Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance

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 2023 investment include: supported the u.s. department of Energy (u.s. doe) with technical guidance and Northwest data to represent the specific needs of the region's consumers. In 2023, neea's long-term work serving as the dependable and impartial voice of the Northwest paid off with significant achievements. Tangible results included elevated electric motor Efficiency standards that have the potential to save enough Energy to power more than 1 million homes per year for 30 years, and a permanent elevation to federal water heating standards that honors the Northwest perspective. Increased the number and availability of luminaire level lighting controls (lllc) products for Northwest consumers, resulting in every major manufacturer now carrying lllc products. Lllc allows for precise and automated lighting control to optimize Efficiency, comfort and productivity. By increasing available products and trained installers, neea creates conditions for utility incentives to thrive. This groundwork, combined with utility incentives driving demand, boosts adoption, leading to savings and regional carbon reduction benefits. For example, in 2023, a Washington industrial warehouse made lllc upgrades, resulting in better lighting, a safer work environment, and virtually no system maintenance. Partnered with small affordable-housing builders and a large national builder to manage three demonstration projects featuring triple-pane windows. For the Alliance, projects like these provide insights about the installation process and reveal potential barriers to builders adopting triple-pane windows as their standard offering. For Northwest utility customers, demonstration projects deliver the immediate value of comfort, sound attenuation, and lower monthly utility bills. In 2023, neea partnered with the confederated tribes of grand ronde to help bring the many benefits of triple-pane windows to their creekside elder housing project.

Stakeholder engagement, corporate strategy and communications:neea regularly creates and communicates opportunities for regional Energy Efficiency stakeholders by convening the region to share information and best practices and align on regional priorities. These opportunities enable the region to move the market faster and more efficiently than any one organization could do alone. In 2023, neea's efforts to convene the region included: board, advisory and coordinating committees: organized and facilitated quarterly meetings to ensure regional engagement, alignment and collaboration on Alliance market transformation programs. In 2023, there were six Alliance committees: regional portfolio advisory committee, cost-effectiveness advisory committee, natural gas advisory committee, regional emerging technology advisory committee, and the products and integrated systems coordinating committees. Efficiency exchange conference (efx): efx is an annual conference hosted in collaboration with bonneville power administration and the Northwest power and conservation council. In may 2023, the first hybrid conference was held in portland with regional attendees meeting in person for the first time since 2019. The event included 430 in-person attendees and 116 virtual attendees with 24 sessions and two keynotes. The conference covered a range of topics including: the inflation reduction act, demand flexibility, equity in Energy Efficiency, and advanced heat pump technologies. More information on the conference, including details from Efficiency exchange 2024 held on may 14-15, 2024 in spokane, Washington, can be found on neea.org. Federal funding regional coordination work group: co-chaired by neea and bpa, the federal funding regional coordination work group shares information regarding upcoming federal opportunities flowing from the infrastructure investment and jobs act (iija) and the inflation reduction act (ira). The work group coordinates activities where possible to enhance Energy Efficiency outcomes for Northwest consumers and market transformation efforts. Natural gas advisory committee dual-fuel work group: this group is focused on coordination around research, pilots, and demonstrations. In 2023, neea shared its dual-fuel synthesis findings and the group discussed areas for further study, including sharing findings from the installations of dual-fuel systems in 2023 and discussing plans for 2024. Cost effectiveness advisory committee dual-fuel measurement work group: this group is collaborating on a document outlining methodological guidelines for neea to use when measuring and reporting benefits from hybrid heating systems (dual-fuelgas & electric) and other potential dual-fuel opportunities.

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 2023, the Alliance: published more than 19 market research and evaluation reports on neea.org. Completed data collection for the 2022 residential building stock assessment, a regional research study conducted by the Alliance roughly every five years that is designed to collect information on home characteristics in the Northwest. The 2022 rbsa gathered Energy usage and building characteristic data from more than 2,000 single-family and multifamily residences in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Each participant home provides detailed data on hundreds of building and equipment characteristics, enabling the identification of Energy Efficiency opportunities and providing data for utility planning purposes.