Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy Efficient Buildings: update from U.S. Dept. of Energy project [VIDEO]

Nearly a year since plans were first announced for a federally-funded, $129 million energy efficiency research initiative at the Navy Yard,  action is beginning to take root.

The Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy Efficient Buildings, a consortium of efficiency-minded institutions led by Penn State University, is charged with, through this initial five-year phase, developing strategies to better retrofit buildings toward energy efficiency.

That includes technology, methods and workforce, says Christine Knapp, who is handling public and client outreach for GPIC. It’s a national pilot project headquartered in what the City of Philadelphia hopes to make a hub of innovation.

GPIC is hiring five core staff and assembling a team of energy efficient building technical and business experts, who will review the initial Opportunity Research Fund investment round. [To submit your expertise, fill out the Expert Reviewer Registration Form.] One of the consortium partners, the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, is developing a publicly searchable database of contractors and consultants with efficiency backgrounds — submit your company here.

The consortium, which also includes the Navy Yard-owning Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center and the Wharton Small Business Development Center, will begin releasing a slew of RFPs for efficiency trials, following more white paper-backed research from the group’s academic arm.

Below, watch the eight-minute overview video from the Penn State team.

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Read a Q&A with GPIC policy arm head Mark Alan Hughes here.