EmPowered Funding: Access Utility Rebates to Fund Energy-Efficient Lab Equipment Purchases and Lower Operating Costs

Phil Pipitone, Energy Solutions
Bobby Castaneda, Energy Solutions

New, high efficiency lab equipment presents a great opportunity for operational efficiency gains, while proactively mitigating a laboratory's carbon footprint. The next generation of equipment offers both high efficiency and high performance, but funding can often be a stumbling block for labs seeking to become greener, as much as pricing can be a challenge for suppliers of energy-efficient products.

Energy efficiency utility programs allow laboratory equipment purchasers to receive a significant discount at time of purchase through utility-sponsored rebates when purchasing high-efficiency lab equipment, reducing the out-of-pocket purchase price. In addition, energy-efficient equipment yields tremendous energy savings, which lowers operating costs, puts revenue back to the bottom line, and provides customers an opportunity to implement sustainability strategies by purchasing new energy-efficient technologies.

The goal of midstream rebates is to simplify and streamline access to these funds, removing the burden of applying for rebates, while providing both cost savings and reduced carbon emissions. This session will break down the rebate process and detail programs available to sustainability-focused laboratories, and how to overcome common barriers in finding and applying for these programs. Additionally, this session will inform attendees how they can influence utilities to develop and implement these programs in their area.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the utility sponsored midstream rebate programs that are already available in eligible regions, and how they can offset the purchase price of new, high-efficiency laboratory equipment;
• Have a starting point for and understand the process of having energy-efficient equipment considered for a utility-sponsored rebate, including who to engage to find or create incentive programs for new sustainable lab measures;
• Be knowledgeable of how utility-funded programs can remove the price hurdle between standard efficiency and premium energy-efficient lab equipment; and
• Gain a deeper understanding of the potential kWh savings that lab space incentive programs can generate and capture.

Biographies:

Phil Pipitone, Senior Life Sciences Manager at Energy Solutions, fosters thriving business partnerships with lab equipment suppliers to develop new programs. Phil leverages his industry expertise driving sustainability targets as a product manager for ULT Freezers, incubators, and biological shakers, and is an active My Green Lab Ambassador.

Bobby Castaneda, Director of Client Relations with Energy Solutions, advances the company's utility client engagement strategies to create large-scale environmental impacts by providing market-based solutions. Bobby is a trusted energy industry professional and brings more than 15 years of experience in energy program delivery and development.

Note: Abstracts and biographies are displayed as submitted by the author(s) with the exception of minor edits for style, grammar consistency, and length.