In This Newsletter:
- New SPEER Blogs
- Celebrating Women's History Month with Women in Efficiency
- Earth Day
- Energy Thought Summit: April 11-14
- Webinar: Improve Your Bottom Line & Resiliency with Federal Resources
- SPEER Stucco Training Recap
- Air Quality Awareness Week
- CIRRUS Low Carbon Program - Commercial Buildings
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Just Released: New SPEER Blogs
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Energy Efficiency: Overlooked & Underutilized Grid Resource
The Texas Legislature directed the PUCT to weatherize generation facilities and reform the electricity grid through a slew of bills passed in 2021. By December, a two-phased proposal had been approved by the PUCT, which includes several provisions aimed at increasing capacity in hopes of ensuring a more resilient, reliable grid.
Demand-side market mechanisms for the energy grid in Texas are viable, cost-effective solutions to reduce total energy demand in the state as opposed to the supply-side mechanisms which has garnered most of the attention, yet are often more expensive and take longer to implement. With a potential energy efficiency rulemaking likely coming this year, now is the time to consider energy efficiency as the resource for Texas energy.
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Unstable Geopolitical and High Energy Costs Prove Transition to Clean Energy
Current events make it all too clear our reliance on fossil fuels makes the global economy and our energy security vulnerable to geopolitical crises. As we manage the energy transition and this short-term volatile, fossil fuel-centric energy reality, energy efficiency is not talked about enough and we are reminded that now is the time to quicken the transition to a renewable energy future.
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Celebrating Women's History Month With Our REEOs
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In honor of Women’s History Month, the SPEER team is proud to celebrate the many amazing women and leaders behind each Regional Energy Efficiency Organization (REEO). Dive into our recent blog and Q&A as we highlight their unique backgrounds, barriers, and influences as they support and encourage clean energy policies, innovative technology adoption, energy equity, and the expansion of efficiency across the nation. Meet the women and faces of energy efficiency!
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Earth Day is Approaching: Make it a Part of Your Daily Life
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Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd and was first held in 1970 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It now includes a wide array of events coordinated globally. The day reminds us of the little things we can do daily for a sustainable future.
We've provided some steps you can take to increase your sustainability on Earth Day and every day. Dive into our Earth Day blog for ways to support our environment and get involved with organizations to support Mother Nature.
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Energy Thought Summit: April 11-14
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Zpryme's ETS22 Power Up will bring together executive thought leaders to power-up conversations about the changing energy landscape. As the energy industry moves to decarbonize, an often overlooked resource is energy efficiency. Demand response programs can help reduce energy consumption to increase the resiliency of the grid while allowing customers to play a role in energy conservation. How can policy help remove barriers to enable and improve energy efficiency programs? SPEER's Policy Manager, Noah Oaks, will be covering these topics and more during the Energy Efficiency & Demand Response Policy session on Tuesday, April 12.
Register now for the Energy Thought Summit and use the links below for industry discounts:
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Webinar: Improve Your Bottom Line & Resiliency, and Meet ESG Goals, with Federal Resources
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The Texas Industrial Energy Efficiency Network (TIEEN), a network of publicly supported industrial energy-efficiency organizations, is hosting a webinar on new resources from the Federal Government. Billions of dollars in new funding for the energy industry is coming from the trillion-dollar Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) – popularly called the infrastructure bill – and from other sources. This webinar will provide an introduction to how government funding works and how it can help you, and then dig deeper into the specifics of the new funding opportunities, with presenters from government, industry, and publicly-supported industrial energy-efficiency organizations.
When: Wednesday, April 13, 2:00-3:30 PM Central
Speakers:
• Gavin Dillingham – Director for Clean Energy Policy, HARC
• Eddy Trevino – Director, State Energy Conservation Office
• Rob Klenner – Sr. Business Engagement and Strategy Lead, Baker Hughes and Carrie Murtland, Co-founder, ICE Thermal Harvesting
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SPEER Stucco Training Recap
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Improper stucco installation is one of the leading causes of builder litigation. Recently SPEER and member company Built to Save helped facilitate a training focused on inspection and installation guidelines for residential construction and instruction on stucco issues, deficiencies, and compliance with the International Residential Code (IRC). It kicked off with a 90-minute stucco presentation which you can watch here, followed by another short presentation on rainscreens. SPEER's Energy Code Manager, Jason, then led the 50+ attendees in the field and walked a home in the pre-stucco stage. As he says, "If you know about stucco you’ll know how terrifying the attached pictures are."
Code standards were discussed and topics included lath, plaster, weep screeds, fasteners, curing, support, and the crucial proper application of the weather-resistive barrier. If this is something your city or builders can benefit from, reach out to us and request a training.
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Air Quality Awareness Week: May 2-6, 2022
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Join Air Central Texas and others to "Be Air Aware & Prepared" as we celebrate Air Quality Awareness Week (AQAW) 2022. Hop over to their website for a recap of 2019's interview with Texas State Senator Eckhardt as she discusses the importance of protecting air quality in Central Texas. The goal is to promote events that increase air quality awareness and encourage people to check the Air Quality Index (AQI) daily
Daily featured topics include:
You can learn more and get involved with the Environmental Protection Agency's AQAW toolkit.
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CIRRUS Low Carbon Program
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U.S. buildings account for 39% of CO2 emissions and 76% of the nation's electricity consumption. New Buildings Institute (NBI) has partnered with PACE Equity to develop a low carbon specification to be used as the basis for specialty financing that rewards projects for pursuing a lower carbon design and construction option. This specification is for new construction and deep renovations of commercial properties. NBI provided the technical development and PACE Equity has developed a larger program around the standard called CIRRUS Low Carbon. Projects that follow CIRRUS Low Carbon will make a difference in reducing the 39% of U.S. carbon emissions that come from the built environment. CIRRUS Low Carbon is a practical standard based on ASHRAE 90.1 requirements and delivers 8% higher efficiency than the 2016 standard.
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AEE is hiring for two important director roles:
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