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NASEO Energy Program Best Practices

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programs for Potential Stimulus Implementation

The National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) is assembling a collection of State and Local renewable energy and energy efficiency programs for states to consider as they examine how best to utilize substantial funding resulting from the economic stimulus package or other funding sources.

Initially, we are grouping the identified programs by efficiency and renewables, and by sector within those categories. If states have suggestions for additional programs, please contact NASEO.


Energy Efficiency Programs

Public Buildings

  • ESPC Statewide Program Best Practices Guide
    ESC, in cooperation with NASEO, NAESCO, and NCSL, have identified a set of Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC) Best Practices and a related set of tools and guidance documents.
    Contact: Dale L. Hahs, Energy Services Coalition, dhahs@energyservicescoalition.org
  • Alabama Local Government Energy Loan Program
    The Local Government Energy Loan Program enables government entities and school systems to receive a zero-interest loan for energy efficiency improvements, energy audits, and retrofits of buildings.
    Contact: Karen Clifton, Program Manager, Karen.Clifton@adeca.alabama.gov, 800-392-8098
  • Schools for Energy Efficiency
    Schools for Energy Efficiency® (SEE) is a comprehensive program designed for K-12 schools to save energy and money by changing behavior throughout the district. Participating schools have seen immediate and sustainable results with annual energy use reduction ranging from 10-20 percent and most schools achieving national recognition through ENERGY STAR awards.
    Contact: Doug Karnuth, dkarnuth@seeprograms.com, 651.783.5630
  • Southeast Rebuild Collaborative
    Southeast Rebuild Collaborative (SRC) is a joint effort of the state energy offices of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. SRC pulls together the resources of these five states to provide information to assist individuals, school districts, state and local governments, colleges and universities, vendors, trade organizations, and other allies in member states to save energy, save money, and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.
    Contact: Keith Dennis, kdennis@cadmusgroup.com, 703.247.6177
  • Greening State Government: “Lead by Example” Initiatives
    In response to rising concerns about energy prices, reliance on imported oil, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, many governors are instituting “lead by example” measures that help their states achieve replicable cost and energy savings and that demonstrate their commitment to greener, cleaner state government. Given that state and local governments spend more than $11 billion a year on building-related energy costs1 and more than $2.5 billion a year on operations and maintenance for some 500,000 state-owned vehicles,2 the opportunities for savings are significant.
    Contact: Alison H. Partin, APartin@nga.org, (202) 624-5356
  • Wisconsin Lt. Governor Lawton's Energy Star School Challenge
    Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton issued the Wisconsin ENERGY STAR School Challenge, asking 100 school districts to become ENERGY STAR partners and reduce energy use by 10% or more across their building portfolios. Participating school districts agree to measure and track energy performance using EPA’s online energy management tool, Portfolio Manager and set goals and plan improvements based on ENERGY STAR Energy Management Guidelines.
    Contact: Matt Dulak, matt.dulak@wisconsin.gov, 608.266.3516
  • New Jersey Local Government Energy Audit Program
    The Local Government Energy Audit Program provides local governments with cost-subsidized energy audits for municipal- and local government- owned facilities to identify cost-justified energy efficiency measures. Participants benchmark energy use in EPA's Portfolio Manager to target and verify savings.

Residential

Commercial

  • Wisconsin Focus on Energy Business Incentive Programs
    Focus on Energy provides both custom and prescriptive incentives for businesses that implement energy efficient measures in new or existing buildings. For complex systems, Focus on Energy offers feasibility study grants for large facilities looking to perform comprehensive energy retrofits.
    Contact: Denise Curtin, denisec@weccusa.org, 800-969-9322 ext. 260
  • Pennsylvania Small Business Energy Efficiency Grants
    The Pennsylvania Small Business Energy Efficiency Grant program makes funds available to for-profit small businesses that are completing eligible energy efficiency improvements, including lighting, heating and cooling systems, process machinery, and building insulation projects. Under the program, applicants must benchmark in EPA’s Portfolio Manager and provide documentation supporting the projected energy savings, as well as one year’s worth of energy consumption data before and after the completion of the energy efficiency upgrade. Applicants are also required to install ENERGY STAR qualified equipment.
    Contact: Julien Gaudion, jgaudion@state.pa.us, 717.783.0909
  • New Jersey Pay for Performance Program
    Under the Pay for Performance program, commercial building owners are given technical assistance with developing and implementing an Energy Reduction Plan to reduce energy use by 15 percent or more. Participants benchmark energy use in EPA’s Portfolio Manager to verify the required 15 percent threshold savings.

Industrial

  • NYSERDA: Flexible Technical Assistance Program (FlexTech)
    FlexTech provides technical assistance for facility owners to make informed energy decisions. This service is provided to a full range of non-residential customers by consulting engineers under contract with NYSERDA. FlexTech provides its customers objective, individualized energy audits and feasibility studies.
    Contact: Mark Gundrum, mrg@nyserda.org, 518-862-1090 ext. 3256
  • Energy Efficiency Practitioner Certification Program
    A good example of effective federal and state collaborations can be found in a new program in which U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Qualified Specialists work with Purdue University's Technical Assistance Program (TAP) Energy Efficiency Services and Indiana's Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) initiative to increase industrial energy efficiency. The new worker training and certification program will benefit up to 28 manufacturers in North-Central Indiana in the very first round of activities.
    Contact: Ethan Rogers, earogers@purdue.edu
  • Combined Heat and Power in Action: Demonstration Projects Showcase Technologies
    Recognizing combined heat and power (CHP) as a realistic, near-term option for reducing energy use and emissions, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has actively supported technology R&D and demonstration projects during the past 10 years. This article showcases four successful DOE cost-shared CHP demonstration projects using a variety of technologies, and illustrates the broad applicability of CHP across industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities. It links to further information on CHP.
    Contact: Chad Woodworth, cwoodworth@naseo.org, 703-299-8800
  • Superior Energy Performance
    Superior Energy Performance provides industrial facilities with a road map for achieving continual improvement in energy efficiency while maintaining competitiveness. Superior Energy Performance will contribute toward a national energy efficiency goal to reduce industrial energy intensity by 25% over the next decade. The U.S. Council for Energy-Efficient Manufacturing guides the development of Superior Energy Performance. The Council is a cooperative effort that has brought together the respective strengths of industry, standards-making bodies, several federal agencies, national laboratories, universities, and technical experts. One of their first major initiatives has been to develop and test the Superior Energy Performance criteria during the Texas pilot program (2008-2009).
    Contact: Paul Scheihing, Paul.Scheihing@ee.doe.gov

Transportation

  • Arkansas LED Traffic Signals Project
    The Arkansas Energy Office (AEO) worked on a joint project with the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department to install LED traffic signals in 54 small communities in 2007.


Renewable Energy Programs

Wind

  • Wind for Schools Project
    A wind turbine located at a school provides students and teachers with a physical example of how communities can take part in providing for the economic and environmental security of the nation while allowing exciting, hands-on educational opportunities. The Wind for Schools project approach is to install small wind turbines at rural schools in six Great Plains states (CO, ID, KS, MT, NE, SD).
    Contact: Michael Kostrzewa, Michael.Kostrzewa@ColoState.EDU, (970) 491-7709

Solar

  • Elements of a Sustainable Solar City
    This DOE report serves as a guide for cities to create a comprehensive, city-wide solar plan for their community that facilitates mainstream adoption of solar and serves as a model for other cities to follow.
    Contact: US DOE, solar@ee.doe.gov
  • Solar Now! (OR)
    The Solar Now! campaign connects Oregonians with the resources and assistance they need to choose solar energy. Solar Now! is brought to you by Solar Oregon, Oregon Department of Energy, Energy Trust of Oregon and City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.
    Contact: Solar Now!, 1-877-546-8769
  • The PG&E Solar Schools Program
    PG&E's Solar Schools Program is teaching the value of alternative energy by turning school buildings into hands-on science experiments. This award-winning program is making science fun and teaching students how their everyday actions can impact the environment. Since its inception, PG&E has contributed more than $6 million to provide under-served public schools with demonstration photovoltaic systems and monitoring systems.
    Contact: The Foundation for Environmental Education, 415 561 2523

Biomass

Coming Soon

Geothermal

Coming Soon

Alternative Fuels

  • Clean Cities
    Clean Cities strives to advance the nation's economic, environmental, and energy security by supporting local decisions to adopt practices that contribute to the reduction of petroleum consumption. Clean Cities has a network of approximately 90 volunteer coalitions, which develop public/private partnerships to promote alternative fuels and advanced vehicles, fuel blends, fuel economy, hybrid vehicles, and idle reduction. These coalitions, many of which are nonprofit organizations, help states and communities deploy these technologies. Several states support their Clean Cities coalitions through grants and partnership activities.
    Contact: Linda Bluestein, Linda.Bluestein@ee.doe.gov, (202) 586-6116

Hydropower/Hydrokinetic

Coming Soon


Other Best Practices Resources

  • Maryland Energy Administration SEIF Proposed Programs Report
    The purpose of the Strategic Energy Investment Fund is "to decrease energy demand and increase energy supply to promote affordable, reliable and clean energy to fuel Maryland’s future prosperity."
    Contact: Maryland Energy Administration
  • New Mexico Energy Efficiency Strategy: Policy Options
    The report presents and analyzes 25 policy options that collectively can cut energy use per capita in New Mexico 20 percent by 2020. The 25 policies are grouped into several categories: utilities, public sector, building and appliances, industrial, transportation, and cross-cutting policies.
    Contact: Ken Hughes, khughes@state.nm.us , 505 476 3320
  • Job and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) models
    The Job and Economic Development Impact, or JEDI, models are easy-to-use models that analyze the economic impacts of constructing and operating power generation and biofuel plants at the local and state level. First developed to model wind energy development impacts, JEDI has expanded. We now offer models to analyze the job and economic impacts of biofuel plants and concentrating solar power, coal and natural gas power plants.
    Contact: Suzanne Tegen, Suzanne_Tegen@nrel.gov, 303-384-6939
  • ENERGY STAR Tools and Best Practices Supporting the Recovery Act
    Government agencies spend more than $10 billion a year on energy to provide public services and meet constituent needs - while grappling with tightening budgets. Yet nearly one-third of the energy used to run typical government buildings goes to waste. EPA provides local and state governments, as well as federal agencies, a proven energy management strategy and no-cost tools to save energy and money and demonstrate their environmental leadership.