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.
