2015 Webinars
Enhancing Demand Side Management Programs: Capturing Smaller Commercial New Construction Markets with Cost-effective Results
Presenter: Jason Steinbock, The Weidt Group
Date: September 9, 2015
Length: 39 min
Learn how automated energy modeling allows DSM programs to reach more buildings within a utility's territory while improving cost-effectiveness. Experience how a new class of tools has helped improve already successful programs such as MidAmerican Energy Company's Commercial New Construction program in Iowa and the Wisconsin Focus on Energy Design Assistance program. This program approach presents side-by-side energy savings and estimated construction costs across design alternatives. It allows building design teams and owners to quickly create sets of energy conservation measures and analyze their cost-effectiveness. Project teams assemble bundles of energy efficiency measures online and rapidly see the interactive effects of energy efficiency measures on whole building energy use. See how this approach can help with projects currently participate in the Commercial New Construction program in Iowa and also help smaller utilities take advantage of DSM tools that were previously out of reach due to building size limits.
Accelerating Adoption of New Technologies Using Pilot Initiatives and Trade Ally Networks
Presenters: Nathan Warren and John Mansfield, CLEAResult
Date: August 12, 2015
Length: 60 min
This presentation is a combined delivery, demonstrating how proactive data utilization, whether it be trade ally participation across utility territories, or leveraging site test data for emerging technology adoption, can be leveraged to build a sustaining program design and lead to best practices and greater value to utility clients. Effectively utilizing this data is a united effort, collaboration between implementation contractors and the client they serve, as well as significantly important third-party entities. Combined, these efforts create much needed venues and mechanisms to facilitate ongoing communication and planning needed to sustain utility energy efficiency programs into the future.
Optimizing Building Performance – Why Energy Should be a Secondary Concern
Presenters: Ruairi Barnwell and Shona O’Dea, DLR Group
Date: July 8, 2015
Length: 76 min
As the building design and construction industry progresses towards its commitment to carbon neutrality, the codes and standards that shape the way our buildings are designed, built and operated, such as IECC and ASHRAE 90.1 are becoming increasing stringent. Elevating the human experience through high-performance building design will continue to become a tougher proposition as low energy and net zero buildings become the new normal. This presentation will discuss the relationship between evolving facility needs, industry energy reduction goals, and high-performance building design strategies for holistic building performance as it relates to energy, occupant comfort, productivity, health and wellbeing, for both new and existing buildings.
Biogas as an Energy Source in Iowa
Presenter: Shashi Menon, Managing Partner, EcoEngineers
Date: May 13, 2015
Length: 35 min
EcoEngineers, in partnership with the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA), and Iowa State University launched the Iowa Biomass Assessment Tool (IBAM) last year. This tool serves as a foundation to evaluate economic potential of Anaerobic Digester (AD) projects. It provides tremendous data in locating wide variety of waste streams, making the siting of AD projects simpler and more straightforward than it would be otherwise. The IBAM study demonstrated that Iowa has a large supply of biomass that can potentially be converted to biogas. There are numerous sites within the state where the aggregate volume of available biomass can support the installation of a biodigester. This webinar will demonstrate the results from IBAM and discuss factors driving the expansion of anaerobic digestion and bio-methane capture at wastewater facilities, landfills, and large industrial operations.
EcoEngineers (www.ecoengineers.us) provides consulting services to the renewable fuel industry, and they develop their own renewable energy projects. On the consulting side, they guide energy companies through the maze of clean fuel regulations and improve their bottom line by ensuring continuous access to carbon markets. On the project development side, they design, build, own and operate renewable methane assets. EcoEngineers targets residual organic streams from agricultural and industrial food production and municipal waste water as feedstock. EcoEngineers' value offerings fall can be categorized as follows:
i) Regulations & Policy: Compliance management, facility planning, federal and state regulatory liaison
ii) Renewable Fuel Credits: RIN QAP, price indexing and trends, CAGREET analysis, EU certifications
iii) Engineering: Design reviews, RFS reviews, process improvements, new pathways petitions
iv) Project Development: Feasibility studies; Project finance; Design-Build-Own-Operate
Shashi Menon is the Managing Partner at EcoEngineers. He is an authority on monetizing renewable energy credits to finance renewable fuel projects. He led the successful completion of the IBAM project in partnership with IEDA and is very well-versed in the biogas market and the economic value it adds. Mr. Menon has an MBA in Finance from DePaul University in Chicago.
Energy Dashboards - Measuring to Control Energy Usage
Presenter: John Waldron PE, ASSE Electrical Engineer, American Society of Safety Engineers, Shive-Hattery, Inc.
Date: April 2015
Length: 53 min
What if you could see, in real time, exactly how much and where energy was being used at your facility? And this information was available through any mobile device or at your computer? Energy dashboards provide data needed to get information.
Case Study: An industrial facility was able to reach its goal of reducing its energy usage by 15%. To do this, it needed to accurately measure its energy usage and identify a baseline. This required metering, monitoring and measuring. Innovative hardware was designed to meter various energy loads. Instead of measuring only at utility meters, submeters allowed the facility to measure individual loads “further downstream” of the utility meter. Submeters were designed and installed at various utility points including substations, switchboards, panelboards, bus taps and gas valves. This data was translated to create useable, easy-to-understand information on an energy dashboard which the client used to implement energy reduction.
Energy Efficiency Commercial Trainings in Iowa: Gap Analysis and Success Stories
Presenters: Katie Hanson, Program Associate and Sarah Edwards, Senior Program Associate, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA)
Date: March 2015
Length: 41 min
This presentation will explore local efforts for energy efficiency training in Iowa, and how nonprofits and community colleges are assessing gaps and needs in topics and delivery methods. The presentation will discuss the benefits and components of a successful program as demonstrated by case studies of local training efforts. The speakers will discuss the Iowa Building Energy Efficiency Training Opportunities Analysis and Needs Assessment, conducted by the Iowa Energy Center, as well as MEEA's Building Operator Certification program. The Iowa Energy Center’s Gap Analysis and Needs Assessment assessed training opportunities in Iowa from the past two years, analyzing gaps in topics and delivery methods. This presentation will discuss these findings, as well as ways to better coordinate trainings and determining a training program’s technical focus area. The speakers will address common challenges to commercial training programs, as well as ways to drive participation.
PV Solar in a Wind State: The Promotion and Advancement of PV Solar in Iowa
Presenter: Michael Barnes, President of Cedar Valley Energy, LLC & Instructor at Hawkeye Community College
Date: February 2015
Length: 47 min
With almost $2BB invested in Iowa in big wind over the next few years, where does that leave PV Solar as a vastly more scalable solution to electricity generation? My talk will focus on growing the PV Solar business in Iowa, starting with widespread education about current technologies, pricing, installation best practices and return on investment.