House boosts energy efficiency programs
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The House voted Tuesday to award increases to programs aimed at making cars and buildings more energy efficient and boosting research and development of alternative energy sources.
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(InfoWorld) - The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) is stressing incentives over regulations to improve the energy efficiency of datacenters. The DOE's office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) gathered the top technology companies in Silicon Valley Wednesday to promote collaboration on strategies to improve overall energy efficiency.Â Datacenter energy issuesÂ are a growing concern for businesses and users as computers get more powerful, and the cost of running them and keeping them cool continues to increase. Technology vendors represented at the forum, including rival chip makers Advanced Micro Devices and Intel, along with server vendors such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, andÂ Sun Microsystems, have each been developing more energy-efficient products. But they and the DOE representatives acknowledged that datacenter energy usage needs to be addressed holistically. The DOE can be a resource to the industry, not a regulator requiring datacenters to meet energy efficiency goals, said Andy Karsner, head of the EERE program. "I donât know that right now thereâs a dramatic need for a regulatory move, particularly when you have the leaders of the industryâ¦coming here with a sense of purpose,â said Karsner. Industry representatives said they work independently on improving the energy efficiency of individual products but that the federal government could provide tax credits, other financial incentives, or other resources to enhance overall energy efficiency. "AMD and Intel keep doing their best to improve the performance [of processors], but the CPU is only half the story.â said Kris Singh, director of strategic platform technology programs at AMD, which hosted the daylong energy conference at its headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. Because this was the first meeting of what the DOE called a "tech industry working group," no specific recommendations were made and the schedule for future work remained open. The DOE can fund research that individual product makers can't fund to look at how different components could work better together, said David Rodgers, acting deputy assistant secretary of EERE. "A hardware company might improve theÂ energy efficiency of a blade serverÂ and another company might improve the energy efficiency of a transformer to convert AC to DC. Right now very few people are doing research on how to integrate those two together," said Rodgers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sponsors theÂ Energy Star programÂ rating the energy efficiency of home appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners and some commercial equipment. But some participants in the working group are skeptical that a comparable program could be applied to datacenters. âIâm not sure about that," said Roger Schmidt, chief thermal architect at IBM. Because datacenters are much more complex with components from different manufacturers, it'd be hard to develop one Energy Star rating everyone would agree upon. "What if [the rating] is bad, what do you do? Who are you going to point the finger to?â Schmidt asked.
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The House on Tuesday approved a plan to expand federal backing of mortgages in hopes of helping struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure
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A nonpartisan group that includes advocates for business, labor, consumers, and the environment gave a significant nudge this week to the effort to craft a national energy policy.
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The U.S. House aims to slash its energy consumption by 50 percent in 10 years under a "Green the Capitol" initiative.
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Some of the rules changes approved Tuesday by the House at the opening of the 109th session of Congress:
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A record number of buildings, from skyscrapers to supermarkets, won recognition by the U.S. government for being energy-efficient in 2006.
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The energy servicing company should benefit from high utilization and rising rates.
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Department of Energy study finds consumers are willing to have their appliances remotely controlled by utilities to save them money and offset more grid build-out.
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House and Senate leaders were pushing for some legislative achievements before heading home to campaign.
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Thirty years ago, Rep. Jim Oberstar testified in favor of his legislation to install solar panels at federal buildings. Now, as chairman of the House Transportation Committee, he's got the juice to make it happen &#151; at least on a small scale.
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By Dennison, Mike HELENA - A bill pitched as a catalyst for future energy development in Montana won endorsement Thursday from the Montana House, but not without criticism that it needlessly expands government.
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FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Jan. 30  /PRNewswire/ -- BASF will showcase a broad portfolio of products and technologies that help builders construct more durable, energy efficient homes faster and more cost-effectively at the 2007 International Builders' Show, Feb.
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Homes will get free energy-efficient light bulbs under the Tories, the party's leader will announce.
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The US House of Representatives approves a major financial package to stimulate the US economy.
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Winterize your home for big energy savings
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The US House of Representatives approves a major financial package designed to stimulate the US economy.