Syllabus

The syllabus is your guide to the course and what will be expected of you over the course of the quarter. Generally, it will include course policies, rules and regulations, required texts, and a schedule of assignments.

ESCO Professional Training Program is modeled as an investment grade plan based on case-study energy efficiency, demand-side-management, and renewable energy (EERE) projects. The curriculum uses industry best practices and learning outcomes that define the lesson to be learned in terms of clear, definable metrics of knowledge the student should attain for job performance.

The curriculum is comprehensive, including, but not limited to, training, certification preparation, job readiness, and skill development, including soft skills, math skills, technical skills, certification test preparation, and other development needed.

How it works:

• Begin your exam review, assignment or other work related to the course.
• Identify the concepts that you're stuck on.
• Find the video tutorials on the topics you need to understand.
• Press play, watch and learn!
• Test your understanding with quizzes and practice exams.

Who's It For

Clean Energy Career Pathway: Renewable Energy Sales, Energy Efficiency Professional, Demand-Side Management Service Provider, Project Development, Energy Analyst/Engineer, Project/Construction/Asset Management, Construction Services, and other related trades.

This course will benefit any student who is trying to learn how to acquire, develop, finance, deliver, and revenue an ESCO energy and environmental program. This resource can help students including those who:

• Struggle with understanding how to approach owners to acquire an energy project.
• Need to understand how to develop an Investment Grade Audit and Report. 
• Want to deliver cost effective energy and environmental programs using an investment grade process.
• Prefer learning online, anytime on their own schedule.
• Are unskilled and seeking a clean energy job.
• Are a small business owner seeking to become a solar contractor.
• Want to understand how to identify energy conservation measures.
• Don't have access to ESCO training elsewhere.

What You'll Learn

• Learn about the different steps of the owner’s decision-making process.
• Explain the life-cycle approach to program development and administration.
• Discuss the different roles and stakeholders in the charrette strategic planning phase..
• Explore potential areas of project lag, errors, and omissions.
• Study business decision analysis as well as decision strategies.
• Learn engineering calculations required to calculate energy and cost savings.
• Explain the importance of utility data analysis and benchmarking.
• Learn about financial applications for EERE projects.
• Discover the contractual obligations of a Design-Build-Operate-Maintain (DBOM) and Asset Management project.

Why It Works

• Engaging Teachers: We make learning about ESCO Professionals exciting.
• Cost Efficient: For reduced program cost, you'll have sales and business development skills that may be applied throughout the energy sector.
• Consistent High Quality: Our courses teach an investment grade process based on case-study projects in active U.S. markets.
• Convenient: Imagine a tutor as portable as your laptop, tablet or smartphone. Learn ESCO Professional training on the go!
• Learn at Your Pace: You can pause and rewatch lessons as often as you'd like, until you master the material.

Course Summary:

• Course type: Self-paced, online on-demand
• Available Lessons: 5.
• Average Lesson Length: 180 min
• Lab: 1 hour Lab per Lesson
• Total Course Length w/Labs: 20 hrs.
• Eligible for Certificate: Yes
• Certificates show that you have completed the course. They do not provide credit.

Lessons: 5 Lessons - 15 hours

1. SPESCO 101: Strategic Planning for ESCO Professionals: 1 Lesson, 180 mins
2. PDESCO 201: Project Development for ESCO Professionals: 1 Lesson, 180 mins
3. PDESCO 301: Project Finance for ESCO Professionals: 1 Lesson, 180 mins
4. PDESCO 401: Project Delivery Planning for ESCO Professionals: 1 Lesson, 180 mins
5. PRESCO 501: Project Revenue for ESCO Professionals: 1 Lesson, 180 mins

Class Meeting Time(s) and Location(s):

On-Demand and Online. Semesters: Spring semester starts in January and concludes in June. Fall semester starts in August and concludes in December.

Instructor(s)

• Instructor(s) name(s): Patrick A. Weller
• Email address: admin@divinesolnfp.io
• Office location: 815 N Church Street, Suite 105, Rockford, IL 61103
• Phone: (815) 491-4445
• Office hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-6pm (CST)

Preferred mode of contact is by email and student may expect a reply within 24-48 hours.

Quiz & Worksheets

In order to review your knowledge of the ESCO Professional course, be sure to use this quiz/worksheet combo. The goal of these resources is to analyze your knowledge of:

• The characteristics an investment grade process.
• How to prioritize Energy Conservation Measure (ECM) applications for savings.
• Communications in developing an energy and environmental program.
• The components of an Investment Grade Audit.
• Understanding the phases of performance contracting.
• How to calculate savings and present a Solar Performance & Financial Analysis Report to an owner.

Required Texts, Materials, or Equipment

• Equipment:
  • Home computer or Laptop.
• Climate & Equitable Jobs Act  Curriculum Catalog:
  • Policies and Business Practices.
• Text: (Included)
  • Sustainable Conduct by Patrick A. Weller, 1st Edition.
  • A Guide to Energy Service Companies, by Gary Bullock (Author), George Caraghiaur (Author), 1st Edition.
  • Solar Photovoltaic Basics: A Study Guide for the NABCEP Associate Exam, 2nd Edition.

Class Participation/Daily Work/Homework

The course is online and on demand. Students should prepare for class and/or complete weekly homework and problem set assignments at their own pace.

Course Grading

• 90% A
• 80% B
• 70% C (Minimum passing grade)

Lab and Technical Training Skills

• Monitoring
• Quality control
• Troubleshooting
• Operations & control
• Repairing
• Complex problem solving
• Equipment maintenance

Goals and Objectives

The primary goal of the ESCO Professional Training Program is to teach the student how to strategically plan, develop, finance, deliver, and revenue an EERE project by means of an investment grade process utilized by the $6.5 Billion North American Energy Service Company (ESCO) industry. In terms of effectiveness, the curriculum is concise and made readily understandable to teachers and learners. The course lessons are based on actual case-study course materials from the California energy market.

The following ESCO Professional Training Program goals are activities the students are expected to learn related to ESCO program development and administration of comprehensive energy and environmental programs:

Learning outcomes (what the learners are expected to learn)

• Strategic Planning. Students will become proficient in the charrette participatory planning process. The student will learn how to assemble an interdisciplinary team to assist facility managers and owners to define their vision for an EERE strategy and then help to memorialize energy conservation measures (ECMs) for Project Development activities and scheduling.
• Project Development. Students will learn how to identify and gather human, technical, financial, and other project development resources to fulfill the client’s memorialized goals and objectives.
• Project Finance. The student will learn the creative art of presenting options for Project Finance from cash, power purchase agreements to capital lease. The student will match the no/low or capital contribution measure with a Client's financial appetite for the project.
• Project Delivery. The fundamental practices of Design-Build-Operate-Maintain with Asset Management (DBOM-AM) are taught to instill the Student with a life-cycle approach to project management, engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC), operation and maintenance with turnkey asset management. The study of an EPC Contractor self-performing a 30-year Solar PPA Agreement is the basis of Project Delivery training course materials.
• Project Revenue. The student will learn how to calculate and present to the Client the Strategic Planning’s metric(s) in terms of energy conservation, dollars saved, and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Measurable Objectives and Expectations

The following statements set measurable objects and expectations for what students should learn and be able to perform upon attaining certification or credentials. The student is expected to perform the following learning activities.

• Strategic Planning. 
  • Assembling an interdisciplinary team.
  • Identifying energy conservation measures (ECMs).
  • Interviewing a decision maker for goals and objectives.
  • Developing a Project Development schedule.
• Project Development.
  • Benchmarking facility energy utility use and comparative analysis.
  • Project engineering activities and calculations.
  • Developing a preliminary scope of work.
  • Conducting a Preliminary Review Meeting.
  • Developing construction cost estimates and energy savings calculations.
  • Obtaining project finance commitment.
  • Presenting an Investment Grade Audit.
• Project Finance. 
  • Reviewing/Executing Project Finance terms and conditions
  • Reviewing/Executing Construction Agreements
  • Reviewing/Executing Labor and Warranty Agreements
  • Reviewing/Executing Operations & Maintenance Agreements
  • Reviewing/Executing Asset Management Agreements
  • Developing a Project Delivery schedule.
• Project Delivery. 
  • Completion of Project Engineering activities
  • Performing Project and Construction Management activities.
  • Implementing Engineering, Procurement, and Construction activities.
  • Conducting Substantial Completion activities.
  • Completing project commissioning activities.
  • Completing Punch List Items for Project Acceptance.
  • Conducting a Project Acceptance Meeting
  • Implementing Measurement & Verification (M&V) protocols
  • Developing Energy Monitoring services.
  • Performing Scheduling and Unscheduled Operations & Maintenance activities.
  • Conducting Asset Management activities.
• Project Revenue. 
  • Conducting post-ECM implementation savings calculations. 
  • Presenting achievement of goals and objectives to the decision maker.
  • Calculating project P&L
  • Calculating commissions payments

Student Knowledge Requirements

• English language
• Customer service
• Administration and management
• Math
• Mechanical
• Building/construction
• Design
• Engineering technology

Increase Employability Skills

Interpreting information

Verify that you can read information about communicating in the course and interpret it correctly. Ensure that you draw the most important details from the related business lesson.

Information recall

Access the knowledge you have acquired about situations that call for extreme project management.

Apply Employability Skills

• Critical thinking
• Judgment and decision-making
• Speaking
• Active listening
• Coordination
• Time management
• Active learning
• Reading comprehension

Prerequisite Training for Continuing Education

The student will learn practical knowledge to pursue industry accepted certifications and continuing education:

• Preparation for NABCEP Certification examination.
• Preparation for Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), Distributed Generation Certified Professional.
• Preparation for US Green Building Council, LEED Accredited Professional examination.

Cluster Jobs

Upon receipt of certification or credentials, the student will have sufficient knowledge and skills to attain high-demand clean energy occupations to include the sales, development, construction, program administration and other support functions within the EERE industries.

Sales and Project Development Professionals

• Sales and Business Development Professionals
• Outbound Telemarketing
• Door-to-Door Canvasing
• Energy Analyst
• Project Developers

Solar

• Solar and wind Solar photovoltaic installers
• Solar sales representative and assessors
• Solar thermal installers & technicians
• Solar energy installation managers

Green Building & Construction

• Construction laborers
• Weatherization installers & Technicians
• Energy auditors

Electrical

• Electrical Electricians
• Helpers—Electricians

Professional services, others

• Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks

Water & wastewater Water

• Water & wastewater treatment plant and system operators

Course Policies and Information for Students

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