TVA and the University of Tennessee’s Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs have released the Preliminary Findings Report for the Valley Pathways Study. The Valley Pathways Study was launched in February 2023 to evaluate the existing environmental landscape and explore opportunities to reduce carbon emissions and create a competitive, sustainable economy. The study found that the transportation sector is the largest source of emissions in the region, which is consistent with the national emissions landscape, and that electricity generation produces approximately 27 percent of emissions. The Baker School will provide future updates as data is available. Additional information can be found in a one-page summary of the findings and an informational video.

Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) and EPB of Chattanooga recently announced the Collaborative for Energy Resilience and Quantum Science (CERQS), a new joint research effort that will focus on utilizing Chattanooga’s highly advanced and integrated energy and communications infrastructure to develop technologies and best practices for enhancing the resilience and security of the national power grid while accelerating the commercialization of quantum technologies. To structure the effort, CERQS will focus on four strategic goals: national leadership in quantum science and technology, energy security innovation, workforce development, and economic development.

TDEC invites Tennesseans to submit nominations for the 2024 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards, which recognize outstanding achievements by individuals, local governments, businesses, organizations, educational institutions, and agencies for successful environmental projects and conservation measures. The honors include ten categories: Agriculture and Forestry, Building Green, Clean Air, Energy and Renewable Resources, Environmental Education and Outreach, Materials Management, Natural Resources, Water Quality, Sustainable Performance, and Lifetime Achievement.

Self-nominations are encouraged. For more information about each category, judging criteria, and nomination forms, visit this link at the TDEC website. Nominations will be accepted until March 15.

U.S. DOE recently announced the first ten prize winners, including Tennessee State University, in the inaugural Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Clean Energy Education Prize Partnerships Track, Phase 1. Each winning team will receive $100,000 to support partnerships between HBCUs and other universities, government agencies, and industry leaders to build new programs and provide professional opportunities that will equip HBCU students with the skills needed to succeed in the clean energy industry. Phase 1 winners will also be eligible to split a prize pool of $4,000,000 based on the strength of their project progress after Phase 2. Lastly, Phase 3 will allow up to three winners to split a $1.75 million prize pool in recognition of overall impact. 

A team from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga was one of 40 teams from 37 different collegiate institutions that will advance to the final stage of the U.S. DOE Solar Decathlon 2024 Design Challenge following their development of cutting-edge, zero energy building designs for single-family housing. Teams presented their zero energy building designs to panels of industry experts, and finalists were selected based on how well they addressed the 10 Solar Decathlon contests, including architecture, engineering, presentation, and other topics.

The Design Challenge included residential and commercial designs across four divisions: single-family housing, attached housing, multifamily buildings, and education buildings, with ten finalist teams selected in each division. Finalist teams will compete to win their division and to become the overall grand winner at the hybrid Solar Decathlon Competition Event, April 19–21, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

U.S. DOE recently announced projects selected to lower energy costs and enhance energy security in rural and remote communities as part of the Energy Improvement in Rural or Remote Areas Program. The CHARGE Partnership plans to build energy resilience in community health centers to improve access to reliable health care in low-income, rural communities across eight states in the southeast, including Tennessee.

The resilient energy systems developed through the project will benefit up to 175 health center sites, ensuring energy reliability for critical medical equipment, refrigeration of insulin and vaccines, and continuity of care during emergencies and power outages. Participating health centers could save up to $45 million in energy costs, avoid millions in losses due to closures, decrease emissions, and create a scalable, replicable model for remote healthcare providers, strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities across the U.S. 

The Local Infrastructure Hub (LIH) was launched to ensure that all communities can access federal infrastructure funding to drive local recovery, improve communities, and deliver results for residents. The LIH Regional Cohorts Program is now open to assist local governments and their partners in the Southeast in accessing the historic levels of federal funding available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act. Administered by the Southeast Sustainability Directors Network, the Southeast Regional Cohort Program has three-tiered learning and mentoring tracks.

Cohorts can provide 1:1 local government outreach and technical assistance and can also work with strategic local and regional partners in a way that will build long-term capacity for local implementation. The three support options are:

Applications will be accepted until mid-2024 or until funds are expended, whichever comes first. Additional information, including eligible applicants, is available in the Southeast LIH Regional Cohort Invitation and on the Southeast LIH Regional Cohort website.

EPA announced $2 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act for the Community Change Grants Program. Funding is available for projects that deploy clean energy, reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges. These place-based investments will be focused on community-driven initiatives to be responsive to community and stakeholder input.

There are two separate tracks available:

Eligible applicants include partnerships between two community-based non-profit organizations and partnerships between a community-based non-profit organization and a local government, institution of higher education, or federally recognized tribe. View the Notice of Funding Opportunity and the Grants.gov page for additional information. Applications are due November 21. 

Through the U.S. DOE Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) program, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), ORNL, other national laboratory experts, and select organizations provide Expert Match - free, short-term technical assistance to address near-term clean energy challenges and questions. Expert Match is most suitable for communities that could benefit from assistance to inform time-sensitive decisions and identify and understand the range of options for achieving clean energy goals. The Expert Match technical assistance timeframe is 40–60 hours over 1–2 months.

Expert support topics available include:

Eligible applicants include community stakeholders and can represent a local government, tribal government, metropolitan planning organization, regional planning organization, community-based organization, nongovernmental organization, utility, or a university.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

The Better Buildings Webinar Series takes on the most pressing topics facing energy professionals, with experts leading the conversations on proven best practices, cost-effective strategies, and innovative new ways to approach sustainability and energy performance. On March 4 from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Eastern, Better Buildings will host the webinar, Getting a Handle on Clean Hydrogen, which will discuss how using hydrogen as an energy carrier is gaining momentum as successful innovation, industry interest, and federal investment align. The webinar will explore the clean hydrogen landscape, discuss industry applications of clean hydrogen, and discuss how U.S. DOE is accelerating market transformation.

The 2024 Appalachian Carbon Forum, hosted by the University of Kentucky and Oak Ridge National Lab, will take place March 7-8 in Lexington, KY. The two-day forum brings together a diverse range of thought leaders and innovators to identify and develop energy solutions for the Appalachian region. 

The forum will feature discussions on the representative needs, challenges, and opportunities unique to the area with participants from local communities, private industry, national laboratories, academia, and government located along the Appalachian mountain range. Sessions include topics ranging from clean energy solutions to emissions reduction and meeting power demands while working towards net-zero targets.

View the agenda here and register for the 2024 Appalachian Carbon Forum here.

The Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council (TAEBC) Annual Meeting will take place in Franklin on March 26. This annual event allows TAEBC members, stakeholders, and potential members to gather to celebrate the growing advanced energy economy. The agenda includes a panel about siting solar in Tennessee featuring TDEC OEP Director Molly Cripps, a panel on nuclear energy innovation and investment across Tennessee, and a session on TVA’s 2024 Integrated Resource Plan.

Register for the TAEBC Annual Meeting here.

The Tennessee Beneficial Electrification Leadership Summit will take place in Lenoir City on March 28 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM Eastern. The event will convene leaders from across Tennessee to discuss opportunities and challenges around further electrification of the state’s economy. Additionally, the Summit will bring together stakeholders from a variety of backgrounds to discuss next steps to addressing these challenges and opportunities presented by advancements in electric technology head-on. TDEC OEP Senior Energy Analyst Mark Finlay will speak on a panel on electric transportation and residential opportunities. View the event agenda here and register here.

The annual PACENation Summit is a global event for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing professionals. PACE is a financing tool that enables low-cost, long-term funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy, water efficiency, resilience, and public health improvements to new and existing buildings.

The 2024 PACENation Summit will be held in Nashville June 12-13 and will include panel sessions, small group interactions, and extensive networking opportunities.

TenneSEIA will host the 2024 Tennessee Valley Solar + Storage Conference in Huntsville, AL from November 20-21. The focus of the Conference is to bring together people interested in growing solar business opportunities in the Tennessee Valley to discuss strategies, market trends, and policies that impact the solar industry. Attendees will participate in in-depth and forward-looking discussions on TVA policy and processes and the evolving technical opportunities facing the industry in the Tennessee Valley region.

Atlas Public Policy, in partnership with Utah State University, has developed the Clean Economy Tracker (CET), a tool to track manufacturing investments in clean technologies across the U.S. CET tracks announced investments and jobs in sectors such as batteries, electric vehicles, heat pumps, hydrogen electrolyzers, transmission and grid materials, and zero-emission electricity generation. It provides information at a local level, offering insights into how the clean energy economy is growing in specific communities. In addition to investment data, CET tracks demonstration projects supported by U.S. DOE.

Report on Community Solar
NREL recently released a report, Technical Potential and Meaningful Benefits of Community Solar in the United States, which aims to identify the maximum amount of community solar capacity that is physically feasible for development and the extent of the associated benefits. The report estimates that if all technically viable community solar is deployed, it could serve more than 53 million households and over 300,000 businesses in the U.S. that cannot access rooftop solar, representing nearly one terawatt of potential community solar capacity. 

Least-Cost Optimal Distribution Grid Expansion (LODGE) Model 
The recently released LODGE Model, developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, identifies the most cost-effective ways community solar can be sited on the grid, with a focus on minimizing interconnection costs and maximizing distributed resource deployment. The tool complements U.S. DOE’s existing Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange program, a stakeholder partnership with the goal of enabling a faster and simpler interconnection process for clean energy resources. Register here for a webinar providing overviews for both tools on March 7 at 11:00 AM Eastern.

Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI)
The U.S. DOE Solar Technologies Office (SETO) recently announced the winners of the American-Made Solar Data Bounty Prize, a competition designed to increase the accessibility of high-quality time-series datasets for PV systems. Silicon Ranch Corporation, based in Nashville, won the grand prize for medium-sized PV systems and was the runner-up for large PV systems. These types of datasets can be used to build, train, and optimize models designed for PV system simulation, which can provide more accurate performance estimates and better system designs. The five winning datasets and their respective metadata will be shared through the Open Energy Data Initiative so that researchers and other solar stakeholders can readily utilize the data for PV model development, validation, and evaluation.  

SETO and NREL will host the first of a three-part webinar series, Virtual Tutorial Series: Open-Source Tools & Open-Access Solar Data, on March 13 at 3:00 PM Eastern to introduce new information to be made available on the publicly accessible database, Open Energy Data Initiative. The webinar will include an introduction to the datasets, a demonstration of how to access the data, and a look ahead at the lab tools that will be presented in Parts Two and Three.

Visit the TDEC Office of Energy Programs Website at http://www.tn.gov/environment/energy.

Past Monthly Newsletters: 

January 2024

December 2023

November 2023

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

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.