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| Technical Assistance, Incentives, and Funding Opportunities: Upcoming Events and Activities:
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| Pathway Lending EE Loan Program Now Open to Local Governmental Entities
On December 15, 2015, Pathway Lending announced that its flagship Energy Efficiency Loan Program, the largest of its kind in the nation, is now open to local governmental entities. Under this expansion, those seeking to reduce energy consumption and costs can access affordable loan capital needed to make their projects a reality. The program offers up to six years of financing for qualified energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to Tennessee local governmental entities including municipalities, counties, school districts and other similar public agencies. The program will begin accepting applications from local governmental entities on January 4, 2016. Launched in 2010, the loan program helps Tennessee businesses finance investments in energy efficient technologies, including energy-saving building retrofits and renewable energy systems, which reduce energy consumption and energy costs and avoid release of harmful air pollutants while spurring local job growth. The program, which has originated more than $24 million in loans to date to both for- and non-profit businesses, now welcomes Tennessee local governmental entities to participate on a first come, first serve basis. The Energy Efficiency Loan Program is a collaborative effort between the State of Tennessee / Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Economic Development Administration and Pathway Lending. Through the Energy Efficiency Loan Program, Pathway Lending offers below-market rate loans to finance building retrofits, equipment replacements or upgrades, lighting and renewable generation. Up to 100 percent of project costs may be financed, including design and installation fees. The loans are designed to allow for energy costs savings derived from each project to provide the repayment of the loan. The program is available to any local governmental entity or business seeking to reduce energy consumption of its Tennessee facilities through energy efficiency-improving projects. To be eligible for a loan, a governmental entity or business must have a complete third-party energy audit, assessment or vendor proposal that details estimated energy savings.
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| Accepting Nominations for the 2016 Governor's Environmental Stewardship Awards
The Governor's Environmental Stewardship Awards recognize outstanding achievements by individuals, organizations, educational institutions and businesses for successful environmental projects and conservation measures. Nominations will be accepted through March 31, 2016, and winners will be announced in May of 2016.
The Awards cover 10 categories: Building Green; Clean Air; Energy and Renewable Resources; Environmental Education and Outreach; Environmental Education and Outreach (school category); Land Use; Materials Management; Natural Heritage; Sustainable Performance and Lifetime Achievement. Nominated entities must be located in Tennessee and projects must have been completed within the 2015 calendar year. All nominees must have a minimum of three consecutive years in overall environmental compliance with the Department of Environment and Conservation. Self-nominations are encouraged.
A panel of judges representing agricultural, forestry, conservation, environmental and academic professionals will select award recipients based on criteria including on-the-ground achievement, innovation and public education.
For more information and to apply, click here. For further information on eligibility requirements and evaluation criteria, please contact Kathy Glapa at 615-253-8780.
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| Memphis UPS Fleet to Be Fueled By Renewable Natural Gas
UPS has partnered with Memphis Light, Gas and Water and Atmos Energy Marketing LLC to utilize renewable natural gas (RNG) as fuel for its Memphis and Jackson, Mississippi based fleets. Over the course of the multi-year agreement, UPS will fuel these two fleets with an estimated 15 million diesel gallon gas equivalents of RNG. This effort is part of a broader company goal to drive 1 billion miles nationwide with alternative fuels by the end of 2017. RNG, also known as biomethane, can be derived from many abundant and renewable sources, including decomposing organic waste in landfills, wastewater treatment and agriculture. It is then distributed through the natural gas pipeline system, making it available for use as liquefied natural gas or compressed natural gas. Capturing methane that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere and converting it to fuel showcases UPS’ leadership in advancing sustainable solutions and transportation. For more information, click here.
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| Workplace Charging Partnership Mid-Program Review and TN Workplace Charging Partnership
The benefits for joining the partnership are manifold. U.S. DOE provides employer partners access to personalized toolkits, webinars, workshops, newsletters, one-on-one technical assistance, and case studies. Beyond this, partner employers stand out as leaders in sustainable business, helping to contribute to harmful emissions reductions. In fact, workplace charging efforts made by partner employers eliminated 17 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions in 2015, which is equivalent to each company removing more than nine gasoline vehicles from U.S. roads. - Over 90% of employees express satisfaction with their worksite charging program.
- 70% of employers have received positive recognition for their workplace charging efforts and 60% have helped another employer develop a workplace charging program.
- In 2015, challenge partner employees were six times more likely to drive a PEV than the average worker.
- The majority of employer partners (80%) provide free PEV charging, compared to 20% who charge their employees a fee. However, survey responses showed similar occupancy rates of charging stations at workplaces that provide free charging and those that charge a fee.
- 85% of partners’ PEV drivers plug in at worksites where charging stations are occupied five days a week or more.
In order to help Tennessee employers gauge whether the DOE partnership is right for them, East Tennessee Clean Fuels, a DOE Clean Cities Coalition, has teamed up with TDEC’s Office of Energy Programs and other entities to create the Tennessee Workplace Charging Partnership. With a slightly lower barrier of entry, the Tennessee Workplace Charging Partnership acts as a stepping stone to the DOE partnership, bringing the initiative to the local level and engaging a new cooperative of nonprofits, state agencies, and industry partners to help Tennessee businesses learn about and place EV charging equipment onsite. For more information, check out these 6 simple steps to implementing workplace charging, as well as the one-page Tennessee Workplace Charging Partnership Agreement form.
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| UT Participates in Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition
The University of Tennessee participates in EcoCAR3, which is a four-year national advanced vehicle technology competition (AVTC) sponsored by General Motors and U.S. DOE and managed by Argonne National Laboratory. EcoCAR3 challenges 16 universities across North America to redesign a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro to reduce its environmental impact without compromising vehicle performance. Since the AVTC program was launched in 1989, UT has participated 16 times. While most of the students that contribute time to the project are engineering students, EcoCAR 3 is multi-disciplinary in the sense that students from the Haslam School of Business contribute project management and oversight for the team, and students from the College of Communication and Information organize outreach, media relations and public relations for the team. EcoCAR3 UT strives to give students a competitive opportunity to design, construct and test technology innovations while working with researchers, industry leaders and community organizers to continue to advance alternative vehicle technology interest in the east Tennessee region. For more information, visit http://ecocar3.org/tennessee/about-us/ or email EcoCAR3@utk.edu.
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| Microgrid Research at UT's College of Engineering
Researchers at UT’s College of Engineering have teamed up with industry partners such as TVA, the Chattanooga Electric Power Board, and the Electric Power Research Institute to research and develop technologies for microgrids and distributed energy resources (DERs). This research highlights systems that can operate independently of the mainstream power grid, and the ability to produce power closer to the locations where it is needed. Of note, U.S. DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency- Energy has awarded the project team $2.4 million to develop a controller for microgrids and the controllers that govern them. For the full story, click here.
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| 2015 ACEEE City Energy Efficiency Scorecard and Self-Scoring Tool
The ACEEE City Scorecard ranks 51 large US cities across five policy areas. Its focus on policies and other initiatives is meant to identify and highlight important actions cities can take to become more efficient. In the process, it offers the beginnings of an efficiency roadmap for any city that wants to save more energy. This year, within the State of Tennessee, the city of Nashville was ranked 39 out of 51. Of note, the Together Making Nashville Green Report, which was developed by the city’s Green Ribbon Committee on Environmental Sustainability, contains goals to reduce local government operations and community-wide harmful emissions to 2005 levels by 2012, 20% below 2005 levels by 2020, and 80% below by 2050. The Green Ribbon Committee was established by former Mayor Karl Dean in June 2008.
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| TAEBC's "Opportunities in Energy: Economic Development & Advanced Energy" Event
The Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC) hosted its annual “Opportunities in Energy” event on December 15 at the Howard Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy in Knoxville. U.S. DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Reuben Sarkar delivered the keynote speech. Following this, there were three panel discussions featuring representatives from leaders in the automotive, utility, energy research, academic, policy and economic development sectors. The event showcased the advanced energy sector’s potential to make Tennessee the number one location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. To view the full agenda, click here.
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| 2nd Annual Tennessee Renewable Energy & Economic Development Council (TREEDC) Conference
On December 14-15, TREEDC and the Tennessee Environmental Council hosted the 2nd Annual International Clean Energy Conference at Tennessee Technology University in Cookeville, TN. Session topics included EPA’s Clean Power Plan, Energy Project Financing for Local Governments, Opportunities in Energy Management Technical Assistance, and TVA’s Integrated Resource Plan. Keynote addresses were presented by Pete Marte, CEO of Hannah Solar, and Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd. For a full agenda, click here. To view presentations from the TDEC Session on Energy Project Financing for Local Governments, click here. Additional presentations by TDEC staff will be added to TNEnergy.org in the coming weeks.
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| TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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| New Round of Funding for USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)
USDA Rural Development’s REAP creates economic development opportunities for agricultural producers, rural small businesses, farmers and ranchers by supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. REAP grants provide a 25% reimbursement of the total system costs, with a maximum grant of $500,000 for renewable energy systems and $250,000 for energy efficiency systems. Within the State of Tennessee, rural small businesses already benefit from over $2 million in USDA grants.
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| ISO 50001/SEP Pilot Program
The U.S. Department of Energy invites applications for a pilot program to help companies implement ISO 50001 and the Superior Energy Performance (SEP) program across multiple facilities throughout North America and worldwide. This pilot program is in partnership with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation and national energy agencies in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Applications are due by January 8, 2016. For any questions on the pilot program, please contact Paul Scheihing, DOE SEP lead at paul.scheihing@ee.doe.gov.
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| EPA's RE-Powering Electronic Decision Tree Tool
The EPA’s RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative has released an electronic tool to help local governments, communities and other stakeholders explore the feasibility of solar and wind energy on formerly contaminated properties, landfills, rooftops or other underutilized sites. The tool is intended to equip non-experts in renewable energy with the needed considerations for conducting an initial screening of a potential installation site. The tool allows users to:
- Explore potentially contaminated sites (e.g., brownfields, RCRA permitted, Superfund, or mine sites), landfills (municipal solid waste, construction and demolition, or similar unit), underutilized sites (abandoned plots, parking lots, buffer zones) and rooftops (commercial/industrial roofs)
- Walk through a series of Yes/No/Skip questions supplemented by tips and links to relevant tools and information
- Screen for site characteristics, redevelopment considerations, criteria specific to landfills and contaminated sites, energy load, policies and financial considerations
- Generate reports of the screening results and user annotations, which can be printed and/or copied into another document.
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| U.S. DOE Announces $35 Million to Advance Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies
Fuel cells powered by hydrogen from renewable or low-carbon resources can lead to substantial energy savings and reductions in imported petroleum and carbon emissions. On December 11, 2015, U.S. DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Office announced $35 million in funding to advance hydrogen and fuel cell technologies that will reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil and cut harmful carbon emissions. The funding opportunity covers a broad spectrum with four areas of interest: - Research and development (R&D)- Applicants should address technology gaps, drive down cost and improve the performance of fuel cell and hydrogen fuel systems and technologies in the following areas: (1) Hydrogen Production R&D: High-Temperature Water Splitting compatible with renewable and sustainable energy sources, (2) Advanced Compression, and (3) Advanced vacuum insulation for automotive storage applications. (Concept papers are due by January 15th, 2016, and full application submissions are due by March 14th, 2016).
- Demonstration and deployments - Applicants should propose projects that enable the widespread adoption of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies through demonstration and deployment of component manufacturing and standardization for hydrogen infrastructure (e.g., hose/piping, dispenser/station technologies). Funding will also be made available to Climate Action Champions that are implementing hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. (Concept papers are due by January 15th, 2016, and full application submissions are due by March 14th, 2016).
- Collaborative research consortia- Each consortium is comprised of a core team of U.S. DOE national laboratories and competitively selected individual projects. Projects should focus on one of the following topics: (1) Fuel Cell - Performance and Durability (FC-PAD) or (2) Hydrogen Storage Materials – Advanced Research Consortium (HyMARC). (Concept papers are due by January 15, 2016, and full application submissions are due by March 28, 2016).
- Cost and Performance Analysis of either (1) fuel cells (2) hydrogen storage or (3) hydrogen production and delivery. (Full application submissions are due by January 22, 2016).
For all four complete funding opportunity announcements, click here.
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| UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
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| Annual TDEC Sustainable Transportation Awards & Forum and the New Tennessee Green Fleet Certification Program
The TDEC Sustainable Transportation Awards & Forum is a recognition and educational program that highlights outstanding and voluntary achievements by governments, businesses, industries, public and private institutions of higher learning, and utilities that demonstrate leadership in advancing sustainable transportation in the State. Entities eligible to apply for the TDEC Sustainable Transportation Awards include: federal, state and local governments; commercial and industrial organizations; public and private institutions of higher education; and utilities. Self-nominations are encouraged. Applications for nomination are expected to be released in mid-January, and will be due by mid-March. A panel of judges representing diverse interests will select award recipients based on criteria including on-the-ground achievement, innovation, transferability, and public education and outreach. In conjunction with Clean Air Month, TDEC will host the second annual awards ceremony and forum on May 12-13, 2016 in Chattanooga. To sign up for the Sustainable Transportation Awards and Forum email list, and to receive email updates regarding applications and event details, click here. The 2016 event will also feature the launch of the Tennessee Green Fleet certification program. This program is a new opportunity for any Tennessee-based fleet to receive certification for its efforts toward reducing petroleum consumption, improving air quality and increasing the use of alternative fuels or advanced vehicle technologies. Stay tuned for updates on this program and how to apply.
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| NASEO Energy Policy Outlook Conference
NASEO’s Energy Policy Outlook Conference is the national forum to connect with and learn from state energy officials working on innovative energy policies and programs and to engage with federal officials on priority energy issues. From February 9-12, 2016 in Washington, DC, explore how State and Territory Energy Offices’ efforts are “Powering Economies” and serving as an engine for growth and productivity. NASEO’s 2016 Energy Policy Outlook Conference program will feature experts and strategists from government, business, and advocacy groups focused on sharing new ideas and partnership models that promote energy affordability, infrastructure resilience, clean energy technologies, and economic opportunity. This conference is open to interested State Energy Office directors and key personnel, NASEO affiliate members, Federal officials, utility leaders, building architects and engineers, industrial and manufacturing representatives, technology providers, nonprofit organizations, energy companies, industry groups, financial investment and service companies, policymakers, and trade associations. To view a preliminary agenda, and to register, please visit: http://energyoutlook.naseo.org/registration.
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| Environmental Show of the South
The Environmental Show of the South is the largest and most comprehensive environmental conference and tradeshow in the region. Its goal is to provide high-quality, low-cost environmental training as well as updates on government/industry developments and trends, with a particular focus on solid and hazardous waste issues. The 45th annual event will be held on April 20-22, 2016, at the Gatlinburg Convention Center. This conference will feature speakers from leading environmental agencies, industry partners, law firms, and service providers. Learn about compliance from regulators and the regulated community alike, and speak one on one with your favorite permit writer. The exhibit hall will also showcase vendors offering a full spectrum of environmental goods and services. For more information, click here.
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