Western supports customers with help from Federal Energy Management Program

by Bob Parkins
Western's Sierra Nevada Region Energy Services Manager

In the face of Federal budget cuts, Western's Energy Services specialists look for ways to do more with less. One solution to the dilemma is helping other Federal agencies expand their renewable energy portfolios under an agreement with the Department of Energy's Federal Energy Management Program, Seattle Regional Office.

Under the agreement, now in its third year, Western provides technical assistance and training in renewable energy, with emphasis on solar photovoltaics, to Federal agencies in the western states and Hawaii.

The range of services Western provides includes performing initial PV site evaluations, design, assistance in writing technical specifications for procurement, evaluating proposals, installation support, training, and assistance in forming collaborative efforts among public agencies to implement bulk buying of PV components.

Under the agreement, I provide technical assistance to Federal agencies that request help from FEMP. While conducting workshops as part of Western's Energy Services program, I became acquainted with FEMP staff. We found they needed technical support that Western could provide, so we developed the necessary agreements.

Some of Western's Federal customers have been direct beneficiaries of the FEMP agreements. In other instances, the groundwork laid by the FEMP work may have indirect benefits.

I have introduced agencies with similar interests to each other. By developing their own agreements, the agencies can increase the size of purchases to reduce the cost of PV components for their own use and benefit the industry.

The partnership is a win-win for both Western and other agencies, as many of the Federal recipients are also Western customers. We can provide a valuable service to them while the bill is being paid by FEMP. That multiplies Western effectiveness and customer service.

Federal agencies helped by the FEMP agreement include the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Post Office in

Los Angeles, the Department of Energy's Lawrence-Berkeley and Lawrence-Livermore national laboratories, the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, and the U.S. Navy. FEMP pays my expenses to visit sites and provide services at no cost to the receiving agency.

The most common assistance has been training. Three-day workshops covering PV, microturbines, and fuel cells were held in San Jose and Anaheim, Calif.; Eugene, Ore.; and Honolulu. The same workshop is scheduled for Seattle and other locations this year. Shorter PV workshops were held at the Sherman Indian School in Riverside, Calif. as well as other California locations.

Besides helping Federal agencies through the FEMP agreement, I have provided the same consulting and training services to other Western customers. In a cooperative effort with Western's other Energy Services specialists, I have worked with numerous municipal utilities, irrigation and water districts, Federal agencies, and the State of California, as well as customers in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Montana, and South Dakota.

Contact your Energy Services representative to set up a workshop in your area.

Western staff and customers inspect the photovoltaic system on the Sierra Nevada Regional Office rooftop.