Pecan Street Inc

TAS::89 0328::TAS RECOVERY -- NEW SMART GRID REGIONAL DEMO AWARD TO THE PECAN STREET PROJECT, INC.

BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LEGISLATION (BIL) SEASONAL SOLAR CONGESTION MANAGEMENT (SEASCOM) PECAN STREET, INC. IS COLLABORATING WITH DELAWARE ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE AND UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE IN A PROJECT TO DEVELOP A SEASONAL SOLAR CONGESTION MANAGEMENT (SEASCOM). THE SEASCOM SOLUTION BYPASSES THE NEED TO WAIT FOR LENGTHY AND EXPENSIVE UPGRADES TO DISTRIBUTION AND TRANSMISSION SYSTEM INFRASTRUCTURE TO REMOVE THIS BARRIER AND INSTEAD LEVERAGES THE COMMUNICATIONS CAPACITY OF SMART INVERTERS THAT ARE ALREADY INSTALLED AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF EVERY SOLAR SYSTEM. CUSTOM CONFIGURATION OF A LOW-COST, COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE ENERGY MONITORING AND COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE KNOWN AS AN EGAUGE ENABLES RESPONSIVE, JUST-IN-TIME, CURTAILMENT OF SOLAR NET EXPORT BASED ON AN AUTOMATED SIGNAL, WITHOUT INCONVENIENCING MEMBERS OR INCREASING RISK OF SUBSTATION OVERLOADING FOR THE UTILITY.

DE-EE0008258: ELECTRIC LAST MILE PROJECT: NEW AWARD

INNOVATIVE PATHWAYS

SCC-CIVIC-FA TRACK B: PILOTING A DECARBONIZATION-READY COMMON HOME ASSESSMENT -THOUSANDS OF HOUSEHOLDS IN DETROIT, MI NEED BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN HOME REPAIRS TO ADDRESS URGENT HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS AND HIGH ENERGY BURDENS. NO SINGLE FUNDING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM CAN ADDRESS THE MYRIAD NEEDS AT SCALE. NAVIGATING DUPLICATIVE HOME ASSESSMENTS CONFUSES HOUSEHOLDS, FRUSTRATES PROVIDER ORGANIZATIONS, AND MISSES DECARBONIZATION OPPORTUNITIES. DECARBONIZATION OF ENERGY SYSTEMS HAS RAPIDLY EMERGED AS A CENTRAL GOAL TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE. MANY CITIES AND STATES HAVE SET HIGH CARBON REDUCTION GOALS AS PART OF THEIR CLIMATE POLICIES AND CORRESPONDING INITIATIVES. WHILE DETROIT?S HOUSING CRISIS CREATED ITS SENSE OF URGENCY, NUMEROUS CITIES AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE GRAPPLING WITH THE DESIRE TO BRAID FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND COORDINATE SERVICES TO SUPPORT HOUSING STABILITY AND ACCELERATE NET-ZERO GOALS. IN RESPONSE TO THESE NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES, A TEAM OF ACADEMIC AND COMMUNITY-BASED RESEARCHERS AND CIVIC PARTNERS HAVE COME TOGETHER TO CO-DESIGN AND PILOT A DECARBONIZATION-READINESS MODULE FOR INTEGRATION WITH A COMMON, COMPREHENSIVE HOME ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL EMERGING IN DETROIT, MI. THIS RESOURCE WILL BE FIELD-TESTED, AND RETROFITS WILL BE COMPLETED FOR A STUDY COHORT OF LOW-INCOME HOMES. QUALITATIVE SOCIAL SCIENCE DATA WILL BE COLLECTED WITH PROVIDERS, CLIENTS, AND STAKEHOLDERS TO COMPLEMENT QUANTITATIVE ENERGY USE AND AIR QUALITY DATA. SIMPLIFIED DIGITAL HOME MODELS WILL BE USED TO SIMULATE SUPPORTIVE RATE STRUCTURES, DEMAND RESPONSE PROGRAMS, GRID-INTERACTIVE APPLIANCE PROGRAMS, AND ASSOCIATED CONTROLS. THE INTENT OF THIS EFFORT IS THREE-FOLD. FIRST, THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT AND ACCELERATE COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS ALREADY UNDERWAY TO BRAID FINANCIAL RESOURCES AND COORDINATE SERVICES AIMED AT ADDRESSING HOME HAZARDS, WEATHERIZATION, AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY. SECOND, DECARBONIZATION RETROFITS WILL BE CONSIDERED MORE HOLISTICALLY AND AT EVERY STAGE OF THE HOME REPAIR JOURNEY. FINALLY, TO ADDRESS ECONOMIC BARRIERS TO ADOPTION AND OPPORTUNITIES TO REDUCE THE EFFECTIVE COST OF DECARBONIZATION BY LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY AND NEW VALUE STREAMS. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES INCLUDE: A FIELD-TESTED DECARBONIZATION-READINESS HOME ASSESSMENT MODULE; INCREASED ADOPTION OF A COMPREHENSIVE HOME ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL IN DETROIT; A CASE STUDY OF DECARBONIZATION STRATEGIES ENABLED THROUGH BRAIDING OF FUNDING STREAMS; A FORMATIVE EVALUATION REPORT CHARACTERIZING PERCEIVED AND ACTUAL BENEFIT TO PROVIDERS AND CLIENTS AND THE FEASIBILITY OF BRINGING A PILOT EFFORT TO SCALE; AND AN ENGINEERING REPORT DESCRIBING TECHNOLOGY GAPS, SOLUTION PATHWAYS AND ENABLING UTILITY RATE PROGRAMS. THIS PROJECT IS IN RESPONSE TO TRACK B - CIVIC INNOVATION CHALLENGE - BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN ESSENTIAL RESOURCES AND SERVICES & COMMUNITY NEEDS. THE CIVIC INNOVATION CHALLENGE IS A COLLABORATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, AND THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

PECAN STREET SMART GRID EXTENSION SERVICE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS

DESIGN FOR INCLUSIVE, CLIMATE-SMART AG

SCC-PG - CONNECTING COMMUNITIES THROUGH SMART TOOLS AND SENSORS TO DELIVER ENHANCED ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND ECONOMIC RETURNS FROM REGENERATIVE FARMLAND MANAGEMENT

SCC-CIVIC-PG TRACK B: DESIGNING A DECARBONIZATION- READY COMMON HOME ASSESSMENT -THIS PROJECT WILL ENABLE AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF ENERGY, HEALTH, AND EQUITY RESEARCHERS AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS (CBOS) DEVELOP A RESEARCH-BASED TOOLKIT FOR CBO?S CHARGED WITH HELPING LOW-INCOME FAMILIES OF COLOR ACCESS ASSISTANCE, FINANCING, AND INCENTIVE PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO PROMOTE HOUSING AND ENERGY SECURITY. THE FOCAL POINT OF THE PROPOSED PHASE I EFFORT IS TO UNDERTAKE A COLLABORATIVE DESIGN PROCESS TO DEVELOP A DECARBONIZATION-READY COMMON HOME ASSESSMENT THAT THEN CAN BE PILOTED DURING PHASE II IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN. THIS EFFORT WILL ALSO PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUTREACH AND TRAINING MATERIALS TO SUPPORT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ASSESSMENT, AND RESEARCH PROTOCOLS TO EVALUATE IMPACT ON LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. THIS PROJECT BUILDS ON EXISTING COLLABORATIONS IN DETROIT BETWEEN RESEARCHERS, CBO?S, AND NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS AIMED AT BETTER CONNECTING ELIGIBLE HOMES WITH AVAILABLE PUBLIC RESOURCES. DESPITE COLLABORATION EFFORTS BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONS, SOCIAL SERVICES CASE MANAGERS CONSISTENTLY REPORT FRUSTRATION THAT CLIENTS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR SERVICES FROM MULTIPLE PROGRAMS ARE OFTEN DISCOURAGED BY THE NEED TO UNDERTAKE REPETITIVE AND DUPLICATIVE HOME ASSESSMENTS. THIS PROJECT IS A DIRECT RESPONSE TO REPEATED REQUESTS FOR A COMMON HOME ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL THAT CAN BE USED ACROSS MULTIPLE PROGRAMS TO MAXIMIZE EFFICIENCY AND ILLUMINATE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT MAY NOT BE IMMEDIATELY APPARENT DEPENDING ON THE ORIGINAL POINT OF INTAKE. IT ALSO TAKES INTO ACCOUNT EXPRESSIONS OF CONCERN THAT EXISTING ASSESSMENTS DO NOT MAP THE PATHWAY FOR CONCURRENT OR STEPWISE INVESTMENTS TO DECARBONIZE AND IMPROVE AIR QUALITY OF HOMES. TO DEVELOP THIS FIRST OF ITS KIND DECARBONIZATION-READY COMMON HOME ASSESSMENT, THE RESEARCH TEAM WILL BRING TOGETHER BUILDING KNOWLEDGE, TECHNICAL CAPACITY, CONNECTIVE TISSUE, AND BUY-IN AMONG DETROIT?S NUMEROUS COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS, ENERGY RESEARCHERS, MUNICIPAL AND UTILITY STAFF, TECHNICIANS TASKED WITH HOME ASSESSMENTS AND ENERGY UPGRADES, AND A VARIETY OF OTHER STAKEHOLDERS. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO INCLUDE DEVELOPMENT OF A TOOLKIT OF OUTREACH AND TRAINING MATERIALS, AND EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES TO STREAMLINE DATA COLLECTION AND VISUALIZATION THROUGH APPLICATION OF ADVANCED ENGINEERING AND DATA SCIENCE TECHNIQUES TO SUPPORT ITS IMPLEMENTATION. RESEARCH PROTOCOLS WILL BE ESTABLISHED TO EVALUATE IMPACT ON LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. PILOTING AND ASSESSMENT OF THE TOOL WILL BE IMPLEMENTED DURING PHASE 2. EFFICACY OF A COMMON HOME ASSESSMENT WILL BE DOCUMENTED TO SERVE AS A RESEARCH-BASED BEST PRACTICE TOOLKIT THAT WILL BE EXTENSIBLE TO OTHER REGIONS. THIS PROJECT IS PART OF THE CIVIC INNOVATION CHALLENGE WHICH IS A COLLABORATION OF NSF, THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY OFFICE, AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY'S SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DIRECTORATE AND FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.