Mayor Nutter Cuts Ribbon On Wastewater Geothermal Heating Project

Philadelphia, April 12, 2012 – Mayor Michael A. Nutter, the Philadelphia Water Department and Philadelphia-based NovaThermal Energy have partnered to be the first site in the United States to deploy a commercial scale geothermal system that provides building heat using domestic wastewater. Mayor Nutter, Novathermal Energy partners, City and U.S. Department of Energy officials and community partners held a ribbon-cutting and tour at the Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant where the project has been implemented.

“I am proud to say that Philadelphia is taking another groundbreaking step in becoming the greenest city in America,” said Mayor Nutter. “Partnering with a Philadelphia-based company and using innovative technology, we have achieved a win-win for energy efficiency and economic development. We will be able to save on costs and energy resources at a City facility while commercializing a technology that can be used in large commercial and industrial buildings throughout the country.”

The project demonstrates the City’s commitment to incubate new businesses, deploy clean energy technology as part of its Greenworks Philadelphia goals, be a leader in resource recovery and explore new markets for revenue.

“This project is another example of PWD’s commitment to diversify our energy portfolio as part of our pledge to be a sustainable and cost-conscious utility,” remarked Water Commissioner Howard Neukrug. “The development of technology that essentially recycles wastewater by extracting its energy for reuse is innovative and demonstrates PWD’s national leadership in resource recovery.”

Commercialization of this technology is designed to significantly reduce energy use in large commercial and industrial buildings throughout Philadelphia and the United States. This project is one example of the Department’s long-term plans to add resource recovery to its facilities environmental protection portfolio.

The City of Philadelphia incurred no costs or outlay of expenses for this project, made possible through funding provided by the City of Philadelphia’s Greenworks Pilot Energy Technology Grant program, which is supported by federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funds from the U.S. Department of Energy. Ben Franklin Technology Partners of SE Pennsylvania additionally contributed with a grant to support measurement and verification technical assistance.

The project consists of a 1 million BTU/hr unit located in the building’s basement from which heat is directly accessed from the adjacent sewage channel. While the technology can be scaled to a much larger size, this project serves to prove the technology’s energy savings in the U.S. context. At the Southeast Plant, NovaThermal Energy will demonstrate its ability to provide heat at approximately 50% of current cost, realizing $216,000 of savings over 15 years.

About the Philadelphia Water Department
The Philadelphia Water Department serves the Greater Philadelphia region by providing integrated water, wastewater and storm water services. The Department’s mission is to plan for, operate and maintain both the infrastructure and the organization necessary to purvey high quality drinking water, to provide an adequate and reliable water supply for all household, commercial and community needs, and to sustain and enhance the region’s watersheds and quality of life by managing wastewater and stormwater effectively.

About NovaThermal Energy
NovaThermal Energy’s wastewater geothermal energy efficiency technology saves up to 60% in building heating and cooling costs. The system combines a water source heat pump with a patented filtration device to transfer heat energy directly from sewage, using wastewater flows as a heat source. NovaThermal taps into the existing municipal sewer infrastructure, eliminating the land area and cost of geothermal piping or borefields, making the system feasible and affordable for buildings with large energy load requirements.

NovaThermal Energy is a Philadelphia-headquartered company, bringing its proven energy efficiency technology to market in the United States. The company holds an exclusive license for this Chinese technology, and is the US patent holder for improvements to the system.

Commissioner Burns Announces Implementation of Legislation Encouraging Solar Panel Use

Philadelphia, January 19, 2012 – The Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) has implemented two ordinances designed to encourage the use of solar panels systems in Philadelphia. Sponsored by Councilman Jim Kenney, the two ordinances amend the Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code to greatly reduce the costs of securing both electrical permits and building permits for solar panel systems (also known as photovoltaic systems).

Licenses and Inspections Commissioner Fran Burns stated, “These changes are not only part of the ongoing reform and focus on supporting business development, but also a step towards ensuring a sustainable and competitive future for Philadelphia and its residents. I am excited to support this energy option since solar panel systems decrease dependence on fossil fuels and reduce the risks of rising energy costs in the long-run.”

Commenting, Councilman Jim Kenney said, “Today we move Philadelphia in the right direction, towards a more sustainable and greener future, while also encouraging economic development and job creation. As we continue down this green path, we must be open to further innovation and development of cleaner fuel sources.”

Passed by Council and signed into law by Mayor Nutter in the 2011 Term, Bills 110533 and 110829 amend the Code to exclude the costs of solar panels and inverters in calculating electrical permit and building permit fees when a photovoltaic system is installed.

In 2009, the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability released the landmark Greenworks report, setting a variety of sustainability goals, including a key target of purchasing and generating 20 percent of electricity used in Philadelphia from alternative energy sources. The passage and implementation of these code amendments are important steps towards meeting the vision of Greenworks — to make Philadelphia the Greenest City in the United States.

Mayor Nutter Opens City’s First Solar PV Installation

Mayor Michael A. Nutter, local and federal officials celebrated the completion of a new solar PV installation, the first owned by the City of Philadelphia, at the Philadelphia Water Department’s (PWD) Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant. The PWD installed a 250kW solar photovoltaic system, which was completed as a result of Philadelphia’s partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar America Cities program. The solar array, which produces enough energy to power 28 homes each year, also contributes to a goal of the Greenworks Philadelphia sustainability plan, to purchase or generate 20 percent of electricity used in the city from alternative energy sources by 2015.

“Producing solar energy at this City-owned water treatment plant reduces our greenhouse gas emissions, creates new jobs, and lowers our electricity bill. This is a smart investment that will help the city reach the goals set in Greenworks Philadelphia,” said Mayor Nutter. “I would like to thank the U.S. Department of Energy for helping Philadelphia to invest in renewable energies and to build upon our momentum to become the greenest city in America.”

“Philadelphia’s leadership in deploying solar energy highlights the important role local communities can play in expanding the U.S. solar industry and bringing more renewable energy online,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “This new solar energy installation will serve as a model for how cities across the country can partner with the federal government and the private sector to develop new sources of clean energy.”

The system at the PWD’s Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant is ground mounted and covers more than an acre of previously unused land. The treatment plant will use all of the solar power generated on-site, and PWD owns the Solar Renewable Energy Credits. The project was made possible by $850,000 from the City’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the DOE and $850,000 from the PWD and technical assistance from DOE’s Solar America Cities program. The PWD, the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities and the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability were instrumental in identifying the site and acquiring funding for the project.

“By installing one of the first large-scale solar projects in Philadelphia, the City is demonstrating that alternative generation is both feasible and beneficial,” said Deputy Mayor for Transportation and Utilities Rina Cutler.

Commissioner of the Philadelphia Water Department Howard Neukrug added, “Water treatment uses large amounts of electricity. PWD is proud to use clean, sustainable power generated on-site. Because this project was so successful, we’re planning to replicate it at other treatment plants.”

About Solar America Cities:
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has designated 25 major U.S. cities as Solar America Cities committed to accelerating the adoption of solar energy technologies. The Solar America Cities partnerships represent the foundation of DOE’s larger Solar America Communities program which is designed to increase the use and integration of solar energy in communities across the United States. Visit Solar America Communities online at www.solaramericacommunities.energy.gov. Solar America Cities is hosting its annual meeting in Philadelphia April 25 to 28.

CITY OF PHILADELPHIA’S FIRST SOLAR PV INSTALLATION BREAKS GROUND

Philadelphia, December 13, 2010 The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) has broken ground on a 250 kW solar photovoltaic system at their Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant. The project is the City of Philadelphia’s first solar installation and will help meet the Greenworks Philadelphia goal to purchase or generate 20% of electricity used in Philadelphia from alternative energy sources by 2015. PWD, the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities and the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability are confident that the project is paving the way for many more to follow.

“The City is pleased to be leading by example and showing Philadelphians that generating electricity from alternative energy sources is feasible and sustainable,” said Deputy Mayor for Transportation and Utilities Rina Cutler.

“Generating solar power to use at our water treatment facility is win-win,” stated Debra McCarty, Deputy Commissioner of Operations for PWD. “We reduce PWD’s energy bills which ultimately benefits our rate-payers.”

The system at the PWD’s Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant will be ground mounted and cover more than an acre of currently unused land. It will produce enough energy to power 28 homes. The treatment plant will use all of the solar power generated on-site.  PWD will own the Solar Renewable Energy Credits, and CETCO, selected through the public works bid process, is building the project.

The project is made possible by $850,000 from the City’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), leveraged PWD funds and technical assistance from DOE’s Solar America Cities program.

“A great team of funders and partners has collaborated to bring this project to life,” said Kristin Sullivan, Program Director of the Philadelphia Solar City Partnership. “The City looks forward to learning from this project and replicating it.”

A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for the Spring to celebrate the project’s completion.

About Solar America Cities:

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has designated 25 major U.S. cities as Solar America Cities committed to accelerating the adoption of solar energy technologies. The Solar America Cities partnerships represent the foundation of DOE’s larger Solar America Communities program which is designed to increase the use and integration of solar energy in communities across the United States. Visit Solar America Communities online at www.solaramericacommunities.energy.gov.

SECRETARY CHU APPOINTS MAYOR MICHAEL A. NUTTER TO DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Mayor Nutter to serve on the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee

Philadelphia, November 29, 2010 – Mayor Michael A. Nutter has been appointed to serve on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee (ERAC) by U.S. Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu.  The Committee’s role is to advise the Secretary of Energy on issues related to energy efficiency and renewable energy, and to provide recommendations on long-term planning, priorities, strategy and funding.

“We have a plan to make Philadelphia America’s number one green city and I am proud that we are becoming a leader in the creation of a new green economy,” said Mayor Nutter.  “By encouraging clean tech businesses to locate in Philadelphia and supporting the creation of new green technologies we are creating jobs and helping small businesses today, saving homeowners money today, but also investing in the future and keeping America competitive for the next 100 years.”

The City of Philadelphia is fast becoming one of America’s leading clean tech cities.  Earlier this year the federal government, including the Department of Energy, awarded a $129 million grant to the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy Efficient Buildings (GPIC) for the establishment of a national Energy Innovation Hub at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for the creation and commercialization of energy efficiency technologies.  In October 2010, Mayor Nutter announced that The Mark Group, a home energy efficiency firm based in the United Kingdom, will establish its U.S. Headquarters at the Philadelphia Navy Yard creating around 250 new jobs in Philadelphia.  And earlier this month Mayor Nutter and the Metropolitan Caucus launched EnergyWorks, a program funded with a $25 million grant from the Department of Energy to provide a range of services and financing mechanisms to homeowners and businesses to help them finance improvements and save money on their energy bills.

Mayor Nutter is the only elected official to serve on the Committee and was asked by Secretary Chu to serve as a “representative of local governments engaged in accelerating the incorporation of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies into the existing energy portfolio.”  The Committee is expected to meet twice per year with the first meeting taking place on Tuesday November 30, 2010, in Washington, D.C.

A list of the other members of the Committee can be found here: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/eere_advisory_committee/members.html

 

MAYOR NUTTER ANNOUNCES PHILLY BUYING POWER PROGRAM FOR PHILADELPHIA BUSINESSES

Mayor Michael A. Nutter joined the African American Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Asian American Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Councilman Darrell Clarke, Councilman Wilson Goode, and City officials to announce the creation of Philly Buying Power, a city-endorsed energy purchasing program that will pool the energy demands of interested small businesses to get them competitive prices on their electricity bills. Sazon Restaurant & Cafe, a small business participating in the program, hosted the announcement. Philly Buying Power provides opportunities for commercial consumers to benefit from deregulation, weather potential volatility in the energy generating sector, and increase the affordability and percentage of sustainably produced power in their supply.

“Because this is uncharted territory for businesses, the City wanted to help them navigate the new marketplace,” explained Mayor Nutter. “Philly Buying Power allows businesses and non-profits to buy electricity with confidence and put their money into growing their organizations instead of paying energy bills.”

When PECO rate caps expire at the end of the year, Philadelphia businesses will be able to purchase electricity generation from a supplier of their choice. In other cities with expiring rate caps, generation suppliers have competed to serve larger businesses, institutions, and residents. However, suppliers often have made fewer competitive offers to small and medium businesses.

In October, the City selected Taylor Consulting and Contracting, a Pennsylvania-based energy management firm, to operate Philly Buying Power through a Request for Information process. The RFI sought a consultant to form a buyer’s group of Philadelphia businesses and administer an on-line auction for electric utility providers to compete for the aggregated electrical demand of the buyer’s group. A selection committee including Councilman Clarke, Councilman Goode, Councilman Jones, Councilman Kenney, and representatives from the African American Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic American Chamber, the Law Department, the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities, the Department of Commerce, and the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability chose Taylor as the most qualified respondent to run the program.

The City endorses Philly Buying Power to let Philadelphia businesses know that Taylor has experience building and operating successful energy aggregations, including one in the City of Boston. Taylor recently opened an office in Philadelphia to recruit, enroll, and service businesses in Philly Buying Power. They anticipate increasing their local workforce as the Philly Buying Power program grows and holding their first auctions for 2011 energy generation in late November or early December 2010.

“As customers make their electricity decisions for 2011, we hope all businesses will consider joining Philly Buying Power,” said Christopher Booth, Vice President of Taylor. “In addition to the procurement of energy, Philly Buying Power will provide enrollees with a state-of-the-art utility management system and access to energy services which will help businesses reduce and manage their electricity consumption.”

Taylor will group Philly Buying Power members with other businesses that share similar energy use profiles, and suppliers will bid for the opportunity to generate electricity for each grouping. The supplier that bids the lowest price wins a contract to generate power for the group. Over time, the buyer’s group and their total purchasing power will continue to grow, increasing the ability of the group to command lower prices from energy providers.

Sazon Restaurant & Cafe, a restaurant serving home-style Venezuelan cuisine at 941 Spring Garden Street, enrolled in Philly Buying Power to reduce their 2011 electricity expenses. Judith Suzarra-Campbell, chef and co-owner, explained, “We’ve gotten calls, mail, and visitors, all claiming that they can reduce our electricity costs. With so much information out there, we weren’t sure who to trust or how to approach buying our electricity. Philly Buying Power lets the experts get us the best deal at no risk or cost to our business.”

“The City is pleased to offer this innovative tool to help Philadelphia businesses make smart choices about energy, saving money and advancing the Greenworks Philadelphia goal of reducing citywide energy usage 10 percent by 2015,” said Alan Greenberger, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. “This is another great project proving that an environmentally friendly Philadelphia is also a business friendly Philadelphia.”

“Philly Buying Power creates exactly the kind of competition deregulation was intended to promote,” said James Cawley, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Utility Commission. “From a policy standpoint, everyone wins – suppliers are able to secure customers and the customers get great rates from their collective buying power. The PUC applauds the City of Philadelphia and Taylor for implementing this creative program.”
Businesses in Philadelphia and surrounding communities can enroll by visiting www.phillybuyingpower.com or www.phila.gov or calling the local Taylor office at 215.558.5185.

 

Generating Products, Not Just Ideas, to Get Off the Fossil-Fuel Diet

Here’s what becoming a smarter city means to me. Philadelphia just launched a small program to help city companies develop a market for their technologies to improve energy efficiency.The $430,000 program will award grants of between $50,000 and $150,000 to companies with more than a great idea. This money is aimed at getting products off the lab bench and installed into a setting where the entrepreneurs can prove their technologies can walk their talk.

How, you might ask, can a city that needed to attract $600,000 in private- sector funds before it could open its public pools this weekend afford to push such a program? It all goes back to the federal stimulus package and Mayor Nutter’s ambitious Greenworks Philadelphia plan to remake how the city consumes energy, handles trash, and nurtures green space. The money for the new Greenworks Pilot Energy Technology program comes from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act block grant funding. The energy-tech program is an experiment to support local companies that have been working on products to cash in on the current mania to try anything that’s not fossil-fuel-related.

The thinking: Help a company get its new product up and running with a customer. If the demonstration project works, the company shows it off to other potential customers. New orders come in, production ramps up, and jobs are created.

One of the city’s priorities for the Philadelphia Navy Yard is as a hub for “clean energy” research and commerce. Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, which has its operations at the Navy Yard, will evaluate the proposals from companies seeking funding. Deadline for applications is July 31.

Ben Franklin’s technical review of the applications is expected to last until mid-September. Then, it will forward recommendations on who should get funding to the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. by the end of September. Grants are expected to be awarded by PIDC at the end of October.

Realistically, only three to eight companies will get grants. But this is the kind of shovel-ready project I can get behind, because it emphasizes products, not concepts that exist only as drawings on cocktail napkins. And if it smacks of government’s trying to pick winners, well, no more so than what the Ben Franklin economic-development program has tried to do over its 27-year history.

In backing successes and failures, Ben Franklin has provided small amounts of necessary funding to technology companies when they’ve been too “green” to interest venture capital firms.

Now that green is one of the hotter trends in venture investing, the city’s pilot energy-tech program could help some grant recipients get noticed in the increasingly crowded “cleantech” field.

For more information about the program, go to http://www .sep-energy.org/gpet/gpet.htm

By Mike Armstrong

Inquirer Columnist

City of Philadelphia Launches Pilot Program to Help Local Companies Launch New Green Technologies

Grants Will Help Bring New Green Technologies to Market, Creating Jobs, Launching Businesses

Philadelphia, June 11, 2010- The City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, in partnership with the Ben Franklin Technology Partners are launching an innovative new pilot program designed to help Philadelphia companies with cutting edge energy efficiency technologies develop a market for their products. The Greenworks Pilot Energy Technology (G-PET) Program offers grants to Philadelphia companies to accelerate the introduction of their new, energy efficient products and services to the marketplace. G-PET is being funded with $430,000 of federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 to the City of Philadelphia.

“In a research hub like Philadelphia, helping to find ways to turn ideas into companies is the best thing we can do to create jobs and boost our economy,” said Mayor Michael A. Nutter. “The future of green technology is the future of the green economy we’re all so excited about.”

“Greentech is a new field and it’s important that the City partner with its most innovative companies to help develop it,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Alan Greenberger. “We’re conducting experiments like this one to help lay the groundwork for the growth of an industry over the next many years.”

As an integral part of the Greenworks Plan, G-PET will support the Mayor’s goals of reducing citywide building energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as growing the number of green jobs. Qualifying products or services must be able to verify energy efficiencies and be at installation-ready stage.
G-PET will fund all or part of pilot installations of qualifying products or services for projects located in Philadelphia, with a preference for projects that have significant job creation potential, are able to demonstrate additional project funding, and for those that are located at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where the Nutter administration and its partners in the private sector and academia have established the Navy Yard Clean Energy Campus as a regional and national center for research, education, and commercialization of green technologies.

The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania will identify Philadelphia companies and evaluate proposals from companies for grant funding. The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) will determine successful applicants, who will be awarded grants in the range of $50,000-$150,000. The deadline for applications is July 31st, 2010. More information on G-PET and an online application form is available at: http://www.sep-energy.org/gpet/gpet.htm

Lists of Incentive Programs for Renewables & Energy Efficiency Upgrades

There are a lot of incentives that make it affordable to reduce your the energy demand or upgrade to renewables at your home, business, or school.  Because there are so many new incentives and older incentives often sunset it can be difficult to stay abreast of what is available for your needs.

There are two lists that combined cover nearly every federal and state incentive for Pennsylvania:

1. PennFuture has a good list broken down by what the incentive can be used for (e.g. solar, wind, efficiency) Available here.
2. At www.dsireusa.org the NC Solar Center has a list  of incentives for renewables and efficiency upgrades for each state  broken down by type of incentive (e.g. grant, loan, rebate). Available here.

In addition there are two programs specifically for Philadelphia homeowners or tenants:

1. Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation’s (PHDC) Weatherization Assistance Program – provides free weatherization and energy efficiency improvements to Philadelphia homes occupied by low-income residents http://www.phdchousing.org/weatherize.htm
2. The Redevelopment Authority’s (RDA) Philadelphia Home Improvement Loan Program - administers a program that provides low-interest loans of 3%-5% for renovations (including energy renovations) in owner-occupied homes in the city. More information available at http://www.philaloan.com/

Use these to save money, improve the environment and help us meet Greenworks’ energy targets!