Training and Certification
NESPTM partners with the Association of Energy Service Professionals (AESP) to provide trainings on conducting benefit-cost analyses (using the NSPM) and on distributional equity analyses (using the US DEA guide).
Sept. 23-26, 2024 (2-4 pm daily): Benefit-Cost Analysis of Distributed Energy Resource Investments
Description: For evaluation practitioners. This training is on the purpose, process and key considerations in benefit-cost analysis (BCA) – also referred to as “cost-effectiveness” testing – of single and multiple distributed energy resource (DER) investments. Attendees delve into practical application of key concepts in BCA using the NSPM.
Format: The live online training comprises 3-4 modules, each 2 hours, starting with an optional primer on 9/23 recommended for attendees with little or no cost-effectiveness background.
Sessions on 9/24, 25, and 26 review key economic principles and framework for conducting BCAs, discuss how to develop a primary cost-effectiveness test and approaches to quantifying DER impacts. Attendees will learn options for presenting BCA results that are clear and help to inform a jurisdiction’s priority goals and objectives, and differentiating between BCA and other analyses that help to inform DER investment decisions.
Attendees can earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or Professional Development Hours (PDHs).
Past Trainings: 2024
July 30-31, Aug. 1-2:
How to Conduct a Distributional Equity Analysis to Inform DER Investment Decisions
Description: Many states and utilities seek to account for energy equity when deciding whether and how utilities should support DERs. This course will describe how distributional equity analysis can be used in conjunction with benefit-cost analyses to assess equity impacts of DERs. Attendees can earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or Professional Development Hours (PDHs).
Format: Live Virtual Training.
- Day 1 (7/30): overview of energy equity dimensions, definitions, and equity in program design.
- Days 2-4 focus on how to conduct a distributional equity analysis using the 7-stage process provided in US DOE guidance Distributional Equity Analysis for Energy Efficiency and Other Distributed Energy Resources: A Practical Guide (May 2024). Attendees learn how DEAs can be used to inform decisions to advance energy equity goals, including investing in a new DER program, supporting an existing program, or redesigning programs. Instructors include Jasmine McAdams (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory); Alice Napolean (Synapse Energy Economics) and Quinn Parker (Encolor Consulting).
July 22-23: Conducting Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) for Distributed Energy Resources using the NSPM. (In-person training certification program, held in Toronto)
Description: Earn the NSPM CertifiedTM credential, to:
1) be well-positioned to apply NSPM guidance to your work;
2) differentiate from other practitioners, as jurisdictions increasingly reference and use the NSPM to guide DER evaluations.
March 25-28 (2-4 pm daily): Benefit-Cost Analysis of Distributed Energy Resource Investments
Description: For evaluation practitioners. This training is on the purpose, process and key considerations in benefit-cost analysis (BCA) – also referred to as “cost-effectiveness” testing – of single and multiple distributed energy resource (DER) investments.
Format: The live online training comprises 3-4 modules, each 2 hours, starting with an optional primer on 3/25. Sessions on 3/26, 27, and 28 will review key economic principles and framework for conducting BCAs, discuss how to develop a primary cost-effectiveness test and approaches to quantifying DER impacts. Attendees can earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or Professional Development Hours (PDHs).