Consumers Energy announced that it awarded nearly $3.7 million in incentives to commercial and industrial customers in the third quarter of 2012 to help fund 996 energy efficiency projects that will provide long-term savings.

Under a comprehensive $4.9 million energy savings performance contract (ESPC) with Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN), the Building Technologies division of Siemens Industry Inc. announced that Manchester Memorial Hospital should save nearly $500,000 a year in utility consumption.

Lime Energy Co. announced that it has been awarded a three-year contract by AEP Ohio, a unit of American Electric Power, for the implementation of its Small Business Direct Install Program. The AEP Ohio program provides significant incentives to help offset the costs of implementing energy efficiency upgrades.

In a deeply divided Congress, Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) sees strong bipartisan cooperation on energy efficiency, he said in remarks at an Energy and Commerce Committee hearing.

Ameresco Inc., a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company, joined with officials from Bates Technical College to host Gov. Jay Inslee and local leaders to announce the award recipients for the second round of 2012 energy efficiency grants from the Washington State Department of Commerce.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published a new series of protocols for determining savings from energy efficiency upgrades in homes, commercial buildings, and industrial facilities.