SEI Energy Briefing KEEA 2.27.18 Julian Boggs

SEI Feb 2018 Christina Simeone presentation

David Althoff – Presentation

Tony Bandiero – Presentation

P. Timothy Phelps – Presentation

Steve Krug, active board member of SEI, received the President’s Award from the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Institute of Architect earlier this month. Read more in the article by VISTA Today.

By Jennifer Wentz, Central Penn Business Journal

Gov. Tom Wolf hopes a soon-to-launch initiative will help Pennsylvania boost sales and production of solar-generated electricity. View the entire press release here.

The initiative is set to kick off in January 2017 with a meeting of government, business and environmental experts, according to a news release from the governor’s office. Groups will continue to meet throughout the year, with the project culminating by January 2018 in a draft plan for Pennsylvania’s solar future.

The plan would be made available for public comment and, six months later, would be available for use by policy makers, regulators, businesses, investors and consumers.

“This is an important step forward for us to better understand how we can increase Pennsylvania’s solar footprint long-term, which will provide more options for consumers and decrease emissions,” Wolf said in the release. “Alternative energy and lower-emission fuels like natural gas will help to decrease the impacts of climate change, which we know will have negative impacts on our air, our health and important industries, including agriculture and tourism.”

The plan will address strategies for meeting state energy goals, how to cost-effectively integrate solar energy into the current grid and measures to help low-income consumers, among other issues.

The goal is to speed up solar’s role in the state’s energy economy and increase solar-generated in-state electricity sales to at least 10 percent by 2030.

A $550,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy will help fund the project.

On Tuesday, October 25th, PECO presented on Act 129, Phase III, at the Chester County Economic Development Council. Thirty- five people attended this Breakfast Briefing hosted by the Smart Energy Initiative.

PECO representatives shared new information about the Smart Ideas program measures and incentives, as well as new resources and tools to help you close more projects.

Presenters included Mary Hall, Program Manager (Commercial & Industrial) at PECO and Ed Piscopo, Senior Economic Development Specialist, Economic & Business Development, PECO.

To view a short video of the key takeaway messages, visit the link here.

You can view the entire presentation here~Peco Smart Ideas For Your Business

The Smart Energy Initiative can help your organization maintain a competitive workforce with a grant to offset partial costs of energy-related training (eligible employers/trainees can receive a reimbursement of up to 50% of course costs for each trainee). Funding is provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry and the Chester County Workforce Development Board.

Eligibility & Conditions

• Trainees must be employed residents of Pennsylvania
• Training must occur between July 1, 2016 and June 30^th 2017
• The following 29 courses are currently eligible for reimbursement for the 2016-2017 program year:
  1. Passive House Institute of US, Verifier Certification
  2. Passive House Institute of US, Certified Consultant
  3. LEED Green Associate
  4. LEED Accredited Professional
  5. Energy Modeling for LEED Projects
  6. WELL Accredited Professional
  7. Well Being Standard
  8. NORA Gold Tank
  9. NORA Gold Hydronics
  10. NORA Gold Venting
  11. NORA Combustion Tune Up
  12. NORA Bronze Basic Oil Heat Technician
  13. WaterFurnace International Geothermal Residential Forced Air Equipment Training
  14. Building operator trainings: Building Science of Commercial Buildings (AM), and Building Operator Training and Re-tuning (PM)
  15. Enterprise Green Community Standard Workshop
  16. Association of Energy Engineers Certified Water Efficiency professional (CWEP)
  17. Association of Energy Engineers Certified Energy Manager
  18. Association of Energy Engineers Certified Building Commissioning Professional (CBCP)
  19. Association of Energy Engineers Certified Measurement & Verification Professional (CMVP)
  20. Association of Energy Engineers Certified Lighting Efficiency Professional (CLEP)
  21. BPI Certified Building Analyst
  22. BPI Certified Envelope Professional
  23. BPI Infiltration and Duct Leakage Certification
  24. BPI Recertification
  25. BPI Healthy Home Evaluator (HHE) Certification
  26. BPI Multifamily Certification
  27. Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) Verifier
  28. North American Technical Excellence (NATE) Certified Technician
  29. BREEAM USA In-Use Assessor Certification

If you or your employees have taken any of the classes listed above and you have not yet applied for grant funds, please contact us.  If you have an energy industry related class in which you are interested in taking, or have already taken, during this time frame and it is not on the list above please contact us; we may be able to revise the list.

As a condition of the funding grant, recipients are asked to report a training outcome for each employee, such as a projected wage increase, new title, or promotion. As required by the Department of Labor and Industry, trainees must provide their social security number (SSN) and complete a brief training evaluation following completion of the training.     SSNs are not retained and are used for state reporting only.

Disallowable costs include: conferences; non-certification or credential seminars, travel or other expenses; and lost wages or salary reimbursement.

Contact the Smart Energy Initiative with questions, request more information, or to receive timely notifications of SEI-approved training in the region.

On Wednesday, September 14, 2016, the Smart Energy Initiative (SEI) of Southeastern PA hosted an informative event for businesses and individuals with an interest in the energy industry. The “Leaders in LEED”  event was presented by our title sponsor, NRG Energy, and showcased the Saint-Gobain CertainTeed North American Headquarters at 20 Moores Road in Malvern, PA.  The event included a tour of Saint Gobain/CertainTeed, one of the world’s largest building materials companies, whose North American headquarters has achieved LEED Platinum status. During the tour and a panel presentation from building and sustainability experts, Saint-Gobain provided attendees with information about leading edge and innovative materials that help commercial buildings and residential homes achieve energy efficiency and well-being in places where people live.  In essence, the facility in Malvern, PA is a perfect example of a living lab.  See what #WorkingInALivingLab really means!

The event was a great success by all measures and we had a packed house!  Saint Gobain/CertainTeed had an engaged and knowledgeable group of guides to lead the over 80 attendees through the tour, which literally started from the arrival at the building and the approach to the front door!  The tour is accredited by AIA and GBCI which provided eligible attendees the benefit of receiving continuing education credits. Following the tour, the groups gathered to hear from a panel of experts who gave further details about how the company made decisions on the materials and sustainability features that were incorporated into the facility and work environment.  Attendees heard about emerging new technologies, and how similar techniques and concepts can be applied in other settings and buildings; very thought provoking!  The event was a great opportunity to learn about careers in the energy and building industry.  In fact, over 29 of the attendees were from regional high schools and colleges including students from Great Valley High School, West Chester Area High Schools, Downingtown STEM Academy, CCIU’s Pickering Campus, Temple University, and Villanova University.

Joining the students, businesses and individuals in attendance was PA state Senator Andy Dinniman who has been a supporter of smart energy opportunities and shared the following thoughts with the SEI team:   “Saint-Gobain’s North American Headquarters is a prime example of what can be accomplished when companies fully embrace clean energy and energy efficiency for both economic and environmental benefits,” state Senator Andy Dinniman, who serves on the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, said. “The way a vacant office building and brownfield was transformed into a world-class, LEED platinum certified office space is an achievement that we should not only be proud of, but one that we must impart to the next generation – the students and young people who will be the designers, engineers, and architects of tomorrow. I want to thank all the organizations and industry partners who made the Leaders with LEED program possible.”  The Smart Energy Initiative (SEI) team thanks Senator Dinniman for taking time to attend this event and for his continued support.

We appreciate Saint-Gobain/CertainTeed for graciously opening their doors to make this educational and informative event possible.   In addition to NRG, the SEI team thanks Bernardon,  Practical Energy Solutions, SunPower Builders, Keares Electrical Contracting, and Holiday Inn Express- Exton, for sponsoring this event!

The Smart Energy Initiative (SEI) of Southeastern Pennsylvania is an initiative of the Chester County Economic Development Council and is funded in part by private sector with grant funding received from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry through the Chester County Workforce Development Board.

By: Susan Phillips

Pennsylvania’s climate change action plan reports the greatest potential reductions in the state’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions could also create new jobs and increase household income by reducing energy costs. The Department of Environmental Protection released its 2015 Climate Change Action Plan Update on Friday, which outlines the economic impact of steps the state could take to cut climate warming emissions. Organized into 13 work plans, it serves as a roadmap for reducing the state’s carbon footprint and details legislative recommendations.

Topping the list of carbon reduction strategies is making newly constructed buildings more energy efficient. The DEP recommends that new buildings be built to use 60 percent less fossil fuels on average, based on energy consumption by structures built in 2005. The DEP recommends energy consumption reductions of 80 percent in new buildings, and by 50 percent in existing buildings, by 2030. That work plan ranks 5th in terms of economic benefits.

The winner for economic gains, includes making simple, inexpensive changes to tractor trailers, such as “truck skirts” that reduce drag and help 18-wheelers become more fuel efficient. Although that plan includes the most economic gains, it has the least amount of impact regarding carbon reductions. The EPA recently announced new rules that would force the country’s trucking fleet to become more fuel efficient by 2027.

Other recommendations that would cut greenhouse gas emissions include changes to lighting, both inside and outside of buildings, heating oil conservation and fuel switching, encouraging electric distribution companies to reduce consumer demand, coal mine methane recovery, combined heat and power development, and tree-planting to help sequester carbon.

The agency outlined 12 legislative recommendations. These include increasing the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard, investing in rooftop solar, cutting consumer energy use by expanding Act 129 to smaller electric distributors as well as natural gas providers, adopting the latest in energy building codes, requiring energy-use disclosure for real estate transactions, continuing programs that finance energy conservation projects for homeowners, increasing funds for manufacturers to conduct energy audits, and funding manure digesters.

A 2008 law known as the Pennsylvania Climate Change Act directs the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to publish two climate reports every three years. One is an overall climate change impact assessment. The other is an action plan for lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The macroeconomic analysis for this action plan was developed for DEP by the Center for Climate Strategies.

Wondering what Federal Tax Credits exist for Energy Efficiency and Alternative Energy products?  Energy Efficiency and sustainability continues to be a growing interest and the government is offering tax credits for making upgrades to a more energy efficient home!

These improvements greatly reduce the overall carbon footprint and impact on climate change.  The more of the population that gets on board with energy efficiency, the greater we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.   Help your customers understand the tax credits and value of installing these products.  Click here to learn more about the current tax credits available:

Tax Credits for Improved Home Sustainability:  Wondering what Federal Tax Credits exist for Energy Efficiency and Alternative Energy products?  Good news, many tax credits have been extended for home owners and for home builders.

Energy Efficiency Tax Credits for Home Owners:  The tax credits for the following products are effective through December 31, 2016.  Visit this link for more details and applications: https://www.energystar.gov/about/federal_tax_credits

• Windows and Doors
• Insulation
• Roofs
• HVAC: Central Air Conditioners, Air Source Heat Pumps, Furnaces and Boilers
• Water Heaters: Gas, Oil, & Propane Water Heaters, Electric Heat Pump Water Heaters
• Biomass Stoves
• Geothermal Heat Pumps
• Small Wind Energy Systems
• Fuel Cells

And, tax credits are still available for the following products (through 2021):

• Solar Panels
• Solar Water Heaters

Energy Efficiency Tax Credits for Home Builders:  Federal Tax Credits for Builders of Energy Efficient Homes.  The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 established tax credits of up to $2,000 for builders of new energy-efficient homes. This tax credit has been extended many times and is now set to expire at the end of 2016 click here for more details:   https://www.energystar.gov/about/tax_credits_home_builders