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| News and Events: Technical Assistance, Incentives, and Funding Opportunities: Upcoming Events and Activities: Resources and Guides:
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| Urban Green Lab Launches Sustainable Classrooms Program
Nashville-based Urban Green Lab, in partnership with Vanderbilt University, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and TDEC, recently launched a Sustainable Classrooms program. The program prepares educators on how to teach sustainability topics, including the basics of sustainability, energy waste, water waste, food waste, solid waste and litter, transportation and the built environment, and the quality of air. Teachers in the program are trained in clusters of two or three educators per school to develop "learning communities" that can grow and be self-sustaining over time. Urban Green Lab provides participating teachers with all of the supplies necessary to teach the curriculum. Urban Green Lab is also working closely with the U.S. Green Building Council to certify every teacher as Green Classroom Professionals. Learn more about the Sustainable Classrooms program here.
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| EPB Chattanooga Receives TDEC "Pursuit of Excellence" Award Earlier this month, TDEC named EPB Chattanooga its "Pursuit of Excellence Winner" at the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards ceremony in Franklin. This award recognizes the utility's rollout of a dashboard designed to show how much energy and water is being consumed by each EPB building every month. EPB, which released the tool last year, also tracks its own performance on field metal recycling, fiber equipment implementation, vegetation waste, smart grid efficiency savings, and employee transportation services. Learn more about EPB’s environmental stewardship activities here.
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| Construction of Latitude Solar Center Underway
Construction of the 15 MW Latitude Solar Center is now under way in Hardeman County. McCarthy Building Cos. was selected as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor for the project, which is expected to be completed in late fall and deliver approximately 150 construction jobs. The solar center will sell energy to TVA under a 20-year power purchase agreement and will interconnect to the grid through facilities owned and operated by Bolivar Energy Authority. Click here to read more.
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| New Metro Nashville Police Headquarters and Family Safety Center to go Solar
The Metro Nashville Department of General Services (DGS) recently announced that its new Police Headquarters and Family Safety Center (to be built off of Murfreesboro Pike) will feature a 300kW rooftop solar array. This array is almost ten times the size of the current, largest DGS solar installation at LEED® Platinum Fire Station 19. The Police Headquarters and Family Safety Center will be the ninth DGS building to implement solar power generation onsite. The current annual output of all DGS rooftop solar arrays combined is approximately 540,000 kWh.
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| October 5 is Energy Efficiency Day
During last year’s Energy Efficiency Day (EE Day), more than 200 entities endorsed energy efficiency’s benefits, and thousands of people participated in online energy efficiency challenges and promotions. Cities, counties, and states issued official proclamations to recognize EE Day, as did the U.S. Senate. The 2018 EE Day (#EEDay2018) will fall on October 5, and event organizers have already updated the EE Day website with new energy efficiency campaigns and materials. As October approaches, EE Day organizers ask that interested parties sign up as 2018 supporters. These supporters will receive both updates from EE Day organizers as well as energy efficiency facts and materials to share on social media, including a recently released “5 Summer Energy-Saving Hacks” checklist.
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| TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, INCENTIVES, AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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| TVA's EnergyRight® Solutions: Incentives for Electric Technologies
TVA’s EnergyRight® Solutions partners with local power companies across the Tennessee Valley to offer electric technology incentives and programs that help businesses be more profitable and productive. Businesses can receive incentives for electric agriculture equipment, building construction and revitalization projects, electric food service equipment, electric forklifts, electric HVAC systems, and various electric industrial projects. Click here for more information on these opportunities. To learn more about the EnergyRight® Solutions Program, please reach out to your local TVA Program Manager or visit EnergyRight.com.
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| American-Made Solar Prize Program Announced
The American-Made Challenge program is designed to reenergize innovation in U.S. manufacturing and to incentivize the nation’s entrepreneurs to reassert American leadership in the energy marketplace. U.S. DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have officially launched the program’s first challenge, a $3 million competition called the American-Made Solar Prize. The program is organized through three progressive prize competitions, Ready! Set! and Go! Competitors must: - Identify an important solar design problem you want to solve
- Submit a 90-second video describing your challenge and proposed solution, team, and plan
- Answer a short, four-question narrative and make a slide about this problem or challenge
- Submit a two-page technical assistance request
- Update your videos and statements as you advance through the contests.
Competitors must submit their initial Ready! ideas here by October 2, 2018 to be officially entered in the contest process. Sign up for updates on the prize competitions at https://www.herox.com/SolarPrize.
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| UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
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| Webinar: How Cities’ Building Performance Policies Create Energy Efficiency Data Utilities Can Use
A growing number of local governments are implementing building performance programs and policies that may require benchmarking and transparency, audits, or retrocommissioning. In the process, they generate data about the energy intensity, equipment, and fuel sources of commercial and multifamily buildings. What can utilities do with this information, and what areas of collaboration are there for cities and utilities? Join a U.S. DOE Better Buildings webinar on August 8, 2018 from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET to learn how energy insiders use benchmarking and building performance data to promote energy efficiency, improve outreach to building owners, and enhance energy efficiency programs.
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| Urban Runoff 5k Celebrates Green Stormwater Management
Nashville’s Metro Water Services, TDEC, and the Tennessee Stormwater Association (TNSA) have teamed up to host the Urban Runoff 5k run in Nashville on August 18. The run is being held in Shelby Park and will weave its way past several innovative stormwater management structures. The race will be chip-timed and held in rain or shine. To volunteer for the run, click here. For additional details or to register, click here. Registration for the race will cost $30.
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| 2018 Better Buildings Summit
U.S. DOE’s 2018 Better Buildings Summit will take place in Cleveland, Ohio from August 21-23. The Summit is one of the premier events for energy professionals to engage with one another and explore and share innovative strategies, emerging technologies, financing trends, and much more. For 2018, the Summit will be held with U.S. DOE’s annual Energy Exchange, focused on federal facility energy management, to provide greater access to technical discussions and training while also providing the great panel sessions, keynote speakers, and networking opportunities attendees expect at the Summit. Registration for the 2018 Energy Exchange and Better Buildings Summit is open to government (federal, state, city and local), national laboratory employees, government contractors, higher education, and private industry. Click here for registration information.
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| 2018 NASEO Annual Meeting
The National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) 2018 Annual Meeting will take place from September 23-26 in Detroit, Michigan. The NASEO meeting will convene state, local, and private sector leaders of breakthrough, innovative, and effective energy programs, policies, and projects for a series of discussions designed to foster peer learning and exchange among participants. Register now to attend interactive sessions and discussions about transportation electrification, building-grid integration, and financing for energy innovation and infrastructure modernization. Discounted registration prices will be available until August 18.
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| Energy Services Coalition Market Transformation Conference
The Energy Services Coalition (ESC) will host its 7th Annual Market Transformation Conference from October 4-5, 2018 in Atlanta, GA. The conference will cover a broad range of topics for stakeholders engaged in the guaranteed energy savings performance contracting (GESPC) field and will feature panel discussions, classroom sessions, a facilitated marketplace workshop, and an industry keynote. To learn more about the conference and to register, click here.
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| ACEEE Rural Energy Conference
The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) will host its first-ever Rural Energy Conference on October 22, 2018 in Atlanta, GA. The event will explore energy efficiency in rural and small-town America through three presentation tracks. An economic development track will look at beneficial electrification, broadband, distributed energy resources, manufacturing, and workforce development. An equity track will discuss energy burden mapping, inclusive financing, manufactured housing, and public health. A third track will explore efficiency programs for homes, communities, agriculture, and businesses. Register for the conference by August 3 to receive an early bird rate. Visit the 2018 Rural Energy Conference page for more information and contact ACEEE with any questions or to learn about sponsorship opportunities.
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| TenneSEIA Solar Conference
The Tennessee Solar Energy Industries Association (TenneSEIA) is the state affiliate for the national Solar Energy Industries Association and represents the interest of the solar energy industry in Tennessee. The mission of TenneSEIA is to make solar energy a mainstream energy source and to realize the full potential of the solar industry in Tennessee. TenneSEIA recently announced that it would host a Solar Conference on November 7, 2018 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Murfreesboro. The purpose of the conference is to bring together solar advocates and adopters to discuss strategies, market trends, and policies that impact the Tennessee Valley solar industry. Click here to learn more and to register.
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| New Tools Available for Energy Efficient Household Product Purchasing
ACEEE and Enervee have partnered to give shoppers new tools for selecting energy-saving household products. These free tools combine ACEEE’s efficiency expertise with Enervee’s data, analytics, and marketing capabilities to make it easier for consumers to find quality products that reduce their energy bills. Shoppers can visit the SmarterHouse website (smarterhouse.org) to find ACEEE’s trusted energy-saving tips and buying guidance. There they will have access to a snapshot of the most efficient product models available today, featuring the easy-to-understand 0-100 Enervee Score. Once shoppers are ready to buy, they will be directed to Enervee’s portal (choose.enervee.com) where they will find detailed product information, pricing, and incentives offered by their utility. This streamlined, integrated process makes the efficient choice the obvious one for consumers, including the nearly 500,000 unique visitors who turned to SmarterHouse in 2017.
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| ACEEE Releases Rural Energy Consumption Report
Rural households across the United States spend a disproportionately high share of their income on energy bills—about 40% more than their metropolitan counterparts, according to a new report released earlier this month by ACEEE and the Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) coalition. The report claims that rural energy burden is highest in the East and Southeast as well as among low-income households across all regions. Other rural residents with high energy burden include elderly, nonwhite, and renting households, as well as those living in multifamily and manufactured homes. The report also claims that rural energy burdens can be reduced by as much as 25% through low-cost energy efficiency upgrades, resulting in more than $400 in annual energy bill savings for some households. Click the video below to learn more about rural energy burden in the U.S.
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| Better Buildings Financing Navigator 2.0
U.S. DOE recently introduced Better Buildings Financing Navigator Version 2.0, an updated and improved online tool that easily connects users to the proven approaches and professional connections needed to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Version 2.0 now includes renewable energy financing options, sector-specific and location-specific financing resources, a smart database of financing providers that can be searched and filtered, updated market data, and more. Users can search by topic area or answer a few simple questions to get tailored search results. Users may also navigate white papers, technical research, and best practices collected from the industry to get the financing information they need. Version 2.0 also has sophisticated features that allow users to connect to the larger Better Buildings Financial Ally community, which includes banks and lenders that are committed to investments in energy. These financiers have collectively funded more than $12 billion in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects since 2012. Users can search for the right financing partner based on products offered, sectors served, technology types financed, and region served.
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