An Overview of the Clean Energy Rule  

Rick Mears, P.E., is program manager support for the Data Center program in U.S. DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). He also serves as the DOE FEMP lead for the Technology Validation and Sustainable Buildings programs. He has over 12 years of experience in the energy and sustainability fields and has provided energy resilience, energy and sustainability management, carbon accounting, and energy policy support across federal agencies. Rick is a Certified Energy Manager and has a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University and an engineering degree from Cornell University.

As a Senior Building Energy Research Engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Erik has been focused on improving the built environment and reducing its impact. This has included participation in the Federal Energy Management Program’s Rulemaking, Audits, and Healthy Buildings efforts as well as code development including contributions to the reference manual for ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and the development of Standard 240P Quantification of Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Buildings. Erik is also considered a decarbonization subject matter expert and thought leader, contributing to the plans to decarbonize the PNNL campus through their NZERO projects. Prior to Joining PNNL Erik directed the technical aspects of energy and sustainability at a boutique consulting firm, focusing on bringing implementable solutions to developers, building operators and corporations. He holds a BS in Physics and Astrophysics from the University of Michigan and a MS degree in Applied Physics from Columbia University.