Event Date: Friday, August 4, 2023
Time: 1pm-5pm
Location: Brunswick, ME 04011
CEU Information: AIA (pending)
Cost: $25 Members/$35 Non-Members

Join NESEA for a Pro Tour of two newly built campus buildings at Bowdoin College, the Barry Mills Hall and the John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies. Together, they are the first pure mass timber commercial structures in the state of Maine. With 1/4 the embodied carbon of a comparable steel structure, the buildings signal the College's continued commitment to sustainability. The all-electric mechanical systems support Bowdoin's goal, established in 2007 and realized in 2018, of a carbon neutral campus.

This Pro Tour will use the example of the Bowdoin project to tell the story of alignment with the College’s sustainability goals, how mass timber was initially evaluated as an appropriate building material, the aspirations to start a local industry in Maine, and the impediments that were encountered by the team, including sourcing and supply chain, quality of materials and fabrication and local workforce constraints. Join us!

Deadline: Friday, July 21, 2023

Each year, the NESEA Membership elects individuals to serve on our Board of Directors. If you are interested in being considered as a candidate, you can complete the application here (you must log in to view the form). The deadline to apply is July 21.

Current members of the Board’s Nominating Committee will review and vet applications to develop a slate of candidates for the ballot. The NESEA Membership will be invited to cast their votes this fall, and the new Board term will start on January 1, 2024. Prior to applying, we recommend viewing the Board Member job description.

We're looking for people who love NESEA, and feel a call to serve its mission and vision. We encourage applications from individuals who identify as women, people of color, or LGBTQ+, and other groups traditionally underrepresented in our industry. We also recognize that serving on a Board of Directors and attending in-person meetings may be prohibitively expensive and have made funds available to support Board Members for whom participation would be a financial hardship.

Questions? Contact us at nominating@nesea.org.

This March, the second day of our BuildingEnergy Boston conference kicked off with a keynote presentation from Rachel White and Brendan Kavanagh of Byggmeister titled "Why We Stopped Doing Deep Energy Retrofits". Their presentation generated a lot of interesting discussion and we have collected some responses to share; If you didn't attend the conference, or would like to refresh your memory, there is a video of the keynote presentation here.

On June 27, we held our BuildingEnergy Boston Open Planning Meeting, which began the process of planning sessions for the 2024 conference. This annual meeting brings together members of our community who want to help shape the next year's conference -- from those who have been coming to the conference for years to those thinking about attending for the first time. Additionally, it helps to ensure that conference sessions are directly relevant to our community and their work. The meeting was fun, lively, and most importantly, very informative. 

Our BuildingEnergy Boston Conference Chairs will use what they learned from the meeting to shape the conference theme and call for proposals, which will open in the fall (in fact, It's not too early to start thinking about proposing a session).

If you missed the meeting, but would still like to participate and share your thoughts, please use this form.

In June, NESEA took a sold out crowd on a Pro Tour of Solara Phase 3, a low embodied carbon, market-rate, net zero multifamily complex in Rotterdam, NY. Attendees learned how ambitious energy and carbon goals can be achieved side-by-side with good space design in a way that is simple to execute. We shared some snacks and coffee, took an in-depth tour of the complex, and had many engrossing conversations.

We would like to thank our hosts at Black Mountain Architecture, our sponsors, and the NESEA community for making it such a valuable experience. You can view photos from the tour here.

We recently held the second of two Content Committee meetings for BuildingEnergy NYC 2023, which will be taking place on October 12 in New York City. Conference session proposals from the NESEA community were reviewed and vetted by a volunteer committee of NESEA Members. It was fantastic to meet up in person and to make some big decisions about conference content. BuildingEnergy NYC is shaping up to be very exciting!

Interested in participating in BuildingEnergy NYC? There are sponsorship and exhibiting options available here.

Hosting Organization: Yestermorrow Design / Build School & Emu Passive
Event Date: Monday, July 17, 2023
Time: 9AM-5:30PM
Cost: $2,100.00
Venue: Yestermorrow Design / Build School
Address:
7865 Main Street
Waitsfield, VT 05673

The Passive Design/Build™ Boot Camp, specifically, combines Emu’s CPHT coursework with our unique, hands-on Passive Pod Workshop. The Boot Camp is a 4-day all-in-one educational experience that includes 2 days of classroom learning, 2 days of workshop, and access to a remote, online CPHT professional accreditation exam. After passing the exam, students earn the PHI Certified Passive House Tradesperson (CPHT) credential. Learn more...

After 10 years, RBG's continued commitment to its mission has enabled them to create sustainable and future-proof structures that benefit both the environment and the building occupants. RBG remains dedicated to its vision of creating resilient and energy efficient buildings that positively impact the community and promote sustainable living for years to come. Learn more...

Hosting Organization: NEHERS
Event Date: Wednesday, July 19, 2023
Time: 3:30PM - 5:00PM
Cost: free
Address: online

Join presenter Cindy Zeis for a free webinar for new Raters or those who may be looking for an easier way to perform plan reviews. We’ll cover basic take-offs, useful markups, overlays, and built-in calculations to decrease modeling time and increase your professional image with your clients. Learn more...

Hosting Organization: ASES
Event Date: August, 8-11, 2023

This summer, ASES will hold its 52nd Annual National Solar Conference, SOLAR 2023: Transforming the Energy Landscape for All. The conference, held August 8-11, 2023, at the University of Colorado's main campus in Boulder, Colorado, will be a hybrid conference, with both online and in-person attendance options. The full speaker lineup is now online, and the hybrid platform is live for registrants. With fourteen technical sessions, four plenary sessions, five special dialogue events, four workshops, and numerous networking events planned throughout the four-day conference, the professional development and educational opportunities are extensive. Whether you are a student, seasoned professional, or anywhere in between, you can't miss this opportunity to expand your knowledge and be inspired as like-minded individuals emerge to accelerate the transition to a 100% renewable energy and sustainable future for all at SOLAR 2023! Learn more...

Date: October 23-25, 2023
Location: Newport, RI

Take $100 off your registration with promo code: NESEA

The Northeast is facing unprecedented resource challenges tied to natural gas supplies. Meanwhile, a rapidly changing landscape for community solar and aggregated DERs is upending a market already in flux. This event will cover issues related to DER interconnection and operation in New York and New England. Join us alongside our partner the U.S. Department of Energy for an immersive event on DER interconnection. Register now...

Who should attend? Electric Utilities, Project Developers, EPCs, Asset Owners, IPPs, Installers

Hosting Organization: MassCEC + Built Environment Plus (BE+)
Submission Deadline: March 31, 2024

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) has partnered with Built Environment Plus (BE+) to run this exciting new challenge to influence design decisions to address the embodied carbon of projects. Along with cash prizes for projects demonstrating significant embodied carbon reductions, the Challenge is providing resources, tools, and trainings to support project teams in performing Whole Building Life Cycle Assessments (WBLCAs). Free licenses to either One Click LCA or Tally LCA are being provided to every firm that simply expresses interest in the Challenge.

The deadline for submitting projects is March 31, 2024. A total of $380,000 in prizes are available. Five prizes are reserved for first-time use of WBLCAs. Projects must be whole buildings over 20,000 square feet. Prizes include a $50,000 grand prize for substantial rehabilitation, a $50,000 grand prize for new construction, nine runner-up prizes of $30,000, and a $10,000 people’s choice award. Learn more...

Did you know that as a NESEA Member, you receive special pricing and early access for NESEA Events? Business members also receive a discount on exhibiting at BuildingEnergy conferences.

BuildingEnergy NYC registration opens later this month! In addition to getting first notice when registration opens, members get $35 off the price of an early bird conference pass, and business members receive $150 off of exhibit tables on the trade show floor. You can learn more about the benefits of NESEA membership by visiting here.