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At least 37 records · Page 2

An Ally in Your Corner: Benefits of Using Owner's Representatives

This short guide provides prospective ESPC customers with key considerations for retaining an owner's representative ("owner’s rep"), specifically regarding recommended areas of competency and qualifications. It also provides a summary of resources to help with finding or soliciting owner's rep services. This information may also be valuable for ESPC program administrators considering how to promote the use of owner’s reps for projects in their state.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Packaged Combined Heat and Power Technology Overview and Market Profile

Combined heat and power (CHP), sometimes referred to as cogeneration, is an efficient and clean approach to generating electric power and useful thermal energy onsite from a single fuel source, offering reliable and affordable energy services to businesses and institutions. Furthermore, CHP provides a cost effective opportunity to improve the environmental footprint and resilience of industrial and commercial facilities across the United States. CHP equipment can be custom-engineered or installed as a predesigned and assembled package. A packaged CHP system is a standardized, pre-engineered system that includes all equipment, piping, wiring, and ancillary components to deliver electricity and thermal energy to a host facility with minimal onsite engineering and design time. Packaged CHP systems can be shipped as single or multiple modules with standard interconnections (e.g., fuel; electrical; thermal—hot water, steam, and/or chilled water), which simplifies installation and reduces the costs associated with the project. Most containerized or single packaged CHP system offerings range from 10 kW to 3 MW in capacity. Packaged CHP systems are extending the operating, efficiency, and emissions benefits of CHP to nontraditional markets in commercial, institutional, multifamily, light manufacturing, government, and military applications. These markets tend to be served by smaller systems (less than 5 MW) that are conducive to pre-engineered packaging and/or modularization. Many of these sectors have limited CHP experience and technical resources to adequately evaluate, install, and maintain onsite CHP systems. The introduction of packaged CHP offerings from experienced CHP Packagers and Solution Providers has accelerated CHP adoption, lowered energy costs, reduced emissions, and strengthened energy resilience in these sectors. In 2019, the US Department of Energy (DOE) launched the Packaged CHP eCatalog to promote increased acceptance of efficient, cost-effective CHP in these applications. The Packaged CHP eCatalog is a web-based, searchable platform that hosts DOE-recognized packaged CHP systems with features designed to reduce economic and performance risks for designers, developers, owners, and facility operators interested in installing CHP. DOE established the Packaged CHP Accelerator at the same time to help launch and publicize the eCatalog, and to validate project performance, cost, and installation time of CHP packages across a variety of applications. Accelerator efforts documented installed cost reductions and installation time reductions of more than 20% for packaged CHP systems over 100 kW compared with custom-engineered systems. The Packaged CHP Accelerator and eCatalog established a peer-to-peer network connecting public and private sector partners including utilities, state energy offices, and energy efficiency program administrators interested in promoting cost-effective, efficient CHP systems, Packagers, and Solution Providers. Feedback from these partners, along with input from DOE’s CHP Technical Assistance Partnerships (CHP TAPs), was critical in understanding the current market for packaged CHP technologies, stimulating investment in these technologies, and guiding future directions for packaged CHP systems and their applications. This report provides background on packaged CHP systems, an overview of their benefits, a profile of current packaged CHP installations, and a summary of future market trends; this report is intended for facility owners, project developers, engineers, policymakers, and other stakeholders looking to increase the adoption of efficient, flexible, and resilient packaged CHP systems.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project: Bainbridge Island, Washington: Cohort 2 Technical Assistance: Improving Resilience

The City of Bainbridge Island (COBI) applied for and received technical assistance from the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Program (ETIPP) in part to achieve their goal of 100% renewable electricity generation by 2040, five years ahead of the Washington State goal. Their second goal of increasing energy resilience is discussed in this report. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) completed the technical analysis aspects of the project, supported by the community partner Spark Northwest and the program administrator, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). PNNL worked with the Community Lead and stakeholders to ensure selection of hazards and energy infrastructure of highest priority and integration of existing expertise into the analysis. We have also worked to align analysis with current activities conducted by Puget Sound Energy (PSE), and other efforts within the Bainbridge Island community around resilience. This report, conducted under the ETIPP project in partnership with COBI, aims to build on this existing knowledge base with a specific energy focus, to identify hazards and threats to critical energy infrastructure, summarize the risk, and identify and analyze remaining resilience gaps.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Plowing Through the Cost Barrier: Zero Energy K-12 Schools for Less: Preprint

There is a perception that zero energy K–12 schools cost more than conventional schools. Zero energy schools provide a number of unique benefits to school districts, students and staff, and communities. Among other things, a zero energy school requires far less energy to operate than a conventional school and uses on-site renewable energy systems to offset that reduced energy load. The money saved on energy can often be used to enhance educational programs. But does the extra value come at a premium? Research findings indicate that not only can zero energy schools be designed and built on conventional school budgets, they can cost less. In an integrated design and construction process, the cost of zero energy measures can be offset by, for example, downsizing heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems, reducing both life cycle and first costs. These findings are based on an examination of 88 zero energy or zero energy ready schools across the United States built during the last 15 years. The data collected on these schools include capital costs and the experiences of owners and design teams. The goal was to understand the perceived cost barrier, given that each building was built with a predetermined budget. The results will help future school stakeholders, program administrators, and design teams counter the perceived cost barriers. Successful strategies for achieving zero energy at no initial cost are presented. The lessons learned from existing zero energy schools can help transform the market such that all new schools can be zero energy.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Characteristics of Veterans With Depression Who Use the Veterans Choice Program of the Veterans Health Administration

Objective: The Veterans Choice Program (VCP) of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) allowed eligible veterans to use their benefits with participating providers outside the VHA. The authors aimed to identify characteristics of veterans with depression who used or did not use mental health care through the VCP. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the authors analyzed secondary data from the national VHA Corporate Data Warehouse. VHA administrative data were linked with VCP claims to examine characteristics of VCP-eligible veterans with depression. Further, the study sample included 595,943 unique veterans who were enrolled in the VHA before 2013, were eligible for the VCP in 2016, were alive in 2018, and had an assessed Patient Health Questionnaire–9 (PHQ-9) score or depressive disorder diagnosis documented in the VHA between 2016 and 2018. Results: Veterans who used the VCP had lower medical comorbidity scores and lived in less socioeconomically disadvantaged counties, compared with veterans who received only VHA care. VCP veterans were also more likely to have a PHQ-9 score assessment and to have higher mean depression scores. Mean counts of annual mental health visits per 1,000 veterans were markedly higher for direct VHA care than for care provided via the VCP. As a percentage of the total counts of visits per 1,000 veterans across the VCP and VHA, residential programs and outpatient procedures were the services that were most frequently delivered through the VCP. Conclusions: Between 2016 and 2018, the VCP was used primarily to augment mental health care provided by the VHA, rather than to fill a gap in care.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Developing Subgrantee Administrative Training for the Weatherization Assistance Program

During Fiscal Years (FY) 2019 and 2020, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed a series of online trainings for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) to support Subgrantee administrative professionals. NREL and its subcontractor developed a series of online administrative trainings for WAP Subgrantees. In total, 29 administrative training courses were developed for WAP Subgrantees, focused on the following job roles: Weatherization Director, Fiscal Manage, Quality Assurance Manager. As of September 8, 2020, 2,840 users in nearly all WAP Grantee jurisdictions had registered with the learning management system and completed over 23,000 courses. This report provides a summary of the development process, rollout, and outreach to the WAP network, user response, and lessons learned.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Learning Management System User Requirements for the National Nuclear Security Administration's International Nuclear Safeguards Engagement Program

The National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) International Nuclear Safeguards Engagement Program (INSEP) is considering investing in new tools that would allow the program to support its partner states from a distance. At the same time, the program is considering approaches that would allow several organizations, including NNSA, IAEA, national laboratories and contractor staff, to collaborate in the development and maintenance of instructional content. Software systems known as Learning Management Systems (LMSs) might represent a mechanism through which INSEP could accomplish these goals (collaborative development and remote support). To assess the usefulness of an LMS, INSEP has specified its needs for delivering online training and compared those needs to the capability of a range of LMSs. This comparison will allow INSEP to determine whether an LMS would be a useful tool and may set the stage for a "make-buy" decision in the future. The study team concluded that INSEP's content development and delivery needs align well with the capabilities of the leading LMSs on the market today and that that INSEP performance requirements allow for a customized approach using existing training portals that are already available to NNSA. Additional work would be required to specify the desired processes for developing online training and outreach materials, structuring the databases, specifying the data that should be collected, and detailing the desired system reports and documentation.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

Vouchers to Enable Laboratory and Organizational Collaboration for Innovation and Technology Improvements (VELOCITI) (Abstract)

For the past several years, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) have provided technical assistance to the recipients of Department of Energy (DOE) -funded voucher programs, namely American-Made Challenges (AMC), the Incubator Program, and the Small Business Vouchers Program. Drawing on lessons learned and from first-hand experiences, NREL and SNL are co-leading a new holistic and streamlined voucher program aimed at strengthening ties between American innovators and the national labs. This new program, “Vouchers to Enable Laboratory and Organizational Collaboration for Innovation and Technology Improvements,” or VELOCITI, will leverage the successful elements of past programs, create administrative efficiencies, and enable the buildout of a national program to drive strong relationships between entrepreneurs and the national labs to accelerate the roll-out of new technologies in the US solar sector.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Vouchers to Enable Laboratory and Organizational Collaboration for Innovation and Technology Improvements (VELOCITI) Round 6 (Abstract)

For the past several years, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have provided technical assistance to the recipients of Department of Energy (DOE)-funded voucher programs, namely American-Made Challenges (AMC), the Incubator Program, and the Small Business Vouchers Program. Drawing on lessons learned and from first-hand experiences, NREL is leading a new holistic and streamlined voucher program aimed at strengthening ties between American innovators and the national labs. This new program, “Vouchers to Enable Laboratory and Organizational Collaboration for Innovation and Technology Improvements,” or VELOCITI, will leverage the successful elements of past programs, create administrative efficiencies, and enable the buildout of a national program to drive strong relationships between entrepreneurs and the national labs to accelerate the roll-out of new technologies in the US solar sector. This work will develop a comprehensive techno-economic assessment to understand the potential of repurposed batteries to achieve the DOE’s target of 5 cents per kWh Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS), thereby facilitating the more affordable and widespread adoption of solar energy.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Hawaii Fish Company Inc. Technical Assistance Voucher (Abstract)

For the past several years, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have provided technical assistance to the recipients of Department of Energy (DOE) -funded voucher programs, namely American-Made Challenges (AMC), the Incubator Program, and the Small Business Vouchers Program. Drawing on lessons learned and from first-hand experiences, NREL is leading a new holistic and streamlined voucher program aimed at strengthening ties between American innovators and the national labs. This new program, “Vouchers to Enable Laboratory and Organizational Collaboration for Innovation and Technology Improvements,” or VELOCITI, will leverage the successful elements of past programs, create administrative efficiencies, and enable the buildout of a national program to drive strong relationships between entrepreneurs and the national labs to accelerate the roll-out of new technologies in the US solar sector. This work will evaluate Hawaii Fish Company’s (HFC’s) floating renewable energy-powered aeration systems, designed primarily for aquaculture ponds, with crossover applications to farm ponds, reservoirs, and other water bodies. Notably, HFC’s systems include a variety of configurations, such as direct-solar systems, battery-storage systems, and systems with a secondary wind turbine option. HFC is planning to refine and commercialize their renewable energy aeration platforms. Presently, HFC is fabricating multiple configurations of the systems for deployment in multiple locations in the U.S. PNNL will apply technical expertise to assist in these goals, benefitting the industry partner by giving them an understanding of the performance of their systems. The technical objectives of this project are to understand system performance and reliability, determine a path toward certification, and model the performance of the systems in different locations.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

CRADA 611 Noria Energy R6 (Abstract)

For the past several years, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have provided technical assistance to the recipients of Department of Energy (DOE) -funded voucher programs, namely American-Made Challenges (AMC), the Incubator Program, and the Small Business Vouchers Program. Drawing on lessons learned and from first-hand experiences, NREL is leading a new holistic and streamlined voucher program aimed at strengthening ties between American innovators and the national labs. This new program, “Vouchers to Enable Laboratory and Organizational Collaboration for Innovation and Technology Improvements,” or VELOCITI, will leverage the successful elements of past programs, create administrative efficiencies, and enable the buildout of a national program to drive strong relationships between entrepreneurs and the national labs to accelerate the roll-out of new technologies in the US solar sector.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Weatherization Assistance Program and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program for Solar Survey Responses and Plan

This data contains the results of surveys given to Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)/Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) administrators in 2022, 2023, and 2024, as well as spreadsheets coding states' annual LIHEAP and WAP plans from 2021, 2022, and 2023 for mentions of solar energy. This data is the second version of the original dataset which has been updated to include the most recent years of LIHEAP and WAP plans. The original version of the dataset is also part of this record but has been deprecated.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

A Systematic Assessment of US Food and Drug Administration Dosing Recommendations For Drug Development Programs Amenable to Response‐Guided Titration

A key goal in drug development is optimized dosing for patients. Interactions between drug developers and regulatory scientists throughout development are important for the optimization of dosing and serve as a forum to discuss approaches for optimal dosing, such as precision or individualized dosing. To date, there has not been a systematic assessment of the advice provided by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to drug developers from an individualized dosing perspective. Here, we reviewed FDA recommendations on dose selection for efficacy trials at end‐of‐phase meetings between the FDA and drug developers for 76 new molecular entities approved between 2013 and 2017 that are considered amenable for an individualized dosing method, response‐guided titration. Forty FDA dosing recommendations were identified as specific to dose selection and design of the respective efficacy trials and subsequently: (i) characterized based on if they were supportive of individualized dosing and (ii) compared with dosing regimens used in efficacy trials and labeling at approval to evaluate if FDA recommendations were implemented. Of these 40 recommendations for efficacy trials, 35 (88%) were considered supportive of individualized dosing. Eighteen of these 40 recommendations (45%) were incorporated into efficacy trials and 11 (28%) were incorporated into labeling. This research suggests that early FDA‐sponsor interactions can support the study of doses in efficacy trials that may lead to individualized dosing strategies in labeling.

Wang, Lingshan↗

Community Solar Consolidated Billing: An Exploration of Implementation and Alternatives

The report presents an analysis of the considerations, costs, and benefits surrounding the implementation of utility consolidated billing in community solar programs while also exploring alternatives to achieve similar benefits in its absence. Consolidated billing simplifies the billing process for customers by combining all charges and credits associated with electricity service and community solar subscriptions into a single bill. The potential benefits of consolidated billing implementation include increased transparency, improved customer experience, and ultimately increased retention rates and decreased subscriber acquisition costs. Currently, community solar subscribers often receive two separate bills - one from the utility and one from a third-party community solar provider - potentially causing confusion. Consolidated billing seeks to resolve this by offering a unified bill, which, while beneficial to numerous stakeholders, presents administrative, technical, and financial hurdles that utilities and program administrators must address.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Community Solar Consolidated Billing: An Exploration of Implementation and Alternatives [Slides]

This presentation is an abridged version of the report it is based on that presents an analysis of the considerations, costs, and benefits surrounding the implementation of utility consolidated billing in community solar programs while also exploring alternatives to achieve similar benefits in its absence. Consolidated billing simplifies the billing process for customers by combining all charges and credits associated with electricity service and community solar subscriptions into a single bill. The potential benefits of consolidated billing implementation include increased transparency, improved customer experience, and ultimately increased retention rates and decreased subscriber acquisition costs. Currently, community solar subscribers often receive two separate bills - one from the utility and one from a third-party community solar provider - potentially causing confusion. Consolidated billing seeks to resolve this by offering a unified bill, which, while beneficial to numerous stakeholders, presents administrative, technical, and financial hurdles that utilities and program administrators must address.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗