Site Assessment – What To Look For

Training Reference #2:

For those of you who would rather have a Site Assessment done by a professional instead of doing their own, here are a few things to be aware of:

Make sure the person doing your assessment is not the same person who is trying to sell you an energy system, service, or product.
One of the major reasons for getting a site assessment is to get an objective, arms-length, no-strings-attached, no ulterior motive opinion as to the feasibility and economics of putting a renewable energy system in place. It makes no sense to us, to have the assessor and the person trying to sell you something, be the same person. Just as we believe you should get more than one bid on any project work you have in mind, we believe you should have independent professionals providing you your assessment reports and findings.
Your Site Assessor should be a CERTIFIED Site Assessor. Currently, the certifying organization for Site Assessors is the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (mrea.org).
Your Site Assessor should provide you with a written report of findings. Such a report should include data specific to your location, analysis of the economics of the project, including breakeven, payback, and any shortcomings obvious to a trained professional.
Your Assessment should be derived from the application of an authenticated assessment tool. There are a number available; RETScreen is one.