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| Technical Assistance, Incentives, and Funding Opportunities: Upcoming Events and Activities:
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| 2nd Annual Energy Efficiency Day and the Start of Energy Action Month! October 5 was the 2nd Annual Energy Efficiency Day! Energy Efficiency Day is a collaborative effort of regional and national organizations that promote energy efficiency. More than 175 government agencies, companies, utilities, cities, and other organizations were official supporters in 2016. This year, Energy Efficiency Day amplified its efforts with a website, a Facebook account, official declarations, and a challenge to save energy in homes and businesses. Read this TNEnergy.org blog post on Energy Efficiency Day and find out how you can benefit from energy efficiency in your everyday life.
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| 2017 ACEEE State Energy Efficiency Scorecard Now Available
As more states struggle with extreme weather events, the 2017 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard gives state-level policymakers a road map for building stronger and more-resilient communities. This 11th annual report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) shows which states are doing the best on energy efficiency—a critical tool for withstanding and recovering from storms and economic shocks. In the 2017 Scorecard, Tennessee was ranked 25th, and was the second-highest performing state in the Southeast. Click here to download the State Energy Efficiency Scorecard online.
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| Volkswagen eLabs Open in Eight Hamilton County Schools
Volkswagen Chattanooga announced eight of its sixteen eLabs are now fully operational in Hamilton County schools. The eLabs will provide approximately 8,000 Hamilton County students access to science labs that feature rapid prototyping technologies, including renewable energy components, laser cutters, CNC routers, 3D printers, robotics, microcomputers, and vinyl cutters. For more information on VW eLabs, click here.
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| Innovative Research at National Labs to Focus on Next-Generation Technologies for Grid Resilience
On September 12, U.S. DOE announced awards of up to $50 million to its National Laboratories to support early stage research and development of next-generation tools and technologies to further improve the resilience of the nation's critical energy infrastructure, including the electric grid and oil and natural gas infrastructure. This investment builds on the Department’s ongoing efforts toward the rapid development and widespread adoption of tools and technologies that will help create a more resilient, secure, sustainable, and reliable electricity system—including the concerns of cybersecurity—that can meet the demands of the 21st century and beyond. Of note, Tennessee’s ORNL received funding for two projects. One project will focus on the accelerated deployment of resilient and secure distribution concepts through flexible operation of traditional assets, distributed energy resources (DERs), and microgrids. The other will research and validate open-source home energy management systems (HEMS) to help utilities enable residential loads for grid services.
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| U.S. DOE Announces Achievement of SunShot Goal, New Focus for Solar Energy Office
In conjunction with the annual Solar Power International conference, U.S. DOE released new research that shows that the solar industry has achieved the 2020 utility-scale solar cost target set by the SunShot Initiative. Largely due to rapid cost declines in solar PV hardware, the average price of utility-scale solar is now 6 cents per kWh. Given this success, U.S. DOE is looking beyond SunShot’s 2020 goals with an expanded 2030 vision for the Solar Energy Technologies Office. Specifically, while U.S. DOE will continue research to drive down costs, new funding programs will focus on a broader scope of priorities, such as early-stage research to address solar energy’s critical challenges of grid reliability, resilience, and storage. Click here to learn more. To view a map of all of the current SunShot projects, of which there are 10 in Tennessee, click here.
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| E4TheFuture Launches Faces of EE: America's Job-creation Powerhouse
One aspect of the project’s focus is to “humanize” these statistics. People who work in energy efficiency are passionate about what they do. Why? Because the jobs are: - Refreshingly non-partisan
- Local jobs; cannot be outsourced
- Poised for massive growth
- Made in America using mostly U.S. materials
The mission of the new Faces of EE program is to spread the word about how important the energy efficiency industry is to America’s economy and employment, while promoting solutions that help make the energy efficiency sector even stronger. Follow and amplify @FacesOfEE on Twitter to participate in the movement.
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| How Energy Innovation Kept the Lights On Through 2017 Natural Disasters
Various off-grid energy innovations were able to sustain disaster-stricken individuals and areas when electricity was cut off in the face of recent natural disasters. One story shared in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma talks about how residential solar systems that were paired with stationary energy storage—i.e. home batteries—allowed one Florida family to keep using air conditioning, refrigeration, Internet, and other electric services when their neighbors suffered blackouts. U.S. DOE also shared a story about how, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the Texas Medical Center was able to sustain its air conditioning, refrigeration, heating, sterilization, laundry, and hot water needs throughout the storm thanks to the combined heat and power (CHP) installation operated by Thermal Energy Corp (TECO).
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| TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, INCENTIVES, AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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| Second Round of Entrepreneurship Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
On September 19, U.S. DOE announced the application period for innovators to join the second cohort of Innovation Crossroads (IC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). IC, one of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Programs, embeds the next generation of top technical postdoctoral talent within ORNL as entrepreneurial researchers to address fundamental energy and manufacturing challenges identified by industry. The benefits to those selected are significant: a two-year stipend with health and travel benefits to work at ORNL, R&D funding to collaborate with ORNL scientists, and business model development and mentoring assistance, a total package of nearly $500,000. Chosen candidates will begin their work at ORNL in May 2018. Learn about the application requirements by clicking here.
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| Four Ways to Upgrade your Home with Clean Energy Technologies
Thanks to new technologies, there are a number of ways to upgrade your home, and, in some instances, even improve its value. U.S. DOE recently shared a list of four ways that individuals can upgrade their homes with clean energy technologies, including solar installations, connected thermostats, window improvements, and LED lighting. Learn more by clicking here.
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| Funding Tips: A Guide to Wind Development and the Financing Processes
NREL researchers recently published “Wind Energy Finance in the United States: Current Practice and Opportunities,” a resource for wind development and financing processes that provides an overview of the wind project development process, capital sources, and common financing structures, as well as traditional and emerging procurement methods. The report also demonstrates how financing rates can modestly impact a project's overall cost of energy and its cost competitiveness with other investment alternatives. The analysis was conducted as part of U.S. DOE’s Atmosphere to Electrons (A2e) Performance, Risk, Uncertainty, and Finance research initiative.
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| UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
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| TenneSEIA Annual Meeting & Conference
This year, TenneSEIA is combining its Annual Meeting (October 18) with Vanderbilt University's conference entitled, “The Case for Renewable Power in the Southeast” (October 19-20). You are invited to join representatives from local governments, universities, businesses, and other organizations across the Southeast for the conference.
The purpose of the event is to crystallize local government, university, and private sector demand for renewable energy in the Southeast, and to mobilize new and existing initiatives to advance renewable energy in the TenneSEIA region. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about demand for renewable power in the Southeast and pathways for meeting that demand, articulate demand, and collaborate within and across sectors. View the agenda and register soon!
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| Impact TN: Build Green, Be Well - Sharing the Science Behind Sustainability
Connect with other green building and sustainability professionals at USGBC Tennessee's inaugural statewide conference, Impact Tennessee, on October 20 in Nashville. This year's theme is "Build Green, Be Well" and will focus on sharing the science behind sustainability and celebrating those making an impact in the state. The day will include a breakfast keynote with Ann Sussman titled, "The 21st Century Paradigm Shift: Cognitive Science informing Green Design," multiple education sessions, an awards ceremony luncheon, and networking mixer. See the agenda here.
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| Webinar: Assessing Costs for Home Upgrade Program Results
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| U.S. DOE Race to Zero Student Design Competition
The next U.S. DOE Race to Zero Student Design Competition (Race to Zero) will take place from April 20–22, 2018. Through this competition, future architects, engineers, construction managers, and entrepreneurs will gain the skills and experience to start careers in clean energy and design zero energy ready buildings. To prepare for the event, the new Race to Zero Competition Guide is available, and the team application website is open. Start your application today at the Race to Zero website.
Potential teams should register to attend a webinar on October 28 from 3:00-4:30 PM EDT titled “2018 Race to Zero: What Is Good Housing Design?” to find out more about the competition and building green. All participating teams must complete the team application and are encouraged to submit a 3-page Project Introduction by November 7.
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| Southeast Renewable Energy Summit
From November 2-4, the Southeast Renewable Energy Summit in Atlanta, Georgia will provide an opportunity for the renewable energy community to get the latest insights into the market and to meet the key players operating in and around the Southeast. Learn about the key trends impacting renewable energy project development, finance and investment in the Southeast and engage in networking with decision-makers driving the industry forward. To view the agenda and to register, click here.
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| Register for the 4th Annual Tennessee Renewable Energy and Economic Development Council Conference
The 4th Annual Tennessee Renewable Energy and Economic Development Council (TREEDC) Conference will take place on December 14-15 at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. This year’s conference will highlight a wide variety of renewable energy technologies, case studies, and financial opportunities, and will encourage dialogue for networking and fellowship among supporters of these technologies in Tennessee and across the region. Key highlights include:
- Panels on both urban and rural renewable energy programs
- Keynote speaker Matt Beasley, President of TenneSEIA, on "The Future of Solar"
- An update on the Volkswagen Diesel Settlement by the TDEC Office of Energy Programs
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| New Online Tool Shows States' Progress and Opportunities to Cut Carbon Emissions
The Georgetown Climate Center recently released an updated version of its State Energy Analysis Tool, providing insights and data on each state's electricity grid mix, renewable energy growth, and carbon emission reductions. According to the tool, Tennessee’s energy sector emits 29% less carbon today than in 1990!
The tool enables policymakers and the public to see goals set in other states and consider different carbon emission reduction targets for their states. New features also include the ability to compare all 50 states, new data visualizations for energy efficiency, electricity exports and imports, electricity generation, and a breakout for renewable electricity generation. Data maps of all 50 states are also available.
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| Technical Reference Manuals (TRMs) for Energy Efficiency Evaluation Measurement and Verification
Technical Reference Manuals (TRMs) are valuable resources for state regulators, utilities, and program administrators and implementers for estimating the energy and demand savings of end-use energy efficiency measures. SEE Action’s new Guide for States: Guidance on Establishing and Maintaining Technical Reference Manuals for Energy Efficiency Measures supports the development, maintenance, and use of accurate and reliable TRMs. It includes descriptions of existing TRMs in the United States and provides recommendations for best practices to help improve the quality of existing TRMs as they are updated, and new TRMs as they are developed. Find other energy technical assistance resources at the SEE Action’s Evaluation, Measurement and Verification Working Group website.
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| Report: Benefit-Cost Evaluation of U.S. DOE Investment in HVAC, Water Heating, and Appliance Technology
A new study by U.S. DOE conducts a benefit-cost impact evaluation of the Building Technologies Office’s (BTO) investments in HVAC, water heating, and appliance technologies. The analysis suggests that BTO investments in these areas have generated an estimated benefit-to-cost ratio between 20-to-1 and 66-to-1 with an internal rate of return between 38% and 51%. To learn more, click here.
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| How IoT Connected Products are Transforming Energy Usage and Storage Opportunities for Graduates in Clean Energy
The energy industry is going through a significant transformation regarding the way energy is generated, distributed, stored, and managed. A key factor driving this change is the ability to connect and remotely manage energy products and solutions. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical devices, vehicles, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity which enable these objects to collect and exchange data, and it may have an impact on energy usage through automation by easily creating processes to focus on business goals: increase energy efficiency, reduce cost, or automate service.
Watch this IoT on-demand webinar to find out: - What are the major trends impacting energy and the electric power grid, such as time of usage (TOU) rates and demand charges
- Why IoT connectivity matters for energy storage
- What are companies doing with connected product data to create value
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| New U.S. DOE Newsletter Highlights STEM Updates
Interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) news from U.S. DOE? Sign up here for their new STEM Rising Newsletter, which brings you monthly updates and resources. The newsletter highlights STEM outreach activities at U.S. DOE, including K-12 learning resources and inspiration, student competitions, field trips and events, internship and research opportunities, and tools for STEM teachers. Be sure to check out their first newsletter released earlier this month.
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| Report: 2016 Business Case for Fuel Cells
U.S. DOE released an annual report, the 2016 Business Case for Fuel Cells, to provide an overview of recent private sector fuel cell installations at U.S. businesses. Highlights since last year’s report include: - Home Depot is now country’s largest stationary fuel cell customer, with more than 140 sites
- IKEA is installing fuel cells at 4 more stores in California and one in Connecticut
- eBay is adding 3.75 MW to its Utah data center, bringing it to ~10 MW
- More than 15,000 fuel cell‐forklifts are in operation or on order.
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