for Distribution Transformers, a standard that was adopted by the U.S. Department of Energy as the national energy-efficiency rule for low-voltage dry-type distribution transformers.

On the other hand, the NEMA Premium Electronic Ballast Program was so successful that it has been retired. The federal government applied the premium specifications for T8 fluorescent ballasts as the new minimum, thus eliminating its need.

The Premium Exit Sign Program stands apart from other NEMA Premium programs in that it establishes standards for and encourages the use of high-performance exit signage and does not focus strictly on energy efficiency. Instead, its goal is to increase visibility and attract attention.

By creating higher minimum standards in homes, businesses, and industry, we have gone from all electric to all efficiency.

What the industry is saying: Appliance efficiency has increased

remarkably over the past several decades. Three products (clothes washers, central air conditioners, and refrigerators), show a 50-percent or greater reduction in energy use over that period, and a fourth product, gas furnaces, shows a smaller but still significant reduction of 18 percent.

The decline in energy use parallels the rise of appliance efficiency standards, first at the state level, and then at the federal level. The Department of Energy sets minimum energy and water efficiency levels for household and commercial appliances, equipment, and lighting, creating savings for consumers and businesses.

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

NEMA electroindustry • March 2016 9

NEwERAOFSuSTAINAbIlITy

We are in the process of building a home from a reconstructed post-and-beam barn on a seven-acre plot in Warwick, New York. The barn, which was built in 1860 in Bolton, Ontario, has been dismantled, fumigated, and warehoused. Our plan is to erect the barn on the property and turn it into an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly space where we can live and work and become an integral part of the community.

Barns conjure images of soaring ceilings and drafty gaps between sideboards—not the ideal space for energy efficiency. We intend to blend the beauty of this post-and-beam structure with state-of-the-art insulating building materials. These

During a recent meeting at the NEMA conference center on emerging technologies, I mentioned the net-zero, 2,600-square-foot home my

wife, Dixie Comeau, and I are building. The editor of this magazine asked me to describe the project, which is just getting underway this spring. This is the first installment of a series that chronicles a new model of the old campaign, Live Better Electrically.

It is our belief that we can live well and still treat the planet appropriately by using sustainable building materials, capturing energy from the sun and the wind, and taking care to keep our carbon footprint small.

Greg Galluccio and Dixie Comeau walk the property where their net-zero home will be built. Photo by Becca Tucker

Net-Zero Home Embodies the New Era of Energy Efficiency

Greg Galluccio, vice President, engineering and Product Management, Maxlite dixie Comeau, President, dixie Comeau Consulting inc.

10 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

Follow the progress on the house at www.netzerobarn.com

We are also exploring some human safety features that are not as well known to the public, such as distributed direct current (dc) electrical power for lighting and small appliances. Finally, we’re employing a robust battery system that will power the home when the public utility grid is operating at peak power or when the grid is down completely.

We plan to include a number of sustainable technologies:

• LED lighting and controls

• DC systems where possible (USB-powered appliances, Power-over-Ethernet lighting)

• Solar (photovoltaic) power with DC battery backup

• Geothermal radiant heating and cooling with split-system air assist

• Packed cellulose wall construction

• Smart thermostat controls

• Tankless hot water systems

Construction begins in early spring, and we will share our journey with ei as we go. We anticipate continual testing, rethinking, and refining throughout the process—and we would love to share it with others who are considering a similar journey or who have something to offer to the quest. ei

Mr. Galluccio is a member of the NEMA Internet of Things Council and ANSI ASC 137 Lighting Systems Committee.

include structured insulated panels and packed cellulose wall construction to create a high-performance, low-energy living space. When we’re done, the barn will essentially be a sealed structure, which can be heated and cooled using an HVAC system that traditionally would have struggled to handle a tiny cottage.

Net-zero philosophy goes beyond energy usage. This house will showcase how one can minimize or even neutralize environmental harm and still enjoy all the luxuries of a good sized, modern home. In addition to using only the electricity we generate, we will incorporate sustainable building materials, reclaim water, and take every precaution not to release carbon into the atmosphere or the ground.

The energy-efficient barn will showcase all the luxuries of a modern home that uses only the electricity the homeowners generate. Drawings by architect Joe Irace

NEMA electroindustry • March 2016 11

NEwERAOFSuSTAINAbIlITy

Chart 1 on page 13 shows the trends in regional resource mix from 2005 to the first year of our forecast in 2016 and the last year of a 25-year forecast in 2040. Resources by primary fuel types were measured in gigawatts by regions: Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Midwest (MW), Northeast (NE), Southeast (SE), and Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). Source: ABB Velocity Suite, EPM Advisors

For many NEMA members, these additional wind and solar farms present unique business opportunities, from electrical transmission and distribution to grid interconnection and remote monitoring and operations. Of course, in many cases, the sun shines brightest and the wind blows hardest in remote areas far away from consumers of the electricity produced. In those cases, there will be a need for efficient methods of transporting power—an application ideally suited for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission projects.

Optimizing Control In addition to the application of HVDC for bringing renewable power to load centers, there are a number of technologies and practices that can be used on the lower voltage distribution portion of the grid to conserve energy.

Because of improvements in monitoring and control systems, it is possible to dynamically manage voltage on the distribution grid in a way that minimizes the amount of power required to keep everything stable. This approach is known as conservation voltage reduction, or volt/VAR optimization. The proliferation of faster control networks and more powerful modeling computers are making this sort of real-time optimization control possible today.

At NEMA’s founding 90 years ago, NEMA members could not have envisioned many of the thorny issues that occupy so much of our

attention in 2016. Indeed, climate change to a 1920s audience might have sounded straight out of science fiction.

With the UN Conference on Climate Change concluding in Paris in December, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan (Carbon Pollution Standards for Existing Power Plants, or CPP) seems less like a radical departure from environmental regulations in the U.S. and more like evidence that the U.S. is committed to doing its part to reduce greenhouse gases.

On February 9, 2016, the Supreme Court reversed a federal appeals court decision from weeks earlier by halting implementation of the CPP while it is being debated. While this means states are no longer required to keep compliance plans on course and progressing—for now—some will continue to do so anyway. Regardless of the final outcome of the CPP legal battle, it seems clear that a critical mass of agreement around the world has been reached with respect to de-carbonizing our energy supply chain.

In the draft rule of the CPP, the EPA seemed to be setting up a “dash to gas” with directives on the capacity factor of lower-emitting generation sources. However, in the final rule, there seems to be a belief that it is better to skip the bridge-fuel step to the greatest degree possible and go to the zero-emitting sources. Because of this realization, EPA built in stronger incentives to bring more wind and solar online during the 2020–2022 timeframe.

Clean Power Plan Presents Challenges and Opportunities to De-carbonize the Grid

rodney durban, director, Clean air initiative, aBB inc.

12 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

aPPlyinG new TeCHnoloGiesA broader adoption by industry of high-efficiency motors and variable-frequency drives, for instance, would amount to a significant reduction in greenhouse gases.

Unfortunately, there are losers in the de-carbonization of the grid.

It is not likely that new coal-fired power plants will be constructed in North America, and many of the currently operating coal-fired power plants will be retired, hurting construction companies and coal-mining firms..

However, even in these losses, there are opportunities to apply relatively new technology that makes the grid smarter and more controllable. As power plants close to load centers are retired, utilities can exercise options to bring in power from more distant sources, facilitated by devices such as static VAR compensators (SVCs) that maintain an appropriate ratio of real and reactive power to ensure stability. SVCs run quietly and don’t consume any power, so they are ideal for siting in urban areas where grid stability is an issue.

For coal plants that do survive, there will opportunities to improve efficiency by lowering heat rate values through better measurement, better control, and combustion optimization.

For the most part, the transition to a lower-carbon economy will present more opportunities than challenges for ABB and other NEMA members. It’s safe to say that many of the issues NEMA is tackling

in today’s industry would have been completely unforeseen in 1926. But what is as recognizable now as then is our industry’s commitment to ensuring safe and reliable power, whatever the challenge. ei

Since 2012, Mr. Durban has led ABB’s Clean Air Initiative in the U.S., an initiative formed in response to changes in air regulations and the fundamental landscape of fossil energy production.

CoordinaTinG disTriBuTed enerGy resourCesWe are also seeing the expansion of distributed energy resources, or grid-edge technologies:

• Demand response, such as direct load control and time-of-use rates

• Distributed generation and storage systems that include diesel back-up generation, combined heat and power applications, solar photovoltaic, battery energy storage, and flywheels

• Electric vehicle charging infrastructure that supports electrification of transportation with scheduled charging

• Microgrids, which add grid resiliency and help manage the dispatch of renewable generation by combining storage with renewables

• Power electronics such as smart inverters and dynamic regulating transformers to help manage feeder voltages and reactive power flows

• Market platforms that engage distributed energy resource asset owners with sustainable incentives

These resources can help mitigate some of the impact of the CPP if distributed generation and the other distributed energy resources can be coordinated with centralized generation and transmission.

Further, in spite of the fact that end-use energy efficiency was removed from the calculation of state-by-state goals, the EPA has made it clear that energy efficiency remains an eligible—and low-cost—compliance mechanism. NEMA Government Relations has led an industry and non-governmental organization effort to bring more attention to not only the market-based value of energy efficiency but the ways in which states should structure their compliance plans to put non-utility energy efficiency investments (i.e., privately funded industrial efficiency projects) on level footing with the other types of investments.1

1 www.nema.org/Comments-EPA-Energy-Efficiency

Chart 1. North American Resource Mix by Primary Fuel Type (GW)

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Energy Storage: The Role Energy Storage Plays in a High-Renewable Energy Future

Path to Success Batteries’ recent rise in popularity and deployment primarily stems from four developments over the past decade:

• Deregulation of electricity markets: Deregulation has created a market that allows storage and other distributed energy resources to compete against traditional grid assets in the wholesale market.

• Parallel markets: The growth of battery electric vehicles has accelerated the cost declines and performance gains of lithium-ion batteries.

• Aging infrastructure: The century-old electricity grid is in need of a major overhaul. Energy storage can now contribute in a meaningful way to the smart grid of the future.

• Growing renewable market: Many new photovoltaic (PV) installations—whether residential, commercial, or industrial—now include onsite energy storage, allowing for increased onsite consumption and providing a dispatchable, carbon-free power source.

These developments have paved the way for the new generation of sustainability, one in which energy storage is poised to play an increasingly large and diverse role in the grid of the future.

The Role of Storage on the GridRocky Mountain Institute recently published a report, The Economics of Battery Energy Storage, which defines 13 services in which energy storage can provide value to both customers and the grid (see figure 1).

In this framework, we show how energy storage can be sited at three different levels on the grid (behind the meter, at the distribution level, or at the transmission level) and how it can provide value to various stakeholder groups at each level. Of these 13 services, only one—increased PV self-consumption—is explicitly tied to renewable integration. However, many, if not all, of the other services will be increasingly necessary as renewable penetration grows and the need for grid flexibility increases.

With Tesla announcing a home battery that uses electricity generated from solar panels, the German company Sonnenbatterie entering the

U.S. market, and massive grid-scale storage projects popping up in Hawaii and California, 2015 was the year of the battery.

It also happened to be the year of the first global commitment to address climate change. COP 21 (also known as the Paris Climate Conference) was a momentous step in the effort to address climate change on a global scale.

As the world moves aggressively toward a high-renewable-energy future, the question remains, “What will be the role of energy storage in the next generation of sustainability?” Answer: It will be potentially huge and likely diverse. Here’s why and what you need to know about it.

This welcomed shift toward a renewable-energy future comes with several operational challenges. Supply and demand for electricity on the grid must always be balanced to avoid disruptive and costly grid outages. For nearly a century, that balance has mostly been achieved through flexibility on the supply side (i.e., generation), which entails constantly ramping dispatchable resources up or down to match demand.

Wind and solar generation are predictably variable and, as their contribution to the grid grows, we’ll need more flexibility to integrate them reliably with conventional generation. Fortunately, we are seeing a shift in the way flexibility is built into the grid. Grid operators no longer rely only on centralized, supply-side flexibility (e.g., dispatchable generators) but look increasingly to distributed, demand-side flexibility (e.g., smart thermostats, demand response, internet-connected appliances, controllable electric-vehicle charging, and, of course, batteries).

Batteries have a special place in that mix because they can act either as dispatchable supply or as controllable demand as the grid requires, depending on whether they’re charging or discharging. The nexus of the system is a powerful place to be.

Energy Storage: The Role Energy Storage Plays in a High-Renewable Energy Future

Garrett fitzgerald, Phd, senior associate, rocky Mountain institute

14 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

The Role of Storage in Renewable IntegrationRenewables such as wind and solar are occasionally subject to abrupt changes in output, caused by changes in weather conditions—for example, a cloud passing over a large PV facility or a sudden lull in wind speed. Adequate weather forecasting can mitigate variability by making it more predictable, but the first line of defense against this natural variability is geospatial diversity. Installing PV and wind across a wide geographic area can help minimize variability and ensure that aggregated output is relatively smooth.

Geospatial diversity can only do so much, however, and this is where storage comes into play. Energy storage can be used to quickly and accurately respond to a drop in variable generation and so create a firm and reliable clean-power source. These short-timeframe services are generally categorized as fast-ramping or frequency regulation services and are needed to ensure the second-by-second stability of the grid.

Storage is also a valuable resource to assist in longer-timeframe grid balancing, on the order of hours to days. Misalignment of hourly variable generation and variable demand creates the need to either generate electricity when it is needed, shift when it is consumed, or store it for later use. Grid operators make use of all these methods today via dispatchable generation, demand response programs, and storage technologies, respectively.

Previously, most forms of energy storage, other than pumped hydro, have been too expensive to cost-effectively shift excess renewable production to times of high demand, so excess renewable production was typically curtailed. Recently, in light of falling costs and improved controls and communication, we are seeing more and more instances in which firming renewables with storage is more favorable than curtailment.

The role of storage in a high-renewables future can be boiled down to three high-level types of services:

• Ancillary grid services: Frequency regulation, voltage control, and fast ramping response are required to ensure stable grid operation in response to small-timescale (seconds to tens of minutes) fluctuations in both demand and generation.

• Energy/demand shifting: Energy shifting services typically operate over a longer time period and are used to align load with renewable output or to shave peaks.

• Increased self-consumption: Minimizing the export of electricity generated from behind-

the-meter PV systems increases the financial benefit of solar PV in areas

where net energy metering is not offered or for customers

with rate structures that are unfavorable to onsite PV

ownership.

As The Economics of Battery Energy Storage showed, batteries (especially customer-sited batteries) can offer a lot to

customers and utilities—13 services, in fact. Continued cost declines will remain an important piece of the puzzle, but leveraging the full potential

of batteries on the services and value side of the equation will be equally important for the continued integration of energy storage into

the next-generation electricity grid.

As renewables scale up and the world tenaciously decarbonizes the electrical grid, storage can be an important enabler. That 2015 was the year of the battery was no fluke. Energy storage is here to stay, and electrical manufacturing companies should look to the future with that in mind. ei

Dr. Fitzgerald focuses on innovative solutions to integrate distributed energy resources onto the electricity grid of the future. His doctorate is in earth and environmental engineering.

Figure 1. Areas in which energy storage provides value.

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PV LED LampLED

DriverDC

BALLAST

AC

GRID Gateway

The reasons for slow adoption were a lack of cost-effective generation and utilization equipment, few applicable codes and standards, and the relatively low cost of grid electricity. All of these have now changed. PV modules are available for $500/kW, many loads are inherently DC-based, and electricity costs have risen significantly.

The widest adoption of DC microgrids to date has been in data centers (U.S. data centers account for about 20GW of electric demand in the U.S.). Data center operators can increase efficiency by up to 30 percent by feeding solar power to servers without intermediate conversion to AC and back to DC.

Other applications for DC microgrids such as lighting and HVAC are emerging, however. Bosch USA has installed a real-world test system at a commercial warehouse in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Two identical systems (in terms of photovoltaic arrays and loads) feed building light-emitting diode (LED) lighting and ventilation fans. One, however, uses direct DC coupling, while the other uses conventional conversion to AC power. The DC microgrid system, operating now for more

than a year, has nine-percent

Will direct current (DC) microgrids for commercial buildings be our next billion-dollar industry? This question was discussed at NEMA’s

Emerging Opportunities Forum at the NEMA Conference Center in January.

DC microgrids are the most efficient way to use DC electricity from on-site power generation, such as photovoltaic (PV) and fuel-cell power. Many loads now are DC in nature.

Microgrids have many definitions, but in general there is agreement that a microgrid is a group of interconnected loads and local generation that can act as a single controllable entity. While alternate current (AC) microgrids are becoming

commonplace, as states and municipalities support them as a solution to grid resiliency, DC microgrids are like a return

to the war of currents.

The War of CurrentsIn the late 1880s, Thomas Edison and Nikola

Tesla battled for the adoption of DC and AC power distribution systems, with

Mr. Edison arguing that AC was fundamentally more dangerous.

The war was won in 1886 when Westinghouse began using

AC transformers to convert electric power to high voltage for

transmission. Nowadays, with high-voltage power electronics, many utility

transmission links are direct rather than alternating current.

In today’s commercial buildings, with the exception of some emergency lighting and uninterruptible

power source (UPS) systems, most electrical distribution is alternating current. In the 1980s, researchers at the

University of Massachusetts Lowell experimented with PV assisted lighting systems, where DC solar electricity was fed directly to fluorescent ballasts. Backup for cloudy periods and nighttime was provided by a rectifier from grid power.

A U.S. Department of Energy report from that time found that these systems combine the efficiency of modem electronic ballasts with the use of clean solar energy while avoiding the cost, complexity, and unreliability of power conditioning systems usually required to match PV to the utility grid. While the concept held promise, it had not been implemented, until recently, on a significant scale.

DC Microgrids Gain Popularity in Commercial Buildings

robert wills, Phd, President, intergrid

16 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

Building ResiliencyDC microgrids can also improve buildings’ resiliency to utility power loss. DC microgrids lend themselves to integration of battery storage on the bus, so emergency and backup power functions can easily be added. There are, however, code issues related to legally required emergency power systems; NEC Article 700 is based on the technology of generators and transfer switches. We might have to wait until the 2020 NEC before DC microgrids become an acceptable alternative.

Other barriers for implementation include DC wire marking requirements, per NEC 210.5(C)(2), and fault-current requirements for DC branch circuit breakers. The former is addressed in the 2017 NEC. Fuse and circuit breaker manufacturers are now developing solutions for overcurrent protection in 380 Vdc systems.

Will DC microgrids become a billion-dollar business? If they do, there will be opportunities for manufacturers of inverters, switchgear, wire and cable, DC appliances and luminaires, energy storage systems, IT power supplies, EV charging stations, VFDs and HVAC equipment, and more. ei

Dr. Wills led the NEC working group that created Article 712 DC Microgrids for the 2017 NEC.

lower energy costs, lower capital costs, and significantly higher projected reliability.

It may not be obvious at first, but LED light ballasts operating from 380 Vdc (volts of direct current) may have fewer parts and are more reliable than their AC counterparts. In particular, they do not need electrolytic capacitors, often the least reliable components in electronic assemblies.

HVAC and pumping are also emerging applications for DC power in buildings. As lighting efficiency improves, HVAC is becoming the largest contributor to many building electric bills. The efficiency gains from using variable frequency drives (VFDs) for fans and pumps are widely known.

Most VFDs are two-stage devices: an AC-to-DC rectifier followed by an output inverter. Most, with appropriate certification, can be fed directly from DC sources. Direct DC coupling in HVAC and water pumping systems can improve the efficiency of solar electric utilization by five percent, while eliminating the cost of the solar inverter.

Barriers are also falling in the codes and standards area. Proposals for DC microgrid requirements in the next edition of the National Electrical Code® (NEC) were accepted last year. Electrical designers and inspectors will be able to turn to a new Article 712 (DC Microgrids) in the 2017 edition of the NEC.

Bosch USA installed a real-world test system at a commercial warehouse in Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo courtesy of Bosch

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solar power to overcome the difficulties faced by women farmers when, every year, a six-month dry season prevents them from growing enough food to feed their families.

To date, there are 11 half-hectare-sized SMGs in the Kalalé district, with 30 to 40 women working in each. One garden supplies two tons of produce monthly. Twenty percent is for home consumption—improving family nutrition and health across the board. The balance is sold at market, generating a profit of $7.50 weekly for each woman vendor.

Everyone is expected to put a small percentage of their income into a fund that sustains the operation of the gardens. The balance helps pay for children’s school fees and healthcare. We recently learned that the women have been investing some of their earnings from the gardens in livestock to generate a new revenue stream. Having had no status in their community until the SMGs came along, the women farmers are now regarded as savvy entrepreneurs who grow enough food from the 11 gardens to sustain more than 66,000 people. As new support is identified, the organization will bring gardens to more of the 32 remaining villages in Kalalé—and, ultimately, other parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

Haiti Embraces the SunSustainability in Haiti is a different story. Since the devastating earthquake in 2010, photovoltaic (PV) installations have grown tremendously in that country. SELF, one of the leaders in this movement, initially brought solar power to hospitals, clinics, and schools. It has since expanded its work in Haiti to include specialized solar applications: a micro-enterprise center, two microgrids, a solar-powered fish farm, solar-powered vaccine refrigeration, and two SMGs. In addition to SELF’s work, more solar projects are being installed throughout the country by other non-governmental organizations and commercial enterprises.

It’s gratifying to see Haiti embrace the power of the sun to help in the country’s recovery, but there has been a missing piece to the puzzle. Local people need technical training so they can help build and take responsibility for their new solar infrastructure and enjoy the employment benefits that result from it.

More than one billion people around the world do not have access to electricity. Given their remote, sparsely populated locations, the

majority will probably never be connected to a major power grid. Without electricity, most lack access to modern education, effective healthcare, food and water security, and economic opportunities. In an effort to balance this injustice, the United Nations (UN) designated as one of its 2030 sustainable development goals to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.”

The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., has been working toward that same goal for 25 years in rural villages in more than 20 of the world’s poorest countries. Providing access to sustainable energy alone does not guarantee a community’s sustainability. Sustainability has to be systemic.

When SELF delivers a solar installation, we concentrate on training and capacity building to ensure that the community can maintain it. Concurrently, we develop innovative energy applications and economic models that use the electricity to transform poor communities, putting them on a path to sustainability. Access to electricity is certainly a catalyst, but ultimately it is the power of people that determines their quality of life.

A case in point is SELF’s Solar Market Garden (SMG) initiative, recently showcased by the UN’s Momentum for Change program at COP 21 (also known as the Paris Climate Conference) this past December. The SMG project combines solar water pumps (typically powered by 1-2 kW photovoltaic systems) with drip irrigation to provide a cost-effective, environmentally friendly way to pump water for irrigation from underground aquifers.

The solar concept came about when we proposed to bring solar electricity to the Kalalé district of Benin, in sub-Saharan Africa. The local people, suffering from malnutrition and hunger, said they needed food more than lights. Sustainable energy meant nothing to them if it couldn’t deliver what they needed to survive. We took on the challenge of figuring out how to use

Putting Sustainable Energy to Work in the Developing World

robert freling, executive director, solar electric light fund

18 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

the NSTC. It is expected that the school will begin classes in September 2016.

While the NSTC is specifically designed for Haiti, we believe it is a model that can be replicated throughout the developing world, providing exponential benefits—like many of SELF’s other projects. We know that sustainable, solar energy is the engine that drives our agenda to make a difference in the

developing world.

But it’s just the engine. It’s up to us to steer our work in the direction that will help the most people

achieve a better quality of life.

To learn more about SELF, visit self.org. ei

Mr. Freling has spent more than 20 years fighting

energy poverty in the developing world.

In response to this need, SELF has created Haiti’s National Solar Training Center (NSTC) in partnership with the Centre de Technologie Moderne d’Haiti (CETEMOH) in Port-au-Prince. CETEMOH’s mission is to provide Haitians with high-quality academic and technical training programs. SELF has the solar-power expertise to design the curriculum and provide instruction in the classroom and extensive training in the field. Together, the two organizations will prepare students for jobs that will maintain their nation’s new PV infrastructure and help develop Haiti’s economy.

The NSTC will offer two- and three-year degree programs to its students. There will be a strong emphasis on hands-on learning to allow program graduates to be immediately employable, without having to go through long apprenticeships or post-graduate on-the-job training. In addition, basic PV courses designed for use in other vocational training schools in Haiti will be offered through

SELF’s Solar Market Gardens provide women farmers in Benin, Africa, the ability to feed their families while generating an income. It also provides technical training to Haitians so they can sustain their country’s growing solar infrastructure. Photos courtesy of SELF

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Unless it makes economic and environmental sense, in other words, recycling electrical products is not a worthwhile endeavor. In most cases, it becomes a company-level determination based on corporate values; the cost to recover, transport, and process spent products; the intrinsic value of those products; and other considerations.

When products contain toxic or highly regulated materials, however, recycling remains appropriate and often is required by law, with manufacturers carrying the burden of funding and implementing programs under prescriptive legislation. Yet policy arguments regarding how the programs are financed and operated continue to be contentious.

But the landscape is changing there also. NEMA members in several product sections have long invested in programs that ensure the proper management of household products that contain mercury (e.g., energy-efficient lamps and mechanical thermostats) and lead, nickel, or cadmium (e.g., rechargeable batteries).

Reconsidering the Existing EPR Model What’s new is the recognition that the long-touted extended producer responsibility (EPR) model that advocacy groups have rigidly promoted for more than a decade may not be the ideal policy structure after all.

In business, as in life, the one constant you can count on is change. This is as true with respect to sustainability as to any corporate initiative or value.

Some changes are more predictable than others, however. In the “who would’ve guessed it” category, it appears the developed world’s love affair with recycling is showing serious signs of abating. The economic and environmental incentives that have made recycling an imperative in modern society are no longer accepted without question.

Last fall, for example, the New York Times printed John Tierney’s long-awaited update of a piece he wrote in 1996 entitled “Recycling Is Garbage.” That original article was a lengthy, well-sourced exposé of uncomfortable realities associated with recycling municipal garbage and a growing list of designated products.

The article set quite a few hairdos on fire in the environmental community, with statements such as “Recycling may be the most wasteful activity in modern America: a waste of time and money, a waste of human and natural resources.” Reactions to the piece were broad-based and intense—not surprising given the emotional, political, and economic investments that society had poured into recycling by the mid-1990s.

Yet in his follow-up article two decades later, Mr. Tierney essentially doubles down on his earlier position, contending that today recycling continues to disappoint on economic and environmental grounds. He summarizes with this:

Cities have been burying garbage for thousands of years, and it’s still the easiest and cheapest solution for trash. The recycling movement is floundering, and its survival depends on continual subsidies, sermons and policing. How can you build a sustainable city with a strategy that can’t even sustain itself?

In the manufacturing world, recycling is more than a social prerogative. It is also a business proposition that companies evaluate on a cost-benefit basis as they do other potential “investments.”

For electrical products, NEMA’s position, affirmed by the NEMA Board of Governors in 2006, is that recycling is the preferred option for managing products at end-of-life, as long as “the environmental benefits accrued from collecting and recycling the product can be shown to exceed the costs, fully determined, associated with diversion from the waste stream.”

Recycling Revisited Mark Kohorst, senior Manager, environment, Health, and safety, neMa

?

20 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

growth and profitability while advancing sustainability goals at the same time. A flourishing, highly competitive market provides more than enough incentive.

The third predicted benefit of EPR—reducing the costs to local governments (and thus taxpayers) for waste management—is harder to assess. While it’s true that municipal agencies devote substantial resources to manage a variety of “special wastes,” it’s not clear that mandatory EPR programs provide more efficient, less costly solutions. If that were the case, we might expect to see local tax reductions or rebates resulting from the savings generated by these programs, but there is no evidence of this taking place.

So where does that leave us? For NEMA members, the increased skepticism regarding EPR has led to more open and helpful discussion of how industry-funded recycling programs should be structured. Some end-of-life NEMA products are managed under an EPR framework, but years of experience coupled with learnings drawn from other product sectors have made manufacturers more confident about setting terms and determining how best to spend their own money.

Meanwhile, while earlier motivations for recycling may be losing power, others have risen to take their place, such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions and a “zero-waste” society. That probably means recycling will stay with us as a social and political imperative and advocates will continue to promote EPR.

We have learned much—especially that things are not as they were before. ei

Before joining NEMA, Mr. Kohorst (mark.kohorst@nema.org) was an environmental economist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and has consulted on environmental and public health issues for more than 20 years.

For advocates, the predicted impact of EPR is threefold:

1. Manufacturers are forced to internalize the costs of recycling activities into the cost of the product

2. By absorbing this cost, manufacturers have an incentive to improve the design of their products to increase recyclability and remove toxic components

3. Local governments experience lower solid waste management costs

There are other intended benefits, such as reducing landfill use and stimulating green jobs, but these have been the three principle selling points of the EPR model.

In NEMA’s experience, however, this hasn’t been the reality. Outcome #1 has occurred in that manufacturers have absorbed costs associated with recycling programs and presumably factor those costs into pricing decisions. But there is no compelling evidence that the threat or imposition of EPR mandates has forced the introduction of greener products.

As NEMA members, leading manufacturers of household batteries, energy-efficient lighting, and residential control devices accept environmentally conscious design as a fundamental principle of product development. They compete vigorously on that basis and were doing so well before EPR entered the lexicon.

The stunning evolution of highly efficient LED (light-emitting diode) solutions in place of earlier mercury-based lamps is a clear example; so is the proliferation of lighter, more versatile and powerful batteries and the electronic programmable thermostats that have replaced older mercury-switch units in millions of U.S. homes and businesses.

These achievements stem from strategic investments and design innovations over many years that were aimed at ensuring

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Increased Awareness Creates New Paradigm in Recycling

Paul rodriguez, Program Manager, neMa

Since the first fluorescent tubes were invented in the mid-19th century, scientists have been filling glass tubes with all kinds

of gases to try to get the best light possible for consumers. From carbon dioxide and nitrogen to the classic neon lamp, different gases were used for different colors and intensities of light.

boxes of lamps are broken and the mercury in them is allowed to escape into the environment. However, it is important to provide consumers with as many collection locations as possible to make the recycling process easier.

NEMA Pitches InNEMA currently directs two mercury-containing lamp recycling programs, in Vermont and Maine. These programs provide for the recycling of mercury-containing lamps through a fund-pool from manufacturers of these lamps.

The programs also have an educational aspect. Every year, NEMA staff works with Vermont- and Maine-based news and advertising agencies to effectively convey the need to recycle fluorescent lamps. These programs reach millions of consumers across the two states and provide support for retail and municipal locations. Every year, NEMA staff visits both states to check on the collection sites. The programs seem to work well, and recycling rates have continued to improve over the years.

New technologies may require an improved mechanism for recycling harmful gases. The fluorescent industry has seen a good start in this technology, and as regulations become more stringent, education and awareness programs will need to be increasingly active to make consumers aware of the need to recycle fluorescent lamps. ei

Mr. Rodriguez (paul.rodriguez@nema.org) works in the renewables and energy efficiency arena. He manages NEMA’s High Performance Building Council and Daylight Management Council.

Commercially speaking, “fluorescent” has become synonymous with a lamp containing mercury vapor. Compact fluorescent lamps are found in many households these days, and their presence creates a real concern from an environmental perspective.

Increased awareness of the effects of mercury has given rise to programs designed to reduce the amount of mercury we put into our environment. Lamps containing mercury cannot just be disposed of in the landfill due to ground and pollution concerns. A whole sector of the solid-waste industry came into being to deal with pressurized lamps that contain harmful gases such as mercury.

Many solid-waste facilities in the U.S. are equipped to process mercury-containing lamps for recycling, but many others rely on a third-party service to recycle these lamps. The machine used to recycle these lamps is basically an industrial crusher with a vacuum pump attached. Lamps are placed in the crusher, which crushes both metal and glass parts of the lamp.

The mercury vapor is then vacuumed out and stored in a safe container until it is used for recycling or reprocessing. Having a machine like this on hand at a solid-waste facility greatly reduces the complexity of the recycling process, but many governments have complex processes in place to recycle these bulbs.

In many states, municipal and retail locations (e.g., transfer stations and hardware stores) collect lamps in boxes. Boxes are then packaged and sent to a solid-waste processing facility. This facility then processes the lamps and removes the mercury to be sent out for recycling. During this consolidation process, many

22 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

The building is performing beyond expectations. This is due in part to extreme building efficiency as well as highly efficient occupant behavior. On a recent visit on a particularly cloudy day, the Bullitt Foundation office was lit only by daylight. The staff actually prefers to keep the lights off and enjoy plenty of ambient light provided by windows and skylights—resulting in huge savings in electricity costs.

Learn more about sustainable buildings at www.bullittcenter.org. ei

The Miller Hull Partnership is the sustainably oriented, modernist architecture firm that designed the Bullitt Center.

A building like the Bullitt Center in Seattle, Washington, is not “deep green” merely as a stylistic preference, like Art Deco or Brutalism. The

decision to generate power with rooftop solar panels is not akin to selecting granite countertops.

Buildings account for an estimated 39 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, 65 percent of waste, and 70 percent of electrical use in the United States. In the Pacific Northwest, a changing climate is already shifting our use of water, energy, and other natural resources. To address this reality, the Bullitt Center is demonstrating what is possible today and inspiring tomorrow’s leaders to go even farther.

As the first urban structure of its kind, the Bullitt Center is about learning and discovery. From the building design and interactive resource center to the new community green space, the Bullitt Center is a place for people to gather and learn about green building and urban sustainability. It serves as a highly visible example of what’s possible when a team of people come together to advance uncommon wisdom. It has been called the greenest building in the world.

Features shaping the Bullitt Center include the following:

• Living Building: The six-story, 50,000-square-foot building is the nation’s first urban mid-rise commercial project to attempt the rigorous goals of the Living Building Challenge, the most ambitious benchmark of sustainability in the built environment.

• Teaching Building: The lower floor of the building, facing 15th Avenue and a new park at McGilvra Place, houses the Center for Integrated Design. Programmed by the University of Washington’s Integrated Design Lab, it features an open classroom, exhibition space, and a research laboratory dedicated to training pioneers who will lead the green economy.

• Innovative green technology: Net-zero energy use with 100-percent onsite renewable energy generation from the latest photovoltaic (PV) technology; water needs provided by harvested rainwater; onsite waste management; a safe, naturally day-lit and ventilated work environment for all workers; and built to last 250 years.

Taking Sustainability to New Heights

ron rochon, Managing Partner, The Miller Hull Partnership

Bullitt Center photo by Chi Krneta for The Miller Hull Partnership

NEMA electroindustry • March 2016 23

NEwERAOFSuSTAINAbIlITy

The environmental benefits of refurbishing medical imaging equipment are certainly worth touting as well. By extending the useful life of medical imaging equipment, from 5–7 to 10–14 years or even more, refurbishment is a form of reuse and waste prevention, contributing to a circular economy.1

Refurbishment saves the energy and the materials used to produce new equipment. Considering the energy and materials used in the manufacturing, safety testing, and regulatory compliance processes of imaging scanners, it is important, from an environmental standpoint, to extend their service life as much as possible.

Extending the life of devices and preserving valuable

resources has resulted in CO2 savings of 150,000

tons over the past 10 years.

As an example, a modern MRI scanner can weigh 13 tons, including huge magnets and highly advanced and intricate technological components, as well as plastic and metal coverings, patient gantries, and other supporting equipment. There are some 25,000 MRI systems installed worldwide.

By refurbishing these scanners and extending their service life, the return on the initial investment of energy and materials is maximized. The majority of the components

1 A circular economy refers to an industrial economy that produces no waste and pollution.

The Medical Imaging Technology Association (MITA) promotion of good refurbishment practices for medical imaging equipment stresses the

benefits for patients and healthcare providers.

This is for good reason: a large, regional hospital focused on neurology or cancer treatment may opt to purchase the latest magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scanner every few years, even though the “old” equipment is still completely capable of providing high-quality diagnostic images and may have up to a dozen or more years left if in its expected service life.

Consequently, when a manufacturer properly refurbishes a used system, the end result is a medical imaging device that is as safe and effective as new. In turn, high-quality refurbished systems represent a viable diagnostic imaging upgrade option for hospitals seeking to stretch their budgets to purchase still-exceptionally good equipment.

Standardizing Safety This inspired MITA to draft NEMA/MITA 1-2015 Good Refurbishment Practices for Medical Imaging Equipment. When medical imaging equipment is refurbished in accordance with NEMA/MITA 1-2015, medical device regulators, healthcare providers, and patients can be assured that the patients will be safe and the doctors will have high-quality images to help direct their care.

Refurbished Medical Imaging Equipment: Sustainable, Safe, and Effective

andrew northup, director, Global affairs, MiTa

24 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

MITA and our member companies know that a strong market requires a variety of options, but, like safety, sustainability is increasingly considered essential. Patients, doctors, and regulators can rest assured that medical imaging equipment refurbished in accordance with NEMA/MITA 1-2015 will not compromise on safety, diagnostic quality, or environmental sustainability. ei

Mr. Northup (anorthup@medicalimaging.org) is responsible for MITA’s refurbishment and global regulatory programs.

stay in place. This is in contrast to recycling the parts and materials of decommissioned equipment. Approximately 90 percent of material for a system undergoing refurbishment can be re-used; only 10 percent of material has to be recycled, which is done using environmentally-friendly processes by a network of facilities specializing in reclaiming rare, valuable, and hazardous materials. Extending the life of devices and preserving valuable resources has resulted in CO2 savings of 150,000 tons over the past 10 years.

Addressing Global Sustainabiity The largest, most mature markets for refurbished equipment are North America and Europe; both regions are capable of efficiently reusing advanced technology components at the end of the equipment’s service life. MRI and CT, technologies that demand the most resources and materials in their manufacture, are also the most widely refurbished.

However, refurbished medical imaging equipment is banned outright or tightly restricted in emerging global markets that could benefit the most. New global regulations threaten to bar the shipment of used medical electrical equipment for refurbishment or end-of-life disassembly and recycling.

Refurbishment of medical imaging equipment in accordance with NEMA/MITA 1-2015 offers a better way forward. By replacing bans on refurbished equipment with a regulated approach based on standards such as NEMA/MITA 1-2015, countries can expand access to advanced medical technology while guaranteeing patient safety and environmental sustainability. By allowing export of used medical devices, developing countries can sell high-quality medical equipment for refurbishment at attractive price points.

NEMA electroindustry • March 2016 25

NEwERAOFSuSTAINAbIlITy

ElectroindustryNews

Are you ready to rock? Join us in the heart of Cleveland, Ohio, for NEMA’s 90th Annual Meeting, scheduled for November 16 and 17 at the new Hilton Cleveland Downtown.

Consider this your backstage pass to this year’s kickoff reception on Wednesday, November 16 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Located on the shore of Lake Erie, it is the world’s first museum dedicated to the living heritage of rock and roll music.

Come spend the evening enjoying fabulous food and drinks, with plenty

The father of rock and roll, Chuck Berry, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1926—the same year NEMA was born in New York, New York.

of time to enjoy the museum at this not-to-be-missed event. You will be able to explore the museum’s dynamic, interactive exhibits and view more than 18,000 historical artifacts on display from the museum’s permanent collection. Take a step back in time and reminisce about some of the greatest musicians and songs of all time as NEMA continues to rock at 90!

We will see you there! ei

Mallory Rood, Meetings Manager, NEMA | mallory.rood@nema.org Ph

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Ű Rockin’ @ 90 with NEMA

NEMA@90 will take the stage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Photo courtesy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

26 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

Code Actions/Standardization Trendsfield reP rePorT

Don Iverson

Ű What’s Happening in Midwest Code Development

Ohio is looking to update the 2007 edition of ASHRAE 90.1 Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings to the 2010 edition and move from the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) to the 2012 edition for commercial structures. Also in January, the Ohio Residential Code Advisory Committee held a meeting to consider adoption of the 2015 IECC for one-, two-, and three- family dwellings.

illinoisThe Illinois Energy Conservation Advisory Council held a hearing in January on the adoption of the 2015 IECC.

If you follow the activities of the NEMA field reps, you know our major focus is code adoptions. We advocate on behalf of NEMA members for current building and electric code adoptions, such as the National Electrical Code® (NEC), the International Code Council (ICC) family of codes (I-Codes), and various fire codes. Let’s look at what is happening in the Midwest with regards to code development.

MiCHiGanIn February 2016, the state adopted the 2015 Michigan Residential Code (MRC) for one- and two- family dwellings. Michigan models the MRC after the 2015 ICC family of codes. In this adoption were multiple amendments driven by groups that placed a higher importance on cost than electrical safety. Unfortunately, the Michigan homeowner is the loser in this adoption due to the removal of certain fire and electrical safety provisions that had been in previous editions of the code in the state.

oHioOn December 4, 2015, the Ohio Board of Building Standards voted to move forward with the adoption of the Residential Code of Ohio, effective January 1, 2016. This code is modeled after the 2015 I-Codes, with state amendments.

MissouriIn October 2015, the Missouri Department of Economic Development released a new Comprehensive State Energy Plan, which includes recommendations for a statewide building energy code that would apply to commercial and residential new construction.

In Missouri, which is a home-rule state, energy code is only enacted on a local level. Currently, St. Louis County is reviewing the 2015 IECC for adoption. ei

Don Iverson, Midwest Field Representative, NEMA |

don.iverson@nema.org

Ű This Month in Standards for March 2016 NEMA SSL 7A-2015 Phase-Cut Dimming for Solid-State Lighting—Basic Compatibility. This standard provides compatibility requirements when a forward phase-cut dimmer is combined with one or more dimmable light-emitting diode (LED) light engines (LLEs). Available in hard copy or download for $60.

ANSI C82.1-2004 (R2008, R2015) American National Standard for Lamp

Ballasts—Line Frequency Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts. This standard covers ballasts that have rated open circuit voltages of 2000 volts or less and are intended to operate lamps at a frequency of 50 or 60 Hz. Available in hard copy or download for $94.

NEMA/MITA 1-2015 Good Refurbishment Practices for Medical Electrical Equipment. This standard lays out the basic requirements for a

refurbishment process for medical electrical equipment that will not change the equipment’s original intended use, safety profile, or performance. Available for download at no cost. ei

Ann Brandstadter, Manager, Standards Publication and Marketing, NEMA | ann.brandstadter@nema.org

NEMA electroindustry • March 2016 27

Code Actions/Standardization Trends

Ű Dominica Adopts ANSI C12 Metering Standards, Expands NEMA’s Global Profile

Presently, on the Caribbean Island of Dominica, consumers of electricity are faced with high electricity costs resulting from high fuel-surcharge payments. This has led to high prices of commodities and services produced on the island. In response, Mara Abraham of the Dominica Bureau of Standards (DBOS) informed NEMA that it was tasked with developing a standard to address trade issues related to meter accuracy and acceptable performance of new types of electricity metering devices and associated equipment.

The mission of the DBOS is to improve the global competitiveness of Dominican goods and services and enhance the overall quality of life of the citizenry of the Commonwealth of Dominica through the promotion and maintenance of standards and standards-related activities.

The DBOS found that NEMA’s ANSI C12.1 Code for Electricity Metering met its need to address trade issues related to meter accuracy and acceptable performance of new types of electricity

metering devices and associated equipment. The DBOS asked to adopt this standard.

ANSI C12.1 is a good fit. It is in compliance with Dominica’s sole producer of electricity, Dominica Electricity Services Ltd, and its electricity meters and proposed meter test console. ANSI C12.1 is also being used in Grenada and Guyana.

After further discussion with me (as secretary of the ANSI C12 Electricity Metering Accredited Standards Committee), the DBOS reviewed and adopted ANSI C12.20 American National Standard for Electricity Meters—0.2 and 0.5 Accuracy Classes.

Ms. Abraham noted that Dominica adopted the ANSI C12 standards to bring equity to the industry as it relates to service providers and consumers. The standards are expected to improve the quality of kilowatt-hour metering instruments.

ANSI C12.1-2008 establishes acceptable performance criteria for new types of AC watthour meters, demand meters, demand registers, pulse devices, and auxiliary devices. It describes acceptable in-service performance levels for meters and devices used in revenue metering. It also includes information on related subjects, such as recommended measurement standards, installation requirements, test methods, and test schedules. This code is designed as a reference for those concerned with the art of electricity metering, such as utilities, manufacturers, and regulatory bodies.

ANSI C12.20-2010 establishes the physical aspects and acceptable performance criteria for 0.2 and 0.5 accuracy class electricity meters meeting Blondel’s Theorem, which specifies the minimum number of watt-hour meters required to measure the consumption of energy in any system of electrical conductors. Where differences exist between the requirements of this standard and those of C12.1 and C12.10, the requirements of ANSI C12.20 prevail.

NEMA anticipates that new revisions to ANSI C12.1 and ANSI C12.20 will be published this year.

For more information on ANSI C12 standards or to get involved on the C12 Standards Committee, contact Paul Orr. For information on the DBOS, contact Mara P. Abraham, Technical Officer Standards Development, DBOS (mabraham@dominicastandards.org). ei

Paul Orr, Program Manager, NEMA | paul.orr@nema.org

28 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

International RoundupCode Actions/Standardization Trends

Ű Reducing Trade Barriers to Innovation and SustainabilityReaders of this magazine are aware of international talks underway on eliminating customs import duties on goods with environmental benefits. When those negotiations toward an Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) in the World Trade Organization (WTO) were launched in 2014, many also had in mind the global talks on reducing emissions to mitigate climate change and the December 2015 COP 21 in Paris. COP 21, also known as the Paris Climate Conference, is an abbreviation for the 21st session of the Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The 17 parties (16 countries and the European Union) negotiating the EGA aimed to conclude the agreement in time for COP 21 so their governments would have something concrete to show for their efforts, since the prospects for a global climate agreement appeared dim. Like a Hollywood script, however, the reality turned out to be the opposite of what had been expected. A climate change agreement, the Paris Agreement, was reached at COP 21. Meanwhile, the EGA talks continue and as of this writing were scheduled to reconvene in Geneva in mid-February.

What does this mean for trade policy, innovation, and sustainability? In terms of the Paris Agreement, the results are positive. In summary, the agreement emphasizes the role of present and future innovation in solving the climate change puzzle. Article 10 states, in part, that the parties “share a long-term vision on the importance of fully realizing technology

development and transfer in order to improve resilience to climate change and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Notably, U.S. officials have pointed out, any mentions of forced technology transfer or compulsory licensing of patented technologies—demands that burdened earlier UNFCCC talks—were omitted from the final Paris text. Respect for and protection of intellectual property rights are important for companies in developing countries, as well as developed ones.

In summary, the agreement

emphasizes the role of present

and future innovation in solving

the climate change puzzle.

“Accelerating, encouraging, and enabling innovation is critical for an effective, long-term global response to climate change and for promoting economic growth and sustainable development,” reads Article 10, paragraph 5, of the Paris Agreement. To that end, future UNFCCC talks will tackle how to link the convention’s current “technology mechanism,” which is intended to help countries develop and deploy climate technologies, with the financial assistance to less-developed countries.

During the Paris conference, the UNFCCC’s Momentum for Change initiative recognized 16 “game-changing climate action initiatives,” such as NEMA member Chargepoint’s electric vehicle charging corridors and the solar

market gardens project of the Solar Electric Light Fund.

At the WTO, while the EGA appears to remain on track for conclusion sometime in 2016, the talks appear to have lost much of the aspirational spirit that initially motivated the initiative to reduce costs of import products and technologies that can help countries address their urgent environmental challenges. Still, prospects for market access benefits for NEMA companies remain real. Although the product list on which the negotiators are working is not public, NEMA is aware that several product categories it supports (including lighting and industrial controls) remain on the table.

As it did in parallel negotiations to eliminate import tariffs on information and communication technology products (which concluded in December 2015), China is taking time to consider possible endgames and implications for the competitiveness of its domestic companies, as well as for environmental protection and remediation. China also chairs the Group of Twenty (G20) leading industrial economies in 2016 and may be ready to conclude the EGA from that leadership position.

NEMA will continue to work with interested members and international counterparts to advocate for the conclusion of an EGA as soon as possible in 2016. ei

Craig Updyke, Director, Trade and Commercial Affairs |

craig.updyke@nema.org

NEMA electroindustry • March 2016 29

Economic Spotlight

Ű Renewable Energy Advances Repel Threat from Lower Natural Gas Prices For much of this decade, renewable energy investment has struggled to gain a foothold, as utilities facing declining electricity demand and revenue growth have turned to abundant, reliable, and lower-cost natural gas to add capacity and replace coal generation.

More recently, advances in renewable energy technologies have made the costs of generating electricity from wind and solar power increasingly competitive with that of natural gas. At the same time, grid modernization, transmission investment, and developments in energy storage have increased the feasibility of integrating intermittent renewable power sources with existing consistent power sources.

Just as these advances were on the verge of driving the unsubsidized cost of electricity from renewable energy generation below the cost of natural gas generation, however, the shale oil boom drove natural gas prices down by 40 percent in 2015.

The sudden bountiful supply of inexpensive natural gas raised concerns that investment in energy efficiency in general, and renewable generation in particular, would lose momentum. After all, sales of all-electric and hybrid electric vehicles plunged 17 percent last year as gasoline prices plummeted, even as overall light vehicle sales reached a record high.

A recent commentary by McKinsey1 suggests that such concerns are overblown, concluding that renewable generation investments will continue to grow for several reasons. They point out that the market has room for growth in both renewables and natural gas generation, particularly if renewables continue to see technology advances that reduce costs and increase reliability. 1 www.mckinsey.com/insights/energy_resources_materials/

lower_oil_prices_but_more_renewables_whats_going_on

The U.S. Energy Information Agency’s most recent projections of generation investment echo this view.2

Energy markets are changing. The high cost of renewable technology limited initial investments to advanced economies. The drop in renewable technology costs, particularly for solar and wind, combined with relatively high fossil fuel costs in less advanced economies, has driven China to become the leader in renewable generation investment. Japan, India, and even Middle Eastern nations are investing heavily in renewables.

Since electricity generation investments are long-term, short-term fluctuations in fuel prices are less relevant to the decision to invest in renewables. For example, the dramatic decline in oil prices since mid-2014 has led to a sharp reduction in natural gas production tied to oil rig operations, which will likely eventually translate into higher natural gas prices.2 www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/pdf/0383(2015).pdf

Finally, although natural gas electricity generation reduces carbon emissions by nearly half compared to generation using coal, it is still a significant source of carbon emissions. Regulations aimed at curbing carbon emissions, plus investment incentives both in the United States and globally, ensure that renewable sources of energy to generate electricity, as well as energy-efficiency enhancements, will be growing factors in the mix of generation fuel sources.

An “all-of-the-above” approach to energy policy bodes well for NEMA companies that offer state-of-the-art technology to provide energy solutions for electricity derived from all fuel sources. ei

Donald R. Leavens, PhD, Vice President and Chief Economist, NEMA/BIS |

don_leavens@nema.org

30 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

Economic Spotlight

Ű Business Conditions Indexes Rebound in January Following December RetreatAfter a sizable decline in December, NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Conditions Index (EBCI) for current conditions in North America rebounded in January. The index climbed to 50 from 41.2 the previous month, with an equal share of panelists (41 percent) reporting that conditions improved and that they deteriorated. Eighteen percent of the panelists stated that the business environment was unchanged.

In December, only 18 percent of panelists claimed that business conditions improved, while 35 percent reported they deteriorated and 47 percent stated they were unchanged. The survey’s measure of the intensity of change in industry business conditions, however, remained in negative territory in January, even after increasing to -0.1 from -0.2 in December. Panelists are asked to report the intensity of change on a scale ranging from –5 (deteriorated significantly) through 0 (unchanged) to +5 (improved significantly).

Meanwhile, the EBCI for future North American conditions jumped to 67.6 in January from 52.9 in December. A larger share of panelists in January (53 percent)

expect conditions to improve over the next six months than was the case in December (29 percent), while a smaller share in January (18 percent) expect conditions to deteriorate than was the case in December (24 percent). The share expecting to see no change in business conditions fell to 29 percent in January from 47 percent in December. ei

Tim Gill, Deputy Chief Economist, NEMA | tim.gill@nema.org

Visit www.nema.org/ebci for the complete January 2016 report.

NEMA electroindustry • March 2016 31

sToCK arT CrediTsCover, 1: ©iStockphoto.com/wgmbhCover, 1: ©fiore26/Dollar Photo Club6: ©iStockphoto.com/zstockphotos12: ©iStockphoto.com/macroworld13: ©iStockphoto.com/Hluboki

16-17: ©Rachael Arnott/Dollar Photo Club16: ©iStockphoto.com/grybaz 18-19: ©djvstock/Dollar Photo Club20-21: ©iStockphoto.com/piccerella20: ©iStockphoto.com/PeskyMonkey

21: ©iStockphoto.com/mokhtari22: ©iStockphoto.com/BanksPhotos24: ©iStockphoto.com/oonal28: ©iStockphoto.com/Björn Kindler30: ©iStockphoto.com/pixinoo

NEMAI AM

MITA’s Medical Imaging Informatics Section Chair Rik Primo discusses NEMA/MITA CSP 1-2015 Cybersecurity for Medical Imaging, a white paper that addresses how cyber threats pose a significant risk to patient safety and clinical and business continuity in the practice of medical imaging.

Listen: www.nema.org/MITAs-Cybersecurity-Recommendations

Download: www.nema.org/MITA-Statement-for-Medical-Device-Security

From 2003 to 2016, I worked with up to 17 product sections, from fuse to imaging security industries. I learned the importance of standards to innovation. Throughout these years, I was able to learn more about the electrical industries and how they work together on projects that can turn into strategic initiatives.

Looking to the future, I realize the significance of young people learning the importance of technology in their lives. When I retired and moved to North Carolina earlier this year, I decided

to dedicate my time to encouraging them to consider becoming involved in technology through science, engineering and math (STEM).

What does someone with a political science degree have to offer STEM? My own experience says a lot. I believe the nation needs to develop a partnership that can communicate the importance of STEM to innovation. I hope to share those experiences with you in the future.

Advocating for EfficiencyAs a member of the NEMA Government Relations (GR) team, my focus is on ensuring that NEMA member products, especially those at

the forefront of driving energy efficiency throughout our economy, have a reliable and safe marketplace. Government policy at either the federal or state level can have a tremendous impact on the electroindustry. Some policies have the potential to create or encourage new markets, while others create new hurdles.

Over the last decade, many policymakers have come to understand the value that energy efficiency brings to consumers, businesses, and our economy. They continue to strive for further gains in efficiency, regardless of application or situation. The main objective behind NEMA GR is to help policymakers understand what our members are doing and how government policies can encourage continued adoption of technologies that drive energy efficiency.

As industry advocates, GR team members provide significant value to NEMA members. We take our role seriously, knowing and appreciating the impact that government policies often have on the industry. I am proud to be a part of a team and organization that continually pushes for government policies that promote the next generation of technologies that bring about energy-efficiency gains in every sector of the nation’s economy.

Joseph Eaves, Director, Government Relations, NEMA

When Harry Massey retired, he returned to Mt. Olive, North Carolina, home of the Mt. Olive Pickle Company where he worked as a teenager. Now he wants to help a younger generation learn from his experiences.

Rik Primo, Director, Strategic Relationships, Siemens Healthcare

32 NEMA electroindustry • March 2016

We Are NEMA

ExpertLISTEN TO THE

Addressing Cybersecurity in Medical Imaging

Drawing on the Past to Affect the FutureHarry Massey, Retired Industry Director, NEMA

1886 Harvey Hubbellinvented the pull chain switch

2016 HBA becomes Hubbell Control Solutions

2011 CX panels introduced

2014 wiSCAPE™ outdoor wireless lighting controls introduced

2015 NX™ distributed intelligence lighting controls introduced

1998 the roots of HBA established

2006 WASP™ High Bay Sensor Introduced

2004 LX lighting control panels introduced

2006 IntelliDAPT®self-learning sensor technology introduced

BE AUTONOMOUS! Plug in the NX™ Room Controller for stand-alone lighting control that integrates automatic and manual control. Auto-con�gures to meet energy codes out of the box. Add our Bluetooth radio module to manage your lighting with "from the ground" convenience. Connect multiple controllers to form a distributed intelligence lighting network. NX controls are simple yet scalable for a trouble-free installation.

At Hubbell Control Solutions, our history shows we're focused on one thing–providing you lighting controls that are innovative, integrated and simple. Call us today.

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©2016

Functional SafetyVertified