Energy Efficiency RFPs and Market Prospects to Watch in the Northeast and Ontario

Several business opportunities are emerging for energy efficiency and combined heat and power in the Northeast and Ontario. Here are some solicitations and prospects we suggest you keep an eye on.

• Connecticut plans to open up bidding in January for $15 million it is making available in its second round of microgrid funding. Bids will be due in June. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection expects to announce winners in September. The state awarded $18 million in grants to nine microgrid projects in its first round of funding. The first round of projects are expected to come online in early 2014.
• The Ontario Power Authority plans to seek combined heat and power projects that focus on efficiency or regional capacity needs. The authority specifically plans to target new greenhouse operations, agri-food and district energy, as described in Ontario’s recently issued long-term energy plan.
• Ontario also intends to offer new financing methods, including on-bill financing, to encourage households to undertake energy efficiency retrofits starting in 2015. The financing will apply to projects that save electricity or natural gas.
• The New England governors recently signed an historic agreement to begin coodinating energy infrastructure development as a region.  This may mean significant scale for energy efficiency and combined heat and power as a six-state market develops.  The governors have instructed their staff representatives to work out details over the next year.
• New York state regulators have approved $285 million in demand resources in Consolidated Edison’s service territory. The 125-MW program will focus on large customers and those with high-peak demand, large-scale projects, and existing energy efficiency initiatives that are ready to expand.  The state wants effort made to switch electric summer air conditioning load to steam or gas. In addition, the plan calls for new investment in combined heat and power.

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