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DOE Announces $76M for Energy-Efficient Building Technologies and Training Programs

06/21/2010
SustainableBusiness.com News

The U.S. Department of Energy announced awards totaling more than $76 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support advanced energy-efficient building technology projects and the development of training programs for commercial building equipment technicians, building operators, and energy auditors.

The 58 projects selected aim to make the nation's buildings more energy efficient and cost-effective. They will also support programs to train workers to service and operate new and existing buildings, to develop and deploy best practices resulting in fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and to establish a green workforce with technical expertise to reduce energy costs for consumers.

45 awards for advanced energy-efficient building technology projects will receive over $68.4 million and will be leveraged with more than $31.4 million in funding from private industry, for a total project value of nearly $100 million. Projects have been selected in the following five areas:

Advanced Building Control Strategies, Communications, and Information Technologies for Net-Zero Energy Buildings ($22,497,833 total Federal share) - Twelve projects will focus on transforming the design, operation, and maintenance of both new and existing buildings.
Analysis, Design, and Technical Tools ($5,969,682 total Federal share) - Five projects will focus on improving the capability to simulate complex interactions between building elements, including climate, envelope heat and moisture transfer, internal heat gains, lighting power, HVAC equipment, controls, thermal and visual comfort, and energy costs.
Building Envelope and Windows ($22,807,255 total Federal share) - Fourteen projects will focus on improving the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings through technology advances in windows and envelope components, which are necessary to achieve significant energy savings and performance.
Residential and Commercial Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and Crosscutting Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Research ($11,144,592 total Federal share) - Ten projects will focus on dramatically increasing the efficiency of HVAC systems and pursuing technologies that apply to both air conditioning and refrigeration.
Water Heating, Residential, and Commercial Appliances and Miscellaneous Electric Loads ($6,033,246 total Federal share) - Four projects will focus on increasing the efficiency of water heating equipment and reducing miscellaneous electric loads.

The University of California, Honeywell International (NYSE: HON), Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG), Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), Applied Materials (Nasdaq: AMAT) and Chemtura Corporation (NYSE: CEM) are among the awardees. A full list is available at the link below.

The 13 projects selected to receive up to $7.6 million to develop green jobs training programs will leverage nearly $1.5 million in private industry cost share, for a total project value of nearly $9.1 million. Awardees include Texas A&M University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte and New Jersey Institute of Technology.

The Department of Energy also released today a new video that showcases the story of Greensburg, Kan., a town devastated by a tornado in 2007, which came back to be one of the Nation's most energy-efficient, sustainable communities. Many of the town's government buildings use cutting-edge energy-saving technologies, such as high-efficiency windows, lighting, and heating and ventilation systems, saving local taxpayer money.

Website: www1.eere.energy.gov/recovery/pdfs/btp_arra_selections_combined.pdf