The City of Novi, Michigan, with an EECBG allocation of $533,100, embarked on a variety of projects including pathway planning, establishing an energy office, building energy audits, and retrofitting in six municipal buildings. Now at 100% obligated and 61% spent, Novi is able to reflect on the uncommon implementation model that has made their projects so successful.

With a wide variety of projects and complex reporting requirements, Novi enlisted the help of a consultant.  Like many communities, Novi hired consultants to assist with reporting or developing the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy, but they took it a step further.  Novi selected AKT Peerless, involved the organization from the onset with writing the EECS, and then had the firm assist in performing the building audits, crafting RFPs for retrofit activities, monitoring and reporting on EECBG work, and calculating energy savings. In addition, one very important role for the consultant was that of “owner’s representative”. In this role, Novi’s consultant kept close watch on the retrofit work, monitoring for compliance of ARRA requirements and federal laws while advocating for the City’s best interest, providing continuity among multiple vendors and projects, resulting in on-time and on-budget completion of retrofits.

Novi anticipates greater value from their retrofit investments because the consultant was involved in every step of the process. Novi’s partners performed important building energy analysis and benchmarking that helped Novi make educated decisions about which buildings to retrofit. Because of the early and consistent involvement of a single firm, Novi also expects to be able to measure resulting energy savings much more accurately than if they had done benchmarking and measurement internally or used multiple firms.

The EECBG staff at Novi offers the following qualities to look for when selecting a consultant to be your community’s implementation partner:
• Familiarity with Federal laws and specific grant requirements.
• Experience with building systems and facilities auditing.
• Ability to calculate energy savings and environmental benefits.
• Ability to serve as an “owner’s representative”.
• Willingness to be a true, long-term advocate and partner throughout the award period.

Choosing a consultant that meets these criteria will decrease the time and money spent by your community in procurement, reporting, and monitoring activities and help maximize the cost-effectiveness of your energy investments.  

If you have any questions or comments for Novi on choosing the right consultant, or have a similar experience you would like to share, please comment in the section below.

Content for this blog post courtesy of Therese Dorau, Midwest Regional Coordinator, ICF International.