Energy Management and Renewable Energy Newsletter

News and Updates:

SECO Resource Highlight: Notice of Loan Fund Availability for the LoanSTAR Program
TERP Alternative Fueling Facilities Program (AFFP) Grant Funding

Texas Produced More Energy from Renewable Sources Than Coal Last Year
DOE Announces a $1 million Water Resource Prize to Accelerate Resource Recovery form Municipal Wastewater
No-Cost Technical Assistance to Cities Interested in Achieving SolSmart Designation
Energy Department Accelerates Energy and Water Efficiency Advancement at Federal Facilities via Performance Contracts
Data-Driven State and Local Energy Planning Platform (SLOPE) Beta is Now Available

Events:

DOE Webinar: Save Money and Build Resilience with Distributed Energy Technologies - February 4
North Texas Renewable Energy Group Monthly Meeting - February 8
Dallas 2030 District Lunch & Learn: Available Programs & Incentives for Commercial Real Estate Facilities - February 19
Workshop on Climate Action Planning in Public and Private Sectors - February 26
ERCOT Market Summit - February 25-27
2020 North Texas Climate Change Symposium - March 3
DOE Webinar: Building Value: Energy Efficiency's Impact on Financial Performance - March 3
Texas Water 2020 - March 31 - April 3
Earthx2020 - April 17 - 26
North Texas Building Professional Institute - May 11 - 14
DOE Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit - June 8 - 10

The LoanSTAR program is administered through the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) and finances energy-related cost-reduction retrofits for eligible public sector institutions. Low interest rate loans are provided to assist qualified institutions in financing their energy-related cost reduction efforts. Loan recipients may be cities, counties, independent school districts, state agencies, public institutions of higher education and tax-supported public hospital districts. For program details and eligibility requirements, click here. Open enrollment through August 31, 2020.

TERP Alternative Fueling Facilities Program (AFFP) Grant Funding

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has up to $12 million in grants available for the construction of new alternative fueling facilities or the expansion of existing facilities to provide new services or fueling capacity. Eligible fuel types include compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane, biodiesel, methanol, hydrogen, and electricity.

Application Deadline: March 18, 2020

Funding Levels:

Up to $400,000 for a CNG or LNG project
Up to $600,000 for a combined CNG and LNG project
Up to 50% or $600,000 for all other fuels

To see full project eligibility requirements and application details visit this link.

Texas Produced More Energy from Renewable Sources Than Coal Last Year

According to the data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), last year there was more energy generated from renewable sources than from coal in the Lone Star State, Dallas Observer reports. In just two decades, Texas wind capacity has grown from virtually nothing to more than 28 GW of installed operating capacity today – that’s 27.4% of all operating wind capacity across the country (TREIA, 2020). Last year, wind and coal were the number two energy sources for customers of the ERCOT with wind standing at 19.97% and coal 20.27% (TREIA, 2020). In addition, earlier in 2019 Texas wind energy production exceeded coal energy output for the first time. Although this trend did not hold up through the rest of 2019, the sum total of renewable energy produced last year was in fact larger than coal. Last year, energy facilities in the state produced 21.5% of energy from renewable sources (wind, solar, hydro and biomass) and 20.3% from coal.

DOE Announces a $1 million Water Resource Prize to Accelerate Resource Recovery form Municipal Wastewater

On January 29th, the U.S Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced a $1 million Water Security Prize to stimulate Resource Recovery among small and medium-sized facilities. Through this two-phased competition, DOE is accepting proposals for novel, systems-based solutions to stimulate resource recovery at small-to-medium-sized water resource recovery facilities. This effort can help lower the cost of wastewater treatment.

In the first phase of competition, teams will be required to submit an engineering schematic and business case that demonstrate the potential for cost-effectiveness and viability of resource recovery. DOE anticipates selecting up to 10 winning teams for cash prizes of $50,000 each as part of phase one. Submissions are due no later than 5:00 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, April 28, 2020.

Teams selected during phase one will move into phase two, in which one to two teams will be selected to receive $250,000 cash prizes. DOE expects to give teams one year from phase one selection to submit final phase two materials. Only small- and medium-sized facilities (those with flows of up to 50 million gallons per day) are eligible to participate. Specific rules governing phase two submissions will be released at the conclusion of phase one in spring 2020.

For the submission instructions and eligibility requirements, click here.

No-Cost Technical Assistance to Cities Interested in Achieving SolSmart Designation

The North Central Texas Council of Government (NCTCOG) wants to connect communities interested in becoming SolSmart designate with free technical assistance! SolSmart has created a team of national experts who evaluate programs and practices impacting solar markets to identify high-prospect opportunities for improvements and help communities across the country. All cities, counties and regional organizations are eligible to become designated and receive no-cost assistance. For program details and to request a free consultation with the SolSmart team, check out their website or contact NCTCOG.

Energy Department Accelerates Energy and Water Efficiency Advancement at Federal Facilities via Performance Contracts

On January 16th, the U.S. Department of Energy announced more than $5 million in funding for 11 federal agency projects to catalyze the adoption of energy and water efficiency and renewable energy technologies at facilities across the Federal Government. To increase the impact of the projects, federal agencies will leverage alternative financing mechanisms such as energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) to install traditional and innovative energy conservation measures (ECMs) with no added cost to the taxpayer. These projects advance DOE’s priorities of improving our nation’s energy affordability, integration, and storage capabilities at all federal facilities, while supporting federal goals to improve and streamline the award of energy efficiency projects coupled with innovative financing contracts.

Data-Driven State and Local Energy Planning Platform (SLOPE) Beta is Now Available

The State and Local Planning for Energy (SLOPE) Platform, a collaboration between eight U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) technology offices and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), is a tool to enable more data-driven state and local energy planning by integrating dozens of distinct sources of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable transportation data and analyses into an easy-to-access online platform that more effectively supports state and local energy planning and decision making.
The SLOPE Platform targets state and local governments and other key energy planning stakeholders, primarily focusing on conveying intricate data to decision makers that can enable local analysts to pursue deeper analyses of energy planning scenarios.
The SLOPE Platform is designed to provide stakeholders with an accessible platform with outputs that are easily conveyed to decision makers. The platform addresses needs such as access to localized data, interoperability between tools, and integration of data across sectors and technologies to illustrate opportunities and scenarios for achieving goals and understanding the impacts of energy actions. SLOPE further provides this data in multiple formats, including maps, time series charts, and scenario models.

To access SLOPE Platform Beta click here.

Distributed Energy Resources - Customer Adoption Model

Developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and tested by the industry and Universities the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) is a powerful and comprehensive decision support tool that primarily serves the purpose of finding optimal distributed energy resource (DER) investments in the context of either buildings or multi-energy microgrids. DER-CAM supports a very wide array of DER and can be used in multiple building and microgrid contexts. When used to the full extent of its capabilities, DER-CAM can determine N-1 security constrained microgrid designs that include the optimal portfolio, sizing, placement, and dispatch of DER within the microgrid topology. It can be used to study both grid-connected and remote, off-grid microgrids, based on either AC or DC infrastructure.

To access DER-CAM click here.

REopt: Renewable Energy Integration & Optimization Tool

REopt Lite Web Tool is a free, publicly available web version of the more comprehensive REopt model currently used by National Renewable Energy Laboratory analysts in the provision of project feasibility analysis support to clients. REopt analyses have led to more than 260 MW of renewable energy development.

The REopt Lite Web Tool evaluates the economic viability of grid-connected solar photovoltaics (PV), wind and battery storage at a commercial site. It allows building owners to identify the system sizes and dispatch strategy that minimize the site’s life cycle cost of energy. REopt Lite also estimates the amount of time a PV and/or wind and/or battery and/or diesel generator system can sustain the site's critical load during a grid outage and allows the user the choice of optimizing for energy resilience.

To get started with the tool click here. For the manual on how to use it click here.

DOE Webinar: Save Money and Build Resilience with Distributed Energy Technologies

Building owners, municipal planners, and governments face a range of priorities when it comes to powering their buildings – minimizing cost, ensuring resilience, and in many cases, meeting renewable energy goals. This webinar will introduce two tools used for assessing potential facility-level energy technology investments: the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM) and REopt Lite. DOE’s National Laboratories developed and used these tools to analyze potential energy investments at existing Better Buildings Challenge partner facilities; learn the results of the completed analysis and how these publicly available tools were able to help energy managers and other decision makers optimize the unique energy needs of their facilities.

Date: Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM CST
Register online here

North Texas Renewable Energy Group Monthly Meeting
Topic: "The Impact of Methane on Our Climate & What We Can Do About It."
Presenter: Sharon Wilson, Senior Organizer with Earthworks.

Presenter, Sharon Wilson, is a senior organizer at the EarthWorks Oil & Gas Accountability Project. Sharon worked for 12 years as a data manager in the oil and gas industry. But when the Halliburton-developed drilling technology of “fracking” or hydraulic fracturing unlocked a “Saudi Arabia of natural gas” just beneath North Texas, she turned her back on that industry and became Texas’ number 1 anti-fracking activist. Sharon has briefed NATO Parliamentary Assembly, EPA regulators and even former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy on the impacts of oil and gas extraction. In 2014, she became a certified optical gas imaging thermographer and now travels across the U.S. making visible the invisible methane pollution from oil and gas facilities.

Date: Saturday, February 8, 2020

Time: 10:00 PM – 12:00 PM CST
Register online here

Dallas 2030 District Lunch & Learn: Available Programs & Incentives for Commercial Real Estate Facilities

Join the Dallas 2030 District in collaboration with the North Central Texas Council of Governments and ONCOR for a session on available programs for building owners and managers. Representing both environmental and transportation elements, the North Central Texas Council of Governments will touch on various programs and resources to help building owners and managers become more efficient from their building footprint and beyond. Environmental topics will cover important information for taking into account for water efficiency, recycling, urban heat islands, and solar applications on buildings.

Date: Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Time: 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM CST
Location: Bank of America Plaza, 901 Main Street, 42nd Floor (JLL Offices),

Dallas, TX 75202

Workshop on Climate Action Planning in Public and Private Sectors

The Greater Dallas Planning Council, in partnership with the Regional Integration of Sustainability Efforts (RISE), Dallas District 2030, UTA, and NCTCOG, is sponsoring a workshop focusing on sustainability practices and greenhouse gas programs, with a specific emphasis on climate action planning.
The Climate Action Planning in Public and Private Sectors workshop format is intended to facilitate an exchange of information between the private and public sector. Representatives of some of the major corporations in the region will share their programs, policies, and actions they are implementing internally that cities or other local governments can adopt or implement to support and accelerate business-related sustainability programs.

Date: Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Time: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM CST
Location: NCTCOG Office, 616 Six Flags Drive, Arlington, TX 76011

ERCOT Market Summit

The ERCOT Market Summit will examine new market rules and economic drivers, while bringing policy-makers together with utility, solar, wind, IPP, finance, and trading executives to explore potential solutions and opportunities. They will examine the possible impacts of an anticipated upsurge in solar capacity not only on power prices but also resource adequacy, as well as how the changing generation mix will drive opportunities for storage and DERs to meet market needs.

Date: February 25-27, 2020
Location: Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol - Austin, TX
Register online here

2020 North Texas Climate Change Symposium

3rd Annual North Texas Climate Change Symposium provides a unique opportunity to learn how climate change is affecting Texans and what North Texans can do to address this concern. You will also have an opportunity to participate in discussions about equitable climate action planning and learn how Dallas' Comprehensive Environmental & Climate Action Plan (CECAP) is addressing environmental justice concerns in Dallas communities.

Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Time: 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location: The Hall of State, 3939 Grand Ave, Dallas, TX 75210
RSVP online here

DOE Webinar: Building Value: Energy Efficiency's Impact on Financial Performance

This webinar will present a range of research – empirical, quantitative, and market-based – on the effects of energy efficiency and green building measures on the financial performance of commercial real estate. Academic and financial experts will share their findings on what high-performance building features mean for commercial mortgages and overall value. .

Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM CST
Register online here

Texas Water 2020

Coordinated and sponsored by the Texas American Water Works Association (TAWWA) and the Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT), Texas Water is the largest regional water conference in the United States. For those working in the water and wastewater industry, Texas Water 2020 is a great opportunity to collaborate with a broad range of industry administrators, operators, engineers, and manufacturers. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in many of the technical sessions and special events and network with fellow industry peers and friends.

Date: March 31 - April 3, 2020
Location: Fort Worth Convention Center - Fort Worth, TX
Register online here

Earthx2020

Earthx is the world's largest environmental exposition, conference and film festival for sharing the latest initiatives, discoveries, research, and innovations. EarthxConference, April 23-26, is a series of conferences that convenes experts from the fields of energy, transportation, law, education, city planning and more. The conference goals are to educate, promote and instigate activities that sustain environmental initiatives with a substantial, positive impact on all living things on our planet. EarthxFilm, April 17-26, will showcase films and emerging media that explore conservation, climate change and environment while honoring the heroes working to protect our planet.

Date: April 17 - 26, 2020
Location: Fair Park - Dallas, TX
Register online here

North Texas Building Professional Institute

Building Professional Institute (BPI) will hold its annual four day program offering continuing education in the areas of: Re-certification for Plumbing Inspectors, International Plumbing & Mechanical Code, Texas Accessibility, Architecture/Green Building, Code Enforcement, Electrical, Engineering, Environmental Health, Fire Prevention, International Building Code, Energy Code, International Residential Code, Permit Tech, Plan Review, Planning, Residential Construction & Inspection, and Special Topics on Human Trafficking, SIPS, Containers for Commercial Applications, and Building Code.

Date: May 11 - 14, 2020
Location: Irving, TX
Register online here

Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit

This annual event for Better Buildings, Better Plants Partners and other key stakeholders will provide the opportunity for professionals to explore emerging technologies and share innovative strategies in energy and water efficiency. Attendees will take part in interactive sessions with industry experts and market leaders as well as multiple opportunities to network with peers. The 2020 Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit will take place June 8-10, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia.

Date: June 8 - 10, 2020

Location: Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, VA
Register online here