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| TVA Awards $7.12 Million to Make Homes Energy-efficient
With the funding, Knoxville will launch an “Extreme Energy Makeover” program, which will target homes that are at least 20 years old to cut energy use in the homes by 25 percent. The program is expected to save homeowners roughly $10 per square foot annually. The TVA grant will also support the city’s Smarter Cities Partnership, which is an effort by more than 20 organizations to make Knoxville’s homes more energy-efficient.
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| EPA, U.S. DOE Honor 2015 ENERGY STAR Partners of the Year
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded 128 entities from 33 states with the 2015 ENERGY STAR’s Partner of the Year award for their commitments and efforts in energy efficiency and environmental protection.
The winners, which were chosen from a network of 16,000 ENERGY STAR partners, were deemed to be leaders in their industries both in the production of energy-efficient products and services, and in the adoption of corporate strategies for energy reduction.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville earned the Sustained Excellence Partner of the Year Award for New Homes Construction. The organization has incorporated energy efficiency into its affordable housing offerings for low-income families by allowing people to purchase Energy Star certified homes with monthly utility bills that average $78 for a 1,200 square-foot home. The organization also partners with Energy Star certified product vendors, so that homeowners can save even more on monthly utility bills.
Tennessee-based Nissan North America, Inc. and Eastman Chemical Company were both awarded the Sustained Excellence Partner of the Year Award for Energy Management. This award is given to entities that adopt a continuous energy management strategy across their entire portfolio of buildings and plants.
Of particular note, Nissan North America improved its U.S. enterprise energy efficiency by 13 percent over 2013 and by 35 percent since 2009. The company promoted energy efficiency awareness by including an energy efficiency flyer in Nissan LEAF glove boxes, and assisted in the ENERGY STAR certification of 5 K-12 schools in Tennessee and the recertification of 19 schools in Mississippi. [2]
Eastman Chemical Company received its recognition in part because of its efficient operation of cogeneration facilities, but also because of its emphasis on the manufacturing of energy efficient chemical distillation systems. Eastman improved its energy consumption since 2008 by roughly eight percent, avoiding $29 million in energy costs in 2014 alone. [3] Furthermore, the company encourages employees to take steps towards more active energy reduction via its successful “Superhero” campaign.
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| More Solar Farms to Sprout Up in East Tennessee
Officials announced on April 9th that four new solar farms would soon be launched in East Tennessee. The farms, to be constructed by the two companies that created the Powerhouse Six solar farm in Oak Ridge, will be located in Knox County, Cumberland County, Loudon County and the Cookeville area. Construction on the Knox County and Cumberland County farms is set to begin in June. These two farms combined are expected to provide enough energy to power 133 homes a year.
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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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| ORNL Funded by U.S. DOE to Develop Next-Gen HVAC Systems in Buildings
On April 21, the U.S. DOE also announced roughly $8 million in funding for the research and development of next-generation heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) technologies. In particular, the U.S. DOE has chosen innovative ideas for HVAC systems with little to no impact on the environment. As HVAC systems often consume the highest amount of end-use energy in buildings, this funding opportunity will help to further the federal government’s agenda and prioritization of cost savings through energy efficiency.
Under the funding opportunity, Oak Ridge National Laboratory will receive roughly $1.4 million to develop a magnetocaloric air conditioner that produces electricity through a magnetic field, and which has a potential efficiency improvement of up to 25% over conventional vapor compression systems.
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Request for Information: Cities Leading through Energy Analysis and Planning Program
The U.S. DOE Cities Leading through Energy Analysis and Planning ( Cities-LEAP) program delivers standardized, localized energy data and analysis to help cities develop data-driven energy strategies, set climate or energy goals, prioritize energy strategies, learn from peers about city energy planning best practices, and attain access to transparent, usable analytic methodologies. The program has released a request for information (RFI) on how local governments obtain and use information related to energy consumption within their communities and government. In particular, the U.S. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy seeks to understand: - Existing data collection and use, both energy-related and non-energy-related
- Challenges that your city has faced in developing and implementing a data-driven decision-making framework
- Success stories from the adoption of data-driven decision frameworks
- Documentation or datasets related to energy planning or goal setting
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| Two Private Funds Launch to Invest in Rural Businesses, Advanced Energy Production
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on April 29 th the launch of two new private funds, Tennessee-based Innova Memphis and Meritus Kirchner Capital, which will invest in rural U.S. businesses with high-growth potential. In particular, the funds will facilitate investment for businesses working in high-growth sectors such as advanced energy production or bio-manufacturing. The two funds have set goals to raise $25 million and $100 million, respectively. Both funds were formed under the USDA’s Rural Business Investment Program (RBIP), which aims to drive economic growth in rural communities around the United States.
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UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
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TDEC Sustainable Transportation Awards
To celebrate Clean Air Month and to honor outstanding advances in the area of transportation, TDEC is hosting a Sustainable Transportation Forum and Awards Ceremony on May 7, 2015 at Memphis Central Station. Winners will be announced prior to the Awards Ceremony in mid-April. The Tennessee Department of Transportation is proud to be a partner in this effort.
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The Clean Power Plan: Health, Energy Demand, and Economic Effects
Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt University Law School will host a forum on May 18-19, 2015 on the implementation of the U.S. Clean Power Plan, and its impact on human health, economic benefits and innovative demand reduction strategies. The event is targeted towards state regulators, clean energy and energy efficiency business representatives, demand reduction researchers, and clinical health experts. For questions, contact Kacy Rohn: kacy@cleanenergy.org.
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Save the Date for the Tennessee Gas Association’s “CNG Across Tennessee” Rally On May 18-22, 2015, the Tennessee Gas Association (TGA) is holding a statewide Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicle rally to showcase CNG vehicles and technologies. The rally will hold stops at fueling stations in Memphis, Trenton, Nashville, Athens, and Sevierville. For more information on the “CNG Across Tennessee” Rally as well as other TGA events and resources, visit www.tngas.org.
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