Energy Project Development
NREL assists governments, organizations, universities/colleges, and industry worldwide with the selection, design, and management of renewable energy, energy-saving, and distributed energy technology solutions.
Capabilities
Technical and Alternative Financing Support
The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) provides direct technical assistance to agencies, and provides a leadership role for initiatives, such as the FEMP/EPA Labs for the 21st Century Program.
Team members can provide design assistance for sustainable new construction, assist agencies with renewable energy and distributed energy resource projects, and help implement purchases of power generated from renewable energy. A sampling of the tasks that we routinely perform include:
- Assessing opportunities for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water efficiency opportunities in buildings
- Computer simulation of energy use in buildings
- Design and sizing of renewable energy systems
- Collecting resource data on site
- Life-cycle costing
- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) assessments
- Writing technical specifications
- Monitoring building energy use
- Measurement and verification (M&V) and building commissioning
- Working with architectural and engineering teams
- Leading design charrettes, working groups, and workshops
- Assisting an agency in buying green power
The NREL FEMP team has extensive experience in providing guidance to government agencies on innovative project financing methods. These methods include Energy Savings Performance Contracts, Utility Energy Services Contracts, incentives, renewable power purchases, and several others.
FEMP offers assistance with two methods of project financing: Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESCs) and Super Energy Savings Performance Contracts (Super ESPCs). Both methods allow agencies to enter into procurements without the need of direct appropriations. Our team provides:
"One-stop shop" for unbiased technical assistance for privately financed energy and water projects
- Pre-project screening/identification
- Technical expertise in incorporating advanced technologies (such as distributed energy resources, combined heat and power, renewables, etc.) in privately financed projects
- Technical and pricing proposal reviews – focusing on measurement and verification, financing, advanced technologies, and risk allocation
- Contracting and legal guidance
- General project oversight and guidance
Energy-Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs)
NREL can provide unbiased technical support for your project with a U.S. Department of Energy-approved energy services company (ESCO). Under an ESPC, U.S. federal agencies can contract with ESCOs to acquire private-sector investment for the capital costs of installing energy and water conservation equipment and renewable energy systems.
The ESCO guarantees a fixed amount of energy cost savings throughout the life of the contract (up to 25 years) and is paid by the agency from energy cost savings after the savings start. Federal agencies retain the remainder of the energy cost savings for themselves.
NREL Contact: Douglas Dahle.
Utility Energy-Savings Contracts (UESCs)
The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct) authorizes and encourages U.S. federal agencies to participate in utility incentive programs. Services provided by a utility for a project can range from auditing to installation and commissioning, including financing the entire project under a UESC.
Utilities may cover the capital costs of the project in consideration of the energy savings the retrofits will produce. The net cost to the federal agency remains minimal, and the agency saves time and resources by using the "one-stop shopping" provided by the utility.
NREL Contact: Karen Thomas.
Examples of the NREL FEMP team providing direct technical assistance to agencies, and providing a leadership role for initiatives can be found through the following links:
Energy and water efficiency technical and financial project support and facilitation:
- FEMP works with the Labs21 Partnership Program to demonstrate new strategies for achieving high-performance laboratories.
Green Power purchasing:
- Texas Air Force base powered by wind
Performance Monitoring, Commissioning, and Documentation
Performance monitoring is important in ensuring overall energy production and savings, and proper commissioning is critical to proper system performance. FEMP can monitor the performance of renewable energy systems for agencies and assist agencies in obtaining the services of third-party commissioning agents. The FEMP team has written several detailed case studies documenting system performance and lessons learned.
Examples of the NREL FEMP team's performance monitoring, commissioning, and documentation can be found through the following link:
- Labs for the 21st Century
NREL has assisted in the design of many lab buildings and has documented nine of the case studies found on this Web site.
Technologies
For developing projects, NREL's expertise in renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies include:
Projects and Initiatives
NREL supports projects and initiatives for:
