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CELC Edition
September has been an eventful month for us at SPEER and the City Efficiency Leadership Council Program! We recently concluded our statewide energy survey with a fantastic panel at the SPEER Industry & Policy Workshop. The workshop was a huge success, with experts and speakers sharing their thoughts on #txenergy. We were thrilled to have Rep. Erin Z. join us and advocate for incentivizing residential consumers to conserve energy. It's crucial that we continue our efforts towards energy conservation, especially with hotter summers and challenges with our grid. Don't miss out on the presentations from the workshop - check out our event recap page at https:/lnkd.in/dGf5PPrW. Let's keep the momentum going towards a more energy-efficient future!
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In this newsletter:
- Job Alert
- Graititude and Shout Out
- TX & OK Resilience Cohort
- Resilience Workshop + Happy Hour: Austin | October 26
- Upcoming Webinars
- Local Government Grants and Opportunities
- SPEER's Code Roadshow
- Local Government Policy
- What We're Reading
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Congratualations Award Winner! | Congratulations to the North Central Texas Council of Governments for receiving our Local Government Partner Award for their excellence in promoting energy efficiency in their community!! We're excited to continue our partnership and expand energy efficiency. | |
Thank you to all the CELC members who supported us in our cohorts and focus groups! | |
TX & OK Resilience Cohort | |
Apply for our Resilience Cohort! Local governments and retional planning councils in Texas and Oklahoma will learn how to assess climate change vulnerability and risk in thier communities during live, web-based training sessions and gain an understanding of resilience planning, climate & environmental equity, and more.
Please note that only local and regional governments in the states of Texas and Oklahoma are eligible to apply. Applications are due by November 16! You will be notified of the status of your application by December 1, 2023.
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SPEER & Zpryme Resilience Workshop + Happy Hour | |
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SPEER and Zpryme want to shine light on the power consumers hold in helping reduce grid stress and demand peaks. Together our organizations will co-host a workshop + happy hour in Austin on October 26th covering the role energy efficiency and policy can play in empowering consumers and provide more resiliency to our grid. Space is limited so register now!
Our Workshop and Happy Hour will bring together top minds in Texas energy to talk about how we can tap into our potential for a better, more reliable grid. In the next few week's, we'll be introducing our expert speakers, beginning with Michael Lee of Octopus Energy.
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Michael Lee, Octopus Energy
Michael has worked in the renewable energy industry for more than a decade and currently serves as CEO of Octopus Energy U.S. After earning his MBA from Harvard, Michael quickly unlocked his passion for cleaner and cheaper electricity, working on some of the first battery storage projects and developing solar solutions for global Fortune 500’s.
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Energy Codes and Residential Buildings: What every homeowner needs to know
Let’s demystify the complexities of the energy code and how they impact residential buildings. Whether you’re a homeowner, a prospective homebuyer, or a real estate inspector, this webinar will provide you with invaluable insights into the basics of energy codes, their implications on home construction and renovation, and their influence on property value. Don’t miss the chance to learn about the financial benefits of energy-efficient homes and get your questions answered in a live Q&A session!
Have a specific question you want addressed during the webinar? Email me before the webinar at rplumlee@eepartnership.org with the name of the webinar in the subject line.
When: Tuesday, September 26th, 10:30 AM
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IRA and IIJA for Energy Efficiency Teams
This webinar will provide an overview of IRA and IIJA with a particular focus on customer-facing programs including programs that can help promote the adoption of energy efficiency, building electrification, distributed energy resources, and electric vehicles.
Speaker: Erica Larson, Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs and Market Development of ICF
When: Tuesday, October 3rd, 10:30 AM
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For all upcoming webinars, trainings, workshops, and other educational events please visit or bookmark our calendar events page to stay up to date on our offerings! | |
Local Government Grants and Opportunities | |
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Clean Air Public Sector Fleet Grant
Applications are due on Friday, September 29, 2023 at 4 P.M. There is $4 million available to fund municipal alternative fuel infrastructure and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, alternative fuel vehicles, electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, alternative fuel off-road equipment, and electric off road equipment.
This grant program strives to improve air quality in Central Oklahoma and funding for the Clean Air for Public Sector Fleet Grant Program will be provided through the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) and the Carbon Reduction Program (CRP).
https://www.acogok.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ACOG-Clean-Air-PubFleet-Guidance-Book-2023.pdf
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NTXIA Urban Resilience Fellowship
The North Texas Innovation Alliance (NTXIA) is seeking entities to participate in their Urban Resilience Fellowship Program. The program will connect teams of students from higher education institutions across DFW with a community partner from local government or industry to develop innovative solutions to a pressing local issue. More information on this program is available on NTXIA’s website and in the flyer linked here.
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If your organization is interested in this program, please reach out to Yumna Bham (ybham@ntxia.org) with NTXIA to learn more.
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SECO Municipally Owned LED Lighting Retrofits RFA
The State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) partners with Texas local governments, county governments, public K-12 schools, public institutions of higher education and state agencies, to reduce utility costs and maximize efficiency. In furtherance of these goals, SECO recently posted a Request for Applications targeting Municipal Governments for LED lighting retrofits.
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Municipally Owned Interior and Exterior LED Lighting Retrofits RFA provides reimbursable grants to assist Texas municipal governments to replace existing lighting with high efficiency LED lighting.
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Applications Due: September 22, 2023
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Awards: Reimbursable grant amount available is up to $50,000 per successful application. All proceeds must be expended by August 31, 2024.
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DOE Community Energy Innovation Prize
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched the Community Energy Innovation Prize, a competition that will award up to $7.5 million in cash prizes as well as mentorship opportunities to organizations supporting innovation, entrepreneurship, capacity building, and economic development in communities historically underrepresented in climate and energy technology funding. Project funding includes Collegiate, Clean Energy Ecosystem, and Manufacturing Ecosystem tracks. Applications to compete in the Concept phase are now open for all three tracks.
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North Texas Facilities Expo: Oct 4th– 5th (come see Randy Plumlee at booth #325!)
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InterNACHI Houston: Oct 6th
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Southeast Texas 2021 ICC Training: Oct 10th – 13th. Randy Plumlee be stopping by Pasadena, Sugar Land, Port Arthur, Beaumont, Silsbee and Orange. **If you’re in the Houston area and would like to schedule a training with Randy Plumlee that week, please email him at rplumlee@eepartnership.org and we'll be happy to include your team in!
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NATEE Energy Conference: Oct 19th
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InterNACHI Waco: Oct 27th
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If you are aware of upcoming policy discussions or actions in your area and would like to share them in this newsletter, please send information to noaks@eepartnership.org.
Recent and Upcoming Local Government Policy Actions:
Statewide: The Public Utility Commission of Texas has requested public comments relating to Transmission and Distribution Resiliency Planning docket 55250. This public comment period is part of the implementation efforts from legislation passed during the 88th Legislature. Final comments from the public and stakeholders are due to the agency by October 6, 2023. For more information please visit the PUCT website here.
Austin: On September 21st the Austin City Council will consider items relating to Austin Energy, specifically authorization of rebates for multifamily and commercial customer energy efficiency measures by Austin Energy during FY 2023-2024. They will also consider approving the FY 2022-2023 Austin Energy Fund Operating Budget for increased appropriations for costs incurred due to Winter Storm Mara.
|  | Railroad Commission of Texas Proposed Rulemaking: §§7.480 and 7.460 | |
At its open meeting on September 19, 2023, the Railroad Commission proposed new rule §7.480 and amendments to §7.460. The proposal addresses House Bill 2263 (88th Regular Legislative Session, 2023) regarding energy conservation programs.
The proposal will be published in the Friday, October 6, 2023, issue of the Texas Register. Comments on the proposal will be accepted until 5:00 pm, Wednesday, October 25, 2023. The PDF version of the proposal is available at the link below.
For more information on this and other rulemakings, or to access the online comment form for any proposed rulemakings, please see the Proposed Rules page at this link:
http://www.rrc.texas.gov/general-counsel/rules/proposed-rules/
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