Energy conservation and renewable energy

 

• Community Energy Association – This is a great BC organization dedicated to assisting municipalities to become more energy efficient and reduce emissions.  http://www.communityenergy.bc.ca/

• The BC Sustainable Energy Association – BC SEA is a non-profit association of citizens, professionals and practitioners, committed to promoting the understanding, development, and adoption of sustainable energy and energy conservation and efficiency in British Columbia.  http://www.bcsea.org

• US DOEs EREN – US Department of Energys’ Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Network – The centre of the Web for energy efficiency and renewable energy research and information, covering industry and transportation, as well as buildings.   http://www.eren.doe.gov/ 

• Natural Resources Canada Office of Energy Efficiency – The Office of Energy Efficiency has prime responsibility for policy and technology development for energy conservation in Canada, under Natural Resources Canada’s wing. Their site is a good resource for Canadian statistics, and information on federal policy and programs aimed at energy conservation and greenhouse gas reduction. Their “Document Search” database lists NRCAN publications and case studies, available for free download. – http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/

• CANMET CETC – Canadian Energy Technology Centre  – The CANMET Energy Technology Centre (CETC) is one of Canada’s primary research organizations into energy, science and technology. The key research arm of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) the CETC works with private and other public sector partners to develop and deploy leading-edge energy products and processes for most sectors of the Canadian economy.  https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/offices-labs/canmet/5715

• US-EPA Energy Star  – Similar to (but more comprehensive than) Canada’s EnerGuide program, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program independently tests and rates a variety of products, houses and buildings for their energy-efficiency merits. The site lists products and ratings in downloadable .pdf files or Excel spreadsheets. Good place for comparison shopping for a wide variety of equipment and products.   http://www.energystar.gov/

• US Environmental and Energy Study Institute – Founded by a bipartisan group of members of the US Congress in 1984, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute provides timely information and policy debate on major environmental and energy issues. Policy discussion papers cover Energy and Climate, Sustainable Communities, Transportation, and Economic and Fiscal Policy Reform.  http://www.eesi.org/ 

• IGSHPA – International Ground Source Heat Pump Association – The IGSHPA is a US-based trade association of GSHP manufacturers, designers and contractors; and this site is oriented toward member services and information dissemination.  http://www.igshpa.okstate.edu/ 

• IPMVP – Building Energy International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol – The International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (MVP) provides an overview of current best practice techniques available for verifying results of energy efficiency, water efficiency, and renewable energy projects in commercial and industrial facilities. It is sponsored by the US Department of Energy and a broad international coalition of facility owners/operators, financiers, Energy Services Companies (ESCOs) and other stakeholders. The IPMVP protocols are the gold-standards for energy performance measurement, and are available for download in free .pdf form. http://www.ipmvp.org/ 

• American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy – The ACEEE is one of the most active and effective US organizations encouraging and lobbying for energy efficiency in buildings and industry. The site has a pretty good annotated list of internet resources on energy efficiency.  http://aceee.org/ 

• Association of Energy Engineers – The AEE serves as a clearinghouse for professional engineers concerned with energy efficiency in industry and buildings, with chapters worldwide (including a chapter in BC). http://www.aeecenter.org/ 

• California Energy Commission – The California Energy Commission is responsible for regulation, policy development and program administration of California’s energy supply.  This site has a lot of information on the latest issues in energy efficiency.  http://www.energy.ca.gov/ 

• US Alliance to Save Energy – The Alliance to Save Energy is a US nonprofit coalition of business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit the environment, the economy, and national security.  http://www.ase.org/

• European Union Directorate-General for Energy – This site outlines information and the strategy for energy in Europe.  http://ec.europa.eu/energy/index_en.htm

• US DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory Buildings Technology Center – The Buildings Technology Center (BTC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a major U.S. research facility devoted to development of building energy efficiency technologies. http://www.ornl.gov/science-discovery/clean-energy

• UK EEBPP – UK Energy Savings Trust – This is the site of the energy efficiency program in the UK.   http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Organisations/Technology/Free-resources-for-housing-professionals  

• Rensselaer Polytechnics’ Lighting Research Center – The Lighting Research Center is part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s School of Architecture. It is the world’s largest university-based center for lighting education and research. http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/ 

• NREL – US National Renewable Energy Laboratory – A tremendous resource for anyone researching or using renewable energy technologies, the US DOEs National Renewable Energy Laboratory is the first place to go for introductory, policy and technical information on RE technology and research in North America.  http://www.nrel.gov/

• FSEC – Florida Solar Energy Center – The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) is the largest and most active state-supported renewable energy and energy efficiency research, training, testing and certification institute in the US, and one of the nations best research centres in solar, renewable and building energy-efficiency. http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/

• Masonry Heater Association – The industry association for masonry wood-burning appliance manufacturers and designers, this site features research publications, suppliers and a gallery of photos.  http://mha-net.org/ 

• CANSIA – Canadian Solar Industries Association – CANSIA is the primary Canadian solar energy industry association, fostering research, information exchange and lobbying on behalf of manufacturers and distributors.  http://www.cansia.ca/ 

• Consumer Affairs Information on Solar Companies – This website is an excellent and current resource on American solar companies, their comparisons and information you should consider when considering a solar system – https://www.consumeraffairs.com/solar-energy/#guide-features 

• CANWEA – Canadian Wind Energy Association – CANWEA represents organizations and individuals developing and applying wind energy in Canada, with a focus on lobbying governments on policy and programs. CANWEAs website lists policy papers, links, a “Quick Facts” summary, and liks to other global wind energy websites.  http://www.canwea.ca/

• CADDET – Centre for the Analysis and Dissemination of Demonstrated Energy Technologies – CADDET Renewable Energy is an International Energy Agency agreement for the exchange of information on commercial renewable energy projects, operating since 1993. With sections on Biomass, Geothermal, Waste, Hydro, Solar, Wind and PV, this site is an excellent source for commercial and institutional renewable energy projects globally.  http://www.caddet-re.org/html/1a.htm

• American Solar Energy Society – The ASES is an excellent resource on all types of solar energy information and research; with the excellent journal “Solar Today” as their main print communication.  http://www.ases.org/ 

• ISES – International Solar Energy Society – Founded in 1954, ISES today is the largest organisation in the field of research, utilisation and promotion of Renewable Energy technology world-wide, with more than 30 000 members in over 100 countries. https://www.ises.org/ises.nsf

• American Wind Energy Association – The primary industry lobby group for wind energy, it is largely oriented toward utility-scale technologies and issues. The site links to the AWEAs FAQ, technical standards, wind energy projects, publications, news and events. http://www.awea.org/

• European Wind Energy Agency – Established in 1982, the European Wind Energy Association is a non profit, non governmental association with a membership consisting mainly of national affiliated societies, companies and organisations involved in wind related activities. The EWEA now has a total membership of many thousands, including most of the major wind turbine manufacturers and research centres. EWEA has some good, non-technical wind energy issue summaries available on-line, but the site is better on policy adn lobbying than technics (for that, see the European Wind Energy Information Network).  http://www.ewea.org/ 

• EUREC – European Union Renewable Energy Centers Agency – EUREC was established by the European Union to strengthen and rationalize the European RD&D efforts on renewable energy technologies. An independent association, it groups many prominent EU RD&D groups, with research fields including solar buildings, wind, photovoltaics, biomass, small hydro, solar thermal power stations, ocean energy, solar chemistry and solar materials, hybrid systems, developing countries and integration of renewable energy in the energy infrastructure.  http://www.eurec.be/ 

• American Hydrogen Association – This industry lobby groups’ site hosts links to hydrogen and fuel cell FAQs, and news on breaking H2 news.  http://www.clean-air.org/

• Expertise.com – This site contains a lot of useful information on various issues – including energy conservation – http://www.expertise.com/green
• Solar Action Alliance – This site links to an nation-wide American network promoting solar energy.  The site has extensive information on the latest solar industry information and opportunities – https://solaractionalliance.org/ .