Idaho Building Efficiency Update

Happy Holidays!

All of us at Idaho Power extend our warmest wishes at this special time of the year. May you enjoy the season and a prosperous, efficient new year!

Program Activity Update

The holidays are a great time to look back and assess our program performance for 2008. It has been another productive year, and we are pleased to announce that, as of December 15, the Building Efficiency program has paid nearly $850,000 in incentives, resulting in an estimated combined savings of nearly 6.6 million kWh/year. This is enough energy to power approximately 470 average-sized homes.

Of the final applications processed to date, about three‑quarters benefited from lighting measures, almost two‑thirds from air‑conditioning measures, more than a third from building‑shell measures, and nearly half from controls measures. Incentive payments ranged from $563 to $100,000, averaging $14,000 per project.

Announcing Program Changes in 2009

Beginning January 1, 2009, changes will be made to two Building Efficiency measures.

In response to high interest in window shading and nominal participation in the Premium Performance Windows incentive, building shell measure (B3) will now be offered for exterior window shading. Window shading—in the form of window shade screens—is eligible for an incentive of $0.50 per square foot of window area, when applied to windows exposed to direct sunlight in buildings with central, mechanical air‑conditioning systems. Interior window shades, such as blinds and drapes, are not eligible. Manufacturer’s specification sheets for the window shading material applied must accompany the final documentation.

In order to better match the incentive payment to the measure savings, the Demand Controlled Ventilation (C2) incentive will now be based on the flow rate of outside air controlled by the CO2 sensor. It was formerly based on the rated cubit feet per minute (CFM) of the unit; that will no longer be the case in 2009.

Federal Tax Deduction Extended

The recently passed Emergency Economic Stabilization Act also included an extension of the Commercial Building Tax Deduction. The deduction (up to $1.80 per square foot) is now available through 2013. The extension will allow building owners more time to complete energy‑saving projects and earn this federal tax deduction.

More information on the Commercial Building Tax Deduction can be found at http://www.efficientbuildings.org.

For More Program Information

Do you know of any commercial or industrial construction projects that could benefit from an energy-efficient design? If so, we can send you a brochure titled, “Save Energy, Earn Incentives, and Improve your Bottom Line.”

For a copy of the brochure, a program overview, or other details about Building Efficiency incentives, e‑mail Billie McWinn at [email protected] or call her at (208) 388‑5871.