CELC in May: Conference Highlights & What’s Ahead for Summer

CELC Edition

Hello CELC members and partners,

Following a vibrant Earth Month—highlighted by SPEER’s Earth Day blog—we wrapped April with a well-received presentation: “Powering Safer, Smarter Jails: From Infrastructure to Impact” at the Texas Jail Association Conference (34 attendees).

We’re continuing the momentum into May with a presentation of “LoanSTAR Revolving Loan Program & SECO Partnerships” at the Texas Energy Managers Conference (30 attendees). Thanks to all who engaged with thoughtful questions!

Looking ahead, we’re gearing up for our summer webinars, which will focus on innovation in hotter climates, air quality, and funding opportunities. Stay tuned!

In this newsletter:

Mark Your Calendar: Exciting CELC Opportunities Ahead
Texas Energy Advocates – University Program (TEA-UP)
New SPEER Member!
Spotlight on CELC: Member Events and Updates
Opportunities for Students
Grants and Funding
Career Moves: Hot Opportunities and Job Openings You Should Know
What We're Reading: Insights and Toolkits

Mark Your Calendar: Exciting CELC Opportunities Ahead

CELC Virtual Coffee Hour

June 11th @ 9:30 am

Location: Virtual - Zoom

Join SPEER’s Senior Manager of Government and Community Engagement as she leads monthly open discussions with members of the local government and higher education community focused on sharing insights and exploring ways to expand exciting energy efficiency in our communities.

The next Community Efficiency Leadership Coalition (CELC) virtual coffee hour is the

morning of June 11th at 9:30 AM CST. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, learn, and contribute to the shared goal of creating sustainable and energy-efficient environments. Learn more on our event page and see our current CELC members.

Registration: Sign up as a CELC member to receive the invitation.

**CELC members: Email cities@eepartnership.org if you do not have the reoccurring meeting invitation.

Empower Efficiency: SPEER's 2025 Industry + Policy Workshop

Empower efficiency and show your support! Registration is open – save your spot now and consider becoming a sponsor of SPEER’s 2025 Industry + Policy Workshop.

While last year’s record-setting event will be hard to top, we’re excited to set the bar even higher this year in a larger venue. We'll have a stacked schedule this year, with session topics including:

Unlocking the Power of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) and Aggregation for a Resilient Energy Future
Powering forward with AI: Integrating Policy, Smart Data Analytics, and Decarbonization for Energy Savings Strategies
The Future of the Texas Energy Grid: Modernization & Resilience
The Business of Energy Efficiency: ROI & Market Opportunities
And much more

Full agenda coming soon!

Huge shout out to Mitsubishi Electric for joining us as a Sustainability Sponsor. Multiple sponsorship packages are available. Head here to find the best fit for your organization!

**We’re offering special rates for local governments and non-profit organizations. Early bird pricing ends June 30th. Register now!

Share Your Expertise: Call for Webinar Presenters

Unleash your knowledge! We're seeking passionate experts to lead our upcoming webinars. If you're an industry leader with insights to share, we want to hear from you. Join us in inspiring and educating our community. Submit your proposal now!

Submit

Webinar Recap: Navigating Environmental Law - From Historic Acts to Modern Legislation

Did you miss last month's webinar? Dive into an insightful session on Environmental Law, presented by Neil Kucera, a seasoned attorney with over 31 years of legal experience and a prosecutor for the Hays County District Attorney’s Office. With nearly two decades of teaching experience at Texas State University, Neil brings a wealth of knowledge on the evolving landscape of environmental regulations.

Check it out on SPEER's YouTube page!

Texas Energy Advocates – University Program (TEA-UP)

Recap of the Successful TEA-UP Event: Bridging Academia and Industry

The recent TEA-UP event was a huge success, bringing together industry professionals, academics, and community leaders to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing. With over seventy registered attendees, participants had the opportunity to engage in insightful discussions, attend informative sessions, and network with peers from across various sectors.

The event highlighted the latest trends and innovations, and attendees left with practical strategies to bridge the gap between academia and industry. It was an invaluable experience for all involved, further advancing the mission of TEA-UP.

New SPEER Member!

SPEER is excited to welcome our newest member, the City of DeSoto!

We are thrilled to have them on board as we continue our mission to advance energy efficiency in Texas and Oklahoma. Learn more about SPEER membership here.

Spotlight on CELC: Member Events and Updates

AI: Challenges and Opportunities for Water Resources

Thursday, May 15th

The North Central Texas Council of Governments invites you to join them for the upcoming lunch and learn webinar, AI: Challenges and Opportunities for Water Resources, on Thursday, May 15th, 2025, from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM.

With artificial intelligence (AI) having a growing presence in our world, it is critical that we understand its role in the water resources sector. While AI poses challenges to water resources due to its intensive water and energy usage, it also provides an opportunity to improve efficiency of operations. Come hear speakers share their perspectives and experiences with AI as it relates to water utilities.

Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussions with presenters to gain insight on AI and opportunities for use in their own region.

RSVP here.

Alamo Area Clean Cities Stakeholder Meeting

Thursday, May 22nd

Join Alamo Area Clean Cities on May 22 for their quarterly stakeholder meeting, featuring a guest presentation from the Environmental Defense Fund! They'll be discussing legislative updates for clean transportation and upcoming events and opportunities for collaboration. The meeting will take place from 10:00am – 12:00pm at the AACOG Board Room (2700 NE Loop 410, Suite 101, San Antonio, TX 78217) or virtually via Teams.

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Roundtable

Tuesday, May 27th

The North Central Texas Council of Governments is hosting a virtual roundtable with a couple of awardees of the EECBG program to share their plans for funding, lessons learned, determining energy efficient needs, and results so far.

While EECBG and related Department of Energy funding is in a state of constant change, we feel it would still be beneficial for local governments to see what is possible if given the opportunity to pursue the energy efficiency projects they have in mind.

Time: 10 AM – 11 AM

Opportunities for Students

Mickey Leland Environmental Internship Program (MLEIP)

The MLEIP prepares undergraduate and graduate students for the next step in their career journey through a paid, full-time summer internship, either at TCEQ, other state agencies, county and city governments, or in the private sector in Texas.

Learn more.

Texas Workforce Commission

The site offers paid and academic credit internship opportunities around the state. The Texas Internship Challenge was developed as a result of a recommendation from Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), the Texas Education Agency, and THECB to Governor Greg Abbott as part of the Tri-Agency Initiative.

Learn more.

Grants & Funding

American Made Program: Community Energy Innovation Prize Round 2

The American-Made Community Energy Innovation Prize Round 2 is a multimillion-dollar prize competition designed to support energy innovation, entrepreneurship, capacity building, and economic development in communities working toward affordable, reliable, and secure energy resources.

The Community Energy Innovation Prize is made up of three tracks: the Clean Energy Ecosystem Track, the Manufacturing Ecosystem Track, and the Vehicles Ecosystem Track, each of which has distinct goals and submission requirements over three phases: CONCEPT, PROGRESS, and IMPACT.

Competitors in the Clean Energy Ecosystem Track may focus on any range of clean energy technologies or initiatives.
Competitors in the Manufacturing Ecosystem Track must have an explicit connection to sustainable manufacturing.
Competitors in the Vehicles Ecosystem Track must focus their efforts on sustainable transportation technologies or initiatives.

Through the three phases, teams have the chance to win part of $8.42 million in prizes to help them advance in the competition and accelerate local solutions in clean energy, energy efficiency, manufacturing, materials, and transportation. Successful competitors will demonstrate a strong track record of building trust and strengthening relationships and partnerships within their communities.

Deadline: June 20, 2025

Eligibility: Private entities (for-profits and nonprofits); nonfederal government entities such as states, counties, tribes, and municipalities; academic institutions; and individuals.

Learn more here.

Texas LoneSTAR Revolving Loan Program

The State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) has opened a Request for Applications (RFA) for the Texas LoanSTAR (Saving Taxes and Resources) Revolving Loan Program, which provides low-interest loans to assist public sector institutions finance energy-related, cost-reduced retrofits of facilities. Recipients receive the loans and then repay them with the energy cost savings realized by the projects.

The maximum loan size per application is $6 million for State Energy Program (SEP) funds at a 2.5% interest rate and $8 million for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds at a 1.5% interest rate.

Deadline: August 31, 2025

Eligibility: State and local governmental entities, political subdivisions, public school districts, and higher education institutions.

Learn more here.

Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit (ITC)

The ITC funds renewable energy projects and projects related to the generation and storage of clean energy for technology placed in service after December 31, 2024. Eligible projects include fuel cells, solar, geothermal, small wind, energy storage, biogas, microgrid controllers, and combined heat and power properties.

Base Credit amount is 6% of eligible costs; 30% if prevailing wages and apprenticeship (PWA) requirements are met, with bonuses for Domestic Content, Energy/Low-Income Communities (Max Credit=70% of project cost).

Deadline: Phases out in 2032

Eligibility: Tax-exempt organizations and government entities

Learn more here.

179D Energy Efficient Commercial Building Tax Deduction

The tax deduction service funds the installation of eligible energy-efficient property in commercial buildings. Energy-efficient property, referred to as "property," installed as part of the following building systems may be eligible for this deduction: interior lighting; heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC); hot water (service water heating); and/or building envelope. This applies to property placed in service as part of a new construction or a building upgrade project.

Deadline: Dependent on the applying property.

Eligibility: Owners of qualified commercial buildings and designers of Energy Efficient Commercial Building Property (EECBP) or Energy Efficient Commercial Building Retrofit Property (EEBRP) installed in buildings owned by tax-exempt entities.

Qualifying Buildings:

EECBP: Certified as being installed as part of a plan to reduce total annual energy/power costs by 25% or more.
EEBRP: Originally in service at least 5 years before the building's qualified retrofit plan was established and certified as meeting certain energy savings requirements.

Learn more here.