Energy and Sustainability Consulting

Capabilities and Services

TDG provides energy-efficiency consulting services worldwide. Our services focus on technologies and programs for improving the energy use and environmental sustainability of the building stock, including:

• Demand-side management (DSM) programs for buildings such as design assistance.
• Assessments of technologies and of DSM energy-saving potentials.
• Technology transfer for high-performance, energy efficient and sustainable buildings.
• Development of in-country skills.
• Overcoming multiple institutional barriers to achieving efficiency improvements.
• Training in:
  • energy-efficient building design and operations.
  • improved building performance and comfort
  • energy and economic simulations
• Computer-based analyses of new building designs.
• Computer-based parametric simulations of typical building, including natural ventilation, thermal comfort and daylighting analyses.

In addition to the consulting services listed above, we have assisted ten countries worldwide and four jurisdictions in the US to develop, implement, or upgrade and refine their Energy Efficiency Building Codes (EEBCs). TDG is continually active in these consulting services as well as professional association activities.

The major impediments to increased energy efficiency in the building sector are institutional barriers and market failures rather than technical problems. Also, while high tech competence exists in virtually all countries, in the building sector in developing and newly industrialized countries, rarely has the institutional and economic setting permitted the technical competence to be effectively applied routinely to day-to-day building design, construction, and operation. We try to encourage sustainability within emerging local institutional settings and market mechanisms.
 

Summary of Project Experience
 

Energy Edge, a DSM Design Assistance Program:  TDG played a central role in developing and testing comprehensive design assistance program to save 30% or more of energy and peak demand (KWH) through more efficient design of new commercial buildings in the Minnesota service territory of Northern States Power (NSP), now Excel. TDG provided key input to developing both the technical and budgetary aspects of this design assistance program for the energy efficient design of new commercial buildings. This program was unique in stressing education and skill building within the local building design community.

Three buildings being designed in the Minneapolis area were used as case-studies to test all aspects of  the Energy Edge program that were under development.  Each tested case study proceeded through design and construction and into building operations. Each produced estimated savings exceeding the 30% target. Once implemented, the program has been used successfully to reduce the energy use of many new buildings within the NSP service territory. With the Weidt Group and for NSP.
 

Daylighting Impact Assessment for NSP: Directed a team effort to develop a spreadsheet program that assesses the kWh and kW reduction potentials from the application of daylighting technologies within the NSP service area. The spreadsheet program has been designed for use by NSP staff in planning possible DSM programs for daylighting technologies. NSP staff can not only input key parameters of possible daylighting programs but can modify data and assumptions within the methodology as well. The analysis methodology allows penetration rates of three levels of daylighting technologies to change in response to changes in cost effectiveness and in impacts of four types of institutional barriers. With The Weidt Group and the University of Minnesota Regional Daylighting Center.
 

Example Projects - Worldwide

We have worked in over a dozen countries in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East and Central Europe, and have worked on projects funded and supervised by such groups as GEF, the World Bank, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), USAID, CIDA, SIDA, and in-country ministries.

We have provided consulting services in 15 countries including:  Poland, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Sénégal, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jamaica, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India.
 

Poland, Coal-to-Gas Conversion Project: The project identified and converted some 29 small to medium sized boilers from coal to gas throughout Poland as part of effort to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and to improve local and region air quality. 

Provided technical assistance on institutional issues during the design of the project and assisted in oversight and review of institutional issues during the accomplishment of the project, including:

a)   Developing a national marketing plan for the project throughout Poland through Voivodship offices, workshops and news media;

b)   Formulating and establishing the roles and responsibilities of in-country participants with respect to the supervision and implementation of the project at national and local levels,

c)   Formulating and establishing the organizational and legal framework as well as the administrative and technical rules and procedures for: (i) using the grant funds; (ii) identifying, appraising, approving and implementing individual projects; (iii) executing agreements with individual project applicants; (iv) meeting the reporting requirements; and (v) monitoring the environmental performance of individual projects.

The project included several pilot projects in Krakow. The project was funded by GEF, managed by the World Bank, and administered in Poland by the Environmental Bank of Poland (BOS). 

The project also included an Energy Efficient Housing Component (see next project description).
 

Poland, Coal-to-Gas Conversion Project, Energy Efficient Housing Component: In the mid to late-1990s, 466 new housing units in ten housing projects in seven cities throughout Poland have been designed and built to be very energy efficient by using grants they received from a US$1 million Global Environmental Facility (GEF) demonstration project.

The project was managed by the World Bank and administered in Poland by the Environmental Bank of Poland (BOS). TDG provided technical assistance in the design of the Energy Efficient housing Component of the overall Coal-to-gas project and provided technical oversight and review during the accomplishment of the project.

Poland had the technical skills at the time to design and produce such energy efficient housing, but was not producing such housing mainly because of institutional constraints and lack of funds. 

Meanwhile, Poland’s severe housing shortage caused an urgent need for new housing that was both energy-efficient and sustainable, given sharply rising energy costs and severe existing air and water pollution. Thus, the goals of this GEF demonstration project were to demonstrate the benefits of introducing advanced energy efficiency measures into Polish residential construction practices, to permit practical experience to be attained, and to initiate the building-up of housing energy efficiency equipment in local markets.

The demonstration appeared to be successful. The ten housing projects were estimated to use 30% to 80% less energy than housing units that meet the current Polish energy code requirements, resulting in substantial greenhouse gas reductions. Energy consumption results gathered for completed buildings supported the savings estimates. 
 

Efficient Housing - Krakow

Efficient Housing - Gdansk

Poland, Krakow Energy Efficiency Project:  A World Bank project to assist MPEC, the district heating company serving Krakow, a city of almost 1 million persons in southern Poland, to develop and fund an ESCO that would reduce the energy use and the environmental pollution from heating buildings in the Krakow region.

TDG provided technical assistance on institutional and energy efficiency issues for the project including (1) assisting in the design of the overall project, (2) identifying potential pilot projects for testing and developing ESCO procedures, and (3) conducting interviews with Polish banks to identify current in-country banking procedures and potential in-country bank participation in funding possible future ESCO projects. 

This proposed project was intended to build upon recent energy efficiency experience in the region. One significant source of such experience had been a Polish-American program for the elimination of low emissions in Krakow. “Low emission sources” are low-efficiency boiler houses and home coal stoves. At the time, these sources accounted for about 30% of pollution in the region. The project was managed by World Bank; TDG efforts were funded by the US TDA.
 

ASEAN-USAID Buildings Energy Conservation Project: Played a major role in a multiyear program that provided technical assistance to five ASEAN countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines, to encourage energy efficiency in commercial buildings. TDG played a major role in:

• Developing first generation energy efficiency codes for four countries.
• Helping to design and collect a database of summary energy-related characteristics for buildings throughout the ASEAN region, with summary energy consumption data collected for 71 large offices, 34 large hotels, 13 shopping complexes, and 19 hospitals.
• Providing technical assistance for in-country research (22 projects in five countries), including scope development, review of progress, training; policy options alternatives for government policy makers; a national five year energy plan for one country.
• Two multi-country workshops were conducted.

Managed by LBL and funded by USAID (1986-1990).
 

Last edited 28 July 05