Education & Training Archives - Smart Buildings Center

Tier 2 Rulemaking Kick-Off Webinar April 13th 10:30AM – 12PM

March 23, 2023 By SBC staff

On March 25, 2022, Governor Inslee signed the Clean Buildings expansion bill into law. The expansion applies to buildings between 20,000-50,000 square feet, adding a new second tier that includes multifamily buildings. The first phase of this law is not a performance standard. It will require reporting on benchmarking, energy management plans and operations and maintenance programs for Tier 2 buildings.

Reporting for this new tier is expected to begin July 1, 2027. The expansion bill also included an incentive program with an additional $150 million available for Tier 2 buildings at a rate of .30 cents per square foot. The new law requires Commerce to complete rulemaking by December 1, 2023.

Commerce will host a series of workshops to establish rules, reporting requirements, and the incentive program for Tier 2 buildings. The kick-off meeting will be a pre-rulemaking webinar, introducing the Clean Buildings Expansion and rulemaking basics.

We hope you can join us during our upcoming stakeholder engagement sessions. Commerce is hosting a Pre-Rulemaking Webinar: Introduction to the Clean Buildings Expansion on April 13, 2023, from 10:30am to 12:00pm PT. Please register in advance to receive a calendar reminder or save the meeting information below.

Zoom Meeting link

Meeting ID: 858 2192 0472

Passcode: 183331

Future workshop schedules will be announced via the Clean Buildings Bulletin and the Commerce webpage.

Puget Sound Energy’s 2023 Accelerator program is open for business

March 17, 2023 By SBC staff

PSE is here to help buildings owners comply with Washington’s Clean Buildings Law (HB 1257, 2019). Our Clean Buildings Accelerator program unpacks the complex law, meets you where you’re at with your energy usage, and teaches you how to comply and go beyond through hands-on training using your own building(s). We’ll help you leverage additional PSE energy-management and incentive programs throughout the entire process. Best part: there is no cost to participate in the Accelerator. Learn more and sign up for orientations or our next Accelerator training at pse.com/cleanbuildings. Our next virtual cohort training is April 25^th and some room still exists.

For more info and a detailed pdf click here.

Registration Open for Smart Buildings Exchange, Aug 15-17!

February 14, 2023 By SBC staff

The Smart Buildings Center is excited to announce that registration for Smart Buildings Exchange 2023 is now open! The free, three-day event to be held August 15-17 will include two days of virtual sessions (August 15^th & 16^th), and the third day will be held in person in the Seattle area (details to be announced).

Interactive conference sessions featuring a mix of panel discussions and case study presentations will explore the market opportunity for smart buildings, building electrification and decarbonization efforts, grid-interactive efficient buildings, smart technologies for resilience and security, optimizing buildings for hybrid work environments and more.

Call for Speakers & Content
Do you have a suggestion for a dynamic speaker or topic with demonstrated application of smart technologies in buildings that should be considered for the SBX2023 agenda? If so, please send your ideas to Britton Rife.

Sponsorship Opportunities
For more information about ways your organization or business can participate in the conference, please download our Sponsorship Prospectus or contact Stan Price for customized sponsorship/partnership opportunities.

Register for free today!

Washington CBPS Early Adopter Incentive Program Live Q&A, Feb 22nd

February 14, 2023 By SBC staff

Need help applying for the Washington State Clean Buildings Performance Standard (CBPS) Early Adopter Incentives? Commerce can help! Funding is still available for the Early Adopter Incentive Program.

The program offers payments to eligible building owners to encourage compliance with the CBPS before the required date. Incentive payments are calculated at $.85 per gross square foot.

Live Q&A session – Wednesday, February 22nd | 11 am PST
Commerce is hosting a live question and answer session on February 22nd from 11 am – noon. The Clean Buildings Team and Energy Star Portfolio Manager staff will be available to answer questions about the application process and how to benchmark your building.

Register for the Q&A session

Learn more on the Clean Buildings webpage

AESP Seeking Input on Flexible Demand Management Workforce Training, Update

February 7, 2023 By SBC staff

The Smart Buildings Center has partnered with the Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP) on an exciting project that will change the future of energy workforce development, and we are looking for your input.

AESP is developing free, online, flexible demand management workforce training and needs your feedback on the proposed course outline.

UPDATE: This is a re-post of our January 18th blog post, the deadline is lifted. If you haven’t yet provided feedback consider taking a few minutes to do so now.

To give feedback, go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BENEFIT-NEEC

The initial course content plan addresses critical gaps in flexible demand management workforce education. Whether you are new to the field or have years of experience, you stand to benefit; this is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to rapidly upskill our entire community in demand management. To get it right, we need to know if the proposed course curriculum meets YOUR specific needs.

AESP Seeking Input on Flexible Demand Management Workforce Training

January 18, 2023 By SBC staff

AESP is developing free, online, flexible demand management workforce training and needs your feedback on the proposed course outline.

To give feedback, go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BENEFIT-NEEC

Please take a few minutes to provide your input by Monday, January 30^th, 2023.