DOE

The Energy Department announced five additional military bases will join Solar Ready Vets, a solar jobs training program that prepares service members for careers in the solar industry when they leave active duty. The Department is also awarding $10 million to 10 new projects through its Solar Training and Education for Professionals (STEP)funding program, which was created to help meet the solar industry’s growing demand for well-qualified, highly skilled installers and other industry-related professionals.

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro today released Better Buildings Challenge partner results, announced three new focus areas in local communities, and highlighted overall signs of growth in the initiative’s reach and influence.

As part of the Energy Department’s ongoing efforts to modernize the nation’s grid through the Grid Modernization Initiative, the Energy Department today announced $25 million in available funding through an effort called Enabling Extreme Real-Time Grid Integration of Solar Energy (ENERGISE) to help software developers, solar companies, and utilities accelerate the integration of solar energy into the grid.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced today funding for 24 American Indian and Alaska Native communities to deploy clean energy and energy efficiency projects. DOE plans to invest over $9 million in 16 facility- and community-scale energy projects in 24 tribal communities.

Building on the notable successes of the SuperTruck initiative, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Reuben Sarkar today announced SuperTruck II, an $80 million funding opportunity, subject to congressional appropriations, for research, development and demonstration of long-haul tractor-trailer truck technology. Sarkar made the announcement at the GreenTruck Summit in Indianapolis, Indiana

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the 16 collegiate teams selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017 competition. The teams, from colleges and universities across the United States and around the world, will now begin the nearly two-year process of building solar-powered houses that are affordable, innovative and highly energy-efficient

The U.S. Department of Energy issued a report today showing that threats to tribal energy infrastructure are expected to increase as climate change impacts extreme weather conditions. The department also announced a $6 million grant opportunity to establish clean energy projects and energy efficiency projects on Indian lands that will help support economic opportunity and combat the effects of climate change on tribal lands

"Today’s announcement between the P5+1 and Iran is a historic accomplishment. Building on the Lausanne framework, it will ensure that Iran’s nuclear program is – and will remain – a peaceful one, or that the international community will have more than enough time to respond if Iran’s program proves otherwise. This deal will extend the time it would take for Iran to produce enough fissile material for a first nuclear explosive device to a year for at least ten years, from the current breakout time of just two to three months

Mark your calendars: The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon -- America’s premier collegiate competition that challenges students from around the world to design, build and operate highly energy-efficient, solar-powered houses -- will open October 8 in Irvine, California.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 13, 2015 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the Department of Energy’s Western Area Power Administration (Western) and a group of Arizona utilities celebrated the energizing of a new transmission infrastructure project that will serve the state’s growing electrical energy needs, attract renewable energy development to the area, and strengthen the transmission system in the Southwestern United States

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 16, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- In support of the Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, the Department of Energy issued a draft loan guarantee solicitation today for innovative renewable energy and energy efficiency projects located in the U.S. that avoid, reduce, or sequester greenhouse gases. When finalized, the solicitation is expected to make as much as $4 billion in loan guarantees available to help commercialize technologies that may be unable to obtain full commercial financing. This draft solicitation represents another step in the Department’s commitment to help overcome the financial barriers to the deployment of innovative, clean energy technologies.

WASHINGTON - March 20, 2014 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Energy Department has announced the winners of the third annual Better Buildings Case Competition, which challenges collegiate teams to present unique and innovative solutions for reducing energy waste and improving the efficiency of our nation’s homes and commercial buildings to industry leaders. The winning student teams included Harvard University, Carnegie Mellon University, Yale University, Stanford University, University of California - Santa Barbara, University of California – San Diego, University of California – Berkeley, Columbia University, and MIT. Winning solutions will be shared more broadly with public and private sector organizations through the Better Buildings webinar series and the Better Buildings Summit

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 15, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Energy Department announced on January 9 its first major software update to the Home Energy Scoring Tool, developed by the Department's Building Technologies Office and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The Home Energy Score allows homebuyers to compare homes on an "apples-to-apples" basis and provides recommendations for energy efficiency improvements. In addition, homeowners and homebuyers receive a cost-saving estimate of how these improvements could reduce utility bills and improve a home's score

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 8, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Energy Department’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) is well known for its efforts to improve the lives of low-income American families through energy efficient home upgrades, but it also focuses on establishing a skilled and certified workforce.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 3, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Energy Department on November 26 awarded nearly $4 million to 13 states to increase statewide energy savings and boost the energy efficiency of public institutions, local governments, and industrial sectors. The awards were through the Energy Department’s State Energy Program, which assists states in saving energy and deploying new clean energy technologies

WASHINGTON, D.C. - December 3, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Departments of Energy and Housing and Urban Development on December 3 expanded the Better Buildings Challenge to multifamily housing such as apartments and condominiums. The departments also launched the Better Buildings Accelerators to support efforts led by state and local governments to cut energy waste and eliminate market and technical barriers to greater building efficiency. The Obama Administration also announced that it will challenge federal agencies to further expand their use of performance-based contracts through 2016 to upgrade the energy efficiency of federal buildings

WASHINGTON - November 6, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- As part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to ensure America’s continued leadership in clean energy and double renewable electricity generation once again by 2020, the Energy Department today announced eight teams to spur solar power deployment by cutting red tape for residential and small commercial rooftop solar systems. As part of the Department’s Rooftop Solar Challenge, these teams will receive about $12 million– matched by over $4 million in outside funding – to streamline and standardize solar permitting, zoning, metering and connection processes for communities across the country.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 5, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office has announced plans to issue a new Wireless Metering Challenge to spur the development of low cost electric metering devices that can serve growing interest in panel level sub metering being seen throughout the commercial sector. According to a 2006 Federal Energy Management Program studyPDF, energy costs can be reduced by taking action to resolve problems identified by examining metered data.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 1, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office (BTO) today announced a funding opportunity for $3 million to fund up to three awards to develop an open source software solution for building automation systems (BASs) for small (5,000 square feet ) to medium-sized (between 5,000 square feet and 50,000 square feet) commercial buildings.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 27, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized a select group of manufacturers, retailers, public schools, hospitals, real estate companies, home builders and other organizations at the 2013 ENERGY STAR Awards for their contributions supporting energy efficiency activities during a ceremony on March 26, 2013.