Energy Management and Renewable Energy Newsletter

Events:

Emerging Technologies in Energy Management for Commercial Real Estate - October 3
DFW Solar Tour - October 5
Webinar: Best Practices for Electric Vehicle Charging in Commercial Buildings - October 8
Webinar: Commercial Buildings and Industrial Plants - October 8
Webinar: How Cities are paying for Climate Resilience - October 10
Webinar: Portfolio Manager 201 - October 15
Webinar: Planning and Zoning Best Practices for Large-scale Solar - October 15
36th Annual NTAEE Energy Conference - October 17
Webinar: How to Apply for the ENERGY STAR for U.S. Buildings - October 22

2019 Texas Energy Summit - November 13 and 14

New Local PACE Projects Underway

Four new Texas PACE projects are now underway statewide with one located in Dallas and two in Fort Worth. The Continental Gin, a historic cotton gin located in Deep Ellum, will be re-purposed into an office building. This will be Dallas' 4th PACE project. Fort Worth will see their 2nd and 3rd PACE projects take shape through the re-purposing of the former XTO Energy headquarters into a Kimpton Hotel and a $2.4 million renovation of the historic Isis Theater.

To learn more about the Texas PACE Authority and how it can help finance permanent improvements to properties that are intended to decrease water and/or energy consumption, please visit: https://www.texaspaceauthority.org/

Texas Energy Summit - SECO Scholarships Available!

Through their sponsorship of the 2019 Texas Energy Summit, the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) will provide a limited number of COMPLIMENTARY full conference registrations to to ISD, city, county and state employees to attend the 2019 Texas Energy Summit.

Eligible applicants should be municipal or county government employees directly involved in any area dealing with facility building maintenance and operations, environmental (air, water, transportation, energy) planning, building permitting and planning officials/ inspectors, building programs coordinators, project managers and/or facility architects and engineers.

To apply for this scholarship, please complete an application here. Applicants must be registered for the full conference in order to be considered for this scholarship (if selected, your registration fees will be refunded prior to the start of the conference).

ULI Report Refelcts Decade of Progress
in Improved Environmental Performance
in the Built Environment

The real estate industry has made significant progress over the past 10 years in reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption while increasing asset value, according to the ULI's recent Greenpoint Center for Building Performance Report. Greenpoint is comprised of an alliance of the worlds leading real estate owners, investors and financial institutions that are improving environmental performance across the global market.

Read the entire report here: http://bit.ly/2nZtsvC
Full article here: http://bit.ly/2o2iANx

Energy Department Announces Phase 1 Winners of Battery Recycling Prize

On September 25th, 2019 the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced 15 winners of the Phase 1 of the Battery Recycling Prize. This prize aims to reclaim and recycle critical materials from Lithium based battery technology. Phase 1 winners will each receive $67,000, the Prize was sponsored by the Vehicle Technologies Office and the Advanced Manufacturing Office.

Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/2nSaZkT

Energy Department Congratulates the
'Plug-and-Play DER Challenge' Finalists

In August of 2018, the Department of Energy's Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium launched the "Plug-and-Play DER Challenge" a call to lower integration costs. The finalists included representatives from Ecogy Energy, Azmur Technologies, and the Electric Power Institute.

"DOE congratulates the three teams from industry who successfully demonstrated how their solutions enable DERs to connect and operate with the electric grid," said Gil Bindewald, Chair of the Grid Modernization Initiative. "Interoperability is a foundational priority of the Grid Modernization Initiative at DOE. Multiple Offices within DOE are working together to ensure that future IoT devices will integrate seamlessly into the grid. The results of this collaborative effort help drive interoperability standards that will transform the marketplace."

More info on the Plug-and-Play DER Challenge can be found here: http://bit.ly/2n8IfEc

Model (Solar) Ordinance Guidelines for Municipalities

The Model Ordinance Guidelines for Municipalities provides guidance for cities on best practices for the development of a solar ordinance. These guidelines are based on a series of roundtable discussions held by NCTCOG with planners, sustainability managers, building inspectors, and solar industry professionals from North Texas.

To view a presentation outlining the model ordinance guidelines, please visit: http://gosolartexas.org/sites/gosolartexas.org/files/docs/Solar-PV-Model-Ordinance-Guide.pdf

To view additional resources on addressing solar in zoning codes or adopting a solar ordinance, please visit: http://www.gosolartexas.org/address-solar-zoning-code-or-adopt-solar-ordinance

City of Plano’s "The Great Update Rebate"

In 2014 the City of Plano kicked off The Great Update Rebate program which is designed to provide incentives, in the form of rebates, to homeowners of older properties to update and maintain their homes. The program alleviates some of the financial burden of updating older homes and incentivizes upgrades with the potential to increase energy and water efficiency. While the program is not an energy conservation program, energy-efficient home improvements may qualify.

To learn more about the program, how it was implemented, and how it is funded, please visit the case study on the Conserve North Texas website here: http://conservenorthtexas.org/case-studies/plano-texas-great-update-rebate

Emerging Technologies in Energy Management for Commercial Real Estate

Join this session to explore the latest in AI and machine learning technologies that reduce complexities in energy management to manage costs, maximize revenue and boost efficiency. We'll identify ways to leverage AI to self-diagnose/self-correct building performance to cut maintenance costs, extend capital asset life and improve tenant satisfaction and much more.

Date: Thursday, October 3, 2019
Time: 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Location: 2100 Ross Avenue, 2nd floor (Room B2), Dallas, TX 75201

DFW Solar Tour

The self guided tour enables people to learn how their neighbors – homeowners and businesses alike – are using solar energy, wind energy, energy efficiency, and other sustainable technologies to save money and consume less of our natural resources. The strategies and techniques on display during this year’s tour range from things as simple and easy as changing to LED light bulbs and selecting more efficient appliances, to cutting-edge, ultra-efficient eco-homes and businesses that are generating as much or more energy than they consume!

Date: Saturday, October 5, 2019
Time: 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
More Info: https://dfwsolartour.org

Webinar: Commercial Buildings and Industrial Plants

Americans are rapidly adopting plug-in electric vehicles (EVs). In fact, the Edison Electric Institute and the Institute for Electric Innovation estimate that nearly 19 million EVs will be on U.S. roads by 2030, representing a 10% market share.

With effective EV charging implementation, commercial building owners and managers can add value to properties, increase the convenience and affordability of driving EVs for tenants and employees, and show leadership in adopting advanced, sustainable technologies. Download a 2-page fact sheet

Date: Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Webinar: How Cities are Paying for Climate Resilience

Cities that have begun implementing climate resilience projects have used distinct strategies to to obtain public and private financial resources that pay for large-scale climate-resilience. These strategies amount to an initial approach—"Playbook 1.0"—for deciding who will pay what and how city governments will generate the needed revenue. Join city leaders, authors of the recent report "How Cities Are Paying for Climate Resilience: Playbook 1.0," and professionals supporting resilience in hundreds of cities around the globe to explore the strategies that reflect the leading-edge of urban climate-resilience financing practices discuss what they foreshadow for other cities and the continuing evolution of the urban leadership for climate-resilience finance. This webinar is generously funded by the Summit Foundation.

Date: Thursday, October 10, 2015
Time: 12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Webinar: Portfolio Manager 201

Continue to learn about EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool, with a deeper dive into more advanced functionalities such as: editing property data; correcting and updating property use details; using the data quality checker; and sharing property data.

Attend this webinar if you’re interested in:

• Portfolio Manager

• Sharing property data

Webinar level: Intermediate

Date: Tuesday, October 15,2019
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Webinar: Planning and Zoning Best Practices
for Large-scale Solar

This webinar will address best practices for planning and zoning for large-scale solar in your community. Learn about ways to provide maximum siting options for ground mount solar projects while preserving your community's character and historic resources. Attendees will come to understand the development standards they can use to ensure large-scale development creates agricultural, vegetative, environmental, and water quality co-benefits.

Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4976704488792934924

2019 Texas Energy Summit

The 16th annual educational conference and business expo will provide attendees the opportunity to engage with industry experts, state and local policy makers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers, facility and energy managers, utility and energy service experts, and more in a lively conversation about cleaner air, a better built environment and a new energy economy. The conference rotates annually among the metropolitan air quality regions of Texas addressing issues of local, state and global impact.

Topics to be explored at this event include:

Big Renewables: Procuring Cheap, Clean Energy in Texas
Electrifying Medium and Heavy Duty Vehicles
Utilities, Customers, and the Energy Transition
Climate Resilience
Public Sector Renewable Procurement and Energy Upgrades
Optimizing Building Performance for Financial Gain
Accelerating Innovation in Texas’ Industrial Sector
Expanding Competition: Distributed Resources and Non-Wire Solutions
State of the State’s Air Quality
Texas Legislature's Impact on Clean Air and Clean Energy
Emerging Technology in Energy
Policy Solutions to Big Energy Challenges

Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2019
Location: Texas State Capitol