As load growth accelerates from data centers, EVs, and electrification, the grid’s challenge is increasingly about capacity (kW), not just energy (kWh). A kWh saved at 2am and a kWh saved during a summer peak are not worth the same thing, but traditional energy efficiency frameworks treat them as if they are. This meeting will introduce the concept of “demand efficiency,” a framework for valuing DERs based on their ability to reduce the need for new grid capacity, and explore what it means for how we measure and verify DER performance.

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What we’ll cover

The meeting is structured around three sessions. First, we’ll walk through the shift from energy efficiency to demand efficiency, including why kW matters more than kWh in an era of load growth and why demand-side resources need to be valued for their capacity contributions, not just their energy savings.

Second, we’ll dig into the methodology for measuring DER capacity. There’s an important distinction between physical capacity (what a device’s nameplate says it can do) and system capacity (what the grid can actually count on during peak hours). A 7 kW solar array may contribute less than 4 kW of system capacity. A 10 MW mixed DER portfolio might deliver only 5 to 6 MW at peak. Closing that measurement gap requires two different baseline approaches for two different types of resources, and it requires hourly data. We’ll walk through how this works.

Third, we’ll look at preliminary approaches to measuring capacity across resource types, from generation and storage to demand response to energy efficiency and electrification, and discuss the role of a system of record in enabling open demand-side energy markets where multiple buyers, including utilities, data centers, and corporate buyers, can transact verified DER capacity without double counting.

Open questions we need your input on

This meeting is also about surfacing questions the Alliance needs to work through together. Among them: Should summer and winter capacity be tracked separately? Should OpenEAC recommend specific ELCC values by resource type, or stay methodology-agnostic? How should we handle portfolio accreditation when interaction effects between resources matter? And should OpenEAC develop a standard DER Capacity Certificate specification?

Why you should join

If you work in M&V, DER program design, capacity planning, or energy market infrastructure, this conversation is directly relevant to your work. The industry is moving toward open demand-side energy markets, and the measurement standards we develop now will shape how those markets function. This is a chance to help define the methodology.

Meeting details

Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 8:00am PT. The meeting is open to all OpenEAC Alliance members and anyone interested in joining. Subscribe to the OpenEAC Alliance Meeting Calendar to stay up to date, and join via Google Meet.

Visit openeac.org for more information about the Alliance.

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The slides can be found here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JVaFM8MB0ZnlPIVJwXC_pnd8qou6CbAYbSYQ2jI_QlQ/edit?usp=sharing

A full recording can be found here: https://app.fireflies.ai/view/OpenEAC-Alliance-Quarterly-Call::01KA1W0E94J2KJR78JH3BYQ010

The Scene from Real Genius can be found here

Next Meeting: February 19th, 2026

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Summary:

• Demand Response Methodology Finalized: Standardized method for short-term demand response savings using a 28-day baseline with hourly data.

• Flexibility in Methodology: M&V plans can adjust baselines to include or exclude prior events, improving accuracy and adaptability.

• Open Source Collaboration: Methodologies available at methods.openac.org for public feedback, fostering transparency and iterative improvements.

• Market Confidence: New methodologies aim to accurately measure demand-side energy reductions, boosting confidence in distributed energy resource value.

• Multi-Attribute Measurement: Savings expressed in energy, carbon, dollars, and capacity to meet diverse valuation needs and support emissions reduction.

• Continuous Development Planned: Future expansions include batteries, hybrid generation, and enhanced carbon accounting efforts, with community engagement ongoing.

AI Notes

Demand Response Methodology

The meeting finalized a standardized, transparent methodology for measuring short-term, event-based demand response savings using a 28-day baseline and hourly data.

• The demand response approach uses hourly whole-building electricity data and localized temperature data to model counterfactual consumption during rare demand response events, typically lasting a few hours, to calculate savings (16:15)

  • The model is based on OpenDSM’s eemeter regression, adapted to shorter baselines suited for event windows rather than year-long data typical for energy efficiency.

  • A 28-day baseline was chosen to capture recent weather and consumption patterns conservatively, with room for adjustment in special cases like shoulder seasons.

  • Events should be rare; frequent load shifts are excluded and handled by a separate load shifting methodology.

  • Bounce-back effects after the event are not included as this method focuses solely on the event period’s grid impact.

• Methodology flexibility allows M&V plans to decide whether to include prior events in the baseline period, accommodating edge cases and varying regulatory needs (22:29)

  • Including prior events in the baseline accepts that savings from sequential events influence each other.

  • Excluding them might better isolate specific event impacts depending on the use case.

  • This flexibility supports broader applicability without sacrificing methodological rigor.

• Open source publication and collaboration were emphasized by McGee Young, with all methodologies and updates available at methods.openac.org and GitHub for version control and transparency (12:22)

  • The Open EAC Alliance encourages public comment and iterative improvement through this peer review approach.

  • Implementations are documented in detail at docs.wacarbon.com, allowing users to see real-world data choices like hourly vs. monthly billing data.

  • The goal is to support adoption across different regulatory regimes by providing a common, transparent baseline measurement tool.

• Strategic intent behind developing these methodologies is to provide market participants and grid operators confidence that demand-side energy reductions are accurately measured and valued, potentially replacing less reliable baselines like the traditional 5-in-10 method (08:33)

  • This transparency aims to unlock the value of distributed energy resources (DERs) for load growth solutions.

  • It supports the emergence of virtual power plants and contractual settlements based on verified demand response performance.

Load Shifting Methodology

The load shifting methodology measures sustained energy consumption shifts from peak to off-peak periods using pre- and post-intervention baselines, focusing on persistent schedule changes rather than rare events.

• Load shifting is defined as ongoing energy use shifts from peak to off-peak periods, measured by comparing consumption before and after implementing new load schedules or optimizations (25:27)

  • The baseline period precedes the intervention date, similar to energy efficiency modeling.

  • Hourly consumption and local temperature data feed into the OpenDSM model to predict expected energy use.

  • Savings are calculated only for defined peak (energy reduction target) and off-peak (energy increase target) windows, which can be fixed or dynamic (e.g., day-ahead price or carbon signals).

• Savings accounting rules restrict counted load shifting to the lesser of increased off-peak or decreased peak energy within a rolling 24-hour window (32:21)

  • If off-peak energy increase exceeds peak reduction, only the peak reduction amount counts.

  • Unused off-peak “credits” expire after 24 hours to avoid indefinite carryover.

  • This ensures measured savings reflect real temporal shifts rather than net energy savings or storage.

• The methodology supports flexible window definitions that can vary daily based on signals such as grid price, carbon intensity, or curtailment forecasts (38:59)

  • Windows must be predefined independently of observed savings to preserve additionality and prevent gaming.

  • This adaptability enables alignment with various grid signals and market structures.

• Current limitations and future extensions include lack of synthetic baselines for new electrification loads and non-building load shifting scenarios like data center workload migration (31:22, 35:01)

  • Stephen Suffian acknowledged the need to develop methods for cases where no prior baseline data exists or where shifting occurs across locations.

  • Collaboration offers potential to extend methodologies to emerging use cases such as AI training workload shifts across data centers.

Carbon and Market Signal Integration

The methodologies are designed to integrate with diverse grid signals, including carbon intensity and dynamic pricing, enabling multi-attribute measurement of demand flexibility impacts.

• Savings can be expressed not only in energy units but also in carbon, dollars, and capacity values to support broad valuation needs (46:30)

  • Load shifting’s paired assignment of increased off-peak to decreased peak energy facilitates calculation of net carbon impact.

  • This supports strategies that optimize for emissions reduction in addition to cost savings.

• “Signals” defining peak and off-peak windows can originate from grid operators, utilities, or end users and include price, carbon intensity, or curtailment forecasts (49:26)

  • This flexibility allows methodologies to adapt to different market designs and customer goals.

  • Implementers choose prioritization frameworks, such as whether to prioritize load reduction or carbon reduction first, based on business or policy objectives.

• Challenges remain in accounting for stochastic, price-responsive loads such as EV charging or heat pump scheduling where consumption profiles vary unpredictably day-to-day (51:17)

  • Bruce Nordman highlighted that these “implicit” price responses complicate baseline modeling due to variable consumption patterns.

  • McGee Young suggested future methodology refinements will need to address how to model uncertainty and aggregate impacts in these cases.

Strategic Vision and Market Positioning

The Open EAC Alliance aims to establish transparent, open-source demand-side measurement standards to support evolving grid flexibility markets and virtual power plant contracts.

• The methodologies provide a foundation for credible settlements and contracting by allowing grid operators and DER owners to verify demand response and load shifting performance with consistent, transparent metrics (44:52)

  • This underpins the growth of virtual power plants and demand flexibility procurement.

  • It addresses the market need for confidence in the value delivered by increasingly important demand-side resources.

• The group is positioning these methodologies as open, community-driven standards rather than exclusive proprietary tools (10:48)

  • This openness encourages broad adoption and iterative improvement from diverse stakeholders.

  • It fosters a peer-reviewed ecosystem where different regulatory regimes and contract structures can apply the core approaches.

• Next steps include expanding methodologies to cover batteries, hybrid onsite generation, and carbon accounting complexities to capture a wider range of flexibility assets and use cases (55:30)

  • The team is actively researching how to track energy flows through batteries with first-in, first-out logic.

  • They aim to incorporate multi-asset interactions and hybrid grid/onsite power dynamics into future versions.

• Community engagement is ongoing via the OpenEAC Substack and GitHub, with quarterly meetings planned to update and refine methods (57:40)

  • The next meeting is scheduled for February 19th, 2024, with automatic invites for subscribers.

  • Contributors are encouraged to submit new methodologies or enhancements for collaborative development.

Process and Implementation Framework

The methodologies are supported by detailed Measurement & Verification (M&V) plans that specify data inputs, treatment of baseline periods, and operational choices to ensure clarity and replicability.

• M&V plans document specific implementation decisions such as data frequency (hourly vs. monthly), weather normalization approaches, and choices about baseline event inclusion (12:22)

  • This modular design allows methodologies to be adapted to specific regulatory or market contexts.

  • It provides transparency and auditability critical for settlement and verification purposes.

• The OpenDSM eemeter regression model forms the core modeling engine for both demand response and load shifting, ensuring consistency across methodologies (17:57)

  • It uses temperature and temporal patterns to create predictive baselines.

  • Shortened baselines for demand response enable event-specific evaluation without sacrificing model robustness.

• The alliance maintains version-controlled open repositories on GitHub to track methodology changes and foster collaborative improvements (12:22)

  • This process supports iterative refinement based on public feedback and empirical findings.

  • It ensures users can see historical changes and rationale behind updates.

• Operational constraints such as event rarity, baseline window length, and 24-hour assignment of load shifting savings are codified to maintain methodological integrity and avoid gaming (22:29, 32:21)

  • These guardrails balance simplicity, accuracy, and practical implementation challenges.

  • They also reduce noise and ensure measured impacts reflect real grid benefits.

• Ongoing dialogue with stakeholders is encouraged via blog comments and direct contact, supporting continuous feedback and methodology evolution (45:15)

  • The alliance seeks to incorporate diverse use cases and emerging technologies.

  • This engagement model supports community ownership and practical relevance.

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Utility demand response programs and wholesale markets tend to favor aggregated settlement based on fairly primitive measurement and verification protocols (like five in ten baselines). These work when the stakes are low. But if we’re going to count on demand side energy resources to keep the lights on (and the cat videos streaming), we have to get serious about better M&V and systems of record that allow transactions to clear independently.

Last month, WattCarbon introduced two methodologies for calculating demand flexibility impacts using whole building meter data: demand response and load shifting. Demand response is when energy consumption is reduced relative to a baseline when induced by an outside trigger; load shifting is when energy consumption is moved from one time of day to another relative to an existing baseline.

There will be other niche methodologies required, but these two are the most important for accurately calculating the impacts of dispatchable demand-side energy resources. Over the past six weeks, we’ve been receiving feedback and comments and are ready to formally submit into the list of OpenEAC Alliance methodologies.

The quarterly meeting time will feature a review of both of these and reserve time for questions and answers.

Meeting details:

• OpenEAC Alliance Quarterly Call

• Thursday, November 20 · 8:00 – 8:50am

• Time zone: America/Los_Angeles

• Google Meet joining info

• Video call link: https://meet.google.com/zfs-xnjg-swr

• Or dial: ‪(US) +1 413-752-1090‬ PIN: ‪108 833 115‬#

• More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/zfs-xnjg-swr?pin=6286128362306

Hope to see all of you there!

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This work has been amplified by the fact that the stakes have gone up considerably over the past six months. Demand flexibility is now the most valuable energy resource on the planet, as it uniquely solves the problem of load growth from new data center construction, EV charging, and other large electrical loads.

Today, we are releasing draft methods for calculating “whole-building metered demand response” as well as “whole-building metered load shifting”. These are the two most prevalent forms of demand flexibility, outside of direct device telemetry.

Demand Response

For demand response, we built on LBNL’s Time-of-Week-and-Temperature (TOWT) framework, which creates a weather-normalized regression of a rolling 28 day baseline. Each hour of the week is given a dummy variable, which allows the model to endogenously account for occupancy patterns without overfitting on small samples. This is an event-driven methodology, so it also requires event data in order to calculate proper hourly load reductions.

See full methodology here.

Load Shifting

For load shifting, we altered the TOWT model in two important ways. First, the baseline is fixed to pre-installation conditions, with weather-sensitive loads requiring a full year to capture seasonal impacts. Second, for a given day, we identify a set of “measurement windows”. We refer to these as a “peak window” and an “off-peak window”, but the way to think about it is that you have a window in which energy consumption is expected to be higher than the baseline (off-peak, where you are adding load), and a second window in which consumption is expected to be lower than the baseline (peak, where you are removing load). In order to get credit for peak window reductions, you must also show off-peak increases. That is, load shifting requires an actual measurable shift, rather than just a reduction during the peak window. Credit for peak reductions is capped at the amount of increase relative to baseline in the off-peak window.

See full methodology here.

Comment Period and Presentation

The next OpenEAC Alliance working group meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 20th at 8am PT. Expect to see a more detailed presentation of these methods at the working group meeting. Between now and then is the open comment period. Copies of each of the methodologies can be found at https://methods.openeac.org/. We will collect comments on the methods between now and November 10th and then post any updates to the methodologies prior to the working group meeting.

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Meeting Overview The OpenEAC Alliance held its quarterly meeting with McGee Young (WattCarbon founder/CEO) hosting alongside co-presenter Steve Suffian (WattCarbon) and several guest speakers. The Alliance focuses on transparent, collaborative development of methodologies for measuring demand-side energy resource impacts through open-source approaches rather than gatekeeping.

New Methodology Release The Alliance published a new technical specification for "quantifying energy use and emission savings for seasonal device controls" - addressing the complex challenge of measuring savings when devices that typically run continuously are periodically turned off. This methodology is now available for public review (https://methods.openeac.org).

Harvest System Case Study Pierre Delforge from Harvest presented their grid-aware heat pump system deployed at a 72-unit low-income property in Truckee, California. The system combines heating, cooling, and hot water with thermal energy storage, enabling load shifting to optimize for both cost and grid emissions. Key results from preliminary data showed up to 50% cost reductions by shifting energy use from expensive evening peak hours to abundant midday solar periods. The project utilized multiple funding sources including utility programs, 40% federal tax credits for thermal storage, and WattCarbon EACs.

OpenDSM Methodology Updates Travis Sikes from Recurve presented major revisions to the OpenDSM (formerly OpenEE meter) methodology for whole-building energy savings calculations. The updated hourly model significantly improves solar PV predictions, reduces model overfitting, and performs 4-5 times faster than previous versions. Key improvements include better accuracy for solar customers, new sufficiency criteria using interquartile range normalization, and simplified implementation through standardized APIs.

Additionality Discussion McGee Young addressed the challenge of additionality in carbon markets - determining whether projects would have occurred without carbon incentives. He proposed two approaches for population-level additionality assessment: using published net-to-gross ratios from state energy offices as discount rates, or employing comparative load shape analysis to automatically account for naturally occurring efficiency improvements across populations.

Resources and Next Steps All methodologies and documentation are hosted transparently on GitHub with full versioning. Implementation details are available at docs.wattcarbon.com. The Alliance continues developing methodologies for demand response, batteries, fuel switching, and distributed generation. The next quarterly meeting is scheduled for November 20th, with methodology submissions open to all participants.

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Slides are here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ZM6pnk8SII5LGmArUHiOM86wFQQtgj-ux-4YdZT0niA/edit?usp=sharing

Recording is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O3i1UEpWPVEYPnTY3wqg89iamDu7Co-0/view?usp=sharing

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1. Update from Travis Sikes on the OpenDSM (OpenEEmeter). Last month, a new version was released that will be incorporated by reference into the OpenEAC methodology.

2. A new methodology for calculating the savings from controls that turn equipment on and off.

3. A deep dive with Harvest on the methodology for calculating savings from grid-aware heat pumps.

4. A discussion on “automated additionality” for carbon credit certification.

Because we had trouble with Zoom last time, the meeting has been upgraded to a Google Meet link. Join here: https://meet.google.com/sjw-hkbj-bwf

Sign up to our Substack and you will automatically be added to the quarterly meeting invites.

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Slides
Recording (passcode: =h871XoJ)

Overview

The Quarterly Review Meeting of the Open EAC Alliance provided an update on the progress and challenges facing the organization amidst evolving energy industry dynamics. McGee highlighted available resources, underscoring the importance of transparency in sharing methodologies and measurement plans. With the complexity of energy measurement on the rise, the alliance aims to act as a knowledge repository, inviting organizations to contribute methodologies for public discourse. Discussions touched on the transition from theoretical frameworks to empirical practices, addressing the potential for multiple methodologies to complicate system integrity. Financial considerations were also a key agenda item, with emphasis on linking energy savings to demonstrable cost benefits, particularly for low-income communities. Future goals include the development of innovative methodologies for demand response and electrification savings, alongside a commitment to ongoing community engagement between meetings. Action items were established to streamline feedback processes and focus on developing consistent methodologies in the upcoming quarter.

Notes

Introduction and Resources Overview (00:02 - 05:26)

• Meeting focused on the Open EAC Alliance quarterly update

• McGee explained available resources: OpenAC.org (homepage), methods.openeac.org (technical specs), GitHub (code storage), and docs.wattcarbon.com (M&V plans)

• Clarified relationship between methodologies (general approaches) and M&V plans (specific implementations)

• Emphasized the importance of transparency and public sharing of methods

Purpose of the Open EAC Alliance (05:26 - 11:36)

• McGee described the current energy industry as simultaneously 'imploding' (grid demands) and 'exploding' (alternative energy sources)

• Energy measurement is becoming increasingly complex with time-of-day delivery, emissions intensity, and speed of delivery all factoring in

• Explained that counterfactuals (determining energy usage if an intervention hadn't occurred) are particularly difficult to comprehend

• Grassroots decarbonization efforts are growing as national policy becomes less reliable

Knowledge Repository Vision (11:36 - 22:59)

• The alliance aims to be a knowledge repository rather than a gatekeeper of methodologies

• Goal is to have organizations submit methodologies for public comment and review

• Steve explained the shift from theoretical methodologies to empirical, real-world examples

• Travis raised concerns about multiple methodologies enabling 'gaming the system'

• Discussion about the value of having diverse approaches versus a single standardized method

• Clarified that M&V plans reference specific versions of methodologies in contractual agreements

Methodology Development Process (22:59 - 33:51)

• McGee explained the evolution toward more open, transparent methodology development

• Molly shared experience with solar self-consumption methodology and how comments shaped development

• Review of current methodologies available: decarbonization accounting, whole building weather-normalized metered savings, electrification, solar PV generation, energy efficiency, and lighting

• Shifting from GitHub comments to Google Docs for easier feedback collection

• Steve mentioned implementing a script to track comment history when publishing final versions

Financial Considerations and Applications (33:51 - 44:22)

• James from Bayou Energy raised question about linking energy/emission savings to cost savings methodology

• Discussion about the challenge of selling projects without demonstrable cost savings

• David emphasized the need for transparency about bill impacts, especially for low-income communities

• Cost savings from electrification projects are often harder to demonstrate than traditional energy efficiency

• Molly shared example of Transport for London using carbon flexing to make heat pump business case

Future Roadmap and Next Steps (44:22 - 51:01)

• Multiple approaches to calculate electrification savings were outlined

• Upcoming work on three types of demand response methodologies: event-based, daily load shifting, and new carbon-intensity based approaches

• Future focus areas include batteries and on-site power generation methodologies

• Plans for methodologies addressing emissions from microgrids and 24/7 carbon-free energy initiatives

• McGee encouraged ongoing community engagement between quarterly meetings

Action items

All participants

• Engage with methodology content through Google Docs instead of GitHub for easier commenting (36:47)

Open EAC Alliance

• Rewrite the demand response methodology to be more consistent with other methods (35:21)

• Develop demand response, demand flexibility methods in next quarter (48:44)

• Work on battery and on-site power generation methodologies (49:44)

Molly and team

• Continue work on demand flexibility methodologies including publishing learning from Transport for London case (44:22)

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Slides
Recording (passcode: f@ZBJ#L8)

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Meeting Summary

Overview

The OpenEAC Alliance Quarterly Call, led by McGee Young, provided an overview of the alliance's progress since its launch nine months ago, highlighting its mission to develop Measurement and Verification (M&V) methodologies for hourly decarbonization accounting. Key points included an exploration of the alliance's structure focused on creating accessible resources and replicable documentation, the methodology implementation process that ensures inclusivity and auditable execution, and a detailed example of an electrification project's M&V plan using the NREL Res stock Load shape option. The meeting concluded with a Q&A session that addressed governance concerns, transparency, and future plans for expanding methodologies, alongside designated action items for collaboration with stakeholders engaged in traditional carbon markets and organizing working groups for specialized methodology areas.

Notes

🏗️ Introduction and Background (00:04 - 08:14)

McGee Young introduces the OpenEAC Alliance

Launched 9 months ago in May 2024

Purpose: Develop M&V methodologies for hourly decarbonization accounting

Addressing challenges in moving from annual to hourly savings calculations

Incorporating carbon into output mix

📊 OpenEAC Alliance Structure and Goals (08:14 - 20:23)

Develop new methodologies and refine existing ones

Create replicable methodology documents for M&V plans

Provide resources for collaboration on methodology development

Keep resources open and accessible, not behind paywalls

Hosted on Substack for easy communication

Bias towards action to get the initiative off the ground

🔍 Methodology Implementation Process (20:23 - 35:16)

Methodologies designed to be inclusive of various measurement approaches

M&V plan plays a large role in implementing methodologies

M&V plan acts as a contract between parties

Methodology, M&V plan, and software implementation create a full lifecycle audit trail

Execution of M&V plan should be in code and auditable

Intermediate outputs and statistical measures should be included for verification

🔢 Example: Electrification Project M&V (35:17 - 50:45)

Walkthrough of methodology implementation for an electrification project

Use of NREL ResStock Load shape option

Detailed steps from methodology to M&V plan to savings calculations

Demonstration of WEATS (WattCarbon Energy Attribute Tracking System)

Example of EAC generation and associated metadata

❓ Q&A Session (50:45 - 01:02:06)

If the one thing you thought was missing in this world was a lack of clarity around error metrics for calibrated energy models using TMY-3 weather data, you’re in the right place. It’s been a while since we sent an update, so let’s get to it.

Share OpenEAC Alliance

First, I want to recognize the many colleagues whose work at the National Labs and in the Department of Energy and elsewhere is under attack. Our entire industry owes a debt of gratitude to all of the people who have made available the tools and resources that we rely upon every day. We know this is a difficult time for you and your families and we hope that you are able to continue your good work.

If it hasn’t been made obvious in the past couple of weeks, the challenge of decarbonization will face headwinds from the US federal government for the foreseeable future. Some states will continue to push forward standards, but none will have the resources to achieve any semblance of progress toward real emission reductions. That means it will be up to the private sector to step up.

We launched the OpenEAC Alliance nearly a year ago to solve one of the biggest barriers to private sector engagement - a lack of standards for decarbonization accounting. While attributional carbon accounting (e.g., Scope 1,2,3, where emissions are tallied up) remains the primary focus of global organizations, decarbonization accounting (where emission reductions are tallied up) sit outside of formal GHG guidelines.

Our goal with the OpenEAC Alliance is to bring the same level of rigor to decarbonization accounting that has been asked of carbon accounting. It’s not enough simply to provide an annual savings number, and it’s not okay to ignore the fact that the carbon intensity of the grid changes from hour to hour, day to day, and month to month. It’s especially problematic when savings claims sit inside a black box. These types of shortcuts only serve to cast doubt on the entire industry.

With the OpenEAC Alliance, our goal is to promote transparency, auditability, and accountability for carbon reduction claims. If evidence of decarbonization is taken seriously - if we make it revenue-grade - more organizations will be able to commit to funding and financing decarbonization programs. As the federal government abdicates its role in protecting our future, the private sector must be ready to step forward into the void.

How the OpenEAC Alliance Works

The role of the OpenEAC Alliance is to provide a review of methodologies that deviate from existing industry standards. This is most likely to happen when moving from an industry standard that is based on an annual savings number to a standard that is reporting on an hourly basis. Similarly, industry standards often rely on outdated carbon equivalencies (using an annual number or a model such as AVERT), which means that the translation to carbon impact needs to be updated to be more accurate.

When a methodology is submitted to the OpenEAC Alliance for review, volunteer members of the community comment on the draft proposal and sharpen it so that it can be generalizable (the fewer bespoke methodologies the better) and so that it can be referenced by an M&V plan that gets submitted with an EAC claim. The M&V plan will contain all of the implementation details required to calculate savings as well as to prove the validity of the claim (such as proof of measure installation). M&V plans are contracts between parties, and thus outside the scope of the OpenEAC Alliance, but they should explain how a particular approved methodology was implemented.

A provisional methodology may be submitted to the OpenEAC Alliance, and EACs may be created on the basis of a provisional methodology. A methodology is approved when three or more members of the OpenEAC Alliance (not including the methodology sponsor) formally sign an approval. These signatures are public and sit in the GitHub repository along with the methodology specification itself and serve as a permanent record.

Progress to Date

As of today, four methodologies have been submitted for review. These include:

1. A core decarbonization accounting methodology submitted by WattCarbon that covers the basics of hourly decarbonization accounting.

2. A self-consumed solar methodology submitted by Peer Carbon that quantifies the carbon emission reductions associated with solar production that is consumed by a building instead of being fed back into the grid.

3. A hybrid metered/modeled methodology used for electrification projects developed by WattCarbon and Elephant Energy.

4. A hybrid model used for quantifying lighting savings developed by C3 and Redaptive.

The Peer Carbon methodology has been approved. The others are now in the final stages of review and will be opened up for approval by the OpenEAC Alliance members at the next meeting.

Who has been Driving this Effort

Getting something like the OpenEAC Alliance off the ground is a tremendously difficult undertaking. Members of the WattCarbon team (Steve, Matt, and George), the Peer Carbon team (Molly, Elaine, Pierre), methodology reviewers (Eliot, Paul, Nick, Sebnem, Chris), and all of the members of the steering committee worked tirelessly to create the governance infrastructure and put together the first set of methodologies for review. We owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude.

Unfortunately, we at the WattCarbon side had to say goodbye to George and Matt, so Steve and I (McGee) will be leading the efforts here on a going forward basis. We’re grateful that Peer Carbon has been side-by-side with us during this initial phase and look forward to continuing our collaboration. As we start to expand the scope of methodologies, we look forward to welcoming new collaborators from across the industry (if you’ve read this far and are interested, please let us know!).

Up Next

We’re moving to a quarterly meeting cycle starting on February 20th. Everyone receiving this email will also get an invitation to a recurring quarterly meeting. We’d love to see you there. We’ll be looking for approvers for the next set of methodologies and expect to see more methodologies submitted over the next few months.

The end goal remains the same. We want to empower private organizations to take the lead to develop and deploy decarbonization programs across the built environment. 40% of emissions on the planet are related to energy use in buildings. If we don’t solve the challenge of how to keep our homes comfortable, our businesses operational, and our transportation reliable without depending on fossil fuels, none of the rest of the measures we take to mitigate the effects of climate change will matter. As galling as the past few weeks have been, it only reinforces the fact that change will have to come from the grassroots. It will take thousands of decarbonization initiatives across the world to move the needle on CO2 emissions. If we can give the changemakers the tools they need to be effective, there’s a chance that we can deliver the impact the world needs.

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Meeting Recording! 

We have a complete recording of the call and copies of both shared slide decks, which everyone can access HERE . Also, feel free to share this link with anyone! The more the merrier!  Thank you again to everyone who participated in the excellent discussions!

New Methods

Don't forget to get involved! Three methods are ready for the Alliance's eyes. We have a building energy modeling method for new construction and existing buildings submitted by the AUROS Group and the method from C3 that we reviewed in our last meeting on Lighting Retrofits using pre and post-measurements.

Next Meeting

We are currently planning the date for our next meeting; we are looking at late November. In the meantime, the Steering Committee is diligently working to finalize deliverables from the three work streams. These are:

• Principles and Purpose - How the Alliance aims to meet a key need in the decarbonization space.

• Method Certification Versioning - Our Phase 1 certification process

• Method Content - New file repository and several iterations on the Self-Consumed Solar Method from PeerCo.

Keep an eye out for further updates on this blog post! 

If these are interesting and you would like to join a workstream, please send an email to matt@wattcarbon.com

Workstream 1: Principles and Purpose

This workstream defines the guiding principles and overarching mission of the OpenEAC Alliance, which includes building a governance structure that enables the decarbonization of energy systems through transparent, open-source methodologies to quantify the impact of distributed energy resources (DERs). Additionally, Workstream 1 works to establish market standards that fully recognize the potential of distributed energy resources in decarbonizing energy systems and ensure the trustworthiness and traceability of emissions reduction and energy attribute certificates (EACs) claims.

Key Questions:

• What is the mission of the OpenEAC Alliance?

• What are the guiding principles?

• How should the Steering Committee prioritize its work and set roles for members?

• How does the OpenEAC Alliance support all stakeholders, including registries?

Progress:

Workstream 1 focused on defining a mission statement that set several fundamental principles for the Alliance. The mission centers on creating open-source, transparent methodologies that recognize the impact of distributed energy resources in decarbonizing energy systems. The Alliance's guiding principles include transparency, scientific rigor, inclusiveness, and accountability. The Steering Committee maintains this rigor and provides strategic leadership, ensuring processes are transparent and scientifically sound. Additionally, the OpenEAC Alliance serves stakeholders by supporting registries through standardized methodologies that measure and verify the impact of DERs, helping foster trust and market credibility.

Workstream 2: Method Certification and Versioning

This workstream is responsible for developing the certification process for methodologies used within the Alliance. It ensures that methodologies are rigorously reviewed, approved, and continuously updated to stay aligned with market and technological needs. It also manages how methodologies evolve over time through structured versioning, ensuring transparency and adaptability.

Key Questions:

• How do we prioritize method certification?

• How should OpenEAC members represent themselves or their companies?

• What is the certification process, and how does it extend beyond initial certification?

• How do we handle versioning of methods, and what standards should we set for version control?

Progress:

The workstream focused on versioning, anticipating the need to evolve a method based on new technologies, markets, and registry requirements. The methods undergo continuous monitoring post-certification, and a new method version will follow a defined structure, with major versions indicating significant changes and minor versions representing incremental updates.

Workstream 3: Method Content

This workstream focuses on the technical aspects of how methods are developed and applied, particularly for minting energy attribute certificates (EACs). It creates the guidelines for data validation, energy production verification, and registry integration. The goal is to ensure that methods are globally applicable while allowing for regional adjustments to meet specific needs.

Key Questions:

• What should a method include to mint an EAC?

• How should versioning impact the content of a method?

• Should we continue using GitHub for content management?

• How should methods handle specific geographic needs and global applicability?

Progress:

A method's content must include detailed data validation procedures, traceability, authenticity, and interaction guidelines with registries. Methods are considered to be modular and can define data intake requirements, impact, carbon intensity, or registry governance. Together, they will encapsulate a measurement and verification plan to control the credit governance and define the responsibilities of the parties transacting the credit. Any impact method will need to determine the duration (e.g., continuous, one-time, yearly), the scale of measurement (e.g., whole-building, retrofit isolation, device), and the type of analysis (e.g., counterfactual or performance measurement). GitHub will continue to manage content to ensure its practical use through further education. Finally, methods will be globally applicable with provisions for regional localization, ensuring they remain flexible without compromising integrity.

We also have an exciting agenda this month! 

Upcoming Agenda: 

• Presentation from Steve Kromer regarding M&V planning. Steve has over three decades of experience in energy efficiency and has been a leader in the development and deployment of measurement and verification include developing the IPMVP Standards

• Overview of Steering Committee Work Streams

• Breakout discussions on the C3’s Energy Efficiency Method

• Next Method Presentation

As always, if you have any questions or items you would like to add to the upcoming agenda, let us know directly! We are always happy to help. 

Meeting Recording! 

We have a full recording of the call along with copies of both slide decks that were shared, which everyone can access HERE - Also feel free to share this link with anyone! The more the merrier!  

Thank you again to everyone who participated in the excellent discussions! I think we are all working together towards something really special and we look forward to our next big group meeting! 

Join into the conversation! 

We currently have two methodologies that are up for approval! We invite everyone to take a look, leave comments, ask questions, and potentially provide approval for these great open source methodologies! 

Small scale solar self-consumption methodology - Submitted by PeerCo

Create Energy Efficiency EACs Using Pre and Post Measurements - Submitted by C3

Next Meeting

We are currently planning the date for our next meeting, we are looking at early September post Labor Day. In the meantime, the Steering Committee is diligently working setting up the three work streams we spoke about in the last meeting. These are:

• Principles and Purpose

• Method Certification Versioning

• Method Content 

Keep an eye on this blog post for further updates! 

1. We’re excited to announce that Matthew Lynch has agreed to serve as the Chair of the OpenEAC Alliance Steering Committee. Matt was the Cofounder and Chief Product Officer for Bractlet (since acquired by Backpack Networks). If you are part of this distribution list, chances are you’ve heard from him already, but if not, he’ll be reaching out to you to learn more about your interest in the OpenEAC Alliance.

2. We have received our first three draft methodology submissions. Huge thank you to PeerCo, Auros Group, and C3 for putting pen to paper. We’re doing a preliminary review before sharing out with the Steering Committee. Matt will be organizing a presentation by each of these organizations for later in the summer in advance of public review.

3. The next OpenEAC Alliance general meeting will be held on July 18th. George will be sending out an invite this week. Please feel free to forward the invitation to anyone you think might be interested in participating in this work.

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We wanted to give a big thank you to everyone who showed up to the OpenEAC Alliance kickoff this morning. I think the call today was already showing the value that this group can in facilitating discussion and helping connect the industry. We look forward to working with all of you more in the future.

A couple of quick announcements:

1. If you were looking to be on the Steering Committee for the OpenEAC Alliance, please drop me a line directly at george@wattcarbon.com.

2. We are planning on having the next meeting on July 18th. Expect to see invites coming out in the near future!

From our call today, we have a couple of links for you:

• Click here to download the deck we presented

• And if you would like a full recording or video of the meeting, you can get those right here

Thank you again so much for your passion and commitment to helping us fight for a clean energy future. Watch this space for more updates to come!

The OpenEAC Alliance is an industry group formed to ensure quality, consistency and transparency in distributed energy resource (DERs) measurement and verification.

Our goal

The OpenEAC Alliance aims to enhance oversight and quality in clean energy measurement and verification, and to solve for structural barriers that have prevented the climate benefits of DERs from being properly valued. 

We’ll do that by creating transparent & consistent industry standards around how we measure and report on DERs, so they can be included and scaled through energy markets.

Why?

Professional opinions and methods vary on the best way to calculate energy savings from DERs. That is inadvertently hindering our ability to maximize their impact.

By creating industry-wide consistency & transparency in DER measurement & verification, we’ll enable DERs to be valued for their significant carbon impacts and supercharged through energy markets.

How it works

The OpenEAC Alliance is a volunteer body that will provide oversight for the methodologies that are adopted to generate EACs registered on WEATS. The Alliance will draw participants from around the globe who share an interest in ensuring that all EACs that are transacted accurately reflect the carbon emissions impacts of the underlying energy embodied by the EAC. 

The Alliance will create an open source methodological framework for certifying EACs that relies on community standards and builds on existing best practices. This approach requires a commitment to transparency and openness, but can deliver considerable cost reductions while incentivizing the development of more robust methodologies. 

Who should join?

We are an open, global network of experts collaboratively strengthening energy attribute certificate (EACs) standards and creating industry-wide consistency. This is for clean energy M&V folks around the globe who share an interest in ensuring that all EACs are transacted accurately.

Get involved!

Kickoff is May 16, 2024. If you're interested in joining the OpenEAC Alliance, either as an individual or as an organization, please reach out to George Whittlesey (george@wattcarbon.com). 

Register for the Kickoff here:

Register now

Our manifesto

If an EAC represents the environmental benefits of a watt-hour of energy, the calculation that is used to arrive at the watt-hour is of critical importance to the legitimacy of the environmental claim. Substantial over or under-crediting of environmental benefits could threaten the existence of a market. It is the OpenEAC Alliance’s mission to get this number as accurate as possible to reflect the true impact of DER projects. 

Keep updated

Subscribe to the OpenEAC Alliance Substack for updates.

Learn more

Read our launch announcement.

WattCarbon is leading the formation of a new industry coalition: The OpenEAC Alliance. The Alliance aims to foster collaboration and consistency in clean energy M&V, to enhance oversight and quality, and to solve for structural barriers that have prevented the climate benefits of decarbonizing buildings from being properly valued. We are inviting clean energy champions to unite behind the goal of collaboration, transparency, and consistency across clean energy measurement and verification.

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Why M&V Matters

The launch of WEATS last month marked a major milestone for distributed energy resources. For the first time, the environmental benefits of DERs can be valued alongside the substantial energy benefits that they deliver.

However, because DERs are complicated to measure, neither the energy nor the environmental benefits are straightforward to report. Resources like energy efficiency, demand response, and electrification of space and water heating require a counterfactual to be calculated - what would have happened if the projects that created these resources never existed?

M&V professionals are leading the way

There is a rich ecosystem of professionals who perform measurement and verification for demand-side energy interventions. These M&V services are performed on behalf of utility and state energy programs, as well as for private markets, such as energy savings contracts, where payments for services rendered are based on the value of energy saved. The professionals who perform M&V services follow standard methodological guidance that has been developed over the past four decades and formalized within protocols such as the Uniform Methods Project, ASHRAE Guideline 14, the International Performance, Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP), and CalTRACK.

100 engineers, 100 different methods

Still, professional opinions vary on the best way to calculate energy savings and innovations in the field alongside the development of new datasets make it likely that any given methodological approach will differ in important ways from others that have tried to measure a similar set of projects in a different context. As a result, it is quite common to see debates amongst practitioners regarding the robustness of any given method to the variety of confounding factors that introduce uncertainty to a calculation.

The challenge the OpenEAC Alliance will address:

If an EAC represents the environmental benefits of a watt-hour of energy, whether saved or produced, the calculation that is used to arrive at the watt-hour is of critical importance to the legitimacy of the environmental claim. Substantial over- or under-crediting of environmental benefits could threaten the existence of a market for these attributes. As such, getting this number as close as is possible to reflect the true impact of DER projects has to be our top priority.

Openness and transparency is the best way to ensure quality and create confidence

Like all registries, WEATS is agnostic to methodology. There is nothing inherent in the operation of a registry that screens for biased calculations. The vetting function must exist elsewhere.

The most common option for vetting projects is to impose substantial costs on project developers by requiring custom measurement and verification by third party consultants. This is a common practice in traditional carbon markets as well as energy efficiency programs. Unfortunately, it has done little to stem the problem of permissive certification while it has substantially increased the costs imposed on projects (meaning less money makes it back to the projects where it can do the most good).

A second option is to create an open source methodological framework for certifying EACs that relies on community standards and builds on existing best practices. This approach requires a commitment to transparency and openness, but can deliver considerable cost reductions while incentivizing the development of more robust methodologies. This is the option that WEATS is going to embrace.

The OpenEAC Alliance: a global network of experts collaboratively strengthening EAC standards and creating industry-wide consistency

The cornerstone of this approach is the creation of the OpenEAC Alliance, a volunteer body that will provide oversight for the methodologies that are adopted to generate EACs that are registered on WEATS. The OpenEAC Alliance will draw participants from around the globe who share an interest in ensuring that all EACs that are transacted accurately reflect the carbon emissions impacts of the underlying energy embodied by the EAC. In the coming weeks we will be announcing our founding partners as well as those who have joined our efforts.

Embracing open source collaboration

The OpenEAC Alliance and its outputs will be governed under an open source framework. Each EAC that appears on WEATS will be linked to a methodology file hosted at https://github.com/wattcarbon/WEATS and licensed under an Apache 2.0 open source license. Any change in any of the methodologies will be versioned so that updates can be made without disrupting existing EACs. The current version of each method will be published at https://methods.wattcarbon.com.

Each methodology owner will be encouraged to recruit a maintainer community that can contribute to the continued development and refinement of the methodology and sign off on proposed changes. Maintainer communities are integral to the success of open source methodologies, as they rely on professional reputation and expertise to ensure methodological integrity.

OpenEAC Methodologies

To start, WEATS will support methodologies related to the following types of DER projects. :

• Electrification EACs using calibrated load shape models

• Electrification EACs using pre and post meter data

• Solar EACs using inverter data

• Battery EACs using inverter data

• Demand Response EACs using a 5 in 10 baseline

• Energy efficiency EACs using a physics model

• Energy efficiency EACs using pre and post meter data

• Smart Thermostat EACs using a control group

• Hourly Grid Emissions and Carbon Intensity

WattCarbon has published the first draft of an Electrification EAC methodology that uses a calibrated energy model to estimate savings based on building and intervention data. Subsequent methodologies for these types of DER projects and new methodologies for additional types of DER projects will be submitted by members of the OpenEAC Alliance.

How to join the OpenEAC Alliance

The OpenEAC Alliance will host a kickoff call on May 16, 2024 at 9am PT. Any individual or organization interested in joining the OpenEAC Alliance should reach out to George Whittlesey at george@wattcarbon.com. The OpenEAC Alliance is a purely volunteer organization. There is no fee required to join and no payment will be rendered for services.

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