Explore New Energy Efficiency Data on the SLOPE Platform

The State and Local Planning for Energy (SLOPE) Platform is a free one-stop shop to support data-driven state and local energy and decarbonization planning. Recent energy efficiency data additions include:

1. A new option in the Scenario Planner tool that allows users to view the projected changes, systems-wide costs, and savings in energy consumption and CO₂ emissions if their selected state or county pursues a high level of energy efficiency deployment within their building stock.
2. Statewide commercial energy efficiency savings potential in the Data Viewer to help users understand the total energy savings potential available within their commercial building stock for both electricity and natural gas sources. The tool also provides the top ten savings measures within a state such as LED lighting, window films, or boiler upgrades, as well as complementary data for the residential sector. 

SLOPE can now help answer questions such as:

• To what degree can my jurisdiction reduce energy consumption in the commercial sector and which efficiency measures have the greatest impact?
• How much can my jurisdiction reduce its CO₂ emissions by from pursuing the best available energy efficiency technologies within our commercial building stock and/or our residential building stock?
• Which counties within my state have the greatest energy efficiency potential?

Visit SLOPE to learn more about your jurisdiction's energy efficiency potential and access data to support the development of energy efficiency programs, targeted policies, and high-impact deployment opportunities.

New Report Recognizes 12 Organizations for Achieving Energy and Water Reduction Goals

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $15.3 billion in energy savings through the Better Buildings Initiative, a public-private partnership with more than 900 businesses, state and local governments, utilities, housing authorities, and other organizations across the United States pursuing ambitious energy, waste, water, and/or greenhouse gas reduction goals and sharing their solutions.

These savings represent 155 million metric tons of carbon emissions, or roughly the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by 20 million homes in one year. Decarbonizing America's building sector is a key part of President Biden's plan to reach a net-zero carbon economy by 2050. 

For more information, read the full 2022 Better Buildings Progress Report.

DOE Releases New Guide for State and Local Leaders

The DOE Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs Office (WIP) released a new guide that aims to help state and local governments implement cost-effective and productive energy systems for American homes, communities, businesses, and industries.

The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Resource Guide for State and Local Leaders compiles popular technical assistance resources and initiatives available to states, local governments, and K–12 school districts. This resource also highlights technical assistance offerings from other DOE offices, where to apply to DOE funding, and more.

Download the guide on the State and Local Solution Center.

The Solar Energy Technologies Office's SolSmart Program is Expanding

SolSmart, a national designation program recognizing cities, counties, and regional organizations that foster the development of mature local solar markets, is expanding to new communities.

The updated program has a goal to designate 500 communities over the next five years and will add new areas of focus around solar and storage, low- and moderate-income solar financing, and other strategies to accelerate deployment.

According to a recent article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, participating in SolSmart is associated with an increased installed capacity of 18–19% per month for those communities.

Communities interested in earning a SolSmart designation can sign up at any time by visiting the SolSmart website.

New Report Details States' Workforce Needs for Deploying Clean Energy Technologies

DOE announced the release of a report that provides clean energy workforce projections for 2025 and 2030 to help states and other stakeholders make informed decisions about their investments in clean energy deployments and workforce development activities. 

The report, titled State-Level Employment Projections for Four Clean Energy Technologies in 2025 and 2030, provides a simple and transparent method for states to estimate the size of the workforce in 2025 and 2030 needed to support deployments for energy efficiency in buildings, stationary battery energy storage, solar photovoltaics, and land-based wind. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed the report with support from funding from DOE's State Energy Program. 

In addition to national estimates, the report includes fact sheets for all 50 states with technology-specific job projections and methodology notes. States and others may further adapt the job estimates contained in this report to their own deployment forecasts or goals to tailor them to their local contexts and needs. Access the state-level estimates through the map on the NREL website.

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy Releases a New Retrofit Report

Comprehensive retrofits of commercial buildings can reduce their energy use by up to 40% but are not happening anywhere near the scale needed to meet climate goals, according to a report released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). With new federal funds available for such energy-saving upgrades, the report offers a roadmap for how utilities and policymakers can start or expand robust retrofit programs that include more than just lighting.

Read more from the report on the ACEEE website.

DOE Awards $3.6 Million to Promote Equity and Diversity in Clean Energy Innovation

DOE announced 18 finalists in the Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize, a first-of-its-kind competition to support entrepreneurship and innovation in communities underserved in federal climate and energy technology funding. These groups and organizations received $200,000 in cash and mentoring support to create bottom-up solutions for sustainable development. Winners will be announced next spring.

Read the DOE announcement to explore phase one winners.

Kansas State University Wins Collegiate Wind Competition

DOE convened universities and wind energy experts from around the country in the 2022 Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC). Kansas State University rose above 11 other competing teams to claim first place in the annual event.

The 2022 CWC focused on the theme of siting, outreach, and development challenges associated with fixed-bottom offshore wind energy projects. Over the course of the 2021–2022 school year, 12 competing teams and four learn-along teams designed, built, and tested model wind turbines, developed project plans, collaborated with industry experts, and engaged with their local communities.

The competition culminated at the American Clean Power Association's (ACP) CLEANPOWER 2022 Conference and Exhibition, where the teams tested their models in a wind tunnel and presented their work to a panel of wind energy experts.

Distributed Wind Assessment of Remote Alaskan Village Reveals Significant Projected Cost Savings

A study of the value of distributed wind energy in a remote area of Alaska shows that the standalone wind turbine installed for a rural community provides significant economic and climate benefits, indicating that other remote communities could also achieve similar beneficial results from wind energy.

The study centered around distributed wind energy—meaning wind turbines that power nearby individual homes, businesses, and communities—in the tiny western Alaskan village of St. Mary's. Results of the study provide information that can help utilities, as well as federal and state lawmakers make sound decisions about installing distributed wind turbines to support other villages' remote microgrid systems.

The study was conducted by a research team from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Sandia National Laboratories and published in the journal Energies. Access the study on the PNNL website.

DOE Updates Mobile Home Efficiency Standards to Lower Household Energy Bills

DOE adopted new energy standards for manufactured housing—commonly referred to as single-section and multi-section mobile homes—that will help consumers save hundreds of dollars on their annual utility bills and slash carbon emissions by 80 million metric tons, which is equivalent to the energy use of over 10 million homes in one year. Once implemented, the new efficiency standards, which include updates to insulation and sealing requirements, will help bring the country closer to reaching President Biden's goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.  

Read more about DOE's energy efficiency rules.

Smaller Cities Can Score Clean Energy Progress with Updated Tool

ACEEE released its updated Local Clean Energy Self-Scoring Tool, enabling small and midsize cities to measure their progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and saving money through energy efficiency and clean energy. The new version of the tool places greater emphasis on whether cities are focusing on racial and social equity in their clean energy policies. It expands its focus on whether cities' clean energy policies are achieving measurable progress.

eProject eXpress Training

July 11, 2022, 1–2 p.m. ET

Are you working on energy projects in the K–12 space? DOE and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) released eProject eXpress (ePX), a streamlined tool to help state and local governments implement energy savings performance contracts (ESPC) and reap the benefits of energy efficiency. ePX unlocks new capabilities to meet the unique data management and reporting needs of the municipal and state governments, universities and colleges, schools, and hospitals market. Using ePX can significantly reduce customers' costs and staff time associated with tracking project data and contract agreements and clearly demonstrate the success of energy efficiency programs.

DOE and LBNL are providing a free, one-hour webinar focused on how ePX works for managing large capital projects and federal funding at K–12 schools so they can use ePX to strengthen their ESPC projects and programs.

Register for the July 11, 2022, ePX webinar.

In addition to the upcoming training, a recording of the ePX launch event is available on the Better Buildings Solution Center website.

Sign Up for The Better Buildings Webinar Summer Series

The Better Buildings Webinar Series takes on the most pressing topics facing energy professionals, with new experts leading the conversations on proven best practices, cost-effective strategies, and innovative new ways to approach sustainability and energy performance.

To browse all upcoming webinars, view the Better Buildings Event Calendar. You can also visit the on-demand webinars page for other webinars you may have missed.

State and Local Leaders in the News

A New Weatherization Development Project in Boston Employees Historically Underrepresented Individuals
After three years of research and planning, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Boston was awarded internal funding to create a pilot program centering climate and racial equity in their workforce programming. Through the Bridges to Green Jobs pilot program, LISC, Roxbury Center for Financial Empowerment, and other local partners will provide industry-specific technical training to community members interested in green energy careers—a field that is growing rapidly in Massachusetts.