MicroNews: Joule Assets, the Utility Analytics Institute, Building Performance Institute, Access Fixtures
This week in energy efficiency news…
Joule Assets is offering a set of financing solutions for energy efficiency contractors to help small-to-midsized projects find financing. Joule Assets will be offering Energy Reduction Assets financing, among others, as well as direct loans. All financing options can be backed by performance guarantee insurance and allow for flexible collection methods. The company will also uncover revenue streams and conditional cash flows that are often inaccessible to traditional financing entities.
More about Joule Assets’ ERA financing solutions for energy efficiency projects
The Utility Analytics Institute announced that is has added Salt River Project, Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, CenterPoint Energy, Northeast Utilities, Nebraska Public Power District and Cleco to its list of more than 30 utility members. The institute is the largest community of utility-analytics professionals in the US. Its new members include investor-owned, cooperative utility, and large public power agencies. Through a web-based platform, the institute offers online peer groups, communities and events; presents analytics research; and shares strategies, best practices, and lessons learned from across the energy sector.
More about Utility Analytics Institute and its new members
The Building Performance Institute has rolled out four new home energy professional certifications. They are the only home performance certifications that are both supported by the US Department of Energy and accredited by the American National Standards Institute. The four certifications are: Energy Auditor, Retrofit Installer Technician, Crew Leader and Quality Control Inspector. To earn the certifications home energy professionals must exhibit advanced competency through work experience , as well as rigorous written and field exams. While the HEP certifications provide advanced certifications options, they will not replace BPI’s existing certifications in the industry. Instead, they build upon BPI’s existing certifications in the home performance career ladder, where increased knowledge and skills lead to advancement. Certified individuals are listed here.
More about the new BPI home energy professional certifications
Access Fixtures achieved energy savings for the Ivy Corset Building, a renovated brick factory in Worchester, Massachusetts, through retrofitting high pressure sodium wall packs with energy-efficient LED lamps. The retrofitted wall packs emit better white light while also reducing energy use by 75 percent. Access Fixtures retrofitted six wall packs using 11-Watt A21 style LED lamps, which will provide a total energy savings of $1,436 over the lifetime of the lamps and pay back the initial cost of the retrofit in less than 1.5 years.
More about Access Fixtures’ installation for the Ivy Corset Building.
