Eneref Institute recently announced a collaboration with the Department of Defense to form a solar heating industry consortium composed of a multi-economic sector of the U.S. solar thermal industry.

Eneref Institute, a research and advocacy organization whose mission is to demonstrate the benefits of sustainable development, recently announced a collaboration with the Department of Defense to form a high-level solar heating industry consortium, led by the I&E Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense and composed of a multi-economic sector of the U.S. solar thermal industry. 

Eneref Institute will provide contracting officers accurate guidance on equipment strategies, contractor qualifications, third-party finance and monitoring policy in order to build a greater confidence for solar heating technology within the DOD. Its initial task is to convene an industry-funded solar hot water specialists group to initiate and reengineer best practices for global implementation of SHW systems on DOD facilities.

The first report Eneref provides will help the Department of Defense make determinations on equipment, life-cycle cost analysis, energy modeling strategies as well as help to define qualifications for engineers and contractors. Evidence will be drawn from well-established guidelines, including ASHRAE, IAPMO, SRCC, EPA, buildingSMART and USACE.

Beyond the participants from the DOD and solar thermal industry, consortium contributors will be drawn from other government agencies. The recommendations for solar heating policies, programs, practices and investments will cover all sectors of the industry - buildings, panels, monitoring systems and finance - and will be designed to invigorate the U.S. solar thermal industry, increase industry competitiveness, and advance the nation’s energy security and environmental goals.

The industry-government alliance will create a package of consensus policies before the end of 2012 so that it can serve as an energy-efficient solar hot water blueprint for all DOD facilities. The members of the consortium, collectively, will have expertise across all sectors of the solar thermal industry and represent different perspectives as well as key stakeholders.