It’s here! Registration is now open for the 2024 Federal Utility Partnership Working Group (FUPWG) Seminar! Join representatives from federal agencies, utilities, energy service companies, and more to hear about solutions that enhance the implementation of cost-effective energy efficiency and water conservation projects.
In addition to the main seminar, there will also be an optional pre-FUPWG comprehensive utility energy service contract (UESC) training the day before on Tuesday, August 20. This training will be accredited and offered at no cost, but we ask interested attendees to register. Please note that registration for this training is separate from registration for the FUPWG seminar
Visit the FUPWG webpage for information about how to register for the seminar and the pre-event training, hotel blocks, and the agenda.
FEMP Focus
How Rachel Chang’s Attention to Detail Put Her in the FEDS Spotlight
Everyone deserves recognition for their work! We recently sat down with 2023 FEDS Spotlight winner, Rachel Chang, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to learn about her role at NOAA, how she spotted an opportunity to improve her agency’s energy and sustainability data reporting, and how receiving this award has impacted her.
"I feel fortunate that I’m in a position where I can have an impact—however small—in terms of doing our project planning in a more sustainable way. I definitely appreciate being recognized with the FEDS Spotlight and I think that will spur me on to do more." said Chang.
Do you know someone who deserves to be in the 2024 FEDS Spotlight? Learn how you can nominate someone for the FEDS Spotlight Recognition Program. The deadline for submissions has now been extended to August 9.
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Regional Re-tuning Challenge Training Opportunity in Charleston, SC
FEMP is partnering with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to offer a two-day re-tuning training at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, South Carolina, on August 20 and 21, 2024.
This hands-on training teaches attendees how to minimize building energy consumption by identifying and correcting operational problems that plague buildings by identifying no-cost or low-cost improvements, estimating outcomes from implementation, and accessing all the tools and resources to enable individuals to perform re-tuning at their sites.
If you are interested in attending this live training event, please contact the FEMP Re-tuning Challenge team.
Learn more about the Re-tuning Challenge, watch an informational webinar, see lessons learned from past challenges, and see if this is the right program for you.
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The U.S. Office of Personnel Management Celebrates Clean Energy Milestone
FEMP Director Mary Sotos recently joined U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and General Services Administration (GSA) leadership at the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building for a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of their energy savings performance contact (ESPC).
Over the past decade, OPM and GSA have worked together on a deep energy retrofit strategy for the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building. To help fund this project, OPM leveraged ESPCs and was a recipient of two FEMP AFFECT grants which helped increase the impact of the project.
OPM's AFFECT 2020 grant upgraded the resilience and energy efficiency of the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building's mission-critical data center to include resilience technologies that provide three days of backup power and energy conservation measures that save $50-60k in annual energy costs, ensuring continuous operation of OPM platforms such as USAjobs.gov. OPM also received an AFFECT 2022 grant to build upon the 2020 project. The 2022 grant provided additional funds to triple the project investment, effectively quadrupling the project’s cost savings, doubling energy and water savings, and reducing 50% more greenhouse gases.
This project is a testament to how interagency partnerships and working with industry partners can lead to win-win outcomes. Congratulations to OPM!
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Tools & Resources
New Case Study
New Case Study Highlights How Laboratories Are Optimizing Ventilation
The FEMP-funded Smart Labs Toolkit helps lab owners and operators plan and cost-effectively achieve safe, efficient, and sustainable laboratories no matter the size. Ventilation is a big topic in laboratory efficiency as it is one of the largest energy consumers. Smart Labs recently published a case study sharing the results of a new ventilation analysis performed at the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forage Animal Production Research Laboratory. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis helped the mechanical engineering teams optimize the mechanical ventilation system of laboratories inside of main campus buildings. Read more about how this USDA lab and other national labs are leveraging CFD analysis.
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New Guide
Read Up on the Latest Best Practices for Energy-Efficient Data Center Design
FEMP released an updated Best Practices Guide for Energy-Efficient Data Center Design report, which provides alternatives to inefficient data center building practices and spans the categories of IT systems and their environmental conditions, data center air management, cooling and electrical systems, and heat recovery. Data center design is always evolving and no design guide offers the "most" energy-efficient data center design, but FEMP's guidelines can provide efficiency benefits for a wide variety of data center scenarios. Download the Best Practices Guide for Energy-Efficient Data Center Design.
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New Checklist
New Tool Simplifies Microgrid Project Development
FEMP's Microgrid System Project Development Checklist provides federal agencies with a standard set of tasks, questions, and reference points to assist in commercial-scale microgrid project development. The checklist items help to identify the key actions to be taken during the project planning, design, procurement, and implementation phases. Download the checklist.
New Report
How to Better Manage Solar PV Cables
Prioritizing proper cable management practices and using high-quality materials to do so is important for enhancing the performance and safety of any solar PV system. FEMP's new report shares best practices for supporting and securing direct current (DC) string wiring in solar PV systems, addresses concerns with plastic ties, and explores alternatives. Read the report.
New Checklist Updates
New Updates to FEMP's BESS Procurement Checklist
FEMP has released new updates to its Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Procurement Checklist. These updates include ensuring codes are up-to-date, information about third-party commissioning agent requirements, and best practices for lab-specific BESS design and installation. Download the updated checklist.
Mark Your Calendars for Upcoming Utility Open Houses for Federal Customers
This program serves as a platform to bring together utility companies and their federal customers to foster participation in existing utility program offerings and initiate new projects focused on sustainability, efficiency, and resilience.
We encourage all federal energy managers, site managers, and other interested personnel who are customers of one of the host utilities listed below to mark your calendars and register for these important events. Headquarters personnel are encouraged to pass along this information to sites located within these service territories.
Upcoming Utility Open Houses
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Dominion Energy Virginia: Wednesday, August 7 | 10:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. ET | 0.5 CEUs | Introductory | Register
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Duke Energy: Thursday, August 15 | 10:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. ET | 0.5 CEUs | Introductory | Register
Data Center Energy Practitioner (DCEP) Training Program
Data centers are energy-intensive, presenting opportunities for energy efficiency. However, conducting accurate data center energy assessments requires significant knowledge, training, and skills. To accelerate energy savings, the data center industry and DOE partnered to develop the DCEP training program. The DCEP training program certifies energy practitioners qualified to evaluate the energy status and efficiency opportunities in data centers.
Join for one of our three live online courses every other month to become a qualified DCEP.
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Training Level
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Dates
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Location
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Generalist
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August 20
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Online - in Spanish
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IT Specialist
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August 21
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Online - in Spanish
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HVAC Specialist
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August 22-23
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Online - in Spanish
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Generalist
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September 18
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Online
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IT Specialist
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September 20
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Online
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HVAC Specialist
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September 23-24
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Online
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