EPICenter
In the News
The Energy Policy Innovation Center (EPICenter) is featured in the Boulder County Business Report. See story below:
By Monique Cole
June 12, 2009 --
BOULDER - A new nonprofit organization aims to bring research, government and industry together to help make projects "shovel-ready" for stimulus funding.
The Boulder-based Energy Policy Innovation Center, or EPIcenter, was formed in April by a group of experts in renewable energy, building efficiency, SmartGrid software and government contracting.
Executive Director Steve Diamond said he hopes the EPIcenter will be "the glue to connect people together," and to help money flow from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA, to deserving projects.
Compared with the highway construction industry, the renewable energy and weatherization industries are young, Diamond said. "A year ago, things were looking nothing like they are today," he explained. "Nobody was prepared."
In May, the Governor's Energy Office submitted a proposal to spend $49 million in stimulus funds on renewable energy and conservation projects. "Of course, administering significant amounts of money like this does require more effort, more oversight and more personnel, and we are working diligently to handle that," said Todd Hartman, a spokesman for the energy office. "But we're thrilled with the opportunity that ARRA brings to Colorado's energy markets and to citizens who will benefit from energy savings."
U.S. Department of Energy approval of Colorado's proposal is expected in early July, Hartman said. "We will move as quickly as possible, while still deliberating carefully to ensure the money is directed in the way that brings the most jobs and energy-related benefits," he said. "There are no immediate deadlines for proposals because we haven't started soliciting for them yet." Requests for proposals will be posted on the Website, www.colorado.gov/energy.
At least one local municipality is already consulting with EPIcenter to prepare a proposal to install solar panels on a fire station. "One of the ideas we have is to get vendors and municipalities to work together so they have prepackaged ideas," Diamond said. His organization can fill in figures on proposed utility savings and job creation, two critical components to ARRA funding.
The individuals behind EPIcenter have expertise in renewable energy, building energy efficiency, policy development, government compliance and accountability and utility grid efficiency.
Diamond has a background in engineering and project management at Ball Aerospace and a personal passion for solar power. In 2000, he designed and built a photovoltaic system for his home, with panels on nearly every surface, including his fence. "It looked like a cross between the Jetsons and the Beverly Hillbillies," he said. "My wife was very patient - so was my next-door neighbor."
Serendipity brought Diamond in contact with another EPIcenter consultant, Gregor Henze, a professor in the University of Colorado's engineering department. Last summer, Henze got lost with his wife and two daughters in Diamond's neighborhood after moving from Nebraska. "I brought Gregor over to my house to give him directions," Diamond said. "When he saw the PV panels on top, his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree."
Henze is an expert in high-performance building design for efficiency and renewable energy. He has connections to world-renowned research laboratories including Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg, Germany, and universities with a focus on ultra-efficient building design, such as the Technical University of Karlsruhe. His connections to large-scale solar power and building automation industries include Sun Carrier, Siemens Building Technology and Johnson Controls.
If EPIcenter is the glue connecting industry, research, funding and projects, then Diamond is the glue connecting the partners at EPIcenter. David Cohen is a friend from his synagogue and Jeff Young was a colleague at Ball Aerospace.
Cohen is an expert on electric grid efficiency software, and a consultant to the Department of Energy's Office of Electricity. As chief executive of Infotility, he recently received a three-year SmartGrid Demonstration Project award for Marin County, California, from the DOE. He also serves on the boards of several renewable energy and grid efficiency groups.
EPIcenter was registered as a nonprofit corporation in late April and, so far, has been self-funded with time donated by the partners who generally meet in Henze's office at CU. "We're at the front end of this journey," Diamond said.
Their business plan calls for future funding to be provided through hourly consulting fees and grant-writing success fees. "We'll always be a nonprofit," Diamond said. "This is how we're going to get people to talk to us and to work together."
