News

Better Buildings COVID-19 Resource Center

COVID-19 is an unprecedented challenge for state and local governments, building owners, plant managers, and employees. To help address this challenge, the Better Buildings Initiative has compiled resources from Better Buildings partners, affiliates, and other organizations that may prove useful in managing building operations and energy use during this time.

For more information, access the Better Buildings Resource Center: Dealing with COVID-19. Examples of resources from public-sector organizations include:

CO-Benefits Risk Assessment (COBRA) Tool Update

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released the latest version of the CO-Benefits Risk Assessment (COBRA) Health Impacts Screening and Mapping Tool, including the following updates:

  • Revised emissions baseline data
  • Updated population data
  • New health incidence data
  • Enhanced valuation data
  • Revised User’s Manual.

Learn more about these updates from EPA’s COBRA web page.

New Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) Tool Use-Cases 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) published two new use cases on how Kentucky’s Office of Energy Policy and the Utility National Grid used the Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) Tool to support energy-efficiency initiatives for low-income households. Read the use cases to learn more:

Clean Energy Employment Initial Impacts from the COVID-19 Economic Crisis

The header image for an analysis of unemployment data by BW Research for E2, E4TheFuture, and the American Council on Renewable Energy.

An analysis of unemployment data by BW Research for E2, E4TheFuture, and the American Council on Renewable Energy shows that the U.S. clean energy sector added 106,320 jobs in June, leaving over half a million (514,270) clean energy workers out of work despite nationwide re-openings. Despite the gains in June, there remains a nearly 15% decline over pre-COVID-19 employment levels.

Energy efficiency, the largest clean energy sector, experienced a 4% gain in employment, with the addition of approximately 71,800 jobs. The energy efficiency sector continues to suffer from 360,000 job losses impacting a full 15% of its workforce. For a full breakdown of clean-energy job losses in each state, view the full analysis.

New Report Identifies K–12 School Building System Improvement Needs

A national survey from the U.S Government Accountability Office finds an estimated 54% of school districts need to renovate or update multiple building systems in their schools. Additionally, 41% of school districts need to replace heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in at least half of their schools—an estimated 36,000 schools nationwide. 

The report finds that the most common priority for school districts is improving security, which is sometimes prioritized over the need to replace building systems. The resource also includes information about how facility improvements around the country are funded in different states and districts. Access the report for more information: School Districts Frequently Identified Multiple Building Systems Needing Updates or Replacement.

DOE Publishes 100-Meter Northeast Wind Resource Maps

The ability to assess and characterize available wind resources is critical to the development, siting, and operation of a wind plant. DOE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) recently released the first in a series of regional wind-resource maps, featuring the Northeast region of the United States (maps for regions covering all 50 states will be available in the coming months, with Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes region maps published by the end of the year).

These maps provide a comprehensive picture of the wind speed at 100 meters above surface level for policymakers, communities, and other stakeholders to better understand the wind resource potential. The following land-based maps are included in the Northeast suite:

  • Vermont and New Hampshire
  • Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island
  • Maine
  • New York.

New offshore wind resource maps are available for:

  • Gulf of Maine (Maine, New Hampshire, and the northern half of Massachusetts)
  • New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

NREL developed the maps using modeled wind resource estimates from the Wind Integration National Dataset Toolkit. While these maps can provide a general indication of good or poor wind resources, they do not provide a resolution high enough to identify local site features such as complex terrain, ground cover, and data needed prior to siting a wind project. For more wind-resource maps, see the WINDExchange website. Download wind datasets from NREL and learn more about wind resource assessment and characterization on DOE’s website.

New Partnership to Strengthen Solar Cybersecurity

Rooftop solar installations enable a two-way flow of energy between utilities and their customers, which can create vulnerabilities. That’s why a project funded by the DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office is developing an online cybersecurity toolkit to ensure grid-connected solar is safe and secure.

NASEO and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners created a solar cybersecurity working group to develop the toolkit, consisting of state energy officials, public utility commissioners, solar industry stakeholders, cybersecurity experts, utility representatives, and other relevant stakeholders. The toolkit will improve utilities’ ability to respond to cybersecurity threats related to solar and other distributed energy resources, and will help regulators, utilities, and state and local governments pursue policies, plans, and partnerships for cyber-secure solar infrastructure in their jurisdictions. Learn more about the project.

New Report on Solar PV in Severe Weather

DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program and NREL recently published a report on Cost Considerations for Storm Hardening Photovoltaic (PV) Systems for Resilience, which focuses largely on specific design features that can help make PV system’s more resilient and provides initial estimates for the up-front cost premiums for various methods of storm hardening PV systems.

Demonstration Shows How Wind Can Help Maintain Reliable Electricity System

New research has demonstrated that commercial wind power plants can supply more than just power—they can help grid operators maintain a reliable electricity system. With support from WETO, a research team comprised of NREL, Avangrid Renewables, the California Independent System Operator, and General Electric conducted a field demonstration showing how large, utility-scale wind power plants can provide essential grid services that ensure smooth and continuous flow of electricity on the power grid.

Sweeping Changes to Animation Broaden Understanding of Wind Power

A screenshot of the wind turbine animation.

Renovations to the popular How a Wind Turbine Works animation improve public understanding of how wind power works. Featuring several new features, the animation now includes an offshore direct drive wind turbine view and revised explanations about how major parts of a wind turbine work to convert wind energy into electricity. The animation will continue to receive periodic updates.

First-Ever Virtual Collegiate Wind Competition Winners Announced

After four days of intense virtual presentations and judging by a panel of wind industry experts, DOE announced the winners of the 2020 Collegiate Wind Competition. The winner of the Turbine Digital Design contest is California State University Maritime Academy and the winner of the Project Development contest is James Madison University. Read more.

Infrastructure Investments in the News

Washington enacts C-PACER legislation for clean energy and resiliency: Washington state's new Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resiliency (C-PACER) program aims to address the need for property owners to finance energy efficiency upgrades, renewable energy improvements, stormwater management, water conservation, and resiliency retrofits to address vulnerabilities to earthquakes and other natural disasters.

Oregon Department of Transportation to convert 8,000 street lights to LEDs: The Oregon Department of Transportation has initiated a streetlight conversion pilot program, which will involve replacing more than 8,000 high-pressure sodium lighting fixtures with light-emitting diodes (LEDs).