Energy Consulting
Bithenergy Services
Bithenergy provides energy consulting to assist investors, entrepreneurs, business owners, corporations, and schools make energy-conscious decisions to minimize risk and exposure in a changing energy market. We have extensive knowledge on integrating new renewable generation and energy storage technologies to reduce load as well as energy efficiency strategies for demand-side reduction.
The energy market is constantly in a state of flux. Federal and state policies, legislation, and energy incentives are continually changing. Bithenergy is an expert on energy trends and legistration and can help you navigate these tricky areas. Social, political, and environmental groups demand energy and environmental efficiency of its constituents and members. Bithenergy can help you understand and meet these requirements. We can also help clients looking to understand Smart Grid technology while addressing regulatory demand.
Business analysis
Market forecasting & political integration
Emerging energy technologies
Energy-efficiency & demand side strategies
Natural gas & energy purchasing strategies
Litigation, regulatory approach & markets
Renewable energy generation
Smart grid
Environmental analysis
Energy management
Power storage
Price risk management
BALTIMORE CITY | CLIMATE ACTION PLAN
Bithenergy helped craft the City of Baltimore’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) for the Baltimore City Department of Planning. Among other areas, Bithenergy helped develop climate action plan strategies, assessing whether Baltimore’s current sustainability plan will get Baltimore to the 15% reduction by 2015 goal, and providing technical input into shaping appropriate strategies for reducing energy use in the building sector – both new build and existing buildings, looking at efficiency and alternative sources. The CAP describes the implementation measures required to achieve the City’s selected goal of a 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2015 and longer term goals established during the planning process. It also presents an accounting of the greenhouse gas reduction potential and likely cost to the City and public of each measure relative to the targets.
Specifically, Bithenergy is performing the following tasks:
- Gather data on the specific characteristics of buildings within the City of Baltimore
- Determine sectors & building types with the greatest need for energy efficiency improvements and greatest suitability for renewable energy installations
- Determine typical energy efficiency improvement packages by building type and the approximate cost for upgrades
- Review full list of possible building energy measures
- Provide suggestions for measures that should be removed or enhanced based on data collected
- Compile a full list of the existing policies and Federal, state, and local building energy-related programs available to residents and businesses within the City of Baltimore
- Gather participation rates for current programs
- Interview program managers to determine possible partnership opportunities to increase uptake
- Suggest building energy measures to enhance current programs
- Estimate expected future adoption rates to be used in the estimated GHG reduction potential of associated measures
- Draft descriptions of building-energy related measures to be included in the draft and final Climate Action Plan
EDGEWOOD MANAGEMENT CORPORATION | HUD UTILITY MODELS
Bithenergy is helping Edgewood Management Corporation (EMC) gather utility data for many of their affordable housing units across the United States and using this data to produce utility models on these properties. The states included are District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Florida. EMC must produce HUD utility models for all of their affordable housing properties to qualify for HUD Utility Allowances. EMC manages over 26,000 properties in 14 states and the District of Columbia, including 18,200 federally-assisted apartments and a senior housing portfolio. EMC has a long-term goal of reducing the energy consumption of their properties.
Bithenergy implemented an HUD Utility Services approach that features direct contact and interaction with the property managers at each location to gather site-specific energy usage. Bithenergy inputs data on each specific property based on its location and utility cost and creates the EMC property utility model. The data is used to establish a Baseline Utility Model. The HUD-52667 form gives us the ability to generate each property’s electric usage and the utility monthly allowances for each type of unit within the property (i.e. studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom, etc.) Bithenergy creates both a hardcopy report and an electronic version for each property. Executive management reports are produced monthly that help managers make decisions about HUD utility model execution and status as well as future energy-related recommendations. Bithenergy provides a quick and easy way to gather HUD utility data and produce HUD utility models. It allows EMC to offload work from their staff and save resources. EMC now has access to energy management experts. EMC’s cost savings more than cover the cost of services within the first year of operation.
DHCD | WEATHERIZATION SOFTWARE INSTALLATION & TRAINING
New reporting requirements have been put in place for all Federal Recovery Act programs. These new federal regulations require state agencies to have the ability to effectively monitor and report the return on their investments in terms of jobs created and homes weatherized, as well as tracking many other details. Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) needed software that could provide this kind of detailed tracking and reporting.
Bithenergy provided software and support for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) by the DHCD. Weatherization Assistance Programs aim to increase the energy efficiency of homes and rental units for low–income households. DHCD is responsible for providing funds to low income households for Maryland’s weatherization programs. The software package (Hancock) provided by Bithenergy allowed DHCD to track qualified families, home energy audits, funding sources and contractors. The software also provides the ability to track prior grants to ensure the maximum use of funds in its weatherization program. The Bithenergy team was tasked with rapidly implementing this solution to allow DHCD and its local agencies to begin processing transactions immediately. Bithenergy worked with DHCD to figure out exactly what the state needed to report and how it needed to show the results.
After discovering the agency needed to track more information than was currently in the software, we helped Hancock configure two additional software modules: the Davis-Bacon module and the Work-site module. Once the system was in place, we trained DHCD employees in three different locations throughout Maryland. We also held two training webinars. DHCD now meets the seamless, transparent reporting capabilities that the new Federal regulations require. Additionally, this program is another key element in Governor O’Malley’s EmPower Maryland Initiative, attempting to reduce state government energy consumption 15% by 2015.
BALTIMORE CITY | CLIMATE ACTION PLAN
Bithenergy helped craft the City of Baltimore’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) for the Baltimore City Department of Planning. Among other areas, Bithenergy helped develop climate action plan strategies, assessing whether Baltimore’s current sustainability plan will get Baltimore to the 15% reduction by 2015 goal, and providing technical input into shaping appropriate strategies for reducing energy use in the building sector – both new build and existing buildings, looking at efficiency and alternative sources. The CAP describes the implementation measures required to achieve the City’s selected goal of a 15 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2015 and longer term goals established during the planning process. It also presents an accounting of the greenhouse gas reduction potential and likely cost to the City and public of each measure relative to the targets.
Specifically, Bithenergy is performing the following tasks:
- Gather data on the specific characteristics of buildings within the City of Baltimore
- Determine sectors & building types with the greatest need for energy efficiency improvements and greatest suitability for renewable energy installations
- Determine typical energy efficiency improvement packages by building type and the approximate cost for upgrades
- Review full list of possible building energy measures
- Provide suggestions for measures that should be removed or enhanced based on data collected
- Compile a full list of the existing policies and Federal, state, and local building energy-related programs available to residents and businesses within the City of Baltimore
- Gather participation rates for current programs
- Interview program managers to determine possible partnership opportunities to increase uptake
- Suggest building energy measures to enhance current programs
- Estimate expected future adoption rates to be used in the estimated GHG reduction potential of associated measures
- Draft descriptions of building-energy related measures to be included in the draft and final Climate Action Plan
EDGEWOOD MANAGEMENT CORPORATION | HUD UTILITY MODELS
Bithenergy is helping Edgewood Management Corporation (EMC) gather utility data for many of their affordable housing units across the United States and using this data to produce utility models on these properties. The states included are District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Florida. EMC must produce HUD utility models for all of their affordable housing properties to qualify for HUD Utility Allowances. EMC manages over 26,000 properties in 14 states and the District of Columbia, including 18,200 federally-assisted apartments and a senior housing portfolio. EMC has a long-term goal of reducing the energy consumption of their properties.
Bithenergy implemented an HUD Utility Services approach that features direct contact and interaction with the property managers at each location to gather site-specific energy usage. Bithenergy inputs data on each specific property based on its location and utility cost and creates the EMC property utility model. The data is used to establish a Baseline Utility Model. The HUD-52667 form gives us the ability to generate each property’s electric usage and the utility monthly allowances for each type of unit within the property (i.e. studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom, etc.) Bithenergy creates both a hardcopy report and an electronic version for each property. Executive management reports are produced monthly that help managers make decisions about HUD utility model execution and status as well as future energy-related recommendations. Bithenergy provides a quick and easy way to gather HUD utility data and produce HUD utility models. It allows EMC to offload work from their staff and save resources. EMC now has access to energy management experts. EMC’s cost savings more than cover the cost of services within the first year of operation.
DHCD | WEATHERIZATION SOFTWARE INSTALLATION & TRAINING
New reporting requirements have been put in place for all Federal Recovery Act programs. These new federal regulations require state agencies to have the ability to effectively monitor and report the return on their investments in terms of jobs created and homes weatherized, as well as tracking many other details. Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) needed software that could provide this kind of detailed tracking and reporting.
Bithenergy provided software and support for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) by the DHCD. Weatherization Assistance Programs aim to increase the energy efficiency of homes and rental units for low–income households. DHCD is responsible for providing funds to low income households for Maryland’s weatherization programs. The software package (Hancock) provided by Bithenergy allowed DHCD to track qualified families, home energy audits, funding sources and contractors. The software also provides the ability to track prior grants to ensure the maximum use of funds in its weatherization program. The Bithenergy team was tasked with rapidly implementing this solution to allow DHCD and its local agencies to begin processing transactions immediately. Bithenergy worked with DHCD to figure out exactly what the state needed to report and how it needed to show the results.
After discovering the agency needed to track more information than was currently in the software, we helped Hancock configure two additional software modules: the Davis-Bacon module and the Work-site module. Once the system was in place, we trained DHCD employees in three different locations throughout Maryland. We also held two training webinars. DHCD now meets the seamless, transparent reporting capabilities that the new Federal regulations require. Additionally, this program is another key element in Governor O’Malley’s EmPower Maryland Initiative, attempting to reduce state government energy consumption 15% by 2015.