Innovation Partnership

Latest Info on Gov. Kitzhaber's Energy Efficient Schools Fund

2011-01-31T11:53:00.000-08:00

Last week’s OSBA Sustainable Schools Conference was a good one, loaded with useful speakers and workshops (check out the online versions of the presentations at http://www.osba.org/sustain). Scott Nelson, Governor Kitzhaber’s Jobs and Economy Advisor, launched the conference with information about the new Energy Efficient Schools Fund (We have confirmed the information below with the Governor's office.)

NEW INFORMATION: The Governor’s Office will have a simple application packet that will be available to districts within the next month or two.

In his talk, Scott Nelson emphasized the desire for shovel-ready projects for the Summer of 2011 that can act as ‘proof of concept’ for Energy-Efficient Schools and serve as stepping stones for longer-term, more in-depth initiatives. He made a point of how investing in schools aligns with the Governor’s Four-Step plan for Oregon, channeling funds that build the state’s human capital while stimulating home-grown industries that make the state competitive in the world market.

Q: Will school districts actually be seeing more money? What about non-1149 districts?

A: Yes, there will be a larger pool of money for energy efficiency projects. There will also be funds made available to non-1149 districts, which will probably come in the form of low- or no-interest loans/grants.

Q: Will there be a competitive application process between school districts?

A: The allocation process will remain similar to that used for 1149 funds. The Governor’s Office is hoping to fast-track summer projects and is creating a simple application package that will be available within the next month or two. There may be some preferential criteria such as potential savings and geographic diversity.

Q: Will districts that have already borrowed against 1149 funds be able to take advantage of this new funding?

A: The Governor’s Office emphasized that it will not penalize districts that have already capitalized on 1149 funding, and there may well be additional funds available to them.

Q: How will the state encourage projects that will be ready by this summer? Will the state tighten or loosen the guidelines that apply to 1149 funds?

A: The state is planning to streamline the process by pre-approving a pool of regional contractors (local labor will be prioritized) and exerting a larger measure of control than will be used in subsequent years.

Preference will be given to districts that have summer projects that tie into a longer-term energy-efficiency strategy.

Guidelines will most likely stay the same, though there is the possibility that they will be tightened. Districts that already have a long-term plan can continue with it; those that do not will be provided with some easy options.

Q: Will the new guidelines force investment in buildings that would be better off replaced?

A: Energy audits are the first step. If you are in an 1149 district and have not yet had an audit, one should occur. If you are not eligible for an audit under 1149, funding for these audits has been authorized. There is no one-size-fits-all project that will make sense for all Oregon schools.

Q: What can schools do with these new funds that they can’t do under 1149?

A: The new funding will provide a pool of funds that districts can borrow against immediately. In other words, the monies will be available up front, in the form of a grant or low-interest loan (versus current reimbursement). The new bill would prioritize projects that give energy savings back to schools.

Q: How will this new fund affect districts that have already borrowed against 1149 funds?

A: Districts that have already borrowed against 1149 money will continue along their reimbursement schedule --- early adopters will NOT be penalized.

Q: My district has already been subject to a number of audits. When will we finally be able to implement projects?

A: This new initiative is all about implementation. While energy audits are a necessary first step, the Governor’s Office is committed to getting money to schools as quickly as possible for the actual implementation of projects.

Q: Will these new projects be monitored and managed to ensure that the energy savings will actually take place?

A: We acknowledge that energy management is an issue. While providing full-time monitoring would drastically increase the up-front costs of energy-saving projects, the state does have ten years worth of GIS tracking data that energy information about the state’s schools. This information should help us to ensure that our projects are effective.

Senate Bill 245

2011-01-18T16:49:00.000-08:00

Download the Bill here.

Energy Efficiency Draft Proposal

2011-01-14T11:40:00.000-08:00

Find the Draft proposal here.

2011-01-14T11:03:00.000-08:00

Click below for a quick report about Wednesday's public forum on the Energy Efficient School draft proposal, including Governor-Elect Kitzhaber's proposed funding mechanisms for energy-efficiency facility retrofits. The Governor's Office will be presenting the most up-to-date information on the proposed fund at the OSBA Sustainable Schools conference this month, January 26 and 27, at the Salem Conference Center. For a copy of the full draft plan and the comments received to date, visit http://transition.johnkitzhaber.com/efficiency .

CISF Comments

2011-01-11T13:10:00.000-08:00

CISF recently submitted comments (posted below and available here) in response to the Energy Efficient Schools Draft Proposal. Make sure to read our previous post for a summary of the Wednesday meeting!

New forms from CISF

2010-11-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

We have 2 new forms created for the Center for Innovative School Facilities.

The first is our new member form:

and the second is a flyer for a conference call on Alternative Funding Options for Facilities:

Handouts from the July 16th daVinci Event

2010-07-26T10:37:00.001-07:00

Here are the three handouts that were at the daVinci event on the 16th.

Executive Summary:

Facilities' Impact on Achievement:

Economics of High Performance Facilities (HPF):

da Vinci Event on Friday, July 16th 2010

2010-07-08T14:49:00.001-07:00

LEED Platinum for Evans-Harvard High Performance Classroom at da Vinci Arts Middle School!

2010-05-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody,

We just got some great news from Nancy Bond, one of our CISF Sustainability Committee members and the Resource Conservation Specialist for Portland Public Schools:

"The Evans-Harvard High Performance Classroom at da Vinci Arts Middle School represents a landmark achievement in school construction, and not just for Portland Public Schools."

The project was awarded 55 points, 3 more than required fot a platinum rating (for you fellow LEED credit trackers out there)!

check out the full story here!

Congratulations Portland Public Schools!

Sustainability Begins WIth Education

2010-05-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a busy month -hence the lack of blog posts! I came across this link to an awesome tool on GE's website. I also have to give props to Lisa Strausfeld of Pentagram for designing this amazing and useful tool!

The Navigator: The Rural Oregon Guide to Saving Money by Saving Resources

2010-04-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

One of our awesome and dedicated volunteers, Arnie Hollander (who also created the Sustainability Matrix) came across "The Navigator: The Rural Oregon Guide to Saving Money by Saving Resources" which was created by FCA, who develops resource solutions for rural communities. Arnie had a physical copy, but you can see the online version here. This publication is packed with resources. From their website:

"As we stood in these farmers' fields and talked about great
programs like the BETC (page 12) or EQIP (page 24), we knew
we needed some type of guide where we would be able to circle
a program description and say, "This program is for solar panels.
It will save you a lot of money. Call Joe at Oregon Department
of Energy. He will point you in the right direction." But that
tool didn't exist."

Check it out!

-Innovation Partnership

Our Sustainability Matrix is Online!

2010-04-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody,

Our sustainability matrix is online and ready for download in both 11x17 and 8.5x11 format. This sustainability checklist is free, but also for sale to businesses who wish to edit and adjust the checklist to cater to their facility needs, you can also put your business logo in place of ours and distribute it throughout your company. Please download, and let us know what you think!

-Innovation Partnership

New website and content coming soon.

2010-03-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

We are excited to be updating our existing website with a new look and revised content (this blog is among some of the new changes). Stay tuned in the next upcoming weeks for a new look, new features and additional resources!

-Innovation Partnership

Our blog is up and running!

2010-03-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody!

We just got our blog up and running so that we can bring you the latest news on our projects and local news and events related to our projects. We hope you will check in with us regularly to see what we are up to!

-Innovation Partnership