PowerCAST

Five Must-Watch Energy Management Videos

Whenever energy makes the news, the same stock footage of high voltage lines and smokestacks accompanies nearly every report. There’s much more to energy—especially energy management—than what we see on screen. This month, we put together a playlist of videos that encapsulate the value of energy management, a value that sometimes eludes the camera crews. The kilowatt never used may be harder to film, but it’s just as important to securing the stability of the electric grid.

A deep dive with NOVA

For a comprehensive look at the energy revolution currently underway, take a look at NOVA’s hour-long “Power Surge” special on the building of a smarter grid. The program features some surprising segments, including Stuart Brand, the author of the Whole Earth Catalog, endorsing nuclear power, as well as a series of ringing endorsements for energy efficiency.

Visualizing New England’s energy demand

Last month, EnerNOC’s New England customers were called into action when an unexpected capacity shortfall triggered a demand response dispatch by the region’s grid operator, ISO New England. In this video, 10 months of ISO New England load curves flash by in 30 seconds, illustrating how demand response can play a role by smoothing out peaks. When the curve begins to climb too rapidly, grid operators might trigger a demand response dispatch to ensure that there is sufficient supply on the system. By June and July, the curves show how an engaged energy user can be particularly important to the grid.

TIME panelists tap into energy efficiency

When you start to hear oil companies talking about energy efficiency as a key to long-term success, you know you’re onto something. This TIME Magazine panel features comments from Jose Bravo, Chief Scientist at Shell, praising energy efficiency as the “number one” alternative source of energy. Efficiency is helping oil companies build “virtual refineries” by keeping demand in check, Bravo says, just as it’s helping the grid rely on “virtual power plants” through demand response.

Tim Healy on Platts Energy Week TV

There isn’t yet an “Energy News Network” in your cable package, but if there were an “ENN,” it might feature Platts Energy Week TV. In this video interview, EnerNOC’s CEO Tim Healy describes to host Bill Loveless how demand response has become the “killer application” of the smart grid.

Daniel Yergin takes on Colbert

Energy tends to be serious stuff—stimulating the kind of international intrigue that Daniel Yergin covered in his Pulitzer-winning book, The Prize. Stephen Colbert begs to differ. In this clip, Colbert pokes fun at Yegin’s new book, The Quest, which focuses on alternative energies, including efficiency. The author holds up admirably, offering a valuable survey of energy innovations amid the wisecracks.

Demand Response Spotlight: Linamar Corporation

With 37 plants worldwide, Ontario-based Linamar Corporation is a leading global supplier of vehicle and mobile industrial equipment. Energy management is a priority for the firm, yet, as with any just-in-time manufacturing operation, Linamar wanted to minimize its energy usage without impeding its manufacturing operations. By working closely with EnerNOC’s technicians, Linamar was able to begin participating in Ontario Power Authority’s DR3 demand response program, delivering 2.4 megawatts of energy reductions during demand response events and earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual payments in the process.

When Linamar began exploring demand response, EnerNOC’s local experts visited all 25 Ontario-area facilities to determine what level of participation would be right for each individual plant. EnerNOC outlined a site-specific curtailment plan for each facility, met with each facility manager to have it approved, and ran tests at each site to make sure the reduction would be effective during a demand response dispatch.  EnerNOC followed Linamar’s two requirements for their plants curtailments plans: 1) to maintain employee safety at all times, and 2) to allow its manufacturing processes to continue unimpeded. Ultimately, consensus was reached across all 25 plants, and each one signed on to its unique energy reduction plan.

During a dispatch, Linamar reduces air conditioning in the plants’ front offices, dims lights, and reduces the air cycle schedule in the plants. EnerNOC provides four hours of advanced notice prior to a demand response dispatch.  Linamar confirms the dispatch and begins curtailing its energy usage. By logging into EnerNOC’s DemandSMART™ application, Linamar can visualize its portfolio’s real-time performance on a site-by-site basis.  Throughout the four-hour dispatch window, Linamar can quickly target and look into underperforming sites to ensure full compliance.

Before using DemandSMART, Linamar did not have real-time visibility into energy usage at its manufacturing facilities.  “EnerNOC gave us tools to help identify what processes in our manufacturing have the greatest impact on our energy use. Our plants are now connected; we didn’t have that before,” said Director of Purchasing, Tony Luis.   Linamar is now looking towards the future of their demand response offerings: “We take certain measures to reduce electricity during curtailment,” Luis added, “but now plants are asking themselves, ‘Can we do these things over longer periods?’”

DemandSMART has streamlined demand response for Linamar, allowing the firm to earn financial benefits and increase efficiencies throughout its operations. View the case study to read more about Linamar’s approach to demand response.

How to Operate Your Building in an Expensive Market

Last month, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) released results from its 2011 Experience Exchange Report, which surveys office building operating income and expense data from thousands of commercial buildings across the U.S. The report confirmed that the most expensive markets to operate a building are New York, Washington, D.C., and Boston, in part due to rising utility costs. No matter where your building is located, here are a few strategies to boost efficiency, lower costs, and improve your bottom line by controlling your utility expenses.

Follow BOMA’s Energy Saving Checklist

In addition to its reports, BOMA offers a number of helpful resources on boosting operational efficiency. Its 30 Easy Ways to Save Energy checklist is a great starting point to determine how effective your current energy management strategies already are, as well as to determine potential areas for improvement.

Consider Commissioning

Many of the country’s most expensive markets are also encouraging commercial property owners to invest in retro-commissioning, which can help existing facilities operate more efficiently. Incentive funding is available in all three of the nation’s most expensive markets (NY, MA, DC), and the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency, DSIRE, lists state-by-state opportunities. Building operators are also using demand response payments to offset the cost of these programs. Working with EnerNOC on EfficiencySMART™ energy efficiency initiatives can be a capital-efficient option for existing demand response customers.

Dig into the Data

If your building participates in DemandSMART™ demand response with EnerNOC, you already have access to basic real-time energy usage data. But, are you maximizing the value it can create? EnerNOC has a number of on-demand webinars related to real-time meter data that can help you wring additional value out of your properties.

To start learning how EnerNOC can help you save on utility costs today, please visit our Get Started page.

Maryland Energy Trust Saves $10 Million through SupplySMART

When it comes to energy supply management, there is strength in numbers. The Eastern Shore of Maryland Educational Consortium (ESMEC) Energy Trust released some very strong numbers last month when it revealed that it had saved approximately $10 million by purchasing power competitively through EnerNOC’s electricity procurement services program, SupplySMART™, since 2005. Smart energy management helped the Trust free up taxpayer dollars that were previously used on energy and apply them to other public interest projects.

The ESMEC Energy Trust consists of 28 institutional members, including nine school systems, three community colleges, seven county governments, and seven towns.

“Though the members of the ESMEC trust are all distinct organizations, they share a common goal: They all want to save money on their energy purchases,” said Noel Chesser, Senior Account Manager at EnerNOC. “ESMEC’s energy trust structure is a highly cost-effective way for a variety of large-scale energy users to come together to create competitive supply agreements.”

“We are very pleased to have reached this energy savings milestone, and EnerNOC has been a strong partner in the process,” said Allan Gorsuch, Trust Manager, ESMEC Energy Trust. “The EnerNOC team has given us the purchasing strategies and access to advanced energy management solutions that have saved our members millions of dollars on electricity.”

Through SupplySMART, EnerNOC designs competitive energy purchasing plans that take into account the Trust’s priorities on cost reduction and long-term price visibility. In addition to SupplySMART, several ESMEC sites use EnerNOC’s DemandSMART™ and EfficiencySMART™ applications to participate in demand response programs and manage their energy efficiency initiatives. This comprehensive approach to energy management has enabled the Trust to free up funds previously spent on electricity and apply them to other projects.

To learn more about SupplySMART, please visit the application page or email Noel Chesser directly.

Spotlight On: Charlotte Wagner, Regional Director of Energy Services

Charlotte Wagner has spent her career focusing on ways for organizations to use energy more efficiently. Since joining EnerNOC in 2009 as part of the firm’s acquisition of Cogent Energy, Charlotte has moved into the role of Regional Director of Energy Services in southern California and the southwest.  Her team of engineers works directly with customers across the region to reduce energy use and costs, sometimes by more than 30 percent.  We caught up with Charlotte to find out more about the energy services at EnerNOC and learn what drives her success.

PowerCAST:  Tell me a bit about your work in energy services at EnerNOC.

Charlotte: Our energy services team grew out of the acquisition of Cogent Energy back in December 2009. We at Cogent had been acquired for one week, and the next thing we knew we were at the EnerNOC holiday party. Talk about a quick transition!  Now, we do energy efficiency consulting – that is, anything to make buildings more efficient on the mechanical side.  We focus on retro-commissioning and commissioning, mostly for public sector customers in California, like the California State University system and the University of California network.  I manage a team of engineers that does the technical work in the Southwest region of the country, so all of the retro-commissioning, the fieldwork, and the writing of the reports and calculations. I used to do a lot of sales development work for us.  Now, in addition to having a dedicated energy efficiency sales team, we have a lot of repeat business, and clients will call and ask us to work on another building.

How did you get your start in the energy sector?

I got a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and started working on energy efficiency in buildings. Back in the early 1990s, utilities were focused on demand-side management and giving customers incentives for installing a lot of energy efficient equipment, so I worked primarily on energy audits – and I really liked it!

What do you find most eye-opening about your work?

I’ve been amazed with the energy savings that can be achieved just from changing the operation of a building, rather than through replacing large pieces of equipment. It’s surprising how much can change just from adjusting the way the building is run, while keeping the same equipment in it. Retro-commissioning usually focuses on the operations of the building, rather than the equipment itself, and typical energy savings may be about 10 percent. However, in one of our recent projects, we were able to get a 32 percent reduction in one building’s energy use just by changing the way resources were used inside.

What are some of the high points about working at EnerNOC?

Saving energy!  And, of course, making our customers happy.  Sometimes a customer will hire a number of providers, and they’ll each start with one building.  Recently, we joined a project with 3 other providers, each of us starting out with one building.  I’m proud to say that we now have over 50 percent of that customer’s buildings. I also love recognizing the successes on my team. We have a weekly meeting where I announce the key accomplishments of our team members – that’s my favorite part of being a manager.

And what is life like outside of the office?

I have a seven year-old son who is very athletic, so I spend a lot of time at soccer and basketball games with him.  I also travel a lot with my family.  My son’s school is year-round, alternating between nine weeks of school and three weeks of break, so we can travel in the “off” seasons and get to a lot of places when they’re not so crowded.  When I’m home, I enjoy the outdoor opportunities that southern California has to offer, especially hiking and going to the beach.

To view some examples of Charlotte’s team’s work, check out the case studies on our EfficiencySMART Services page.