Inactive

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a national laboratory owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). NREL is the only federal laboratory dedicated to research, development, commercia... The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a national laboratory owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). NREL is the only federal laboratory dedicated to research, development, commercialization, and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. NREL is managed and operated for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy (Alliance), the “M&O Contractor”. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) reduces energy costs for low-income households by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes, while ensuring their health and safety. To support WAP, the Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals (GHEP) was established, which includes Standard Work Specifications for Home Energy Upgrades (SWS), Home Energy Professional (HEP) certifications, and accreditation of energy-efficiency training programs. Training and certifications for workers in the residential building retrofit market have experienced rapid growth in recent years. The competencies gained by workers who complete training and the scope and depth of training curriculum varies widely, leading to uncertainty in the marketplace as to 1) what competencies are necessary for a person to adequately perform a specific job, and 2) which trainers and training programs are qualified according to those competency requirements. Due to these market challenges, DOE tasked the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) with developing and maintaining GHEP resources including the SWS and accrediting HEP Energy Auditor (EA) certification to the International Standards Organization (ISO) 17024:2012 standard. NREL has also been tasked with leading the development and maintenance of Job Task Analyses (JTA) for all HEP schemes which include single-family Crew Leader, Energy Auditor, Quality Control Inspector (QCI), and Multifamily EA and QCI. JTAs are used to analyze and identify tasks within a job role and form the basis of accredited training toward the HEP certifications. To support the HEP workforce and adhere to the DOE Quality Work Plan (QWP) (https://www.energy.gov/scep/quality-work-plan-requirements), certified trainers and accredited training programs must be available. NREL is tasked with ensuring that WAP training centers and trainers maintain their credentials, and that additional training centers and trainers can be credentialed by an accredited standards developing organization. OBJECTIVE The objective of this work effort is to ensure high-quality, third party validated training and trainers are available and remain available to the WAP network and to increase the national availability of accredited WAP training by supporting new and existing Weatherization Training Center (WTC) credential holders with accreditation and certification services. See amendment 1 to the solictation dated 03/13/25 posted 03/17/25.