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ANSI Uses New Standard for Energy Workforce Certifications

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The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) has published a new standard for renewable energy and energy efficiency certificate programs.

Standard 14732:2013 has been published and is available on the IREC website.  The standard will be used by the American National Standards Institute and IREC later this month, when the full accreditation program is launched and eligible institutions are invited to apply.

This national standard provides a foundation for the accreditation of certificate programs that train people in energy efficiency and renewable energy-related fields. Pat Fox, director of operations for IREC, said ANSI approached IREC to put together an accreditation standard for the energy workforce. The standard describes requirements for administration, curriculum, assessment, personnel, equipment, facilities and linkage with industry that programs must meet to demonstrate that they issue a market-valued certificate.

In 2012, the draft IREC Standard 14732 was used for the pilot of the ANSI-IREC Accreditation Program, during which three certificate-awarding entities were accredited, including Calcerts and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association.

IREC Standard 14732 was developed by a working group comprised of subject matter experts from the energy efficiency, renewable energy, instructional design and standards development sectors. It includes input from stakeholders collected during three public comment periods.

Certification and training of energy managers is still in the nascent stages. Various trade groups offer training and certification, including the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), which offers the Certified Energy Manager (CEM) program; as well as the Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP).

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