Benchmark Study on Green Buildings - Royal Architectural Institute ...

RAP Issues Letters, published quarterly, and RAP’s many in-depth reports and
conference presentations provide serious and thoughtful discussion of cutting-edge issues
in utility industry restructuring (including market power, stranded costs, system benefits
charges, customer choice, and consumer protection), and other current topics (including
resource portfolio management, policies for distributed generation and demand-side
resources, distribution system regulation, reliability and risk management, rate design,
electrical energy security, and environmental protection). It is a very committed
organization fostering regulatory and market policies for the electric industry that
encourage economic efficiency, environmental protection, system reliability, and the fair
allocation of system benefits to all customers.
American Energy Efficiency Alliances:
American Energy Efficiency Alliances are non-profit corporations supported by electric
utilities, public benefits administrators, state governments, public interest groups and
energy efficiency industry representatives that work together to make affordable, energyefficient
products and services available in the marketplace. Alliance stakeholders
promote and achieve energy efficiency through program activities and education for a
cleaner environment, more prosperous economy, and higher quality of life across the US.
Current American Energy Efficiency Alliances and similar groups include the Northwest
Energy Efficiency Alliance, the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, the Southwest
Energy Efficiency Project, the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership, the Northeast
Sustainable Energy Association, and the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance.
Tax Incentives Assistance Project (TIAP):
The Tax Incentives Assistance Project (TIAP) is sponsored by a coalition of public
interest non-profit groups, government agencies, and other organizations concerned about
energy efficiency. It is designed to provide information about federal income tax
incentives for energy and resource efficient products and technologies to the public, with
the goal of increasing the use of these incentives and subsequently augment resource
conservation. TIAP activities include: providing information to the public through its
website; working with the Departments of Treasury, Department of Energy and other
agencies on tax incentives and the rules of their implementation; providing information,
presentations and technical assistance to state and utility program implementers who want
to use federal tax incentives to compliment their local programs; and networking with
various firms and associations that provide products and services eligible for these tax
incentives. TIAP has been instrumental in helping people set up tax rebate programs for
energy efficiency practices all over the United States.
Advanced Technology Program (ATP):
Another program that indirectly encourages new green building technologies is the
Advanced Technology Program (ATP), which invests in risky, challenging technologies
that have the potential for substantial improvement in the country’s economy or normal
functioning. By reducing early-stage research and development risks for individual
companies, the ATP enables industry to pursue promising technologies which otherwise
would be ignored or developed too slowly to compete in rapidly changing world markets.
Research priorities for the ATP are set by industry, not the government. For-profit
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