News
New Resource: 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 U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Better Buildings Sustainable Wastewater Infrastructure of the Future (SWIFt) Accelerator. Energy efficiency improvements in equipment, processes, and operations can result in up to 50% energy savings in water resource recovery facilities. Toolkit resources support best practices and innovative approaches successfully used by wastewater facilities to establish and implement energy management and planning. The Toolkit is organized into four sections including:
Explore the Toolkit here.
Now Available: Resource for State and Local Leaders Exploring Bond Financing to Achieve Public-Sector Energy Goals
A new DOE-developed resource aims to make bond financing more accessible for non-finance energy professionals looking to achieve public-sector energy goals. The new resource, Leveraging Bond Financing to Support Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Goals: A Resource Summary for State and Local Governments, outlines the entire bond issuance process, the stakeholders involved, and the many considerations public officials must weigh before using bond financing. Download the resource or attend the Nov. 19, 2020, webinar to learn more.
Weatherization Assistance Program Launches Revamped Website to Support Weatherization Professionals
During Summer 2020, DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) launched a redesigned website to better serve users and leaders in the weatherization industry. The website helps grantees, sub-grantees, stakeholders, and industry professionals easily access key resources, including training materials, weatherization service providers, and critical documentation such as Weatherization Program Notices (WPNs) and Memorandums. Users can also sign up to receive emails with the latest WAP updates, WPNs and Memorandums on the homepage.
New Workplace Safety Training Available for WAP Professionals
Training for WAP administrative professionals is self-paced, online training designed for WAP sub-grantee staff and applicable to grantees, sub-contractors, and WAP stakeholders.
In response to COVID-19, a new online training has been added, available in English and Spanish. The 4-hour online class is intended for WAP-specific workers (grantees, sub-grantees, sub-contractors, and weatherization training centers) who are planning to, transitioning to, or have already begun returning to field operations.
Created by WAP training center professionals at the Energy Smart Academy at Santa Fe Community College, New Mexico, this online class covers:
- Safety precautions and protocols specific to WAP workers for consideration which align to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards and other Federal resources
- Communication approaches.
WAP administrative professionals can access the Workplace Safety Training here.
State and Local Solution Center Highlights 'Solution Pathways' in Redesigned Website
The State and Local Solution Center website provides technical assistance resources to enable strategic investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies through the use of innovative practices across the United States by a wide range of stakeholders, in partnership with state and local organizations and community-based nonprofits.
The newly redesigned State and Local Solution Center is organized around the Energy Efficiency Leadership Framework (Leadership Framework), created by leveraging industry resources, expertise, and best practices. The Leadership Framework consists of the following four Solution Pathways foundational to public-sector energy efficiency and renewable energy activities:
Visit the redesigned website to explore tools and resources.
Gain Easier Access to NREL Expertise Using a Newly Launched ‘Technical Service Agreement Mechanism’
In response to increased demand, U.S. state, local, and tribal jurisdictions can now more easily access National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) expertise using streamlined contracting terms. Tiered levels of service are offered, including:
- Ask an Expert: Phone interaction with an NREL technology, policy, economic, or regulatory expert
- RFP Review: Review of a request for proposals (RFP)
- Proposal Reviews: Review of proposal responses on clean energy projects
- Technical, Policy, and Regulatory Overview: NREL expertise on specific tools including introductory training, advice on integration of data, and/or review of outputs and interpretation
- Data Development: NREL staff to compile and provide known energy data on a location; and
- Advisory Committee Participation: NREL expertise for projects, programs, strategies, or policies.
For more information please reach out to STAT@nrel.gov.
Updated Wind Technology Data Available
DOE’s National Laboratories collect, track, and publish a variety of data on U.S. wind installations, technology trends, costs, prices, performance, and more for the offshore, land-based, and distributed wind sectors. Here is a roundup of the latest:
2019 Offshore Wind Technology Data Update
The U.S. offshore wind industry had a pipeline of 28,521 megawatts (MW) in various stages of development at the end of 2019. The amount of U.S. offshore wind capacity under federal and state permitting with a signed offtake agreement was 6,439 MW, a threefold increase from the previous year. State-level offshore wind commitments increased from about 19,000 MW in 2018 to 29,000 MW in early 2020. View a PowerPoint summary or download the 2019 Offshore Wind Technology Data.
Wind Energy Technology Data Update: 2020 Edition
The United States added 9,000 MW of new land-based, utility-scale wind power capacity in 2019, bringing the national total to 105.6 gigawatts. Wind power represented the second-largest source of U.S. electric-generating capacity additions in 2019 and provides more than 10% of electricity in 14 states. The national average price of wind power purchase agreements has dropped to less than 2 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), and the levelized cost of energy has dropped 60% in the past 10 years to $36 per megawatt-hour. Explore the 2020 Wind Technology Data Update here.
Virtual Events
Leveraging Bond Financing to Support Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Goals
Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020, 3–4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Join this webinar for state and local energy professionals looking to finance energy projects and more confidently discuss bond financing with public finance officers and executive leadership. The webinar will provide an overview of a new bond financing resource summary from the DOE designed to demystify bond financing for non-finance, energy professionals working in the public sector. Register for the webinar.
Infrastructure Investments in the News
Galveston, Texas, closes commercial PACE-financed deal: A $2.1 million project to turn a vacant brewery into climate-controlled rentable storage units will save 698,000 kWh of energy annually on Galveston Island—Galveston County's third PACE-financed project, and the first on the island.
Pennsylvania closes first commercial PACE-financed solar project: A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, daycare is installing a 212-kilowatt solar system that will meet nearly 100% of the building’s energy needs.