ACEEE Award: Leader of the Pack
ICAST has just received the Leader of the Pack award for its multifamily-focused Wattsmart® program from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. This award recognizes “exemplary energy efficiency programs across the United States.” The Wattsmart® program, which began in 2018, is a Utah utility demand-side management program for Rocky Mountain Power (RMP), an electric utility company. The Wattsmart® program provides multifamily properties with rebates for energy-efficient upgrades and new construction—this can include upgrades such as energy-efficient appliances, building shell renovations, HVAC, and weatherization. The program uses a pay-for-performance structure. ICAST is only paid based on the energy efficiency savings we deliver to RMP customers, which reflects the program’s ethos of driving deep energy efficiency savings.
Further, this program showcases our commitment to energy efficiency equity, as multifamily affordable housing projects receive higher incentives than market-rate multifamily housing projects. ACEEE notes that “The program remains cost-effective, even while serving mostly low-income clients in the hard-to-serve multifamily market. It consistently achieves over 20% savings for each project.” So far, the program has installed over 12,000 heat pump HVAC systems.
This award recognizes that Wattsmart® is one of the country’s most successful multifamily electrification and energy efficiency programs, servicing nearly 10,000 housing units every year. The program has achieved a 500% increase in annual kWh savings since its inception. Wattsmart® is positioned to continue pioneering deep energy retrofits in the multifamily housing market as the program actively coordinates its resources with the recent surge in funds available for electrification and energy efficiency via the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Jasmine Mah, a senior research analyst at ACEEE and lead research for Leaders of the Pack, said, “Utilities and third-party program administrators seeking to establish or improve energy efficiency programs can look to this diverse set of leaders as models.” We are proud to continue leading innovative demand-side management programs for the underserved multifamily housing sector.
CDBG Funds in Salt Lake City
ICAST has been awarded Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding by Salt Lake City to install solar PV in multifamily housing and transitional housing shelters within the city. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s CDBG Program awards grants to states and cities annually to cultivate urban communities and safe, decent housing for low- and moderate-income (LMI) people. ICAST has been utilizing CDBG funds in partnership with Salt Lake City for years to execute clean energy and energy efficiency projects for low- and moderate-income residents. These latest funds will enable the installation of solar PV to further grid resiliency, energy efficiency, and decarbonization efforts throughout Salt Lake City.
ICAST Releases New Utility-Scale Solar Best Practices Guidance
ICAST has released a new guidance document titled “Strategies and Best Practices for Developing Utility-Scale Solar and Storage Projects.” This guidance is intended to help small, rural utilities (including Tribal and municipal utilities as well as electric cooperatives) take advantage of the unprecedented funding available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. With these funding sources and the right turnkey service-providing partners, rural utilities can access solar projects, such as community solar, that were previously financially inviable. When selecting partners for solar and storage projects, here are some key features rural utilities should look for in potential partners:
- Ownership: Partners should be willing and able to facilitate utility or community ownership of the assets created through the project.
- One-Stop-Shop: Partners should offer turnkey services that cover every step of the project and a single point of contact for coordination and communication.
- Financing: Partners should have the expertise to support project financing by leveraging and braiding together various funding sources such as state and federal grants, investment tax credits, low-cost financing, and more. Utility-scale solar projects are complex, and so are the capital stacks required to kickstart such projects, as all of these funding sources often have strict and varied requirements for obtaining capital.
- Post-Install Services: The right partner should be willing and able to manage inspections, quality control, and operation and maintenance services after the project is complete to get the most life out of the new solar installations.
The wrong partners can doom solar and storage projects before they even truly begin. Learn more about ICAST’s expertise, current efforts, and other solar guidance and resources here. Our website also has sample requests for qualifications documents to help you find qualified and competent partners for your utility-scale solar and storage projects.