With temperatures doping below freezing today, this article published by the Tennessee Valley Authority could come in handy! Energy saving technology alone can only be so helpful, but when you pair it with best practices such as these you see the best results. 
Here is a sneak peak at the "Top 10 Tips for Staying Warm and Saving Energy this Winter". Click the link to read the full list.

1. Let there be light—Keep curtains open on the south side of the house and closed on the north during the day to trap the warming sunlight.
2. Bundle up—Insulate heating and cooling ducts and repair any air leaks.
3. Lay it down—Add insulation to your attic, crawlspaces and any accessible exterior walls.
4. Keep it clean—Change air filters monthly. Dirty filters force your heating system to work harder.

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A partnership between the U.S. Navy, Silicon Ranch Corp., the Millington Industrial Board, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and Memphis Light, Gas and Water, will bring the largest solar farm in the state of Tennessee to Millington. Construction began in 2016, and is set to be completed by the end of this year.
The project will turn 402 acres of public and private land into an estimated 580,000 solar panel farm that should generate 53 MW AC of energy. Power generated will be used by the U.S. Navy to support its bases across the nation as they spearhead their renewable energy initiative, as well as by TVA who will use it to power 7,500 homes throughout the Tennessee Valley.
Click here to read the full article from The Daily News

In 2010, the Bartlett Area Chamber launched an innovative new energy efficiency service for its member companies that helps assess energy use, plan upgrades and implement action plans. In a two-year period, the chamber helped 43 companies implement efficiency projects valued at $5.5 million.

“Over and over again, we realized that most commercial buildings are wasting anywhere from 20 percent to 30 percent of their energy,” said Chamber CEO John Threadgill. 

 “In this economy, our members can’t afford to throw their money away. Energy efficiency is the solution.”

More recently, the Bartlett chamber began working with the county’s Economic Development team to educate companies about the available tax benefits for energy efficiency and similar resource saving programs.

Click here to read our profile of the Bartlett Area Chamber and how it created a staff position to help its member companies with energy efficiency.

Previous Chambers in Action updates can be found here

WASHINGTON — Saying that energy efficiency represents the cheapest and fastest solution to meet the growing energy needs of America’s entrepreneurs, leaders of local chambers of commerce from around the country today urged the U.S. Senate to adopt the “Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2013.”

“As business and community leaders with members throughout the country, we know firsthand the economic development benefits of clean energy, energy efficiency in particular,” the local chambers said in a letter from Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy, an organization that represents more than 330 local chambers.

The letter, which was delivered to Senate Majority Leader Reid and Minority Leader McConnell, was signed by the 15 members of the CICE advisory council who represent chambers from Arkansas, California, Colorado, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The legislation, which is expected on the floor of the Senate soon, would promote the financing of energy efficiency retrofit projects, boosting the ability of small- and medium-sized private businesses to save money by increasing the efficiency of their buildings and operations.

In May, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources offered strong bipartisan support for the bill, approving it by a vote of 19 to 3.

The text of the letter from the Chambers of Innovation and Clean Energy follows can be found here.

By Aisling Maki, The Daily News

A public-private partnership called Team Green Zone, spearheaded by the Bartlett Area Chamber, is helping Mid-South businesses implement long-term sustainable practices to protect the environment while helping businesses boost their bottom lines.

The chamber-led alliance of efficiency experts helps companies develop strategies to reduce their commercial and industrial facilities’ energy consumption, increase operational efficiencies and reduce their carbon footprints. And going green can be good for business because it demonstrates to consumers a company’s commitment to being a good environmental steward.

Team Green Zone was established in late 2010 by the chamber in response to a growing demand from chamber members who wanted to “green” their businesses.

The chamber brought in regional energy efficiency expert Clayton Poff to launch the initiative. “The community was screaming for this type of service,” said Poff, director of resource efficiency at the Bartlett Area Chamber. “So we sat down and created this service focused specifically around the manuals of how to take a business step by step to what people call green. … Now, under a chamber of commerce, we have that capability of injecting those processes in a unique way.”

Team Green Zone connects seekers of efficiency solution seekers with private-sector providers – 26 companies in all, with more than 400 industry professionals – who use their expertise to implement ways for companies to operate more sustainably.

Providers include CB Richard Ellis Memphis, Comfort Systems USA, Pathway Lending, A2H and Ewing Kessler Inc.

“The chamber is the educational arm,” said Team Green Zone operations manager Kenneth Lee. “They take all of the information, condense it and give it to businesses. … We’ve melded the educational process with the business community so that the seekers have access to the professionals that know the how-to. We bring those two together; that is the uniqueness of Team Green Zone.”

Team Green Zone also helps companies establish environmental policies, as well as comply with constantly changing government regulations. In fact, Team Green Zone has also been praised as a success story on the website of Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, whose goal is to help Americans save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

When a Mid-South business reaches out to Team Green Zone, the first step is to assess the business’ energy use and set goals for lowering that usage, as well as operations costs. Team Green Zone also performs services such as occupancy education, plug load evaluations, and upgrades to lighting controls, building envelopes and HVAC systems.

Following the assessment, the team creates a step-by-step plan of action to be implemented over the course of about one and a half to two years, and includes connecting business owners with the contractors capable of performing the necessary upgrades.
Types of facilities receiving the Team Green Zone makeover include government, health care, academic, industrial, hospitality, retail, real estate, churches and water or wastewater facilities.

One of Team Green Zone’s great success stories has been its green transformation of Brother International Corp.’s Bartlett facility, 7777 N. Brother Blvd., which has seen a 60 percent reduction in its utility bills.

“Team Green Zone has been by our side every step of the way through the Energy Star Process … and helped us identify new revenue streams that we were not aware existed when this process began,” said Steve Tuttle, director of facilities at Brother International Corp.
Just 16 months after its launch, Team Green Zone already had 60 businesses participating in the program, with an estimated total direct economic impact of more than $2.4 million.

In fact, Team Green Zone is now helping other chambers to implement similar initiatives. Poff and Bartlett chamber president and CEO John Threadgill serve on the advisory board of Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy, which assists chambers across the country in becoming clean energy leaders.

By Jonathan Devin, Commercial Appeal

9/24/2010 - Small businesses in northeast Shelby County will have an opportunity to make energy-efficiency improvements to their facilities through a newly formed network of green solution providers and a green-oriented funding source.

The Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce kicked off its Team Green Zone initiative Thursday at a gathering of about 65 business owners at the Wolfchase Holiday Inn and Suites.

Clay Banks, director of economic development for the chamber, said that Team Green Zone is one phase of the chamber's "Vision 20/20," a 10-year development plan for areas including Lakeland, Bartlett, Arlington and Cordova."We have been approached by five to 10 companies that want to go green," said Banks. "I would recommend things to companies, but we never had a plan of action for those who want to take their companies green."

Phase I of Vision 20/20 took place from 2008 to 2009 and involved recruiting new businesses to the area, which Banks said resulted in 2,500 new jobs and $230 million in capital investments. 

Phase II will involve identifying new businesses within four target areas including medical devices, agriculture, and retail/tourism and then re-commissioning existing buildings for energy efficiency.

"Re-commissioning (existing) buildings is our greatest resource," said Clayton Poff, owner of Energy Cost Reducers LLC, who spoke to the group.

Team Green Zone is a public/private partnership supported by some 20 corporations that will assess participating businesses' facilities with the goal of reducing fossil-fuel emissions and total energy intensity.

After an initial study of participating businesses is completed in early October, participants can apply for loans from Pathway Lending, a nonprofit lender that specializes in green improvements.

Amy Bunton, senior vice president of Pathway Lending, said $50 million in capital is available, and she expects loans to start at about $20,000 with 5 percent interest.

Applications for loans and data from the Team Green Zone study will be presented to Pathway Lending by the end of October, and loans will close by early December.

Costs associated with the initial assessment of businesses will be paid by business owners up front, but may be reimbursed through the loans.

Bunton said a key to the program is that the loans will all be repaid through savings recovered by improved energy efficiency.
"Finding the capital always seems to be the stumbling block for taking the next step," said Al Campbell, client manager for Pathway Lending.