NREL Builds on Energy Goals of Rural Wisconsin Community

NREL Builds on Energy Goals of Rural Wisconsin Community

B-Biz Program Brought NRELians to the Small Community of Washburn, Wisconsin, for a One-of-a-Kind Celebration of Art, Community, and Clean Energy

The small city of Washburn, Wisconsin, is located right on the edge of Lake Superior's Chequamegon Bay. Like many of the other small cities and towns that border the coastline of one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, September is a transitionary month for Washburn.

Summer tourism fades and gives way to a new type of tourist as the leaves change from green to vibrant jewel tones in shades of red, orange, and yellow. Residents prepare for the long and often hard winters the largest of the Great Lakes brings. And on September 13, members of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) made the long journey from Colorado to Northern Wisconsin to talk about a different kind of transition in Washburn: the transition to clean energy.

In the six months prior to this visit, two small Washburn-area businesses participated in a project meant to demonstrate innovative business models to address barriers in the local building technologies market. The project is through the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Building Business Network (B-Biz), which aims to improve the speed and scale of adoption of high-performance building technologies in rural communities like Washburn, and beyond.

"B-Biz is a program that collaborates with small businesses who provide or service high-performance building approaches such as energy efficiency, energy retrofits, and whole home renovations with new high-efficiency technologies," said Alexandra Kramer, a researcher in NREL's Accelerated Deployment and Decision Support Center and co-lead of the B-Biz team. "B-Biz is specifically geared toward supporting communities with low rates of adoption."

The B-Biz Final Showcase event in Washburn celebrated the completion of this project with its three participating businesses: participants Green Home Doctors and Bay View Construction and Design as well as mentor Zero Homes. The cohort was able to present their case study findings to an audience of Washburn residents; local, county, state, and federal government representatives; Tribal energy officers; and even out-of-state residents who travelled for the event. Other attractions organized by the community included an electric vehicle car show, live music, local art displays, an expo with local clean energy organizations, and panels discussing energy projects and opportunities in the area.

"The goal of the Final Showcase was to provide a platform for our participants," Kramer said. "The event enabled them to share their findings and also to talk about the growth of their business. They were able to speak to others in the industry and to the communities that they serve, demonstrating their commitment and interest in forward-thinking, energy-efficient methods."

High-Performance Technology for High-Performing Businesses

Homes and commercial buildings account for 35% of CO₂ emissions in the United States, with only 2% of U.S. buildings undergoing deep retrofits each year. Though there has been innovation in building technologies, consumers are not purchasing these technologies at the necessary speed and scale. The B-Biz program aims to rectify this by demonstrating innovative business model solutions, addressing barriers in the buildings market, and improving the speed and scale of adoption to support DOE's goals of advancing the high-performance buildings industry.

B-Biz is structured around both cohorts of small businesses who provide or service high-performance building technologies and networks of industry stakeholders engaged in this market. Selected businesses participate in a six-month cohort and benefit from business model development and NREL's mentorship matching that allows them to share best practices and troubleshoot issues. They are also able to engage with stakeholders and develop new relationships in the field that can benefit their businesses, while NREL provides technical assistance, compensation for their time, and a supported final event platforming their projects in the community.

"The goal of this program is that it's a win, win, win," Kramer said. "It's a win for the small businesses, who are growing and developing more robust business plans around this opportunity in the market. It's a win for the communities who have better access and local knowledge around these types of retrofits and technologies that they can leverage to improve their own homes or buildings. And then a win for the planet by working to achieve federal decarbonization goals."

While there is an obvious interest in cleaner, more efficient energy in Washburn, its location and size creates access limitations and an underserved market. Consumers, homeowners, and building owners may wish to adopt high-performance building technologies, but they may not be able to get products necessary to make these changes and may not be aware of the energy experts that already exist within the community. B-Biz supports equitable access while providing these community energy experts with an opportunity to grow and innovate their businesses to better serve the community.

"This is needed because the technology has advanced and is ready for implementation," said Rachel Romero, NREL senior researcher in the Building Technologies and Science Center and B-Biz co-lead. "The building industry is continuing to make advances, and we're just not seeing the kind of adoption rates that we'd like to see. These small business contractors are the first line that can implement these technologies, like heat pumps. The contractors are talking to the business and building owners to get more widespread adoption of this technology."

B-Biz's goal to prioritize energy equity affordability within communities with the lowest rates of adoption aligns with DOE's Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy by 2050: A National Blueprint for the Buildings Sector to reduce U.S. building emissions 60% by 2035 and 90% by 2050.

Supporting Contractors in Paradise

Referred to as "paradise" by community members, Washburn's charming, secluded location in the Midwest also presents unique energy problems. Buildings built in the 1950s and 1960s require costly retrofits to improve occupant comfort and efficiency, while residents face heating and cooling bills that are higher than the national average.

The B-Biz team was connected to Washburn Forward Together, through the NREL-led Clean Energy to Communities (C2C) Expert Match program. Washburn Forward Together is a growing coalition of community members that has looked to incorporate newer, cleaner, more efficient energy in their building renovation process. It was obvious from the enthusiasm the group brought that Washburn was the perfect fit for the B-Biz project. The businesses selected to participate were chosen for similar reasons.

"The participating small businesses were selected because they were passionate about growing their businesses into this market and really wanted to learn," Kramer said. "And even though they didn't have all the tools immediately, the contractors were excited to work with the lab and other industry partners."

Though most of NREL's engagement was conducted virtually throughout the length of the project, the B-Biz Final Showcase provided a unique opportunity to bring together a large and diverse group of people passionate about new energy technologies in Washburn.

"Community engagement is exciting to me," said William Bailey, director of Cheq Bay Renewables, a nonprofit focused on making renewable energy more accessible in Ashland County and Bayfield County, which includes Washburn. "We've been successful in getting grants and getting money to flow into the community, but getting the word out has been a challenge. So this event was perfect for getting the community together to spread the word. Let's get together, we're doing it now, let's move forward."

"Being embedded in the community for a few days is just really important to build these relationships and show that we care and that their work is valuable," Romero said. "For the Washburn event, the community showcased their work and then so did our small business contractors. I think they're going to see a great trajectory of growth after this based on the boost of energy it provided and the deeper understanding it gave of what kind of work is happening in the community."

As we end one season and begin the next, B-Biz too is looking ahead to scale the program for full launch.

"There's a lot of potential for a fully launched program," Romero said. "This could include introducing various cohorts by theme and many other topics relevant to building technologies. There are a lot of organizations that could host this in the future, and we could customize the cohort for them. We've laid the foundation of what this can be and what it means to really interact with our contractors and businesses on the ground in these communities."

For more information about B-Biz and future updates, email [email protected].