Last month, MEEA hosted the 11th annual Midwest Building Energy Codes Conference. This year’s conference was held virtually October 20-22, and while the event felt a little different than previous years, participants new and old still relished insightful sessions and discussions from our top-tier speakers and attendees.

Day 1

The conference kicked off with welcoming remarks from MEEA’s Building Program Director, Chris Burgess. MEEA shared insights into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our region, including how it has influenced policymaking efforts, code effective dates and energy efficiency jobs in the region.

For the first time, the 2020 Midwest Energy Solutions Conference offered a scholarship for students to attend with all or most expenses covered, to join more than 700 industry professionals for three days of learning and networking.

The scholarship, sponsored by Nexant, covered the cost of registration, travel and housing for recipients. The opportunity was open to college, graduate and trade students throughout the Midwest.

The Inspiring Efficiency Awards recognize Midwest leaders who deliver groundbreaking advancements in energy efficiency in five categories: Leadership, Education, Impact, Marketing and Innovation. The Inspiring Efficiency Impact Award is presented to the organization that has made a significant and measurable impact through a program, campaign or strategy to reduce energy consumption (or resulted in a quantifiable positive impact on health, emissions reductions, energy burden or other societal impact) based on their target market.

The Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance is excited to announce the winners of the 16th annual Inspiring Efficiency Awards, honoring leaders and innovators in the energy efficiency community across five categories: Leadership, Education, Impact, Innovation and Marketing. 2019 has been a great year for advancing energy efficiency throughout the Midwest and MEEA is proud to recognize so many impactful individuals, organizations and programs. This year’s winners are:

The year 2007 was an unforgettable year for multiple reasons. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (the final book of the series) was released, Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on Climate Change, and it sparked the start of the subprime mortgage crisis which sent America into the greatest recession since the great depression. But, perhaps more influential than anything else was when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone to the world. The iPhone took the world by storm, completely changing the way society interacts with technology and the way technology interacts with society.

The Energy/Health Connection

One in every 13 Americans has asthma, and we spend over $50 billion each year treating it. But did you know asthma attacks (and several other health issues) can be alleviated with better energy efficiency?

Energy efficiency policies and programs reduce pollution by offsetting the need for additional generation from power plants. Increasing energy efficiency and targeting programs to those most vulnerable for health issues (e.g. the elderly, people with existing chronic conditions, residents living in areas of higher pollution) improves public health while avoiding additional healthcare costs.

The 9th annual Midwest Building Energy Codes Conference has come and gone. This year, the conference was held at the Magnolia Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri from November 28-29. With one of the highest turn outs yet, this year’s conference was one of the best yet, filled with great discussion, networking and insights into energy codes.

Couldn’t make it? Find out what you missed and download the speaker presentations below.

This year's Midwest Energy Solutions Conference (MES) incorporated interactive workshops into its agenda for the first time ever, and one of the three workshops focused on Net Zero Energy (NZE) in the Midwest. MEEA staff wanted attendees to consider what Net Zero Energy means for energy efficiency (EE) in the Midwest specifically. (For the purposes of the workshop, “NZE” was referring to any building, development or community that does not use more energy than it produces. See DOE’s NZE definitions).

Last year, I entered the Hilton Chicago to embark on my very first Midwest Energy Solutions Conference. Being new to the MEEA staff, I gleaned a lot of good advice from colleagues, but there was nothing like experiencing the conference full-on for the first time.

Whether you’re an MES veteran or a first-timer, here are a few tips for getting the most out of your conference experience:

Energy efficiency investments and their resulting energy savings drive financial benefits throughout the Midwest region. To spread these benefits, on February 7, 2018, MEEA will host the "Good EE Policy for Economic Growth Summit" in Chicago. This free summit, sponsored by E4theFuture and preceding the 2018 Midwest Energy Solutions Conference, will focus on the ways energy efficiency advocates develop sound policy to drive regional economic and job growth.