Alliance for Affordable Energy

Advocating for fair, affordable and environmentally responsible energy policies for Louisiana.

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A New Natural Gas Plant in New Orleans East?

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Frequently Asked Questions about the Entergy New Orleans’ IRP       Entergy New Orleans has filed a draft of their Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). So what’s an IRP?  An IRP is a process that brings utilities, regulators, and stakeholders together to forecast future energy needs and for Entergy to develop a roadmap for meeting those needs […]

Stay Warm and Bright this Holiday Season!

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Make sure you don’t start your New Year with a shocking energy bill! Follow a few of our tips  and stay warm and bright without breaking the bank. There are lots of ways to be energy efficient, even when celebrating. What else do you do to reduce your electricity usage during your holiday? Upgrade your light display to […]

HousingNOLA Addresses Next Decade of Housing Needs

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Sustainability is a major goal for the strategic plan. New Orleans, December 11, 2015 – The Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance  (GNOHA) has released HousingNOLA, a strategy and implementation plan for the city of New Orleans to address its housing needs over the next decade. The plan is the result of over a year of research, analysis, […]

Utilities are frightened of a “death spiral.” They shouldn’t be.

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The electric and gas utility industries are facing substantial changes. For decades, rising sales have contributed to increasing revenues and profits, but the combination of improved energy efficiency with the growing use of solar electric systems and other forms of “distributed energy” has reduced growth rates, which could lead to small declines in future sales. […]

Jason Williams, candidate for City-Council-at-Large answers Energy Questions

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The Alliance submitted a questionnaire to candidates in the run-off for New Orleans City council, which will take place this Saturday, March 15. Jason Williams responded to the questions below. Q. New Orleans is the only city with independent regulatory authority over an investor owned utility, with the rest of the state regulated by the […]

The Advocate Posts Letter to the Editor

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With the Energy Efficiency rules debate gaining momentum, more media attention has been given to the matter. The Advocate posted an opinion piece about these issues, written by the Sierra Club’s Gulf States representative Jordan Macha. Click here for the link

Louisiana Public Service Commission backs out on efficiency rules

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In a bizarre reversal last Wednesday, the Louisiana Public Service Commission repealed the energy efficiency rules they had just passed in December, thereby undoing their first and only step toward saving customers money through efficiency. The impetus for the rollback of existing regulations? Retirement of a Commissioner supportive of the policy; A new Commission Chairman inclined to […]

ACEEE weighs in LPSC Decision

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Louisiana Takes a Big Step Backward on Energy Efficiency and Customers Will Pay the Price March 4, 2013 By Maggie Molina, State Policy Program Senior Manager Last Wednesday was a sad day for energy efficiency in Louisiana, and customers will end up paying the price. In a sudden move, the Louisiana Public Service Commission (PSC) voted to overturn […]

Entergy Puts New Orleans’ Energy Future In Question

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On Wednesday, February 20, 2013, Entergy New Orleans hosted the first public conference on the New Orleans Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which will determine New Orleans’ energy future for the next 20 years. Entergy New Orleans representative, Jim Lanning presented a plan that is uninspiring and lacks vision.  Entergy New Orleans plans to meet the city’s needs by relying on […]

SKRMETTA MOVES AGAINST RATEPAYERS

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Skrmetta files for Reconsideration of State-Wide Energy Efficiency Rules As sneaky and underhanded actions go, Commissioner Skrmetta’s recent move sets a new standard for low.  After more than three years work, the Louisiana Public Service Commission successfully passed Energy Efficiency Rules in December creating statewide Energy Efficiency programs to help families and businesses save money.  […]

Liquid Air Could Be Renewable Energy Storage Solution

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Liquid air could work better than batteries or hydrogen for storing excess energy produced from wind turbines or other renewable energy sources during off-peak times, according to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. A company in the United Kingdom is testing how the liquid air method—originally developed to power vehicles—could help use some of this “wrong-time” energy. The method would […]

One Million Certified Energy Star Homes and Counting

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I’ve used EnergyStar products for years and have always bought them when I could. Their products are usually higher in price than other appliances, but I always consider the long term savings on these better-for-the-environment-products and you should too. I recently took a look at the  www.energystar.gov  website, and I was amazed at the variety of products they now have. Most people know about energystar […]

Casey DeMoss Roberts Sounds off on Sen. Vitter’s Proposal

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The Louisana Weekly originally published this article by Zoe Sullivan in it’s October 1st print edition. Link to the full article can be found below.  Entergy has been the target of much wrath in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac. With hundreds of thousands of people left without power for days, public officials and residents denounced […]

Going Greener with Attic Insulation

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Insulating your attic is one of the best ways to save money on your cooling and heating.  Here is a break down of some greener options when choosing insulation material for your attic . . .    Cellulose: If you want to go green, try cellulose insulation. Typically composed of 85 percent recycled newspaper and 15 […]

OMG That’s a lot of Money: Investment Trends in Renewables

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The United Nations Environmental Program published a report this year that explains investment trends in renewable energy. As outlined in the graph, $257 billion dollars was invested in renewable energy in 2011, a growth of 17% from 2010. In just 7 years, from 2004 to 2011, investment in renewable power and fuel has seen a […]

Media Spotlight: Carbon Credits

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Carbon credits and other cap and trade programs are increasingly popular ways to reduce carbon emissions and other forms of pollution. In Japan, Nissan recently announced the creation of the Nissan Zero Emission Fund for owners of their Leaf EV (electric vehicle). Leaf owners will generate carbon credits equal to the amount of CO2 emissions […]

Field Trip: The Musing[s] of the Legal Staff

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Hey, from the kooky legal corner, its Brennan and Daniel! We are both new to the Alliance for Affordable Energy, but boy oh boy have our eyes been opened to energy regulation! Recently, Casey, our executive director, and the Alliance staff took us on a magical journey to see the Louisiana Public Service Commission in […]

Carbon Diet Challenge: Part One

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  Wanna win a pair of free tickets to this Thursday’s Hornet’s game against the Houston Rockets? Then leave your most extreme and creative ideas for saving energy in the comments. Extra points if your method is has been tried and tested by you or someone you know. Extra extra points if you send us […]

Dial Into Act 504

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You may or may not be aware that Louisiana Act 504 took effect last year, marking a momentous occasion for advocates of energy efficiency. The legislation requires property appraisers to incorporate energy efficiency measures into the assessment of a property’s value. In other words,not only do you save money by making energy efficient changes to […]

The Alliance’s A-Z: B

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B is for barrier, specifically radiant barrier. Radiant barrier works its way into our A-Z for a number of reasons. Firstly, the Alliance offers radiant barrier for sale from our office located in the New Orleans Healing Center. The advantage of buying from us rather than whole sale is that you avoid paying for more material […]

Be Smart Energy Tips: Weatherstripping

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Weatherstripping is one of the easiest improvements you can make to your home to improve its energy efficiency. It’s also one of the cheapest because you can do it yourself. Air leakage in your home is the quickest sure fire way to have your energy bill go through the roof; you spend money heating the cold […]

Compact Fluorescent Lighting

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You can save more than $50 dollars per light fixture by installing compact fluorescent lights instead of regular incandescent bulbs. The use of these lightbulbs is one of the easiest energy saving measures that you can take to make your home more energy efficient. These bulbs are slightly more expensive to purchase but they more […]

(Open) Round Table: Energy Efficiency & The Alliance For Affordable Energy

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We celebrated our founders this past Saturday at a 25th anniversary Gala. While everyone was having a good time, we decided to take a minute and ask people what energy efficiency and the Alliance’s mission mean to them. Here’s what some of our guests had to say.  Lela Claude Neff: There’s the obvious, that they’re helping […]

Be Smart Energy Tips: Solar Water Heater

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Looking for ways to make your home more energy efficient? The Alliance is a big supporter of Energy Smart, the program run by the New Orleans City Council to make energy efficiency even more appealing to the community. Among the different ways that Energy Smart can help you save energy (and money!) is with their […]