Energy Management and Renewable Energy Newsletter

News and Updates:

Dallas County Commissioners Court Hosts Public Hearing Regarding the Establishment of a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program
NCTCOG 2021 Building Codes Regional Amendment Review Process Kicking Off
The South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource (SPEER) Releases 2021 - 2023 Strategic Vision
Houston Advanced Research Center Releases Survey to Develop Economic Assessment tool to Understand Microgrid Feasibility
Bipartisan Bill Creates $10M Grant Program to Map Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Department of Energy Announces $35 Million for Bioenergy Research and Development
Preparing Frontline Professionals for an Evolving Energy Future
Funding Opportunity: DOE NETL Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) – 2020 - $3 million
New Compilation of Resources Focus on Resilience in the Public Sector
New Resource: Energy Data Management Guide for the Public Sector
Wastewater Energy Management Toolkit

Events:

Beyond Energy Savings: Quantifying the Additional Benefits from Energy Efficiency

Electric School Bus Webinar Series

Developing and Prioritizing Resilience Solutions within the Technical Resilience Navigator (TRN)

Taking Advantage of Demand Response and Time-Variable Pricing Offerings

Available Programs and Incentives for Commercial Real Estate Facilities

David & Goliath: Financing Energy Retrofits from the Tiny to the Giant

Risk Assessments: Evaluating Buildings Sites for Portfolio Resilience

Green School Summit for School Leaders

Food Waste to Renewable Natural Gas (FW2RNG) Regional Stakeholder Meeting

Feedback Requested: North Central Texas Council of Governments Survey on Regional Energy Needs

The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) is requesting assistance from its member governments by gathering feedback to help identify the region’s most pressing energy management needs and prioritize the development of appropriate resources. The following survey will ask your feedback on previous energy topics and workshops and to identify energy management topics most important to your organization so that NCTCOG may continue to assist you in meeting your energy goals and management needs.

The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. The deadline to submit a survey is January 8, 2021.

Click Here for Survey

Local Government Energy Reporting- 2020 Update

Under Texas Health and Safety Code §388.005(c), all political subdivisions, state agencies and institutes of higher education in an ozone non-attainment area or an affected county are required to establish a goal to reduce electricity consumption by at least five percent each year. Each political subdivision must submit a report annually to SECO regarding the entity's progress and efforts to meet the five percent annual reduction goal. 2020 reports will not be due until February 1, 2021 and will cover calendar year 2020.  

To assist local governments in achieving the five percent reduction goal and required reporting, NCTCOG developed a whitepaper to help resolve frequent challenges and highlight best practices.  The “Texas’ Mandated Local Government Energy Reduction Goal: Challenges and Best Practices” whitepaper can be accessed from the Local Government Energy Reporting Toolkit on Conserve North Texas. A webinar presenting this whitepaper and other key reporting tips will be provided.
 
Due to some modifications, the 2020 reporting form will be released in the coming weeks. For updates on the Local Government Energy Report and program, visit SECOs Local Government Energy Reporting webpage.

Register for the Upcoming NCTCOG Webinar:

Local Government Energy Reporting: 2020 Updates and Newly Developed Resources

Date: Tuesday, January 12th, 2021
Time: 2:00 pm CST
Registration: Here

Dallas County Commissioners Court Hosts Public Hearing Regarding the Establishment of a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program

On December 15, 2020, the Dallas County Commissioners Court hosted a public hearing regarding the establishment of a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program. Property Assessed Clean Energy (TX-PACE) is a financial tool that allows property owners to upgrade facility infrastructure with little or no capital outlay. Approved by State legislation and established by local governments, TX-PACE programs enable owners to lower their operating costs and use the savings to pay for eligible water conservation, energy efficiency, resiliency, and distributed generation projects. Owners gain access to private, affordable, long-term (typically 10-20 years) financing that is not available through traditional funding avenues.

The adoption of a PACE program by Dallas County would open up the ability for cities within the County to have access to PACE for their business owners. The City of Dallas has had a PACE Program in place for several years, and numerous other cities and counties around the North Texas region and state have adopted PACE programs.

Click Here to Read More: Dallas County

Click Here to View the Commissioners Court Public Hearing: Dallas County

NCTCOG 2021 Building Codes Regional Amendment Review Process Kicking Off

NCTCOG's Regional Codes Coordinating Committee (RCCC) and its five advisory boards conduct multiple meetings to review the latest editions of the model codes and develop regional amendments. Their review and recommendations are endorsed by NCTCOG's Executive Board. NCTCOG encourages jurisdictions in North Central Texas to adopt the recent 2021 model construction codes along with their respective regional amendments, after they are published, as expeditiously as their local code adoption process will allow.

Advisory Board members were nominated in August and September 2020, and the RCCC voted on the nominations at their October 2020 meeting. If interested in attending the Advisory Board meetings as a guest, please see the Building Codes training calendar for meeting times and links.

Electrical Advisory Board – The EAB reviewed the 2020 NEC and their recommended regional amendments are available on the NCTCOG website.

Energy and Green Advisory Board – scheduled to begin their review of the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code in January 2021.

Building and Residential Advisory Board – scheduled to begin their review of the 2021 International Building Code, and assist with the International Residential Code review, in January 2021.

Fire Advisory Board – scheduled to begin their review of the 2021 International Fire Code and lead the review on the International Residential Code, in January 2021.

Plumbing and Mechanical Advisory Board – schedule to being their review of the 2021 International Plumbing Code, Mechanical Code, Fuel Gas Code, and Swimming Pool and Spa Code in January 2021.

To Find Upcoming Advisory Board Meetings Visit: NCTCOG.org

The South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource (SPEER) Releases 2021 - 2023 Strategic Vision

The SPEER Board of Directors alongside the SPEER Team have developed a new direction and Strategic Plan for the organization. They will continue to maintain their focus on Energy Efficiency and all the tremendous advantages Energy Efficiency has to offer, they also recognize the ever changing technological and educational environment in which we all live. With this in mind, SPEER will be focusing on six main components (Technology & Innovation, Advocacy, Collaboration, Membership, Communications, and Financial Management) as SPEER moves ahead.

Click Here to Read More: SPEER

Houston Advanced Research Center Releases Survey to Develop Economic Assessment tool to Understand Microgrid Feasibility.

The Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), host of the Southcentral and Upper West CHP TAP, is developing an innovative feasibility analysis tool for Community Energy Systems. The project is funded by the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (Award: DE-FOA-0001980). HARC would appreciate your assistance with this project.

Below is the link to a survey that will help HARC develop a publicly available tool that allows both technical and non-technical persons to conduct an economic assessment to determine the feasibility of microgrid and/or district energy on their site. This brief survey should take between 5 to 10 minutes.

Your answers are 100% anonymous. You will have the chance to share your contact email at the end of the survey if you are interested in receiving the results or open to further discussions regarding this project.

Click Here to Read More: Survey

Department of Energy Announces $35 Million for Bioenergy Research and Development

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $35 million in funding for bioenergy feedstock technologies and algae research and development. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) supports the White House priority for advancing the domestic bioeconomy, as well as the Bioenergy Technologies Office’s goals of improving the performance and lowering the cost and risk of technologies that can be used to produce biofuels, biopower, and bioproducts. Concept papers are due on February 1, 2021, and full applications are due on April 5, 2021.

Click Here to Learn More: Energy.gov

Preparing Frontline Professionals for an Evolving Energy Future

Firefighters, first responders, utility workers, safety officials and building managers all play an important role in assuring building safety and responding in case of an incident. With a changing energy system, these workers must stay current on protocols, standards, regulations, and new technologies. Whether they are interacting with buildings with advanced controls, distributed energy systems, power grids incorporating solar and storage technologies, or electric or alternative-fueled vehicles, today’s frontline workforces are encountering a wider range of energy technologies in their daily jobs or in responding to emergencies.

Now, through an initiative of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), more of these frontline workers will have access to new energy educational materials tailored to their profession. This support is made available through the EMPOWERED funding opportunity. EMPOWERED - Educational Materials for Professional Organizations Working on Efficiency and Renewable Energy Developments - is a collaborative effort across EERE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), and Building Technologies Office (BTO).

Click Here to Read More: Energy.gov

Funding Opportunity: DOE NETL Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) – 2020 - $3 million

The Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory has announced a new Funding Opportunity Announcement. The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement is to research and develop next-generation building technologies that have the potential for significant energy savings and improved demand flexibility, affordability, and occupant comfort. An additional goal is to advance building construction, remodeling, and retrofit practices, and associated workforces. Proposals are due by January 20, 2021.

Click Here to Read More: Grants.gov

New Compilation of Resources Focus on Resilience in the Public Sector

The State and Local Solution Center website brings key resilience resources to one convenient location with the new web page, Resilience in the Public Sector. This web page highlights resources and tools from DOE and other organizations with the intention to inform states, local governments, and K-12 schools on various resilience and energy technology topics. Resources include:

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and DOE Webinar Series on Energy Lifelines Mitigation—FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance Division hosted two webinars on how to build resiliency in the energy sector

• Better Buildings Efficiency-Resilience Nexus —A DOE web page intended to help organizations in different sectors increase their ability to bounce back from natural disasters

• Interruption Cost Estimate Calculator—This DOE and Berkeley Lab tool estimates interruption costs and/or the benefits associated with reliability improvements.

Read More Here: Energy.gov

Wastewater Energy Management Toolkit

The Wastewater Energy Management Toolkit is a collection of resources that enables water resource recovery facilities to learn and benefit from the work of the DOE's Better Buildings Sustainable Wastewater Infrastructure of the Future (SWIFt) Accelerator. Toolkit resources support best practices and innovative approaches successfully used by wastewater facilities to establish and implement energy management and planning.

Click Here to Read More: Better Buildings

Electric School Bus Webinar Series

Please join DFW Clean Cities for parts two and three of this three-part webinar series on electric school buses, organized by key stakeholders across Texas. Fleet Managers, Energy & Facility Managers, and Directors of Transportation working for school districts are encouraged to attend all three webinars to learn about electric school buses from manufacturers and other experts.

Part 3
Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Time: 10:00 am CST
Registration: Here

Developing and Prioritizing Resilience Solutions within the Technical Resilience Navigator (TRN)

This training will focus on understanding key concepts of identifying resilience solutions that address resilience gaps at your site. The training will demonstrate how the TRN models and prioritizes resilience solutions based on risk reduction and other site-determined criteria. The training will include interactive exercises and a demonstration on the updated TRN web tool, helping attendees learn how the TRN could be used to enhance the energy and water resilience at their site. It is recommended that users have already created a TRN user account prior to this training.

Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Time: 12:30 - 2:30pm CST
Registration: Here

Taking Advantage of Demand Response and Time-Variable Pricing Offerings

This webinar will educate attendees on how they can take advantage of demand response programs and time-variable pricing offerings to save substantial amounts of money using load flexibility. It will briefly review the ways in which electric loads can be managed (e.g., dimming lights or letting temperatures rise slightly) then move into the breadth of demand response (DR) and time-variable pricing (TVP) offerings that are available to most facilities and how attendees can identify them.

Date: Tuesday, January 14, 2021
Time: 12:00 pm CST
Registration: Here

Available Programs and 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. In this session, we will be discussing programs offered by our community members, that will help building owners and managers to achieve the 2030 goals through current incentives, low to no cost programs and other resources.

Date: Thursday, January 14, 2021
Time: 8:30 am CST
Registration: Here

David & Goliath: Financing Energy Retrofits from the Tiny to the Giant

This webinar will explore the successful implementation of two energy efficiency projects, one small (less than $150,000) and one large (greater than $10 million); attendees will learn about the financial and operational challenges for each and how they were overcome. The webinar will feature a facilitated discussion to compare and contrast the lessons learned during project implementation.

Date: Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Time: 2:00 pm CST
Registration: Here

Risk Assessments: Evaluating Buildings Sites for Portfolio Resilience

Commercial real estate property owners are utilizing unique strategies to protect their assets against extreme weather events by evaluating building sites for resilience. This webinar will explore a variety of strategies to address climate-related risks and identify cost-effective strategies and improvements to protect occupants and assets from short and long-term risk.

Date: Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Time: 2:00 pm CST
Registration: Here

Green School Summit for School Leaders

Join school and district leaders from around the globe to share strategies for leading toward greener, healthier, and inspiring schools that engage students in meaningful experiences that drive achievement across the board. At this summit, learn from and connect with other leaders from school and school districts, exploring the lessons we have learned from this year of disruptions. Experts will share research and evaluation, and district and school leaders will share practical steps to continue to leverage sustainability in our efforts to innovate for 22nd century learning.

Date: February 4th and 5th, 2021
Time: 11:00 am - 4:00 pm CST
Registration: Here