ICAST’s Vice President of Grant Programs, Ryan Kristoff, recently attended the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) biennial conference on decarbonizing the building sector. This conference brings together professionals, policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders from across the world to discuss evolving best practices for designing and implementing energy efficiency solutions in buildings.
In addition to receiving an award for his innovative work with the Weatherization Assistance Program, Kristoff contributed a paper to the 2024 Summer Study Proceedings. Entitled “Leveraging Funds to Unlock Retrofit Programs for Multifamily Affordable Housing,” this paper discusses how Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds can be coordinated to drive deep energy retrofits in multifamily affordable housing (MFAH) properties. He addresses various regulatory, administrative, and technical challenges that may impede this activity and opportunities and strategies for overcoming those challenges. Kristoff combines insights from ICAST’s 23-year experience with research and expertise from other industry heavyweights.
The conference was invaluable for connecting with leading minds in the field. Among the many compelling papers published in the Summer Study Proceedings, Kristoff found a submission entitled “Planning to Capture the Transformative Potential of Government Investment” particularly noteworthy. Authored by Dulane Moran of Cadeo (a clean energy consulting firm) and Danielle Walker with the U.S. Dept. of Energy, this paper discusses tools and practices necessary to evaluate the transformative impacts of government-funded clean energy programs. The authors specifically cite the IRA Home Energy Rebate Program funding and describe work that occurred in 2023 to develop a logic model, indicators, and a market effects framework to inform the evaluation. They also provide guidelines for others seeking to use the tools of market transformation to capture the incremental but sustained influence of public investment.
Both papers stress the importance of leveraging best-practice approaches to navigate the opportunities created by an influx of government funding and ensure those dollars achieve their maximum potential. ICAST is thrilled that we were able to participate in this event and eager to continue engaging with government and industry leaders to determine how their insights can help us execute our mission.