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Energy Efficiency Center

University of California, Davis
One Shields Avenue
2028 Academic Surge
Davis, CA 95616

(530) 752-7659 phone
(530) 752-6572 fax

 
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This forum is the first in a series exploring California's rich past-
and promising future - as global innovator of energy-efficient technologies and policies.


October 14, 2008 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Walter A. Buehler Alumni & Visitors Center
University of California, Davis

-Part One-

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Part One
Flash video, (1 hour)

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Welcome Remarks and Introductions

Dan Sperling, Acting Director, UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center
Jim Davis, President, Chevron Energy Solutions

Moderator
Alan Meier, Associate Director, UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center


The Warren-Alquist Act: How California Created Energy Efficiency for Itself and the World

Presenter
Bob Foster, Mayor, Long Beach, California

Discussants
Gene Varanini, of Counsel, Greenberg Traurig
Joe Browder, Partner, Dunlap & Browder

Summary

There was a time when people would laugh at the notion that the cheapest form of energy was the one you “didn’t use.” Not so today. A variety of factors, including the Arab oil embargo and a synergy of stakeholders,catalyzed then Governor, Ronald Reagan, and the legislature to forge ahead with new energy efficiency standards in California. Analytics were “married” with policy, and a rich research team, guided by Art Rosenfeld and others, lead the charge. Can we learn from these lessons for the climate change predicament we are in now? How will climate change spur and rekindle the need for further advancement of energy efficiency technologies and policies?

-Part Two-


A Brave New Source: How Physicists Discovered Energy Efficiency

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Part Two
Flash Video, (1 hour, 15 minutes)

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Moderator
Alan Meier, Associate Director, UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center

Presenter
Art Rosenfeld, Commissioner, California Energy Commission

Discussants
Amory Lovins, Chief Scientist and Chairman of the Board, Rocky Mountain Institute
John McDonald, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Chevron Corporation



Summary

We learn how a convergence of factors contributed to a stable per capita energy demand over the past 30 years in California, as compared to dramatic increases nationwide. This 30 year “flat line” in California can be attributed to forward thinking policies, the cost of energy, and the “Camelot effect” (California’s mild weather). Is there hope for the future? The “low hanging fruit” of energy efficiency is just beginning to “mush up around our waders.” Consumer knowledge of consumption combined with real time price may be a new tool for impacting behavior.

-Part Three-


How Utilities Learned to Profit From Selling Less of Their Products: The Invention of

Demand-Side Management, De-Coupling and Other Innovative Policies

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Part Three
Flash Video, (1 hour, 15 minutes)

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Moderator
Alan Meier, Associate Director, UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center

Presenter
Ralph Cavanagh, Senior Attorney and Co-Director, Energy Programs, Natural Resources Defense Council

Discussant
Michael Peevey, President, California Public Utility Commission and Chairman of the Board, California Clean Energy Fund





Summary

California’s successes in energy efficiency have not been a seamless and unfettered process. Linking supply and demand, de-coupling, and tying profits to energy efficiency investments are all California “innovations.” The US, China, India, and the rest of the world are learning from these policy strategies. Are they learning the right lessons? Is the “Golden Age” of energy efficiency behind or upon us? What challenges are ahead? Thirty years ago we made a “right-hand turn,” flat-lining California’s per capita energy use. Can we do it again, dramatically reducing our energy consumption to address climate change? Will economic factors propel or destroy our momentum? And, will the nation and the world follow California’s lead?