TDEC OEP Accepting Applications for K-12 Energy Education Camp |
TDEC OEP plans to conduct one Energy Education Camp for K-12 Educators in 2023. The Camp will be comprised of a three-day training session and provides energy-related lesson plans and resources designed for use in the K-12 classroom. These lessons promote energy literacy as it relates to STEM subjects and introduce educators to topics including, but not limited to, electricity generation, consumption, and measurement; renewable energy; and energy efficiency and conservation. The 2023 Camp will be hosted June 13-15 at Henry Horton State Park.
Energy Education Camps are offered free of charge, and all participating educators will receive $200 in materials to teach energy education topics in the classroom or at afterschool programs. Educators will also receive a certificate of participation for professional development hours. Applications are due by April 14. Please refer to http://www.tn.gov/environment/K-12Energy for program information and details regarding the application submission process. For questions about the Camps program or OEP’s other K-12 Energy Education activities, please contact Angela McGee at Angela.McGee@tn.gov or 615-852-0131.
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TVA to Introduce Next Generation Nuclear Reactor at Clinch River Site in Oak Ridge |
TVA will introduce the next generation of nuclear power at its Clinch River site just miles from Oak Ridge National Laboratory. TVA will work in concert with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Ontario Power Generation in Canada, and Synthos Green Energy in Poland to finance and design the small modular reactor. The reactor is expected to be less expensive, take up less room, take less time to construct, and have improved safety compared to traditional reactors. The investment could bolster the diversity and reliability of the electric grid and expand the footprint of small modular reactors in the U.S. and abroad.
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New Episodes of Energizing Tennessee Podcast |
Energizing Tennessee, a podcast by the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC), released two new episodes this month. In Episode 10: Mentorship + Opportunity, the podcast explores the growth of Tennessee’s advanced energy startups and how to help them thrive. Episode 11: How Tennessee Manufacturers Meet their Sustainability Goals, is hosted by TAEBC’s Board President Steve Seifried and explores how manufacturers in Tennessee are meeting sustainability goals with advanced energy and other innovative solutions. Additionally, this episode looks at TDEC’s Tennessee Greenstar Partnership, which recognizes Tennessee manufacturers that are committed to sustainability and are exhibiting continuous improvement throughout their operations.
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New Solar Farm Opens in Puryear |
Silicon Ranch, an independent power producer, the Paris Board of Public Utilities, and the TVA celebrated the opening of the Paris Solar Farm in Puryear with a “Flip the Switch” event on March 28. The 6.75-megawatt solar facility in Puryear will generate enough renewable energy to power approximately 1,000 homes annually. The solar farm was developed as part of TVA’s Generation Flexibility Program, which is designed to encourage local power companies to develop distributed generation facilities and provide local renewable energy solutions to customers.
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U.S. DOE’s SolSmart Program Expands to Advance Equitable Solar Energy Adoption |
U.S. DOE announced the expansion of its SolSmart program to support and recognize local governments taking steps to reduce barriers to solar energy access. The expanded program adds a new Platinum-level designation for the most forward-looking communities, establishes new priorities around support for disadvantaged communities, and sets a goal of designating 1,000 communities by 2027. The program has also extended its designation criteria to include solar plus battery storage, codes and standards, innovative financing, and data collection and metrics.
SolSmart invites all cities, towns, counties, and regional organizations in the U.S. to contact the program to begin receiving no-cost technical assistance to achieve designation. Tennessee has two cities recognized by SolSmart, with a Gold designation for Chattanooga and a Bronze in Nashville. For communities already SolSmart-designated, the program invites them to “level up” to Silver, Gold, or Platinum designation.
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| EPA Announces Most Energy-Efficient Manufacturing Plants in Tennessee |
EPA recently announced that five U.S. manufacturing plants earned the agency’s 2022 ENERGY STAR certification in Tennessee, a designation reserved for manufacturing plants in the top 25% of energy efficiency in their sector. Together, these plants saved over 105 trillion Btus of energy and prevented more than 6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The plants in Tennessee include Buzzi Unicem USA, cement manufacturing in Chattanooga; Crown Bakeries, commercial bread and roll baking in Nashville and Dickson; Nissan North America, automobile manufacturing in Decherd; and Primient, corn refining in Loudon.
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National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Offers Technical Assistance for Waste-to-Energy |
NREL provides local governments with technical assistance to advance waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies. The technical assistance addresses knowledge gaps, specific challenges, decision-making considerations, planning, and project implementation strategies related to WTE. The WTE resources considered include organic waste such as food waste, wastewater sludge, animal manure, fats, oils, and greases.
All U.S. municipalities and counties in the lower 48 states, Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories, as well as tribal governments, are eligible for WTE technical assistance at no cost. Entities representing multiple municipalities are also eligible, as well as airport authorities and municipal utility authorities. A community does not have to have an existing or planned waste resource or energy recovery project to be eligible. Communities in the strategic planning phase are encouraged to apply. Applications are due April 14.
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U.S. DOE Announces $590 Million to Increase Bioenergy Research |
The U.S. DOE recently announced $590 million to renew its four existing Bioenergy Research Centers. This funding will help support the Department’s research into the next generation of sustainable, cost-effective bioproducts and bioenergy from domestic biomass resources, which is critical to reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring future energy security, and creating new economic opportunities in rural areas.
This announcement includes funding for the Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI), led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. CBI is accelerating the domestication of bioenergy-relevant plants and microbes to enable high-impact, value-added coproduct development at multiple points in the bioenergy supply chain.
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U.S. DOE Announces Nine Winners of the Inaugural American-Made Digitizing Utilities Prize |
U.S. DOE’s Office of Electricity recently announced the nine Phase 1 winners of the inaugural American-Made Digitizing Utilities Prize. This prize connects utilities with interdisciplinary teams of software developers and data experts to transform digital systems in the energy sector through data analytics, processing, quality assurance, storage, and deletion. A team from Chattanooga, Toward Real-Time High-Sampling-Rate Monitoring, was awarded for developing data analytics functions using phasor measurement unit and point-on-wave data for asset diagnostics and performance evaluation systems.
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| U.S. DOE Funding Available for Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas |
U.S. DOE announced $300 million for projects that increase energy affordability and promote climate resilience in rural and remote communities across the country. The Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) program aims to improve the resilience, reliability, and affordability of energy systems in communities across the country with 10,000 or fewer people.
Read the full funding opportunity announcement for the ERA program here. Concept papers are due by April 14, and full applications are due by June 28.
Under the ERA program, U.S. DOE is offering $15M through the American-Made Energizing Rural Communities Prize. This prize challenges individuals and organizations to develop partnership plans or innovative financing strategies to help rural or remote communities improve their energy systems and advance clean energy demonstration projects.
Applicants can apply to either the finance or partnership track. Up to 90 awardees will be awarded $100,000 in Phase One. Applications are due May 24.
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U.S. DOE Funding Available for Industrial Emissions Reduction |
U.S. DOE announced approximately $6 billion in funding to accelerate decarbonization projects in energy-intensive industries and provide American manufacturers a competitive advantage in the emerging global clean energy economy. The Industrial Demonstrations Program will focus on the highest emitting industries where decarbonization technologies will have the greatest impact, such as iron, steel, aluminum, cement, concrete, and other energy-intensive industrial processes.
To maximize the transformative potential of these funds, DOE will prioritize a portfolio of projects that:
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- Accelerate industry toward deep decarbonization
- Spur follow-on investments for widespread adoption of the demonstrated technologies
- Enable new markets for cleaner products
- Benefit local communities
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Interested applicants must submit a Community Benefits Plan to ensure they are meaningfully engaging with the surrounding communities; creating quality jobs and investing in the American workforce; advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and supporting environmental justice. This will help ensure these projects are not causing harm but instead providing tangible benefits to communities that too often have been left behind.
Concept papers are due by April 21, and full applications are due by August 4. Read the full funding opportunity announcement here.
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U.S. DOE Issues Funding to Launch Onsite Energy Technical Assistance Pathways |
U.S. DOE's Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office announced a $23 million funding opportunity to establish a regional network of Onsite Energy Technical Assistance Partnerships (TAPs) to help industrial facilities and other large energy users increase the adoption of onsite energy technologies. Integrating clean energy technologies directly in buildings and plants will play a significant role in achieving the nation’s climate goals and reaching a net-zero economy by 2050. The Onsite Energy TAPs will accelerate the integration and deployment of clean energy technologies to drive U.S. industrial decarbonization, productivity, and competitiveness.
With this announcement, DOE is soliciting applications from entities with expertise in onsite energy, including renewable fuels such as biomass, biogas, and renewable natural gas, who are interested in providing technical assistance services as part of the regional network. Overall, the program will accelerate the integration and deployment of clean energy technologies to drive decarbonization, productivity, and competitiveness in the U.S. industrial sector. Full applications are due April 21. Click here to view the full funding opportunity.
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U.S. DOE Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) Program: In-Depth Partnership |
Clean Energy to Communities In-Depth Partnerships is a multi-year U.S. DOE program to help communities develop roadmaps to achieve their clean energy goals. These partnerships offer community-based teams funding from $500,000 to $3 million and the chance to work alongside U.S. National Laboratory staff as they apply modeling and analysis tools adapted to their community's unique conditions.
Communities selected for in-depth partnerships will have the following:
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- A dedicated point of contact within the national lab system
- Direct grant funding to support hiring staff or consultants
- Facilitation and community engagement support
- Extensive technical support from the DOE national laboratory complex.
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C2C program in-depth technical partnerships will focus on cross-sectoral issues related to renewable energy, mobility, and buildings. Energy security, resilience, and disaster preparedness—as well as energy equity and environmental justice—will be considered, too. Applications are due May 17. Register to attend a webinar on April 5 at 2:00 PM Central for additional information.
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U.S. DOE Funding Available for High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Ideas |
U.S. DOE's Office of Electricity launched its new American-Made HVDC Prize. HVDC is a key technology that can increase the electric grid’s capacity to receive, transmit, and deliver a large amount of energy and can be more efficient compared to today’s existing solutions.
The $200,000 HVDC Prize invites innovators to develop new power and energy system solutions to improve grid integration of renewables and long-distance electricity transmission to population centers. Applications are due June 7.
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U.S. DOE Funding Available to Strengthen Microelectronic Supply Chains Through Microbattery Design and Commercialization |
U.S. DOE announced the launch of the Microbattery Design Prize. This two-stage competition will award up to $1.1 million in federal funding and performance and safety testing services with national laboratories to innovative small-capacity battery design projects that will yield improved performance, safety, and recyclability.
The purpose of this design prize is to advance innovative new designs for microbatteries and accelerate their commercialization and integration into existing technologies needed for clean energy manufacturing, like sensor systems for improved smart manufacturing processes and sensors for grid monitoring of renewable energy sources as the nation continues its transition to clean energy future.
The announcement marks the opening of the first of two phases in the Microbattery Design Prize.
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Phase 1 - Idea: The first phase will select the best ideas for a new microbattery design. During Phase 1, competitors will develop and submit technical designs and schematics for microbatteries that serve a specific application (like a grid monitoring devices) and meet certain performance goals (like a specific storage capacity, cycle lifetime, safety, or recyclability) that go beyond what is commercially available today.
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Phase 2 - Test: During this second phase, competitors will create prototypes to submit to DOE national labs for performance and safety testing. Competitors will also work to determine the potential cost to manufacture their designs at scale. By the end of this contest, participants will develop a realistic plan to commercialize and manufacture their technology. Note: Only selectees from phase I will be eligible for participation in phase II.
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Applications for Phase 1 are due on June 29 at 5:00 PM Eastern. U.S. DOE anticipates making up to six awards in Phase 1, each consisting of a $75,000 cash prize and performance and safety testing services with DOE National Laboratories. Find out more information about this prize opportunity, including deadlines and how to apply. An informational webinar will be held for this prize on April 12 at 12:00 PM Eastern.
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TVA Connected Communities Pilot Projects Funding Opportunity |
TVA announced $2M in new funding for Connected Communities pilot projects to improve the quality of life and equity for communities in its service area through innovative community-driven solutions. This pilot project funding is intended to help communities gain expertise and test approaches to jump-start their progress toward improving access to digital services, creating a healthy natural and built environment, scaling economic opportunities, and better preparing for natural disasters and cyber threats.
For the upcoming funding opportunity, TVA is seeking projects demonstrating an emerging technology or a new intervention approach to connect communities to resources that will directly and measurably have a positive outcome in two or more of the following areas:
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- Equitable access to services such as broadband and digital literacy,
- Equitable access to innovative, sustainable, connected technologies,
- Energy burden or energy poverty,
- Access to quality Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education,
- Environmental health, including indoor environmental health/justice,
- Enhanced resiliency for vulnerable populations, or
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Access to better employment, career, or entrepreneurial opportunities.
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Prior pilot projects addressed these topics through activities such as monitoring indoor environmental health, offering coding training programs, installing broadband hotspots, providing digital literacy education, installing solar and battery storage, and offering educational resources. You can learn more about current pilot projects on the TVA Connected Communities website and in the 2022 Pilots Annual Report at this link.
The call for pilots is open from April 3 through June 30, with project selection announcements expected in late September. TVA is interested in providing awards of up to a maximum of $750K per project and anticipates awarding approximately four to eight projects. All projects must take place within the TVA service territory and be completed within two years of project kickoff. For more information and to access the application form when the Call for Pilots opens, visit tva.com/ConnectedCommunities or contact ConnectedCommunities@tva.gov.
Access the registration link here for the upcoming Call for Pilots launch webinar on April 4 at 2:00 PM Eastern to learn more about Connected Communities pilots, details about the funding opportunity, and other resources available through the Connected Communities initiative.
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U.S. DOE Funding Available for Building Upgrades |
U.S. DOE’s Buildings Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP) is offering more than $22 million in cash prizes and technical assistance to teams across America with winning ideas to accelerate widespread, equitable energy efficiency and building electrification upgrades.
In Phase 1 of Buildings UP, teams will submit innovative concepts to increase building energy upgrades, choosing to enter one of two pathways: “Equity-Centered Innovation” or “Open Innovation.” “Equity-Centered Innovation” teams focus on delivering upgrades to low- and moderate-income homes; small, disadvantaged businesses; and other equity-eligible buildings. Community-based organizations, state and local governments, Indian tribes, building owners, utilities, nonprofit organizations, energy efficiency program implementers, and other organizations are encouraged to team up and apply.
Up to 50 Application Support Prizes of $5,000 and 10 hours of technical assistance are available to help new and under-resourced teams complete Phase 1 applications. The Application Support Prize will be awarded on a rolling basis until funds are expended. Follow Buildings UP on HeroX.com for all prize-related updates. Phase 1 submissions are due by July 18.
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Power Up Training: From Acts to Action |
New climate laws offer US families, businesses, communities, and states financial incentives and other tools to embrace clean energy solutions and help build a better tomorrow for all. Climate Reality is offering “Power Up Training: From Acts to Action,” a free online training designed to take the guesswork out of historic climate laws like the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The flexible online format of Power Up enables users to focus on the solutions critical for their project, work, or advocacy while streaming sessions when and wherever works best for them.
The training includes two live broadcast sessions:
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- April 11, 7:00 PM Eastern
- April 13, 7:00 PM Eastern
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The online training platform will be open with on-demand content available from April 6 –20. On-demand recordings will be available for streaming shortly after the broadcasts conclude. Participants can also access optional interactive sessions from April 10–16.
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U.S. DOE Releases Reports on Pathways to Commercial Liftoff to Accelerate Clean Energy Technologies |
U.S. DOE announced the launch of its Pathways to Commercial Liftoff, a set of reports representing a new department-wide initiative to strengthen engagement between the public and private sectors to accelerate the commercialization and deployment of key clean energy technologies. The reports provide the private sector and other industry partners with a valuable, engagement-driven resource on how and when certain technologies can reach full-scale deployment, beginning with clean hydrogen, advanced nuclear, and long duration energy storage.
The Pathways to Commercial Liftoff reports were developed through extensive stakeholder engagement and a combination of system-level modeling and project-level financial modeling. Additional reports will be added in the coming months. Find more information and read the full reports here.
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Business Council for Sustainable Energy’s Sustainable Energy in America Factbook |
The 2023 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook covers the progress of the energy efficiency, natural gas, and renewable energy sectors. Tennessee is noted in the factbook for expected growth in the battery manufacturing industry. Download the report to find the latest data on these clean energy industries, as well as sustainable infrastructure, energy storage, hydrogen, renewable natural gas, electric vehicles, digitalization, industrial emissions, carbon capture storage, and more.
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For more information or to submit an idea for a future Monthly Energy Edition, contact:
Audrey Jackson, Communications Officer TDEC Office of Energy Programs
615-917-6683 or audrey.jackson@tn.gov
OR
Alexa Voytek, Deputy Director, OEP Programs U.S. DOE State Energy Program / Innovation & Transportation / Communications TDEC Office of Energy Programs 615-613-1096 or alexa.voytek@tn.gov
OR
Mark Finlay, Senior Energy Analyst, TDEC Office of Energy Programs 615-772-6011 or mark.finlay@tn.gov
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Acknowledgement: This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the State Energy Program Award Number DE-EE0009487
Disclaimer: This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.
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