Feds and States Link Up for Energy Efficiency:

Excellent News for Green Hotels

In a move that will undoubtedly benefit green hotels across the country, the Obama administration recently announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy have teamed up to create an action group that will assist states in improving energy efficiency in residential, industrial and commercial buildings – including green hotels.

The group, called the State Energy Efficiency (SEE) Action Network, will partner with representatives of state and local governments, public utilities, business leaders and associations to assist states with their energy efficiency initiatives, including energy efficiency programs for homes and businesses,funding opportunities to invest in carrying out innovative energy efficiency policies, and improving the availability of energy usage information.

The action network’s goal is to jumpstart the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, which calls for maximum energy efficiency to be achieved in the United States by 2025. SEE’s ambitious mission is to beat that deadline by five years. It aims to do so by providing technical assistance and funding “to states that seek to create new results-based policies and programs that encourage energy efficiency."

For green hotels, we envision a lot of good coming out of this partnership. SEE’s fierce determination to beat the 2025 deadline by five years creates a much-needed sense of urgency that has been sorely lacking over the past few years. The network’s goal of promoting energy efficiency through a web of statewide, regional and nationwide partnerships means there may finally be a coordinated, orchestrated and cohesive effort to get the job done.

And additional funding means that good state and local energy efficiency programs that have great potential to make a lasting difference – those that never received quite enough funding to get off the ground, or those whose funding was slashed – (remember Florida’s outstanding Green Lodging Program that was gutted due to budget shortfalls in 2009?) may once again have a fighting chance.

Thanks to the formation of this new action group, we see a future filled with wonderful possibilities for green hotels to take advantage of energy efficiency programs, rebates and incentives. Members of the network began meeting a few weeks ago, so we should begin to see positive movement very soon.

EcoGreenHotel will be monitoring SEE events as they happen, and we promise to bring you the latest news about how the green hospitality industry – and your green hotel – can benefit.