EERE: Solar Deployment Race, Water-Energy Nexus, and Building Automation

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

EERE Network News

MARCH 11, 2015

News and Events Energy Department's Race to 7-Day Solar Prize Competition to Speed Solar Deployment Energy Department Announces $6 Million to Accelerate Alternative Fuel Vehicle Market Growth U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center To Tackle Energy-Water Nexus Virginia Tech Selected to Continue Development of Innovative Building Automation System Site News March 12: Live Webinar on the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s FY2016 Budget Request EERE Blog Find Energy Incentives Quicker and Easier with DSIRE Open Data and Website

News and Events Energy Department's Race to 7-Day Solar Prize Competition to Speed Solar Deployment The Energy Department on March 4 announced final rules for the SunShot Prize: Race to 7-Day Solar competition, which challenges innovators around the country to develop solutions to reduce the time and processes involved in installing solar energy systems. Eligible teams will compete in two contests over 18 months to implement their creative solutions to cut the permit-to-plug-in time toward seven days for small PV systems of up to 100 kilowatts or seven weeks for large PV systems of up to 1 megawatt. During this period, the teams will demonstrate their innovations at-scale by deploying a minimum of 10 megawatts for the small-system contest or 15 megawatts for the large-system contest. The rate of solar energy installations across the United States has soared over the past few years, reaching more than 17 gigawatts of installed capacity—enough to power the equivalent of more than 3.5 million average U.S. homes. Despite tremendous gains in deployment and steady cost reductions for solar technologies, the process to install a solar energy system remains time-consuming and complex due to high non-hardware "soft costs," which currently make up more than half the cost of a solar energy system. See the Energy Department news release.    Energy Department Announces $6 Million to Accelerate Alternative Fuel Vehicle Market Growth The Energy Department on March 9 announced $6 million for 11 projects aimed at improving potential buyers’ experiences with alternative fuel and plug-in electric vehicles, supporting training, and integrating alternative fuels into emergency planning. Through the Energy Department's Clean Cities program, these projects address many of the challenges limiting the use of alternative fuel and plug-in electric vehicles, particularly in these three areas: on-the-road demonstrations, safety-related training, and emergency preparedness. The projects will be centered in 10 states—Florida, Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Five projects will enable consumers and fleets to drive alternative fuel vehicles for extended periods of time to help them better understand how these vehicles can meet their everyday needs. For example, a Tallahassee, Florida project will allow thousands of visitors in Orlando to rent and receive information on plug-in electric vehicles. Another five projects will focus on training for first responders, public safety officials, tow-truck operators, and collision repair specialists and teach these service providers how to safely handle alternative fuel vehicles. One project in Morgantown, West Virginia will not only develop a new curriculum, but provide it for free online and train educators that can present it in person. Also, an Arlington, Virginia project will incorporate alternative fuel and advanced vehicles into multiple emergency preparedness plans that address varied geographies and potential incidents. See the Energy Department news release and the complete list of winners.    U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center To Tackle Energy-Water Nexus The Energy Department on March 4 issued a $12.5 million funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for a new technical track under the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) that addresses water-related aspects of energy production and use. The solicitation calls for the formation of a U.S-based consortium to work with Chinese counterparts to bolster collaborative efforts to help ensure energy, water, and environmental security and combat climate change. The consortium will be funded with $12.5 million of Energy Department support and $12.5 million recipient cost share for a total of $25 million over five years. This U.S. investment will be matched by an equivalent effort in China, bringing the total bilateral investment to $50 million. The new energy-water track was initially announced in November 2014, when President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping renewed their commitment to CERC with $200 million in total funding over five years. In addition to expanding work under CERC by $50 million for research in energy and water, the announcement in November extends ongoing collaborative efforts to 2020, adding $150 million to continue initiatives already underway. The focus areas of these initiatives include the development and deployment of clean vehicles and building energy efficiency. The application deadline is May 4. See the Energy Department news release and the FOA.    Virginia Tech Selected to Continue Development of Innovative Building Automation System The Energy Department announced on March 4 that it has awarded the Virginia Polytechnic and State University Advanced Research Institute nearly $2 million to continue research and development of its Building Energy Management Open Source Software for small and medium-sized commercial buildings. Currently, small and medium buildings make up more than 95% of the floor space and consume about 50% of the energy used by commercial buildings in the United States each year. Most commercial buildings in the U.S. are small (less than 5,000 square feet) or medium-sized (between 5,000–50,000 square feet), and fall outside the scope of most commercial buildings automation systems. The goal of this project is to develop an open source software as a backbone for improving building automation systems that enable major building components to interconnect with each other. This includes heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, lighting, water heater, and significant ancillary loads. More interconnection among the systems will lead to improved occupant comfort, while reducing energy use and the cost of building ownership and operation. See the Energy Department news release.

Site News March 12: Live Webinar on the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s FY2016 Budget Request The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has rescheduled the last in a series of three live webinars on its Fiscal Year 2016 budget request. It will now be presented on Thursday, March 12, from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Deputy Assistant Secretary Doug Hollett will lead the presentation of the Energy Department's budget proposal for the renewable power sector with technology office directors providing in-depth presentations on the solar, geothermal, and wind and water technology office requests. The webinar will also provide an opportunity for participants to ask questions. See the Energy Department news release.

EERE Blog

Find Energy Incentives Quicker and Easier with DSIRE Open Data and Website By Strategic Programs Director John Lushetsky All across the United States, homeowners and businesses are saving money by installing technologies that conserve energy and cut carbon pollution. Upgrades such as new, energy-saving appliances and rooftop photovoltaic systems also help lower the nation’s overall energy usage and reduce environmental impacts like harmful greenhouse gas emissions. To empower more Americans to realize the benefits of clean energy technologies and solutions, government agencies offer several financial incentive programs that can reduce or defray installation or purchase costs. In an effort to help citizens quickly find these opportunities, the Energy Department established the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) 20 years ago. The database is operated by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at North Carolina State University. For the complete story, see theEERE Blog.