Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance Inc

THE NORTHWEST ENERGY EFFICIENCY ALLIANCE (NEEA) IS AN ALLIANCE OF UTILITIES AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY ORGANIZATIONS THAT POOLS RESOURCES AND SHARES RISKS TO TRANSFORM THE MARKET FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY TO THE BENEFIT OF CONSUMERS IN THE NORTHWEST.NEEA IS FUNDED BY THE BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION, ENERGY TRUST OF OREGON AND MORE THAN 140 ELECTRIC AND NATURAL GAS UTILITIES ACROSS THE REGION.ITS STAKEHOLDERS INCLUDE PUBLIC BENEFITS ADMINISTRATORS, STATE GOVERNMENTS, PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES. NEEA COLLABORATES WITH ITS FUNDERS AND STAKEHOLDERS TO IDENTIFY EMERGING ENERGY-EFFICIENT PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND PRACTICES AND CREATES THE MARKET CONDITIONS FOR THEIR ADOPTION. THE RESULT IS LONG-TERM, COST-EFFECTIVE ENERGY SAVINGS FOR THE REGION. SINCE 1997, NEEA'S ACTIVITIES HAVE CREATED A VIRTUAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY POWER PLANT THAT HAS SAVED MORE THAN 870 AVERAGE MEGAWATTS (AMW);ENOUGH ENERGY TO POWER MORE THAN 640,000 NORTHWEST HOMES EACH YEAR.

MARKET DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSFORMATION:IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE REGION, THE ALLIANCE USES THE MARKET POWER OF THE NORTHWEST TO ACCELERATE THE INNOVATION AND ADOPTION OF BOTH ELECTRIC AND NATURAL GAS ENERGY-EFFICIENT PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND PRACTICES. SOME KEY ACTIVITIES AND REGIONAL RESULTS STEMMING FROM THE ALLIANCE'S 2021 INVESTMENT INCLUDE: - INCREASED REGIONAL SALES OF ELECTRIC HEAT PUMP WATER HEATERS BY 30% IN 2021 OVER 2020. HEAT PUMP WATER SALES REACHED 13% MARKET SHARE, PAVING THE WAY FOR CONTINUED EFFORTS TO REINFORCE THE PRODUCT AS A VIABLE, ENERGY-EFFICIENT OPTION FOR CONSUMERS IN THE NORTHWEST.- LED THE NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR ADVANCED WINDOW SOLUTIONS (PAWS) COLLABORATIVE, A PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATION WITH UTILITIES, NATIONAL LABS, WINDOW MANUFACTURERS, STATE AGENCIES, REGIONAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY ORGANIZATIONS, TRADE ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHERS FUNDED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (U.S. DOE). THE COLLABORATIVE SUPPORTS THE ALLIANCE'S MARKET TRANSFORMATION EFFORTS TO INCREASE THE ADOPTION OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE WINDOWS AND WINDOW ATTACHMENTS THROUGH SUPPLY CHAIN EDUCATION, REDUCING PRODUCT COSTS, ENABLING ADVANCED BUILDING CODES, AND PROMOTING WINDOWS AS A KEY COMPONENT OF A NET ZERO ENERGY RETROFIT STRATEGY.-WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (U.S. EPA) ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW VERSION 9 TELEVISION SPECIFICATION. THESE EFFORTS CULMINATED IN THE RELEASE OF ENERGY STAR'S FINALIZED VERSION 9 TELEVISION SPECIFICATION THAT USES A TEST PROCEDURE DEVELOPED BY NEEA. THE NEW SPECIFICATION MORE ACCURATELY REFLECTS ACTUAL TV ENERGY USE AND PROVIDES CONSUMERS WITH HIGHER EFFICIENCY TELEVISION OPTIONS NATIONALLY WITH INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION EXPECTED.- DEVELOPED THE FIRST SPECIFICATION OUTLINING THE BEST PRACTICES AND APPROACHES TO DELIVERING EFFICIENT NATURAL GAS ROOFTOP UNITS (RTU) THAT RELIABLY DELIVER HEATING ENERGY SAVINGS IN NORTHERN CLIMATES AND ARE AS STRAIGHTFORWARD TO INSTALL AS A DIRECT REPLACEMENT FOR EXISTING RTUS. THE SPECIFICATION IS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN MAKING EFFICIENT RTUS COMMON PRACTICE FOR ONE-FOR-ONE REPLACEMENTS.

MARKET RESEARCH, EVALUATION AND ANALYTICS:ALLIANCE RESEARCH AND EVALUATION EFFORTS DRIVE PROGRAMMING, DEFINE CHALLENGES WITHIN ENERGY EFFICIENCY WORK, AND PROVIDE CRITICAL MARKET DATA AND ANALYSIS ABOUT REGIONAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND BUILDING STOCK. IN 2021, THE ALLIANCE: - PUBLISHED MORE THAN 20 MARKET RESEARCH AND EVALUATION REPORTS ON NEEA.ORG.- BEGAN RECRUITMENT FOR ITS UPCOMING RESIDENTIAL BUILDING STOCK ASSESSMENT (RBSA), A COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL STUDY DESIGNED TO COLLECT INFORMATION ON THE EQUIPMENT IN AND CHARACTERISTICS OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS AND MULTI-FAMILY UNITS AND BUILDINGS. DATA COLLECTED FROM THE RBSA HELPS THE REGION TO IDENTIFY ENERGY EFFICIENCY OPPORTUNITIES.- CONTINUED TO COLLECT DATA THROUGH THE END USE LOAD RESEARCH PROJECT, A FIVE-YEAR, $12.5 MILLION EFFORT TO COLLECT END-USE LOAD DATA ON SELECTED RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL ELECTRIC END-USES, INCLUDING DUCTLESS HEAT PUMPS, HEAT PUMP WATER HEATERS, CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING, FORCED AIR FURNACES AND BASEBOARD HEATERS.

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, CORPORATE STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATIONS:THE GOAL OF NEEA'S STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION TEAM IS TO FACILITATE AND ADVANCE REGIONAL COLLABORATION BETWEEN NEEA AND ITS FUNDERS AND STAKEHOLDERS. IN 2021, THE ALLIANCE:- DELIVERED THE ANNUAL EFFICIENCY EXCHANGE CONFERENCE AS A VIRTUAL EVENT TO FACILITATE REGIONAL COLLABORATION ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY OPPORTUNITIES AND SHARE SUCCESS STORIES AND BEST PRACTICES. THE CONFERENCE DREW MORE THAN 350 ATTENDEES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY.- ORGANIZED AND FACILITATED QUARTERLY BOARD, ADVISORY AND COORDINATING COMMITTEE MEETINGS TO ENSURE REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT, ALIGNMENT AND COLLABORATION ON ALLIANCE MARKET TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMS. IN 2021, THERE WERE SIX ALLIANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEES: REGIONAL PORTFOLIO, COST-EFFECTIVENESS, NATURAL GAS, EMERGING TECHNOLOGY, PRODUCTS AND INTEGRATED SYSTEMS. - MAINTAINED CONDUITNW AS AN ONLINE ENERGY EFFICIENCY FILE AND RESOURCE SHARING PLATFORM THAT FACILITATES INFORMATION-SHARING AND SUPPORTS COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS CRITICAL TO REGIONAL MARKET TRANSFORMATION EFFORTS. THIS PLATFORM WILL SUNSET IN 2022.