Month: July 2023

ATLANTA, GA – The Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) announced today three, 36-month awards from the U.S. Department of Energy, totaling $4.7 million to support healthier, more efficient housing in the Southeast.

Senior program manager Maggie Kelley Riggins, joined U.S. Secretary of Energy, Jennifer M. Granholm on stage in New Orleans, LA today, saying, “What’s on paper must now meet practice. This award meaningfully supports the clean energy transition, and it is especially important for the clean energy workforce.”

“We are incredibly honored and grateful for this opportunity to improve building energy efficiency in the Southeast. These projects empower local and state leaders to use energy codes to create a prosperous, healthy and energy-secure region,” said SEEA president Aimee Skrzekut.

“Cutting emissions from buildings across America and ensuring they’re more energy efficient are critical components of President Biden’s plan to tackle the climate crisis and create cleaner and healthier communities,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in the official announcement from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The awarded projects include:

Securing Energy Code Advancements in Louisiana

In collaboration with the Louisiana Office of the State Fire Marshall, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, American Institute of Architects Louisiana, Green Coast Enterprises, University of Louisiana-Lafayette, and the International Code Council, SEEA will provide training and technical assistance on the most recent residential and commercial energy code updates to the building energy workforce in Louisiana. Implementing an updated energy code supports a stronger, more diverse workforce and lays the foundation for future funding applications. Residents in Louisiana are estimated to save 1.026 MMT of CO2 over five years, equivalent to removing 45,663 gasoline-powered cars from the road over the same period, by adopting and implementing the new energy code.

Georgia Residential Field Studies: Single-family and Multifamily

SEEA will work with state leaders including the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, Built Environment LLC, Greater Atlanta Homebuilders Association, Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Company, Conditioned Air Association of Georgia and ECO-Action to conduct single-family and multifamily energy code compliance studies. This is the first multifamily energy code compliance study in the Southeast. These studies will prepare the Georgia homebuilding industry for an advanced energy code adoption process and identify energy code training and education gaps. Meeting updated energy code standards for new construction and major renovations will help Georgia residents save an estimated $210 million in energy costs over five years.

Closing Equity Gaps to Advance Codes and Standards

With our partners, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, City of Atlanta, City of Savannah and the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority, SEEA will seek to understand and repair the impacts of historical disinvestment in the equitable implementation of building performance standards. The group will develop novel data tools to account for the financial and social costs of inequitable standards, calculate the investment needed to equitably improve building performance and develop and deploy a replicable policy and program community toolkit. The team will pilot this approach in Atlanta and Savannah partnering with civic and community leaders, including those from disinvested areas, small business owners and staff, residential renters and homeowners. The project team estimates $1.6 billion in energy cost savings over five years.

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Founded in 2007, the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance is a nonprofit, regional energy efficiency organization based in Atlanta, GA. We work to optimize the use and impact of energy to enhance the quality of life in the Southeast. We believe that all people in the Southeast should be able to live and work in healthy and resilient buildings, utilize clean and affordable transportation, and thrive in a robust and equitable economy. 

Questions? Contact Sarah Burgher, senior marketing and communications manager.