Virtual Trainings offered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Plants program are the online version of the multi-day workshops known as In-Plant Trainings (INPLTs). As with in-person Trainings, the VTs help attendees identify energy conservation opportunities, quantify savings from those opportunities, and implement projects to realize the cost savings.
The Better Plants program will deliver a VT on Renewable Energy Contracting Options and RECs from August 5 to September 9, 2025. This training is intended to help participants learn about the renewable energy markets and procurement strategies by providing background on renewable energy technologies and their benefits, as well as a wide range of products and purchasing options available to organizations across market platforms. It also provides helpful information on adopting renewables by highlighting tools and resources for evaluating renewable energy projects. The VT is comprised of 2-hour online training sessions (1.5-hours formal training and optional 0.5-hour Q&A) that will be delivered every Tuesday 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET for six (6) consecutive weeks. Participating in this VT is free and open to all the Better Plants program partners.
To maximize the benefits from attending VTs, homework assignments will be given to the participants at the end of each session and will be due by the next session. These homework assignments are designed to enhance participants’ understanding of Renewable Energy Contracting Options. During the last session of the VT, participants are expected to create a summary presentation based on their own case studies, present their findings, and share the scrubbed version with DOE.
At the completion of the VT, Professional Development Hours (PDHs) Certificates will be prepared for the attendees on demand basis. Participants are expected to collect measurements/data from their own onsite energy equipment, perform an assessment, and identify energy efficiency opportunities with help from the instructors. To collect the assessment data, in some cases, diagnostic equipment can be arranged and shipped to the partners. The Better Plants diagnostic equipment is available on a first come, first serve basis.
August 5 to September 9, 2025; Every Tuesday, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM ET (1.5-hour formal training + optional 0.5-hour Q&A)
Week 1: Fundamentals of Renewable Electricity and Emissions Inventory; Aug 5, 2025
- Introduction to Better Plants
- Introduction to Renewable Energy
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory and Accountability
Week 2: Understanding The U.S. Electricity Markets and Procurement Roadmap; Aug 12, 2025
- Introduction to the U.S. Electric Power Markets and Roadmap (Indraneel)
- Concept of REC Markets
- Organizational Renewable Energy Drivers (Indraneel)
- REC Marketplace and tracking
- Survey and Questionnaire
Week 3: Purchasing Renewable Electricity: PPAs And VPPAs; Aug 19, 2025
- Types of RECs and Supply Options
- Risk Management
Week 4: Navigating Voluntary Electricity Markets; Aug 26, 2025
- Voluntary and Compliance RECs
- Procurement Analysis Tool (PAT) Demo
Week 5: Purchasing Renewable Electricity: Best Practices and Success Stories; Sep 2, 2025
- Better Plants and Better Buildings Partners
- Q&A Around Recs Accounting and Reporting (Post Contracting and Claims)
Week 6: Renewable Electricity Supply Options: Financing Models and Strategies; Sep 9, 2025
- Financing Renewable Energy Projects
- Summary Slides: Recap; Risks and strategies; Best Practices
Indraneel Bhandari is a Technical Account Manager and R&D Associate Staff Member in the Manufacturing Energy Efficiency Research & Analysis (MEERA) group at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) where he supports a variety of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency initiatives including the DOE’s Better Climate Challenge, Better Plants, and Onsite Technical Analysis Program. Indraneel has diverse experience in distributed generation projects and facility energy assessments through several utility and publicly sponsored initiatives. Previously, he worked at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Energy Resources Center where he conducted feasibility analysis for onsite energy technologies for industrial and institutional facilities, evaluated financial and emissions analysis of electric school buses using bidirectional charging equipment, and studied environmental impacts on photovoltaic modules at agrivoltaics facilities. He also worked as an electrical engineer for Mahindra Susten Pvt. Ltd. where he was part of the team responsible for construction, electrical design execution, and interconnection for utility-scale turnkey PV solar power plants. Indraneel holds a Masters of Energy Engineering from the University of Illinois Chicago and a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering from India.
