Clean Energy Solutions

services

Vast expertise for an evolving energy landscape.

CESI supports our clients in grant proposals and financing, organizing and marketing their programs, procuring and managing their contractors, and documenting and reporting on their achievements. We help justify, budget, and validate our clients' work, and provide graphic evidence of its benefits. We write winning business plans, resilience plans, performance contracts, technical manuals, and parametric models. How can we help you?

 

Areas of Expertise


ENERGY PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING (EPC)

Energy performance contracting provides guaranteed energy savings for efficiency and renewable projects, based on the future performance of energy efficient equipment and practices. These contracts are serviced by energy services companies (ESCOs) and widely used by government, healthcare, and educational organizations. Our senior staff has been at both sides of the table, having directed successful ESCOs before transitioning into the consulting sector. We know when ESPCs are the best solution and when not, and can design their best use and procurement. We specialize in customer advocacy, also known as owner's agent or owner's representative services, to ensure that customers are receiving the highest quality services and products at a competitive price. 


solar and Storage procurement & financing

Solar energy and storage procurement can be overwhelming. Is it more advantageous to lease or own panels? Are power-purchase agreements authorized and really advantageous? How do I balance resiliency vs. peak load shedding vs. frequency regulation services? What about net metering? What is required to connect to the grid? How can organizations, even non-profits, capture the value of tax credits? How can I evaluate and forecast solar renewable energy credits (SRECs)? What are the costs and benefits of integrating storage? What financing options and revenue streams are available? CESI can help answer those questions to develop project scopes that are economically beneficial for your organization. CESI offers guidance through the procurement, financing, implementation, evaluation, and verification of solar energy installations and has been especially effective at developing solar solutions for tax-exempt entities. 


Healthy Homes

Asthma is an epidemic afflicting 11 million people in the U.S. Cases of asthma are disproportionately found in low-income neighborhoods, due to proximity to environmental hazards and air pollutants and often, to inadequate building conditions that exacerbate irritants. Our team has designed best practices and protocols that integrate energy efficiency retrofits with asthma mitigation measures to help address the symptoms as well as the root causes of environmental respiratory diseases. Our team is currently investigating the integration of Medicaid and other health dollars in energy efficiency projects, in addition to utility cost savings and incentives.


LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Ever heard "think globally, act locally?" We have, and we know that creating global energy solutions can start right at home. CESI designs clean energy programs for local governments that spur economic development and improve residents' quality of life. Our staff can assist local agencies access funding for new programs, develop implementation and marketing plans, qualify participating contractors and service providers, provide quality assurance, verify and measure savings, and document program impacts for use in public relations and future program planning. 


Property assessed clean energy (PACE)

Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is an innovative financing arrangement that allows customers to finance 100% of energy-related property improvements with no upfront cost through a special tax assessment that is tied to the property, rather than the borrower. PACE creates solutions for customers typically excluded from traditional clean energy financing due to high upfront costs, limited credit, or restrictive loan terms. CESI provides numerous services for PACE program sponsors, administrators, financiers, contractors, and participants. CESI develops parametric models to predict market penetration and cash flow, identifies and promotes program best practices, provides technical validation for proposed energy projects, and supports administrators and financiers in securing energy attributes, such as renewable energy credits (RECs). 


evaluation, Measurement, and Verification (EM&V)

Energy efficiency and renewable energy projects produce energy and cost savings for customers, but how those savings impacts are evaluated, measured, and verified is not defined and described in a standard, straightforward way by energy services practitioners. The lack of widely standardized and satisfactory practices results in skepticism from consumers, program administrators (utilities), and regulators that approve energy program spending. CESI is well-versed in EM&V, previously contributing to the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) and more recently, partnering with three states on a U.S. Department of Energy project to increase standardized practices in the Southeast's energy performance contracting market. CESI equips state and local agencies, utilities, regulators, energy service contractors, and customers with the knowledge they need to quantify and qualify energy savings for use in voluntary and compliance markets and performance-based programs.


STATE ENERGY PROGRAMS

Changing the way energy is produced and consumed often begins at the state level. That's why CESI helps state energy offices design effective programs to meet their energy goals. Our staff has been especially effective in securing funding for state initiatives that reduce energy consumption and/or produce clean energy by leveraging the use of private capital, utility incentives, and the sale of energy attributes.

 


owner's agent services

CESI has supported many organizations in procuring and supervising energy contractors, including competitive bids, evaluations, contract negotiation, and oversight of their work. The decision to outsource renewable energy and efficiency services can be daunting in itself. Energy management is increasingly complex, requiring a combination of engineering, financial, and contractual expertise. CESI staff supplement internal management in their decision-making, from initial scope determination through acceptance of the work and measurement of its results.  


critical infrastructure resiliency

As the magnitude and proximity of natural and manmade disasters continues to threaten our most vulnerable populations, the ability of our communities to respond to and prevent adverse impacts is paramount. Local energy resiliency, through clean technologies such as solar-plus-storage microgrids, can allow immobile populations and the small businesses that serve them to "prosper-in-place"- sustaining their shelter, communications and services in times of emergencies. In normal times, solar-plus-storage microgrids produce clean energy, reduce carbon emissions and contribute valuable services to our nation's electricity grid. CESI has pioneered community microgrid models to serve populations that have historically suffered the worst from disasters: low-income, elderly, and immobile populations. CESI is interested in securing partnerships with local government, community development, and foundation organizations to pilot community microgrids in vulnerable communities.


energy attribute Markets

The sustainability of clean energy programs are ultimately based on capturing the value of energy saved or energy produced. CESI helps our clients capture this value through the sale of energy attributes, such as carbon emission reductions, grid regulation services, or regulatory compliance credits. CESI has obtained validation of aggregated residential carbon offsets for sale in voluntary markets, supported the qualification of clean energy enterprises as participants in RTO/ISO forward capacity markets, and successfully bid demand-side resources into these markets. 


Enterprise building

Clean energy is a team effort. CESI supports other clean energy enterprises by sourcing public and private investment, government, and foundation funding for those that show promise of achieving significant reductions in carbon emissions, energy or water waste, or demand peaking across multiple sectors. We write winning proposals and business plans, recruit management and staff, create marketing strategies, and assist in program implementation. 

 
The North End, Boston.

The North End, Boston.