I came across an article on a young graduate in renewable energy engineering. The fellow was doing technical sales and marketing jobs for renewable energy products though he felt that as a graduate, he ought to be doing more than just sales. His, sentiments, I can relate with but again thinking about the field of renewable energy, how many people understand what it is, its importance/ benefits, how to acquire it, its installation, costs etc.?
Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources. The renewable energy sources include sunlight, wind, rain, tides, geothermal heat and various forms of biomass. These sources are renewable naturally and continuously replenished, therefore this energy cannot be exhausted.
Renewable energy technologies range from solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity/micro hydro, biomass and bio-fuels for transportation.
Back to the aspiring young professional who felt that his place in the renewable energy sector lies in doing strategies and coming up with new products-the advice fronted to him was that doing technical sales is the best job for engineers, as it helps them impact on users of their products. Sales entail interacting with customers and knowing their needs so that the product features can be enhanced to suit the customer?s needs. Now, that is brilliant and accurate advice. It is however important to take into consideration that renewable energy is not a common man?s cup of tea and right now the focus all over the world is to build green economies.
To me the need for more and more people to understand the benefits, savings and cost of renewable energy cannot be overemphasised. Effort should be made to keep marketing of renewable energy products/ services simple and conversational by avoiding use of acronyms or jargon explaining about operational details. More impact can be made if a marketing rather than technical sales approach is used. Technical sales have been described as boring (can be used as a sleeping aid), tends to use extensive vocabulary, jargon and acronyms that product users cannot relate with and tends to discuss the products technical aspects as opposed to the benefits to the customer. Fun should be created out of all this by making things simple and demonstrating cost savings and benefits of renewable energy.
2015 ESOS Guidelines Chapter 6 – Role of Lead Assessor
The primary role of the lead assessor is to make sure the enterprise?s assessment meets ESOS requirements. Their contribution is mandatory, with the only exception being where 100% of energy consumption received attention in an ISO 50001 that forms the basis of the ESOS report.
How to Find a Lead Assessor
An enterprise subject to ESOS must negotiate with a lead assessor with the necessary specialisms from one of the panels approved by the UK government. This can be a person within the organisation or an third party. If independent, then only one director of the enterprise need countersign the assessment report. If an employee, then two signatures are necessary. Before reaching a decision, consider
- Whether the person has auditing experience in the sector
- Whether they are familiar with the technology and the processes
- Whether they have experience of auditing against a standard
The choice rests on the enterprise itself. The lead assessor performs the appointed role.
The Lead Assessor?s Role
The Lead Assessor?s main job is reviewing an ESOS assessment prepared by others against the standard, and deciding whether it meets the requirements. They may also contribute towards it. Typically their role includes:
- Checking the calculation for total energy consumption across the entire enterprise
- Reviewing the process whereby the 90% areas of significant consumption were identified
- Confirming that certifications are in place for all alternate routes to compliance chosen
- Checking that the audit reports meet the minimum criteria laid down by the ESOS system
Note: A lead assessor may partly prepare the assessment themselves, or simply verify that others did it correctly.
In the former instance a lead assessor might
- Determine energy use profiles
- Identify savings opportunities
- Calculate savings measures
- Present audit findings
- Determine future methodology
- Define sampling methods
- Develop audit timetables
- Establish site visit programs
- Assemble ESOS information pack
Core Enterprise Responsibilities
The enterprise cannot absolve itself from responsibility for good governance. Accordingly, it remains liable for
- Ensuring compliance with ESOS requirements
- Selecting and appointing the lead assessor
- Drawing attention to previous audit work
- Agreeing with what the lead assessor does
- Requesting directors to sign the assessment
The Environment Agency does not provide assessment templates as it believes this reduces the administrative burden on the enterprises it serves.