By: Jeff Milum, ICP Director of Marketplace Development
In virtually all established markets, from car loans to timeshares, standardization and automation has helped to accelerate underwriting, reduce long-term liability, and spur investment. The potential energy efficiency market is estimated at $1 trillion, but in order to achieve a fraction of this, the energy efficiency industry will need to leverage standardization and automation in order to scale to this level.
EDF’s signature energy efficiency initiative, the Investor Confidence Project (ICP), is accelerating the development of a global energy efficiency market by standardizing how Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ projects are developed and energy savings estimates are calculated.
As a part of this effort, ICP is pleased to announce the release of the ICP Software Provider Credential, which will standardize the process of developing and documenting energy efficiency projects.
Project developers using ICP-compliant software applications will be able to automatically produce standardized documentation required for energy efficiency retrofits, making Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ projects available to a wide range of investors.
Industry standardization of documentation is a critical step in streamlining the complicated process of developing and underwriting energy efficiency projects. The introduction of this credential represents a huge step forward toward achieving this goal.
To receive the ICP Software Provider Credential, software providers must enable easy access to all of the required documentation as well as support the ICP workflow for creating Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ projects.
Six firms have already become Credentialed Software Providers℠:
- Performance Systems Development
- Noesis Energy
- Sustainable Real Estate Solutions (SRS)
- Encentiv Energy
- HELiOS Building Efficiency
- The National Electrical Contractors Association’s ECAP Platform
Building owners will have increased confidence in projected savings knowing that standard methods and documentation are in place and are easily validated by third parties. Investors, programs, and utilities can quickly evaluate and underwrite standardized projects that have been third-party verified by independent engineers. The use of credentialed applications will cut overhead costs and eliminate weeks spent chasing down data, all with the click of a mouse.
The ICP Software Provider Credential, the first in a series of credentials that will be rolled out over the next few months, is ICP’s latest effort enabling the transformation of the energy efficiency investment market through standardization.
If you would like to discuss becoming a Credentialed Software Provider please contact credentialing@EEperformance.org