Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Energy contracts help agencies reach green goals

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Agencies have until Sept. 1 to tell the White House what they think of the strategy to reduce federal greenhouse emissions.

The administration extended the comment deadline from Aug. 16 to give agencies more time to understand the governmentwide requirements for calculating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions associated agency operations.

The draft calls for agencies to report their baseline 2010 greenhouse gas emission inventory by January 2011.

“The data required to develop an agencywide inventory will likely be drawn from multiple levels throughout an agency’s organizational structure,” the draft strategy states. “This guidance has been developed to provide federal agency users, whether representing facility-level activities or headquarters-level functions, with the necessary information to fulfill reporting requirements.”

One way several agencies are not only reducing their carbon footprint, but saving money as well is through the Energy Department’s Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) contracts. And soon, DoE will provide agencies with a dashboard to better understand and track energy efficiencies through the program.

“These contracts are used by federal agencies basically to tap into the technological and financial resources of the private sector to implement energy savings from renewable energy projects and related activities that generate savings to the agency’s utility bill,” said Skye Schell, a supervisor in the Federal Energy Management Program, which is part of DoE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy department.

Schell said agencies can benefit from upgraded infrastructure and modernized plants.

“They cover a wide range of technologies,” he said. “Really any efficiency technology implementation you can think of probably has been included in Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) over the year. Different renewables, wind projects, solar thermal, photovoltaics, geothermal, all have been aspects of ESPCs. It’s quite a breadth of technology.”

He added that the investments are in the tens of millions of dollars as agencies may replace a central heating plants or converting a fossil fuel infrastructure to a biomass plant.

The cost of a typical project can run between $8 million and $10 million. The company bids on the work using a type of share-in-savings approach.

Schell said the one big difference is the energy companies’ estimate and the agency agrees to the projected savings on the front end of the deal.

“We do ongoing measurement and verification to determine if the savings were in fact achieved, and if so, then the energy savings companies gets their share of savings,” Schell said.

Usually on share-in-savings contracts, vendors make the upfront investments and receive money as the savings come in. Agencies have used this type of contract in the past for recovery audit initiatives.

Agencies also receive savings from paying less for electricity or water or other types of energy.

More and more agencies are starting to use the program. Schell said in 2008, the vehicle saw about $300 million in terms of investment value in projects. A year later, the investment increased to $450 million, and Schell expects the value to increase by another $100 million to $550 million in 2010.

He said about 19 agencies have active projects with DoE, the Justice Department and the Navy among the biggest agency users of the contract.

Schell said these contracts usually are long-term deals where companies invest more than $10 million and are paid back with interest on average over 18 years.

Over the next six months, Energy will give agencies more data to better understand how to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints.

Schell said Energy will make its ESPC dashboard available for government officials and contractors.

“We are tracking key indicators of program performance,” he said. “The dashboard answers questions such as trends in agency uses of the program, which Energy Service Companies are participating, what is the pipeline of projects and awards, the time it takes from inception to award, the cost of borrowing associated with the program, and the cost of BTU saved associated with the program. It really gives us a decent snapshot of the program efficiency and effectiveness.”

Energy has used the dashboard since 2008, mostly for internal tracking. But Schell said by the end of the calendar year, Energy will have removed any sensitive data and ensured the information in the dashboard is accurate and open it up to agency users.

“Agencies using our program may be interested in information and trends to compare their experiences with others, and also this might be a tool we use to put out report cards for ESCOs for agencies to review against different parameters,” he said.

— by Jason Miller – August 19, 2010 – FederalNewsRadio.com

New report shows significant potential for renewable energy in the South

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The South could generate 20-30 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources within the next 20 years – up from less than 4 percent today — if strong federal policies are enacted, according to a report released today by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Duke University. The analysis, “Renewable Energy in the South,” finds that conventional wisdom has underestimated the available renewable resources in the region and that a federal renewable electricity standard (RES) would enable the South to capitalize on this untapped renewable energy potential.

Read the Full Report Here: http://www.spp.gatech.edu/aboutus/workingpapers/renewable-energy-in-the-south

The South lags behind all other regions in renewable electricity, obtaining 3.7 percent of its power from renewable sources, compared to 9.5 percent for the country as a whole. Only four states (Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, and Texas) have a state-level renewable portfolio standard, while three others have voluntary renewable energy goals.  The fate of renewables in the South is not only important for the region, but for the nation as a whole since, in 2008, the region accounted for 44 percent of the country’s energy consumption.

Opponents of renewable energy production claim that the South lacks the renewable energy resources to capitalize on the growing demand for clean energy.  However, the report finds that there are abundant renewable energy resources available that can be tapped if supportive policies are put in place. The report shows that if a 25 percent (by 2025) federal RES is enacted, the amount of electricity supplied by power companies from renewable sources could increase more than 250 percent above the level expected in 2030 if no new federal renewables policies were enacted.

A number of other studies have shown a large potential for renewable energy in the South,” said Etan Gumerman of Duke University’s Nicholas Institute and co-lead researcher of the study.  “Our study shows that significant increases can actually be achieved, particularly through supportive local or federal policies.”

The report, using a customized version of the economic modeling system used by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, finds that a federal renewable electricity standard and carbon pricing system would increase the proportion of electricity derived from renewable sources by power companies in every state, particularly in wind and biomass. By 2030, the report shows, federal carbon pricing policy would increase renewable electricity production in the South by 390 percent.

“Countries around the world are already tapping into the potential of renewable energy, and are capturing export markets and generating jobs in the process,” said Dr. Marilyn Brown of the Georgia Institute of Technology and co-lead researcher of the study.  “The report demonstrates that although many states in the South are off to a slow start, renewable initiatives are now underway across the region, and the potential for expansion is promising.”  

In addition, the report finds that electricity produced by end-users, such as households and businesses using small-scale solar electric and heating facilities, would also benefit from federal policies and could supply a substantial portion of the region’s renewable electricity.  Under a 25 percent RES, for example, renewable electricity supplied by utilities and end-users could increase by 154 percent. Carbon pricing policy could lead to a 266 percent increase above the total level of renewable electricity expected in the absence of federal policy changes.

“In the future, households and businesses have the potential to become major suppliers of clean, renewable electricity,” added Dr. Brown.  “This changes the way we need to think about the South’s renewable energy potential.”

About Dr. Marilyn Brown and Georgia Tech:

Dr. Marilyn Brown, a professor in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology, is an internationally-recognized leader in the analysis and interpretation of energy futures in the United States. In 2007, Brown was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize along with the other members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Vice President Al Gore. Additional information about Brown and her research can be found at http://www.spp.gatech.edu/faculty/faculty/mbrown.php.  Brown has been nominated to serve on the Board of the Tennessee Valley Authority and awaits confirmation.   

Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts offers one of the world’s top public policy programs. The research-intensive and globally engaged curriculum aims to solve complex problems in the public interest related to issues of research and technology, energy and sustainability, economic development and governance. The School of Public Policy is dedicated to scholarship and learning that is reflective, effective and sustainable.

About Etan Gumerman and Duke University’s Nicholas Institute:

Etan Gumerman is a scientific engineer at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University.  Prior to joining the Nicholas Institute, Gumerman was employed by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and served as the lead modeler and analyst for the Scenarios for a Clean Energy Future Project.  In this role, Gumerman coordinated the efforts of scientists at five national laboratories.  

The Nicholas Institute is a nonpartisan institute founded in 2005 to help decision makers in government, the private sector, and the nonprofit community address critical environmental challenges. The Institute responds to the demand for high-quality and timely data and acts as an “honest broker” in policy debates by convening and fostering open, ongoing dialogue between stakeholders on all sides of the issues and providing policy-relevant analysis based on academic research. The Institute’s leadership and staff leverage the broad expertise of Duke University as well as public and private partners worldwide. Since its inception, the Institute has earned a distinguished reputation for its innovative approach to developing multilateral, nonpartisan, and economically viable solutions to pressing environmental challenges.

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Startup Accelerator ATDC Celebrates 30th Anniversary

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Georgia Tech’s startup accelerator, the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), celebrated 30 years of helping launch and build technology companies with a “Startup Showcase” attended by more than 500 persons on May 24th.  At the event, ATDC added four companies to its long list of graduates.

Georgia Tech President G.P. “Bud” Peterson was the main speaker, reviewing the ATDC’s history and congratulating members of the Committee of Twenty – Georgia Tech alumni whose interest in technology startups during the late 1970s led to formation of the incubator.

“It’s really a pleasure to be here to celebrate this 30-year anniversary and to be able to reflect back on some of the great successes of the ATDC,” Peterson told a crowd of entrepreneurs assembled in the ballroom of the Georgia Tech Hotel.  “There are many, many positive things that have resulted from this organization and its interaction with people in this community, the greater Atlanta area, the state of Georgia – and all across the country.”

Stephen Fleming, Georgia Tech vice president and executive director of the Enterprise Innovation Institute, reviewed progress made by the ATDC in expanding membership and increasing program offerings over the past year

“If you are a Georgia technology entrepreneur, we will help you no matter where you are located in the state or what your background is,” he said.  “In addition to our brick-and-mortar facilities in Atlanta and Savannah, we are spreading across the rest of the state, which is part of our mandate.”

Nearly a year ago, ATDC opened its membership to all technology companies in Georgia.  On the day of the Showcase, ATDC had 321 members.  “That makes us the largest technology incubator, as far as I know, in the world,” Fleming added.

The startup accelerator still focuses on companies that are developing new technologies, but no longer emphasizes raising venture capital.  That’s because many entrepreneurs are now bootstrapping their operations or have independent sources of funding, Fleming said.

Even with the incubator’s reduced fund-raising focus and the down economy, ATDC companies still raised a total of at least $150 million in venture capital during the past year, Fleming said.

ATDC is also expanding the geographic breadth of its operations beyond its physical incubators in Atlanta and Savannah.  At the Showcase, Fleming announced that ATDC would begin offering educational programs in Gwinnett County, along with regular office hours to meet entrepreneurs – though there are no current plans to provide incubator space there.

He also noted that ATDC has resumed its focus on biosciences companies with the hiring of two staff members – Nina Sawczuk and Harold Shlevin – both with long experience in the life sciences industry.

Fleming congratulated representatives from four companies that had met requirements for graduating from the incubator.  The four – CommerceV3, Endgame Systems, Izenda Reports and Purewire – joined 120 other companies on a list of ATDC graduates that goes back to 1986.

President Peterson took note of ATDC’s best known graduate: Suniva, which became the Southeast’s first manufacturer of photovoltaic cells in 2009.  The firm grew out of research in Georgia Tech’s University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaics Research and Education, which is part of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

“Suniva has created more than 150 clean-energy jobs manufacturing high-efficiency solar cells,” Peterson noted.  The company was recently recognized by U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, who called it “the poster child for the new energy economy.”

About the ATDC: The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) is a startup accelerator that helps Georgia technology entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies.  For 30 years, ATDC has helped create millions of dollars in tax revenues by graduating more than 120 companies, which together have raised more than a billion dollars in outside financing.  ATDC has provided business incubation and acceleration services to thousands of Georgia entrepreneurs.

Recently, ATDC expanded its mission by merging with Georgia Tech’s VentureLab and with the Georgia SBIR Assistance Program, which are also part of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute.  This change has enabled ATDC to greatly extend its reach to serve more technology companies along multiple growth paths and at all stages of development.  ATDC has opened its membership to all technology entrepreneurs in Georgia, from those at the earliest conception stage to the well-established, venture-fundable companies.

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