The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States. The DOE oversees the U.S. nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy-related research, and domestic energy production and energy conservation.
A Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) is a source of money from which loans are made for multiple small business development projects. Revolving loan funds share many characteristics with microcredit, micro-enterprise, and village banking, namely providing loans to persons or groups of people that do not qualify for traditional financial services or are otherwise viewed as being high risk. Borrowers tend to be small producers of goods and services: typically, they are artisans, farmers, and women with no credit history or access to other types of loans from financial institutions. Organizations that offer revolving loan fund lending aim to help new project or business owners become financially independent and eventually to become eligible for loans from commercial banks.
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is a United States federal social services program first established in 1981 and funded annually through Congressional appropriations. The mission of LIHEAP is to assist low income households, particularly those with the lowest incomes that pay a high proportion of household income for home energy, primarily in meeting their immediate home energy needs. The program, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is funded by grants appropriated from the federal government.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), established in 1935, is a New York State public-benefit corporation, located in Albany, New York, with regional offices in New York City, Buffalo, and West Valley.
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is an office within the United States Department of Energy. Formed from other energy agencies after the 1973 energy crisis, EERE is led by the Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, who is appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Kelly Speakes-Backman was appointed Acting Assistant Secretary in January 2021.
An energy service company (ESCO) is a company that provides a broad range of energy solutions including designs and implementation of energy savings projects, retrofitting, energy conservation, energy infrastructure outsourcing, power generation, energy supply, and risk management.
New Energy for America was a plan led by Barack Obama and Joe Biden beginning in 2008 to invest in renewable energy sources, reduce reliance on foreign oil, address global warming issues, and create jobs for Americans. The main objective for the New Energy for America plan was to implement clean energy sources in the United States in order to switch from nonrenewable resources to renewable resources. The plan led by the Obama Administration aimed to implement short-term solutions to provide immediate relief from pain at the pump, and mid- to- long term solutions to provide a New Energy for America plan. The goals of the clean energy plan hoped to: invest in renewable technologies that will boost domestic manufacturing and increase homegrown energy, invest in training for workers of the clean technologies, strengthen the middle class, and help the economy.
There are 31 Industrial Assessment Centers in the United States as of June 2021. These centers are located at universities across the US, and are funded by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to spread ideas relating to industrial energy conservation.
Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs), also known as Energy Performance Contracts, are an alternative financing mechanism authorized by the United States Congress designed to accelerate investment in cost effective energy conservation measures in existing Federal buildings. ESPCs allow Federal agencies to accomplish energy savings projects without up-front capital costs and without special Congressional appropriations. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 authorized Federal agencies to use private sector financing to implement energy conservation methods and energy efficiency technologies.
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) is a program in the United States, which provides federal grants to units of local government, Indian tribes, states, and territories to reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions, and for improvements in energy efficiency.
A green retrofit is any refurbishment of an existing building that aims to reduce the carbon emissions and environmental impact of the building. This can include improving the energy efficiency of the HVAC and other mechanical systems, increasing the quality of insulation in the building envelope, implementing sustainable energy generation, and aiming to improve occupant comfort and health.
PACE financing is a means used in the United States of America of financing energy efficiency upgrades, disaster resiliency improvements, water conservation measures, or renewable energy installations of residential, commercial, and industrial property owners. Depending on state legislation, PACE financing can be used to finance building envelope energy efficiency improvements such as insulation and air sealing, cool roofs, water efficiency products, seismic retrofits, and hurricane preparedness measures. In some states, commercial PACE financing can also fund a portion of new construction projects, as long as the building owner agrees to build the new structure to exceed the local energy code.
The energy policy of the Obama administration was defined by an "all-of-the-above" approach which offered federal support for renewable energy deployment, increased domestic oil and gas extraction, and export of crude oil and natural gas. His presidency's first term was shaped by the failure of his signature climate legislation, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, to pass, and then climate and energy disasters including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 and then Hurricane Sandy, which took place during the 2012 election. In his second term, Obama lifted the ban on crude oil exports and approved liquified natural gas exports; his planned regulatory approach to reducing greenhouse pollution in the electricity sector, the Clean Power Plan, was blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court.
A Deep energy retrofit can be broadly categorized as an energy conservation measure in an existing building also leading to an overall improvement in the building performance. While there is no exact definition for a deep energy retrofit, it can be defined as a whole-building analysis and construction process, that aims at achieving on-site energy use minimization in a building by 50% or more compared to the baseline energy use making use of existing technologies, materials and construction practices. Such a retrofit reaps multifold benefits beyond energy cost savings, unlike conventional energy retrofit. It may also involve remodeling the building to achieve a harmony in energy, indoor air quality, durability, and thermal comfort. An integrated project delivery method is recommended for a deep energy retrofit project. An over-time approach in a deep energy retrofitting project provides a solution to the large upfront costs problem in all-at-once execution of the project.
DERs are projects that create new, valuable assets from existing residences, by bringing homes into alignment with the expectations of the 21st century
The North Carolina Solar Center is a resource center for sustainable energy programs located at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. When it was created in 1988, the center's focus was solar energy. The N.C. Solar Center now serves as a resource for innovative, clean energy technologies through demonstration, technical assistance, outreach and training. It also administers the Database of Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE), a resource providing financial incentives and policies in the energy industry.
The 2009 energy efficiency and renewable energy research investment was a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and it increased federal funds in renewable energy. The package included $50 billion in spending and $20 billion in tax provisions. The research within the investment also increased; as a result $8.8 billion went into renewable energy research. The investment also included a boost for "green buildings". Federal buildings received $4.5 billion in renovations; public housing was also granted $4 billion in renovations. An additional $250 million was made out to energy-efficient affordable housing, in part by installing insulation. Environment America, an organization of state-based, environmental advocacy organizations, reviewed the final bill and stated there was $32.80 billion in funding for clean energy projects, $26.86 billion for energy efficiency initiatives and $18.95 billion for green transportation, totaling $78.61 billion just for "green" projects.
Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) is a community-based model of development founded on energy conservation and the use of renewables, seeking to permanently decrease the use of source materials, water, and energy. The model prescribes the creation of independent and financially self-sufficient non-profit entities for energy sustainability through conservation, efficiency, and end-user based decentralized renewable energy in an effort to address concerns about climate change, rising energy prices, inequity of energy availability, and a lack of community governance of energy development. The SEU model was developed by Dr. J. Byrne at the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy, University of Delaware. The Foundation for Renewable Energy and Environment (FREE) is implementing versions of the model.
The Streamlining Energy Efficiency for Schools Act of 2014 is a bill that would require the United States Department of Energy to establish a centralized clearinghouse to disseminate information on federal programs, incentives, and mechanisms for financing energy-efficient retrofits and upgrades at schools. The bill would require the DOE to collect the data from all federal agencies and store it in one place online.
Public plans for energy efficient refurbishment are put in place by states to encourage building owners to renovate their properties in a way that increases their energy performance. As financing represents the most important obstacle to this type of renovation, the plans favour financial incentives in the form of loans or grants. Various institutions can be involved in the process, such as ministries, banks, firms, or energy services companies (ESCOs).
The Nevada State Office of Energy, also known as the Nevada Governor's Office of Energy, is a Nevada state agency that focuses on managing and regulating Nevada's energy resources to ensure that they can meet the needs of local industries while also adhering to renewable energy and energy conservation principles. The current director of the Nevada Office of Energy is David Bobzien. The agency is headquartered in Carson City, Nevada.
