DOE announces energy efficiency, renewable energy Webinars for federal buildings and more

by Brianna Crandall — July 25, 2012—The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) presented the first in a series of live Webinars titled “Guiding Principles: Getting Started” on Tuesday, July 24, 2012. The Webinar series is intended to assist federal agencies with meeting the current Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings for OMB Scorecard compliance.

The July 24 session will benefit those in the federal buildings sector including those responsible for annual sustainability and scorecard reporting, building owners, leasers, managers, operators, engineers, architects, designers, site energy managers, maintenance managers, and sustainability managers. This Webinar will provide an overview of the Guiding Principles for Existing High-Performance Sustainable Buildings and will discuss planning, strategies, documentation, reporting, and data integrity for compliance.

EERE offers Webinars to the public through its Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) on subjects ranging from how to adopt the latest energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies to training for the clean energy workforce. Webinars are free; however, advanced registration is typically required. Those interested can also watch archived Webinars and browse previously aired videos, slides, and transcripts.

Upcoming Webinars include:

• July 26, 2012, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: “Guiding Principles: Optimize Energy Performance.” This is the second in a series of live Webinars; for more information on the series, see the July 24 Webinar information above. This Webinar will focus on one of the Guiding Principles—Optimizing Energy Performance for Existing High-Performance Sustainable Buildings, and will discuss planning, strategies, documentation, reporting, and data integrity for compliance.
  
• August 2, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.: “Placing UESC Task Orders Under a GSA Area-wide Contract.” This session will benefit energy managers and other professionals interested in learning a step-by-step approach to placing a utility energy service contract (UESC) task order under a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Area-wide Contract. It will focus on developing skills related to the acquisition plan; preliminary audit and findings; feasibility study and project proposal; contract for construction; construction and installation; performance assurance and acceptance; post-construction and commissioning; and sample documents and templates. Successful project examples will also be shared.
  
• August 15, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.: “Assessing Impacts of Regional Water Resource Use and Availability on Bioenergy Production.” This Live Webcast is intended for local, county and state water managers; working farmers and biofuel leaders; students and professionals in the fuel and energy sectors; and policymakers. The session will provide an overview of requirements for water resources, as well as a discussion of the environmental impacts attributable to wastewater from biofuels production. Case studies will be presented to highlight the unique aspects of the water footprint of biofuels—thereby demonstrating the complex nature of the energy-water relationship.
  
• August 21, from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m.: “Community Renewable Energy Success Stories: Financing Renewable Energy Projects.” This live Webinar will provide information on the challenges and successes of financing mechanisms for a solar project in Knoxville, Tennessee, and one of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s (SMUD) community renewable energy projects.