Energy Management and Renewable Energy Newsletter

News and Updates:

November 1 Deadline to Submit Your Local Government Energy Report to SECO
Notice of Loan Fund Availability for Texas LoanSTAR Program
Conference Scholarship Available for ISD, City, County, or State Employees for the 2019 Texas Energy Summit
At-A-Glance: The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)
SolSmart Celebrates 300 City and County Designees!
Department of Energy Awards $28 Million for Wind Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Projects
ENERGY STAR 2019 Certification Deadline for Commercial Buildings and Industrial Plants
EERE at the Forefront of the Next Generation in Transportation
Download New Resource on How to Improve Resilience in Public Buildings
Energy Efficiency Jobs in America: 2019 Update Now Available

Events:

Webinar: Portfolio Manager 101 - November 5
Webinar: Renewables Integration Technical Research Team Call: Efficiency and Demand Response - November 5
Webinar: Recognizing Employee Participation in Energy Management Efforts - November 6
Master the Technical Side and Engineering Requirements of the TX-Pace Program - November 6
GridNext 2019 - November 12
Webinar: Rethinking Leasing: Spotlight on the 2019 Green Lease Leaders - November 12
Webinar: Financing Energy Efficiency Projects: What to Know Before You Sign - November 12
Texas Energy Summit - November 12-14
Webinar: Window Treatments - The Undervalued Highly Efficient Energy Efficiency Measure - November 14
Webinar: Strategic Energy Management for Water and Wastewater Treatment - November 21
Greenbuild International Conference & Expo - November 19-22
APWA WEBINAR: Facility Maintenance Efficiency Strategies - November 21
Webinar: How Buildings of All Shapes and Sizes are Achieving Zero Energy - December 3
TEMA Accredited Texas Energy Manager (ATEM) Review Session and Exam - December 5th and 6th
Energy Efficiency is the Master Key to High Performance Buildings - December 12
Webinar: Electrification - What Does it Mean for Energy Efficiency - December 12
Save-the-Date: 2020 Better Buildings Summit - June 8 to 10, 2020

Three Days Remaining - November 1 Deadline to Submit Your Local Government Energy Report to SECO
One-on-One Assistance Available from NCTCOG

What: Local Government Energy Reports due to the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) on November 1

Who reports: Every city, county, institute of higher education, or state agency in a nonattainment or near non- attainment county is mandated to submit this report annually per the Texas Health and Safety Code Section 388.005(e)

New this year, reports are now to be submitted via an online survey rather than the previous one page form. The survey must be completed in one sitting and cannot be partially saved. A blank copy of the survey template can be downloaded on the SECO Local Government Energy Reporting webpage to be able to gather information and save on your computer prior to filling out the survey link. Completed surveys must be submitted online via the survey link and emailed scanned/saved forms will not be accepted.

Please Note: Total electricity consumption of your owned facilities (end of section 4) is the only mandatory electricity consumption data needed to be submitted. If you are unable to obtain the data for the other delineated consumption sections prior to the reporting deadline, we encourage you to still submit the report with the minimum requirements filled out. The reporting period covers the state fiscal year from September 1, 2018- August 31, 2019.

As an additional resource, SPEER recorded a Local Government Energy Reporting Walk-Through video to help explain the background and components of this reporting requirement, which NCTCOG encourages you to view prior to submitting your report.

NCTCOG can provide one-on-one assistance to local governments with this reporting requirement. Please contact Bailey Muller at bmuller@nctcog.org with any questions or requests for one-on-one assistance.

Notice of Loan Fund Availability for the Texas LoanSTAR Program
The State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) has announced the posting of a Notice of Loan Fund Availability and is inviting eligible entities to apply for loan assistance to perform building energy efficiency and retrofit activities. The Texas LoanSTAR (Saving Taxes and Resources) Revolving Loan Program finances energy-related, cost-reduction retrofits for cities, counties, independent school districts, state agencies, public institutions of higher education and tax-supported public hospital districts. The program’s revolving loan mechanism allows applicants to repay loans through the stream of energy cost savings realized from the projects. For application information and to learn more, please visit the notice webpage.

Conference Scholarship Available for ISD, City, County, or State Employees for the 2019 Texas Energy Summit

Public employees can attend the 2019 Texas Energy Summit this November for FREE. Through the generous support of the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO), a limited number of COMPLIMENTARY full conference registrations to ISD, city, county and state employees are available to attend the 2019 Texas Energy Summit, November 12 - 14, 2019 at the Texas State Capitol Austin, Texas.

Eligible applicants should be public employees directly involved in any area dealing with facility building maintenance and operations, environmental planning (air, water, transportation, energy), sustainability, building permitting and planning, and/or policy.

Registration
Complete a Scholarship 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). If you have any questions about the conference or the SECO scholarship, please contact Texas Energy Summit Conference Manager, Angie Rowell for more information.

SolSmart Celebrates 300
City and County Designees!
SolSmart has reached the 300 community milestone! Nationwide over 300 cities, towns and counties have now been designated SolSmart for their actions to make it easier, faster and more affordable to install solar. This means that 1 in 4 people in America now live in a SolSmart designated community - including the North Texas communities of Cedar Hill, Corinth, Denton, Kennedale, Lewisville, and Plano. Learn more about some of these communities and their accomplishments by checking out SolSmart's website.

Department of Energy Awards $28 Million for Wind Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Projects
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the selection of 13 projects to receive a total of $28 million to advance wind energy nationwide. The selected projects span the technology development spectrum and include testing, demonstration, integration and technical assistance. They also cover all three wind energy sectors: distributed, offshore, and land-based utility-scale wind. One award to highlight is that of Bergey WindPower of Norman, Oklahoma who will develop a standardized distributed wind/battery/generator micro-grid system that rural utilities can provide to rural homes and businesses. This will help deliver resilience, energy savings, and reliable power. To read more about the other projects that were funded, click here.

ENERGY STAR 2019 Certification Deadline for Commercial Buildings and Industrial Plants

Tuesday, December 31, 2019 is the deadline for submitting 2019 ENERGY STAR certification applications for U.S. commercial buildings. Applications that are received by that date, and do not require significant follow-up or changes, will be guaranteed to receive 2019 certification, if approved. Applications that are received after this date will receive a 2020 certification. For any questions, please visit: www.energystar.gov/buildingshelp

EERE at the Forefront of the Next Generation in Transportation

Disruptive forces such as automated, connected, electric, and shared mobility are impacting energy consumption in transportation. Nearly every plug in electric vehicle on the road today uses Vehicle Technologies Office's (VTO) developed better technology. VTO-funded research has decreased the cost of advances batteries by 80%. This decreased has led to the cost of electric vehicle battery packs to $185 per kilowatt-hour. A recent study shows that the disruption connectivity and automation bring to the transportation sector could result in a potential 200% increase in 2050 baseline energy consumption, or a 60% decrease in energy use.

Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/2IHSQxD

Download New Resource on How to Improve Resilience in Public Buildings

How Distributed Energy Resources Can Improve Resilience in Public Buildings: Three Case Studies and a Step-by-Step Guide, is a recently released resource by the Department of Energy that provides facility-specific assessments of micro-grid installation costs, payback periods, and upfront savings achieved by first implementing energy efficiency. The resource features two free publicly available tools to conduct your own resilience analysis and how the State of North Carolina successfully identified six critical facilities that could power critical loads in the event of a 48-hour outage using a combination of solar photovoltaics and storage. To learn more, access the guide here.

Energy Efficiency Jobs in America:
2019 Update Now Available

Energy efficiency is, for the second year in a row, America's fastest growing energy industry. It accounted for about half (76,000) of the sector's entire job growth in 2018 (151,700) and now eclipses 2.3 million American workers. This report is packed with graphics that provide an in-depth look at the industry, and outlines the scale and scope of energy efficiency jobs in all 50 states and Washington D.C. View job numbers by:

Congressional and state districts,
County and metropolitan areas,
Sectors,
Supply chain categories, and
Percentage of veterans in energy efficiency

Click here to read the guide.

Webinar: Portfolio Manager 101

Join this webinar to be introduced to a demonstration of the core functionality of EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. Attendees will learn how to: navigate Portfolio Manager; add a property and enter details about it; enter energy and water consumption data; and generate template performance reports to assess progress.

Attend this webinar if you’re interested in:

· Portfolio Manager

· Getting started with benchmarking

· Generating reports

Date: Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. CST

Recognizing Employee Participation in Energy Management Efforts

Employee engagement is often essential for achieving energy improvements in buildings. Join us to learn from three ENERGY STAR partners how they encouraged employees to pursue energy efficiency and recognized their participation and accomplishments. Learn how Hudson Pacific Properties implemented a robust engagement and recognition program to recognize: Best Improvement in ENERGY STAR Score, Best Tenant Engagement Event, and Largest Reductions in Energy, Water and Waste. In addition, LBA Realty will discuss how they recognize engineers as well as their annual “Call for Case Studies” in which operations, construction, and engineering groups are incentivized to submit sustainability case studies and share sustainability project ideas with all regional teams. Finally, Principal Real Estate Investors will talk about their Cornerstone Awards program, which recognizes the leadership and engagement in sustainability efforts by their property teams and joint venture partners.

Attend this webinar if you're interested in:

· Energy Management

· Employee engagement and recognition

Date: Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. CST

Master the Technical side and Engineering Requirements of
the TX-Pace Program

Learn how you and your company can earn new business by helping property owners improve their properties with qualified PACE projects. Join us for Breakfast and a workshop (materials provided) with a panel of engineers who will share their experience of successful PACE projects.

Who should come?

The workshop is targeted towards engineers in the energy/water efficiency and clean energy space.The training is open anyone interested in learning how to design and implement a successful TX-PACE project to benefit businesses and nonprofits, including property managers, facilities managers, contractors and architects.

Workshop Agenda:

8:30AM - Breakfast and Networking
9:00AM - TX-PACE Overview
9:30AM - Program Technical Requirements and Case Studies
10:30AM - Application Process Overview
11:00AM - Capital Provider Perspectives
Noon - Adjourn

Date: Wednesday November 6, 2019
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

GridNext 2019

Following a very successful GridNEXT event last June in San Antonio, the event is coming to Dallas as part of the launching of the new TREIA North Texas Chapter. This years GridNext will celebrate the accomplishments of the last year and take a look into the future as we seek to achieve TREIA's goal of 50% renewable energy by 2030. GridNEXT is holding a repeat performance to celebrate TREIA’s new Dallas Chapter. This one-day event will include panels addressing:

Executive Summary of Renewable Energy Industry Briefing from Peter Kelly-Detwiler
An Introduction to Utility Scale and Commercial Scale Renewable Energy Projects
TREIA’s e-Mobility Committee on the upcoming boom and opportunities in Electric Vehicle Infrastructure
TREIA’s Capital & Finance Committee discussing the many ways Texas capital is beginning to invest in Renewable Energy
A discussion on the limitations and issues affecting Texas’ Grid Safety and Security
A Case Study discussing how Dallas’ Community College System is creating the campus of the 21st century incorporating Sustainable and Renewable Energy

Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Time: 7:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Find more information on the event here: http://bit.ly/33KXcvM

Webinar: Rethinking Leasing: Spotlight on the
2019 Green Lease Leaders

The Green Lease Leaders program shines a spotlight on innovative landlord and tenant companies that add energy efficiency and sustainability clauses to their leases. This webinar will recognize the 2019 Green Lease Leaders who are pushing the envelope on building performance and energy-aligned leasing. Speakers will demonstrate how smart leases enable landlords and tenants to work together to keep costs down, while ensuring energy efficiency and workplace comfort.

Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. CST

Webinar: Financing Energy Efficiency Projects: What to Know Before You Sign

During this webinar session, attendees will learn the ins and outs of how to finance energy efficiency projects at public sector, commercial, and industrial buildings. The webinar will review key considerations managers should make while comparing financing options, tax strategies, and energy goals. Furthermore, this webinar will also touch on energy performance contracting and off-balance sheet financing.

Attend this webinar if you're interested in:

· Sustainability planning

· Energy efficiency improvements

· Finance

· Property Management

Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. CST

2019 Texas Energy Summit

This 16th annual educational conference and business expo will provide our 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.

Find more details about event here: https://texasenergysummit.com/

Date: November 12-14, 2019
Location: Texas State Capitol - Austin, Texas

Webinar: Window Treatments - The Undervalued Highly
Efficient Energy Efficiency Measure

Did you know that up to 30% of a home's heating energy is lost through windows, especially in older homes? Most types of window treatments will result in energy savings, but the exact savings will depend on the type of attachment, the season, the climate, and how the attachment is used. Learn how this energy efficiency measure can have an outsized impact on energy use.

Date: Thursday, November 14, 2019
Time: 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. CST
Register Online

Webinar: SEM and Water/Wastewater Management
SPEER City Efficiency Leadership Council

Join SPEER for a webinar about strategic energy management (SEM) and why it is such a natural fit for water and wastewater systems.

Speaker: Matt Jensen, Strategic Energy Management Coach from Cascade Energy

CELC webinars are intended to extend the conversation about public sector energy management best practices through education, training, and discussion. Webinars are open to anyone interested in public energy management in Texas, Oklahoma, and beyond.

Date: November 21, 2019
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Register for the webinar here.

Questions: Contact Cassidy Ellis, Local Government Program Manager, SPEER, cities@eepartnership.org.

APWA WEBINAR: Facility Maintenance Efficiency Strategies

Many facility operations are employing control programs to operate their heating and cooling systems. These systems are very helpful and produce a significant amount of data. However, to ensure these systems are running at optimal levels, it's important to have a system in place that seeks out anomalies. Using data analytics technology can be used to find hidden issues and guide decisions. This presentation will provide some strategies on how to implement and use data analytic technology to optimize your building automation system.

After attending this session, participants will be better able to:

Explain how data analytics technology can be used to identify hidden operation issues and energy waste.
Recognize how data analytics technology can be used to guide decision making and prioritize workflow.
Summarize how an organization started from scratch to build capital maintenance program.

Date: Thursday, November 21, 2019
Time: 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. CST

Webinar: How Buildings of All Shapes and Sizes
are Achieving Zero Energy

From affordable student housing to high-infill offices, a rapidly accelerating building trend is the proliferation of zero energy buildings. Embracing "deep" energy efficiency, these projects prioritize efficiency and add on-site renewable generation to achieve net zero energy use over the year. Attend this webinar to hear about the financial, technological, and design process innovations that make these projects a reality today.

Date: Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. CST
Register Online

TEMA Accredited Texas Energy Manager (ATEM)
Review Session and Exam - December 5th and 6th

An Accredited Texas Energy Manager is one who efficiently manages and optimizes the performance of facilities
and systems related to building operations. These individuals reduce energy consumption through cost
effective approaches. The ATEM has gained increased recognition in Texas within companies looking to decrease
their use of resources and improve their sustainability footprint. Take your career to the next level by signing up for their online course, review session and exam below. A revamped online course is now available to prepare you for the exam at your own pace. TEMA membership not required to sit for the exam but does provide discounts on the training materials and test fees.

Review: December 5, 2019 - Rockwall ISD
Exam: December 6, 2019 - DCCCD campus TBD

Register for the ATEM Online Course here.
Register for the Review and Exam here.