STAC

Project Information Center

STATEMENT OF WORK

Project Title:

Midwest Regional Rebuild America Application Center

Contractor:

University of Illinois-CH, Energy Resource Center
851 S Morgan Street (M/C 156)
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 953-9631

Program Area:

Rebuild America

Partners:

University of Illinois at Chicago Energy Center of Wisconsin Illinois State Energy Office Indiana State Energy Office Michigan State Energy Office Iowa State Energy Office Minnesota State Energy Office Ohio State Energy Office Wisconsin State Energy Office Missouri State Energy Office Iowa Energy Center Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance

Project Description:

Project will provide Midwestern States with information, education, and technical assistance. The Center will establish an advisory committee of eight Midwestern State Energy Offices, establish targeted market sectors, evaluate current and past efforts, identify barriers to project implementation, and work with stakeholder groups from the targeted market sectors. An information clearinghouse will be formed, targeted workshops conducted, site report and project profile protocols developed, technical assistance provided, and quantifiable measurements and project reporting procedures established.

Management Plan (Approach):

The unique nature of STAC requires that projects be supported by multiple State entities, and to the extent necessary any other entity. As indicated in the STAC Agreement, it is the Contractor’s responsibility to coordinate the execution of work under the Contract, incorporated by reference hereto. Contractor, in conjunction with the other State entities, and to the extent necessary any other entity, shall conduct the project in accordance with the Management Plan (approach) described below.

The prime contractor for this project will be the University of Illinois at Chicago Energy Resources Center, with the Principal Investigator being Henry Kurth. Until 2004, Mr. Kurth held the position of Director of the Energy Programs at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (the Illinois State Energy Office). In that capacity, Mr. Kurth was responsible for a large portfolio of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, including a very strong and successful Rebuild America program. The "Illinois Community Energy Program" was a prime example of Illinois cooperative efforts with the Rebuild America Program. This program combined the technical tools, products and financial assistance from the US DOE's Rebuild Program with that of Illinois' resources to provide comprehensive energy services in seventeen Illinois communities. As the former leader of the Illinois State Energy Office, Mr. Kurth has a strong and close relationship with all eight Midwest State Energy Offices and has the background and experience to ensure the organization and implementation of the Center's Advisory Committee (a key to the success of this project).

Also, John Cuttica (UIC/ERC) will be very active in this project. Mr. Cuttica was responsible for the development of the Midwest CHP Application Center and today still serves as its Director. His experience in developing and implementing such a center and his relationship with the same eight Midwest State Energy Offices will be key in ensuring the success of the Midwest Regional Rebuild America Application Center.

The Midwest State Energy Offices in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, and Ohio have provided letters of support, endorsing the value of establishing this regional center. Although the Midwest State Energy Offices in Wisconsin and Missouri were unable at this time to provide a formal letter of support, they all expressed their verbal interest in working with the Center, should the Center be formed.

As the prime contractor, UIC/ERC will have the overall responsibility for the execution of the contract terms, including all deliverables under the contract, UIC/ERC will issue subcontracts to the project team members as appropriate to carry out specific aspects of the proposal.

The ECW and its staff brings to the project a long and successful history of energy efficiency and energy outreach programs in the State of Wisconsin and the Midwest region. The Energy Center has completed hundreds of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects spanning all major market sectors (residential, low-income, commercial, industrial and agricultural) and addressing a wide variety of topics and technologies. Their specific experience in outreach/information clearinghouse projects is clearly a crucial element of this project.

UIC/ERC and the ECW will also work closely with the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance in organizing the Advisory Committee and developing the initial Center operational plan. MEEA's members include the state energy offices as well as numerous energy efficiency advocates and service providers in the Midwest. MEEA's participation in the development phase of the Center will ensure a more inclusive and cohesive effort.

Most importantly, UIC/ERC and ECW will coordinate the Center's effort with the USDOE National Rebuild America program. This will be accomplished both by maintaining a very close relationship with the DOE's Midwest Regional Office and by establishing lines of open communication with the Rebuild America Washington staff. This will ensure the Rebuild tools and technical services will be made readily available to the Center's Midwest clients.

The project management plan calls for:

Bi-monthly (every two months) Advisory Committee meetings/conference calls
Quarterly project status reports
Complete coordination of Center efforts with both the Advisory Committee and with the DOE Midwest Regional Office (MRO)
Establishing Center metrics (quantifiable) within the first three months and utilizing these metrics as one form of Center management/evaluation (also setting priorities)
The Center with the assistance of the Advisory Committee and the Midwest rebuild Industry will be developing a Midwest Rebuild Action Plan that will assist in setting Center priorities and managing the Center activities to that Plan
Developing an Annual "End of Year Summary, Center Highlights/Accomplishments Report" is another management tool to keep the program, focused on accomplishments
Finally the project will be managed to the set of milestones and deliverables defined in the contract.

Task I: Developing and Expanding State Rebuild Capacity

The center will form an advisory committee consisting of a Rebuild America representative from each of the eight State Energy Offices located in the Midwest Region, a representative from the DOE Midwest Regional Office, a representative from the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, and appropriate U.S. DOE National Rebuild America representative(s) (i.e.: ORNL will be invited to participate). The advisory committee will solicit assistance from appropriate Midwest energy industry, trade groups, and government representatives. The function of the advisory committee is twofold:

provide input and guidance into the Center development and operation
provide the mechanism for deploying and implementing the results of the Center activities through the state Rebuild America efforts.

The Center will work with the advisory committee and other appropriate energy industry and trade groups to clarify the Rebuild function in the Midwest, and identify how individual state goals can collectively work to enhance U.S. DOE's program goals and objectives. The Center will assist the Midwest States in developing a regional plan and then in implementing the plan through appropriately focused Center activities.

The Center will work with the advisory committee to select the targeted market sectors to be addressed by the Center and emphasized in State activities during this proposed effort. This will help focus regional efforts and guide the development and implementation of Center services to enhance the interstate transfer of experiences and knowledge.

The Center will work with the advisory committee to identify, develop a relationship with, and engage stakeholder groups that represent the targeted market sector(s). These stakeholders start with the trade associations and their member companies that represent the owners and/or operators of the buildings within the targeted market sector. To implement energy efficiency measures in most building sectors, two individuals are usually considered key when establishing meaningful partnerships:

Facility Manager
Financial Officer or Comptroller

The Center's efforts in this area will be focused on how best to approach the targeted market sector(s) on a local and regional basis, and to develop tools that can efficiently screen the sector for the best potential partnerships.

Task II: Developing/Implementing Center Services

As a result of Task I, the Center will develop a series of services/materials categorized as Informational, Educational, and/or Technical Assistance that will be made available to the stakeholders within the region. It is through this centralized Center activity and the availability of these services to the states and targeted market sector(s) that the individual state Rebuild America programs can grow in depth, breadth, and sustainability. The following are the services that will be established and offered through the Center under this proposal:

Information Clearinghouse: At the core of the Center's activities and capabilities will be the Information Clearinghouse that will serve as the central repository of energy information relative to the Rebuild America program in the Midwest Region. The clearinghouse will:
- Facilitate access to energy information and provide a regional perspective
- Contain all information, educational materials, tools, and reports generated by the Center and/or other sources relevant to Rebuild America in the Midwest
- Foster ongoing collaboration among Rebuild Partners in the Midwest
- Compliment (not replace) individual state websites dedicated to their State Rebuild America Programs.
The present ECW information system was developed with state utility funds in 2001. This system will serve as the ongoing engine, required to establish a Midwest rebuild information clearinghouse system. This will reduced initial development costs and provide the Center with a proven system that can be operational and available to the Center, the states, and other rebuild partners upon populating it with rebuild materials. The clearinghouse database will be managed jointly by ECW and UIC/ERC.
Targeted Workshops: One-day workshops will focus on providing the energy concept, the business case, and case studies regarding energy efficiency technologies and measures that apply to the selected market sector(s). By dedicating each workshop to one specific building sector (schools, state/local government buildings, colleges and universities, commercial office buildings, public and multi-family housing, institutional buildings, etc) the Center can address the specific issues, opportunities, benefits, and needs associated with the implementation of energy efficiency measures in that particular market application. The targeted workshop approach allows the Center to bring together the experts throughout the region (existing partners and experienced state representatives) to share their experiences and knowledge. These workshops can focus on different aspects of energy issues (technologies, financing, energy price volatility, fuel flexibility, audits, commissioning, etc). Whenever feasible, the Center will include on-site tours and/or demonstrations of previous successful Rebuild America partner projects.

The Center, in cooperation with the state energy offices and the market sector stakeholders, will identify those issues and areas of opportunity that are best addressed through targeted workshops. The Center will develop the workshop material, provide the technical speakers, and assist the states in organizing and implementing the workshops in their area. All material will be available through the information clearinghouse for use throughout the Midwest and other regions of the country as appropriate.

Both UIC/ERC and the ECW have extensive experience in conducting these type workshops. The workshops can be delivered in face-to-face training sessions or by web-cast. The resources allocated under this task will allow a minimum of 8 targeted workshops to be implemented during the 18 month performance period of this contract.

Site Reports & Project Profiles: One of the most effective means of communicating the benefits and issues associated with investing in energy efficiency in buildings is to document the experiences (good and bad) of others with similar buildings/facilities. The UIC/ERC participated in an ASERTTI/DOE project to develop national protocols for the laboratory testing, field testing, and case study preparation associated with Combined Heat & Power (CHP) projects. The "Case Study Protocols" (developed by the UIC/ERC) can be directly applied to any energy efficiency improvement project installation. The case study protocols provide the format to develop a "Site Report" (a ten to fifteen page engineering report on the installation and operation of the installation), and a "Project Profile" (a two page document that provides a summary of the installation benefits and issues).

The Center will have the capability to develop both type reports. The project profiles in particular provide enough consistent, reliable, and accurate information to:

Inform building owners of existing installation applications that are similar to their facility and needs

Inform engineering companies and equipment manufacturers of basic information that will pique their interest in finding out more details about a site installation

Inform energy efficiency advocates of a wide variety of energy efficiency building installations located throughout the Midwest region.

The Center will develop a minimum of 10 project profiles and make them available through the information clearinghouse, at targeted workshops, and through industry tradeshows or other events.

Technical Assistance: As part of the Information Clearinghouse, the Center will establish a "hot line" (accessed by phone or electronically by e-mail) for technical help with a staff person(s) that is intimately aware of the information clearinghouse content and hot to find it. The Center will also develop a SWAT Team of experts that will be made available if required to provide assistance via the hot line (initial contact & limited support under the resources of this proposal and additional assistance for fee). The available areas of expertise will include HVAC systems, indoor air quality, distributed generation, energy audits and commissioning, lighting and daylighting, appliances, building thermal integrity, and building designs (LEEDS). The hotline will be managed jointly by UIC/ERC and the ECW.

Task III: Measuring Success/Project Reporting

Success of the Center must be measured against a set of quantifiable metric established at the start of the project. A series of metrics will be established by the Center and its advisory committee within the first three months of the project. The ultimate measure of success for the Center is to be a positive factor in the development of Rebuild America Partnerships within the eight state Midwest Region, and to have the partnerships result in the installation of energy efficiency measures that produce real energy savings and environmental improvements. Metrics can and will be established that can be both directly and indirectly measure the level of success. The direct measures of success will document those partnerships which we know were directly affected by the work of the Center. The indirect measures of success include documenting such activities as:

Basic usage statistics for the information services
Detailed statistical analysis for the information service usage
Behavior and decision effects of the services
Analysis of the information needs of stakeholders and potential users
Website statistics on information downloading

The Center will provide quarterly written reports on the status of the project and summarize these reports in an "Annual Center Highlights/Accomplishments" documents. These reports will address the status of meeting the Center metrics, highlighting benefits and lessons learned.

Task IV: Expanding the Regional Application Center Concept:

The Center will fully document its activities, including the development of protocols for those activities that seem to satisfy the established metrics. The Advisory Committee, the Director of ASERTTI, with input from and in consultation with the NASEO Director and USDOE, will evaluate the effectiveness of the Regional Application Center concept and make a recommendation to the STAC Executive Committee on whether the concept is successful and cost effective. This evaluation will also develop strategies to identify the resources necessary to expand the center concept nationally.

Deliverables:

Regional Rebuild America Advisory Committee: Members identified and the group functioning to both provide guidance to the Center and provide the mechanism for deploying the results of the Center activities (Month 2).
Rebuild America Regional Action Plan: Prioritized activities developed by the States to enhance their efforts and grow capacity within the Midwest states (Month 4).
Information Clearinghouse: Central repository for Midwest Rebuild information, education materials, tools, and reports as well as serving as centralized means of state-to-state (peer-to-peer) communication (Operational by Month 5).
8 Targeted Workshops: Topics and targeted markets to be defined in cooperation with the Advisory Committee (State Representatives, DOE MRO, and appropriate other organizations (Initiate by Month 6 and Complete by Month 18).
10 Project Profiles: Two page case studies providing consistent, reliable, and accurate information (benefits and issues) for use in outreach activities (Delivery begins Month 5 through Month 18).
Hot Line/SWAT Team Assistance to States: (Operational by Month 6)
Quarterly Project Status Reports
End of Year Summary, Center Highlights/Accomplishments Report: Status of Center metrics highlighting benefits and lessons learned (Month 12 & 18).
Application Center Protocols: Documentation of what works and what doesn't for use if the Center concept is expanded to other regions (Month 18).

Project Tasks, Status, and Deliverables

Task #	Description	Status	Deliverable(s)
1	Developing and Expanding State Rebuild Capacity
2	Developing/Implementing Center Services
3	Measuring Success/Project Reporting
4	Expanding the Regional Application Center Concept

Last Updated: 12/18/06