Project Experience


DOE International Program Development and Coordination

 

Eco-City MOU between DOE and the China Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development (MOHURD), 2011

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg helped execute a Memorandum of Understanding between DOE and MOHURD to advance Eco-Cities in the U.S. and China.  This builds on a growing relationship that Mr. Ginsberg has nurtured between cities in both countries.  He prepared Eco-City Guidelines, coordinated exchanges of Mayors, keynoted Urban Planning conferences in China and worked closely with U.S. companies and with MOHURD Vice Minister Qiu Baoxing to focus on Eco-City strategies to make cities sustainable and successful.

 

Energy Efficiency, Biofuels and Renewable Energy Fora, 2010-2011

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg helped negotiate senior level agreements with China that have resulted in the US-China Energy Action Plan and the US-China Renewable Energy Plan.  Those call for a variety of technical exchanges, including a series of Fora.  The first were held in China in 2010 and the next were held in the U.S. in 2011.  The goal of this work is to increase widespread adoption of clean energy technologies, help assure quality standards, and support efforts to achieve a level playing field for deployment of U.S. technologies.  

 

India CEO Forum, 2011

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg worked with the US-India CEO Forum to advance the adoption of the Energy Efficiency Building Code (ECBC).  The CEO Forum, co-chaired by CEOs from Honeywell and Tata and supported by Cabinet officials and major corporations in both countries, agreed to provide technical support for training in Building Energy Codes and Energy Savings Performance Contracting. 

 

U.S.- India Energy Dialogue, 2007-2011

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg helped develop technical aspects of the Energy Dialogue that cover Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.  Projects range from design of a zero energy complex for the Solar Energy Center to wind and solar resource assessments, biofuels, and sub-national energy projects.  The Dialogue was cited by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a “jewel in the partnership between our countries.”

 

U.S.-China Eco-Partnerships, 2009-2011

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg pioneered partnerships between cities in the U.S. and China.  With support from Brookhaven National Lab and Sister Cities International, Mark helped establish partnerships between cities such as Chicago and Shanghai and Columbus, Ohio and Hefei.  Building on this experience, the State Department launched an Eco-Partnership program, with DOE serving as Secretariat, that has developed partnerships between a dozen cities. Under Mark’s leadership, these partnerships led to  improved understanding about doing business, and opportunities for reverse foreign investment for clean energy jobs in the U.S. and exports of clean energy products and services.

 

World Economic Forum, 2009-2011

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg represented DOE with the World Economic Forum on several projects.  He provided technical support for sustainability initiatives.  Most recently, Mark was an active participant in the development of an important report on building retrofit financing strategies.  Participants included senior level officials from major corporations such as Arup, Deutsche Bank, Johnson Controls, Siemens, etc.  The report is designed to support decision-makers and potential strategies that flow from the WEF Davos conference.

 

Asia Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP), 2005-2011

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg supported the APP which was composed of seven regional partner countries and which focused on energy and climate strategies.  Eight Task Forces addressed buildings, renewables and industrial energy.  Mark served as Co-Chair with Korea on the Buildings and Appliances Task Force (BATF).  The BATF produced useful analyses and reports on topics such as zero energy buildings, financing, building codes, and appliance standards.  It included several showcase projects, including the Olympic Village in Beijing and a zero energy building in Delhi.

 

Olympic Village of the Beijing Olympics, 2005-2011

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg helped design the 42 high rise buildings that housed 17,000 athletes at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.  With technical support from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Olympic Village received LEED-ND Gold certification,  At the center of the Village is a near zero energy building that served as the Welcome Center for the athletes and is a child care center for the 7000 apartments in the complex.  The developer is using the lessons learned from this project for three other large housing projects in China and is exploring projects in the U.S.

 

DOE Building Technologies, State and Community Programs

 

Federal Energy Management Program, (FEMP), 1991-1995  

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg served as Director of the Federal Energy Management Program.  He helped it grow from six to twenty-three employees and a budget from $4 million to over $20 million.  FEMP has responsibility to help Federal agencies address their energy issues and comply with Executive Orders and legislation.  Mark inherited one Executive Order and helped draft two more to advance energy efficiency and renewables in the Federal sector to help reduce the government’s $8 billion energy bill in its 500,000 buildings, operations and fleets.  In that position, Mr. Ginsberg chaired the Interagency Energy Coordination Committee and worked to implement Executive Orders and legislation.  He helped launch federal sector-wide financing mechanisms with Utilities and Energy Service Companies (ESCOs), he expanded the federal agency awards program and launched the “You Have the Power” awards and campaign.  He greatly increased training and technical support to agencies.

 

Greening of the White House. 1993-1994

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg coordinated the Greening of the White House after President Clinton announced his intention to make the White House a showcase of energy efficiency and green technologies.  Mr. Ginsberg coordinated with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to bring a technical team of experts to assess the energy opportunities in the White House and related Old Executive Office Building.  Mark built trust with the White House staff and dealt with the sensitive issues of historic preservation and security.  Following recommendations made by the team, the White House implemented numerous energy and water saving measures that have saved substantial money over the years.

 

USGBC LEED, 1994

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg recognized the growing interest in green technologies.  When a small delegation of experts came to talk with him and discuss a new concept of a “green rating system,” Ginsberg expressed interest.  Subsequently, he provided the initial funds to what became the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for a new tool called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).  From that early start, LEED has gained worldwide respect and is applied to major projects all over the world.

 

Energy Efficiency Building Codes, 1995-2002

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg oversaw the Energy Efficient Building Codes Program.  By advocating strengthening the code while supporting voluntary efforts (like LEED and Energy Star) that exceeded it.  Mark brought a new way of thinking about codes.  He built strong trust and relationships with code experts and the National Association of Homebuilders to de-mystify the technical foundation of energy codes.  Although there remained considerable resistence to mandatory codes, little by little, codes began to become stronger. 

 

Energy Efficient Appliance Standards, 1995-2002

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg oversaw the development of the extensive list of appliances that were required to meet the highest possible energy efficiency standards, while technically feasible and cost effective.  Mark committed to a process that provided considerable public and industry input and transparency in the rulemaking process.  Mr. Ginsberg harnessed expert DOE staff with National Laboratory expertise to advance early adoption of significant appliances, including the noted refrigerator standard.

 

Low-Income Weatherization Assistance Program, 1995-2002

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg oversaw the Low Income Weatherization Assistance Program.  As a former state administrator, Mark brought a unique perspective that valued state and consumer involvement in a continuous process improvement.  He brought in extensive program evaluation and metrics to demonstrate its value.  He encouraged advanced audit tools and procedures and worked to increase installer training and technical assistance. 

 

State Energy Program, 1995-2002

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg oversaw the State Energy Program.  As a former state energy official, Mark brought a unique perspective that valued state and stakeholder involvement.  He reached out to industry to partner for greater success.  He brought extensive program evaluation and metrics to demonstrate its value.  Mark provided initial funds for the Measurement and Verification Protocol to help standardize evaluation.  As a former NASEO official, Mark built a strong partnership with NASEO and state energy offices.

 

Building America, 1995-2002

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg helped launch and strengthen the Building America homebuilder program.  He emphasized a partnership with the National Association of Homebuilders and increased the Energy Value Home Awards program.  He built a tie to EPA to coordinate with Energy Star and worked with HUD to link their research.  The Building America teams built strong partnerships with industry and utilities and attracted some of the largest homebuilders in the country.  Regional and climate zone guidelines were developed.  Using the system integration approach, Building America documented energy savings and trade-offs that assured cost-effectiveness.  Mark encouraged the development of Zero Energy Home guidelines and helped launch an effort with homebuilders that has resulted in a hundred thousand highly efficient homes.

 

Rebuild America, 1995-2002

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg helped launch and strengthen the Rebuild America building energy retrofit and community energy program.  Working closely with industry partners, Rebuild America provided significant technical support to target audiences such as schools and cities.  The program was a model of partnerships.  It provided useful case studies, analyses, training tools and demonstrations. 

 

Building Technologies RD&D, 1995-2002

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg oversaw the extensive RD&D portfolio in building technologies.  These included early research on LED Solid State lighting, advanced HVAC, Insulation, Low-E Windows, and design tools such as Energy Plus simulation software.  A National Academy of Sciences study documented hundreds of millions of dollars in savings from products that came from DOE research.  Mark helped integrate DOE research to capitalize on systems integration.  This helped establish a research goal of buildings that would be Net Zero Energy users, with cost-effective commercial buildings by 2025 and homes by 2020.

 

ENERGY STAR, 1995-2002

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg was responsible for the DOE portion of Energy Star, which had been launched by EPA, but which became a partnership program with Mark’s participation.  With EPA’s Energy Star leaders, Mark drafted an agreement that assigned some responsibilities in marketing to EPA and some technical aspects to DOE.  Joint awards celebrations were sponsored by both EPA and DOE.  Public campaigns were jointly sponsored.

 

Save Energy Now, 1995-2002

While employed by DOE, Mr. Ginsberg was committed to an extensive public information and education effort.  Key among those was Save Energy Now, a brochure that included energy savings tips for households.  It subsequently went on-line and included some interactive features and a thumbdrive handout.  Under this effort, DOE partnered with EPCOT and Disney World to host an interactive display of energy efficiency and solar features.

 

State and Regional Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Development and Delivery


Energy Conscious Community Program, 1980-1991

While employed by the Arizona Energy Office, Mr. Ginsberg created the Energy Conscious Community program to provide techniocal assistance and awards to Arizona’s local governments and schools.  The Arizona Energy Office provided technical support on topics such as energy efficient buildings, renewable energy opportunities, utility partnerships, energy emergency planning and transpoortation fuels.  A Governors Award recognized outstanding accomplishments.

 

Tucson Solar Village, 1984-1991

While employed by the Arizona Energy Office, Mr. Ginsberg supported the design and development of a pioneering housing project in Tucson that was designed to be extremely energy efficient and incorporate solar on every home.  The project evolved into Civano, a neighborhood project that includes many of the original goals of the project.  Although Civano does not contain all the original vision, such as incorpoating the price of an electric car (charged from rooftop photovoltaics) in the mortgage, hundreds of families are living in highly efficient homes in Tucson.  It is a model of a walkable, environmentally friendly community.

 

Low-Income Weatherization Assistance Program, 1983-1991

While employed by the Arizona Energy Office, Mr. Ginsberg oversaw the Weatherizaton Assistance Program, funded by DOE, that installed energy efficiency measures into the homes of eligible families.  Mark helped build a highly regarded program that utilized training, advanced auditing tools, and measurement and verification protocols.

 

State Energy Program, 1983-1991

While employed by the Arizona Energy Office, Mr. Ginsberg administered the State Energy Program, funded by DOE.  Arizona innovated a variety of deployment and communication strategies that were showcase in national conferences.  Projects ranged from the Energy Conscious Community Program to early application of Energy Savings Performance Contracts and energy emergency preparedness that helped reduce consumer panic buying during the 1979 oil embargo gasoline crisis.

 

Solar Car Races, 1986-1989

While employed by the Arizona Energy Office, Mr. Ginsberg pioneered support for solar electric vehicles.  He supported college teams coming to Phoenix to run a Solar Car Race in conjunction with the Phoenix Grand Prix.  Instead of the 800 horsepower engines of the Grand Prix, the solar cars were silent and inspired kids to say they wanted to buy a solar car when they grew up.  Mr. Ginsberg also supported a team from Arizona State University to take its solar race car to Japan for an international competition.  He worked to attract the Solar Car Corp to consider Arizona for manufacturing and joined Governor Rose Mofford in driving a solar car through the tunnel that provided the final link of Interstate 10 from California to Florida.

 

Arizona Solar Oasis, 1985

While employed by the Arizona Energy Office, Mr. Ginsberg supported the demonstration of solar and energy efficiency technologies on the Phoenix Civic Plaza.  The Plaza became a Solar Oasis with solar demonstrations, kids games, education booths and celebrity concerts.  The Environmental Research Lab of the University of Arizona provided technical support.  Governor Evan Mecham welcomed Marlon Brando to open the Oasis.

 

Arizona Solar Energy Commission, 1985-1991

While employed by the Arizona Energy Office, Mr. Ginsberg served as Executive Secretary for the Arizona Solar Energy Commission (ASEC), which helped formulate policy and demonstrations of solar energy.  The ASEC advocated for utility research and applications.  Mark helped make the connection between solar and energy technologies and economic development by working to attract solar companies to Arizona.  The ASEC hosted a solar water heating company from Japan as it considered locating in Arizona.  This was a pioneering effort that garnered the attention of other state economic development agencies and ASES.

 

Western Interstate Energy Board, 1983-1988

While employed by the Arizona Energy Office, Mr. Ginsberg represented Arizona on the Western Interstate Energy Board (WIEB), which coordinated activities among the western states.  He introduced economic development and energy emergency preparedness into the activities of WIEB.  Among the activities that resulted was training and coordination that assisted Arizona consumers during the 1979 oil embago gasoline crisis.

 

National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), 1983-1991

While employed by the Arizona Energy Office, Mr. Ginsberg invited state energy directors to come to Phoenix during the DOE All-States Conference.  Mark orchestrated discussions that lead state leaders to form the National Association of State Energy Officials to advocate on behalf of state energy programs.  Mark subsequently served on the Board and as an Officer of NASEO, which has grown to be a highly regarded organization in Washington as the voice of state energy offices.

 

Conference of Local Energy Officials (CLEO), 1981-1984

While employed by the Arizona Energy Office, Mr. Ginsberg supported the launch and development of the Conference of Local Energy Officials.  In Washington, DOE provided funds to the National Governors Association, National Association of Counties and U.S. Conference of Mayors to create CLEO.  Mark had already created the Energy Conscious Community program in Arizona and recognized the value of sub-national activity.  He brought a state energy perspective to CLEO and helped advance local energy solutions.