Jo: Jennifer, you’ve only been on the job for a short time but please share with us some of your initial impressions.

Jennifer: I’m extremely impressed by the dedication and depth of knowledge of the staff.  I’ve spent most of my time getting to know them and developing a strong sense of NESEA and the services that the organization offers. The next step is meeting more of the members and learning more about their businesses and how we can help them grow this industry.  It’s a really exciting time for NESEA and presents great opportunities to grow.

Jo: You’re new to NESEA. What brings you here?

Jennifer: As you know, Jo, I was introduced to NESEA through you. I’ve been a casual observer of what NESEA has been up to for the last couple years. I was looking for an opportunity to combine my past professional experience as a lwayer, executive coach and nonprofit executive in a fast growing field. NESEA seemed like the perfect fit.

Jo: What are your biggest challenges at NESEA?

Jennifer: Clearly both the industry and NESEA are in a time of huge transition. One of the big challenges is going to be defining who we are and where we fit in this marketplace. We have a branding initiative underway with a leading company. We’re surveying members right now to get your input.  In order for this effort to succeed all the stakeholders – members and staff – need to be included.

This year we’re also laser focused on ramping up our PR efforts. We need to make sure that we capitalize on this moment and time and make sure that everyone knows that NESEA is the professional organization that you go to grow your green business.

Jo: What’s your top priority right now?

Jennifer: Building relationships to help NESEA grow. Sponsorships are the ultimate goal. But they don’t come in the absence of a personal relationship. I need to to get to know NESEA members and learn how we can help each other succeed.

Jo: As the new kid on the block, I’m sure a number of people would like to meet you. What is the best way for people to contact you?

Jennifer: My door is always open. Feel free to stop by the NESEA office or give me a call and let’s meet for coffee. Feel free to call me at (413) 774-5061 X 23 or email me at jmarrapese@nesea.org

Looking forward to meeting all of you soon!

We’re thrilled to announce that Jigar Shah will be joining us at the upcoming NESEA Annual Meeting.

Jigar Shah, entrepreneur and visionary, is the founder and former CEO of SunEdison, innovator of Solar Power Purchase Agreements, photovoltaic leasing, and provider of other solar services.

His successful business model revolutionized the photovoltaic industry in only a few short years and turned SunEdison into a global solar leader.  He connects business, finance, technology, policy, energy, and climate issues into solutions that can be achieved despite a shifting economy and with seemingly non-traditional partners.

Where: Merrimack Valley High School, Penacook (Concord), NH

When: Saturday, September 12, 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM

URL: www.nhsea.org

Topic: Saving the Planet through Job and Wealth Creation

Speaker: Jigar Shah

Contact: (603) 226-4732

We look forward to seeing you there!

Betsy Pettit (Chair BE10) & Bruce Coldham (Vice Chair BE10)

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Betsy Pettit, principal at Building Science Corporation (BSC) and chair of BuildingEnergy10 conference (BE10).  I approached Betsy about an interview right after she had moderated a grueling four hour planning session for BE10.  Much to my amazement her trademark engaging, energetic and intelligent persona wasn’t diminished in the slightest.  We are truly lucky to have this caliber of leadership amongst our ranks.

I hope you enjoy reading the following interview as much as I enjoyed conducting it.

Question #1:  “Betsy, please tell us a bit about yourself.”

I’m a principal at BSC which has been providing leadership in energy conservation methodology for commercial and residential buildings for over 25 years.  We have an exciting contract with the Department of Energy (DOE) that has been tasked to reduce overall energy use in buildings to Zero by 2020.  Specifically, we work with the DOE’s Building Technology Program where we develop strategic teams of builders, developers, and material manufacturers who share in the vision of moving the country closer to energy independence.  With a focus on residential buildings, we are helping them develop whole systems building techniques and processes for working with building professionals from manufacturers to designers.

Question #2.  “What does BE mean to you personally and professionally?”

“I’ve been attending BE since 1991 and speaking at the conference since 1993.  The conference has been a bedrock for my career and business.  BSC was born out of a camaraderie of building science professionals that formed at BE91.  The conference continues to be the place that I go to develop my skills, and learn how to do my job.

BE has also been a source of lasting friendships with people who are as passionate about building science as I am.  It’s been such a center of my life, that I coordinated my wedding with the BE93 conference because I knew that everyone that I wanted to invite would be there.”

Question #3.  “What is unique about BE10?”

Let me begin by addressing the two biggest elephant in the room, namely  the ARRA  (aka stimulus money).  As we all know, earlier this year, the Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.  The Act included tens of billions of dollars for states and local governments to make investments in energy efficiency, weatherizing modest income homes, renewable energy and transmission upgrades, energy efficiency research and much more.

Only a trickle of this money has made its way out of the Federal Government.  Most State and Local governments have just begun receiving this money and are in the process of developing and releasing RFPs to promote the development of better energy reduction strategies and additional training for green jobs.
However, by the time BE10 roles around next March, we expect the stimulus spigot to be wide open.  A huge percentage of attendees will be busy boning up on best practices to take advantage of the Stimulus generated opportunities.  We also expect to see a significant increase in government attendees who are under equal amounts of pressure to improve their skill set to manage the outlay of this money.

Put simply, BE10 will be humming with a broad array of green professionals ramping up their knowledge base to absorb the Stimulus money.

BE 10 will also provide an opportunity for the NESEA membership to showcase its buildings that have exceeded energy code requirements, working to support the vision of building energy efficiency as a major carbon reduction strategy.   We have the opportunity to inform the public dialog in ways that assure energy efficient regulations will be adopted.

Again, put simply, it is our obligation as concerned professionals to share both our knowledge about what works and what does not work for energy efficiency, and our decision-making processes about the design and installation of renewables.

Question #3:  “How will BE10 give green practitioners an edge in this Stimulus Economy?”

On the heels of the expected passage of ARRA, BuildingEnergy10 will be one of the first conferences out of the shoot to provide focused information for practitioners on energy-use-reduction and non-carbon based energy production.

BE teaches by examples in praxis not preaching based on theory. The conference invites attendees to learn what has worked and what hasn’t based on real world experience from leaders – such as John Straube, Joe Lstiburek, Mark Rosenbaum,  Steven Strong – in the industry whose careers have been guided by their passion to lower our carbon footprint.

There will be real case studies about how:

• Builders have retrofitted single and multi-family buildings to realize radically improved energy efficiencies;
• Communities have worked together to provide codes (Stretch Codes) and building standards (LEED) that promote energy use reduction in their buildings;
• Campuses or building developments have come up with shared energy use resources;
• Commercial buildings were designed, built and operated to realize significant energy improvements over standard building.

Question #5:  “Any concluding thoughts?”

Because of legislation we hope passes in 2009 ( ACES ) that will require accelerated improvements in the energy codes, and  improved awareness about global warming, 2010 will be a banner year for the building energy sectors.

The built environment in the Northeast accounts for 40% of our energy use.  Imported fossil fuels account for 60% of the region’s electricity generation and over 80% of our home heating resources.    Now we have the financial support to be looking at how to renovate these buildings in much deeper ways than in the past.  We made great strides in weatherization over the last two decades improving our energy use by 10-20%.  Now we have the opportunity to take energy efficiency to the next level and realize 50-70% reductions on a massive scale.  BE10 is the place to learn how to do it.

I look forward to sharing more insights about the conference as planning continues.

Thank you for reading this blog post.  Feel free to send Betsy your thoughts by commenting below.

Following the spirited debate inflamed by my previous Twitter post ( Let’s Twitter – Why We Should & How We Can), I thought you all might be interested in checking out a blog entry by Energy Circle, “A Few of our Favorite Certified Energy Auditors on Twitter.”

Written by Peter Troast, the post provides an excellent birds eye view of  how some building science professionals are making effective use of Twitter and identifies a number of active buliding science consultants in the Twitter community.

Petert writes,

Energy Circle maintains an active presence on Twitter because there is a vibrant community of like-minded, passionate people who care about home energy efficiency, green building, and general concerns about the future of our planet.

So far, the professional energy auditor/rater/building science community (at least those of whom we’re aware) isn’t huge, but we’ve found the tweets of experienced, certified people who spend their days inside of buildings evaluating energy challenges to be highly educational, useful and practical.

It’s remarkably easy to dive into Twitter and start sharing  information, building partnerships and maybe even identifying job leads with this growing community of building science consultants, lawyers and other engaged professionals.

Simply go to Twitter.com, sign up, fill out your bio, post a picture and click on “find people” to start following Peter’s list of building science consultants.  You can rummage through the list of people that they follow to find more people that you would like to engage in.

In the comment section of my previous post on Twitter, some NESEA members left their handles:

Chris Benedict:  @vitanightfire

Michelle Gonzalez:  @michgonzalez

Jason Federspiel (NESEA’s board vice chair):  @AltE_Jay

I’m on Twitter as @GreenMachinePR.

Feel free to add your Twitter handles to the comments section below.

Stay tuned for a case study on how a building science consultant is using Twitter to build her business.

Twitter-on!

Jo

Hi Everyone:

Welcome to the new NESEA website and the the debut of the NESEA blog.

With the Obama administration at the helm, our country is on the eve of a new energy era. This commitment has the potential to alter the sustainable building and energy landscape and create a wealth of opportunities.

Industry leaders will be blogging regularly about the forces that are shaping the growth of this industry. These writers will be sharing their insightful and often provocative ideas about the latest trends in green design and clean energy, policy implications, market opportunities, project financing, and much more.

Their posts will help you to stay on top of this evolving industry.

As a community, NESEA is unique both in its longevity and in its spirit of passionate engagement. For many of us, these fiery but always respectful debates have inspired and helped us to grow our careers. To continue this tradition online, please add your .02 by commenting on posts. It’s your ideas that have made NESEA what it is, so let ‘em rip!!!

As the editor of the NESEA blog, I’ll be chiming in occasionally too.

Looking forward to exchanging ideas with all of you online and hopefully meeting many of you at BE09!

Blog-on!

Jo Lee