SEATTLE — The Smart Buildings Center (SBC) has announced a new initiative to help launch smart building and energy efficiency technologies in the Pacific Northwest. The SBC will work with companies to match cutting-edge technologies with buildings that are a good fit for initial product deployment and testing. The organization will provide $350,000 in technical assistance funding for industry-leading contractors to help get the new products and services deployed and evaluated by a third-party.

SBC said a central goal of its Accelerated Technologies Deployment program is to allow technology companies to gain reference customers while obtaining independent evaluations of their solutions. It also gives the marketplace a better understanding of what is possible in the smart buildings space, thereby helping to stimulate adoption by building owners and increase utilization of new technologies by service providers.

“Washington state has been a leader in energy efficiency for decades. At the same time, we have a world-class information technology industry and a number of the world’s leading smart grid companies,” said Marc Cummings, CEO of the Smart Buildings Center. “As energy efficiency solutions become ‘smarter,’ we see a huge opportunity for the region to lead in the development of those products and services. By helping companies to find a partner to help them test and evaluate their product, this initiative will help companies in our region get to market more quickly.”

The funding for the SBC’s Accelerated Technologies Deployment program comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration’s i6 Green grant program with matching funds provided by the Washington State Department of Commerce.

The initiative is an outgrowth of work done by the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC), which identified building efficiency as a significant economic development opportunity for the region. “Energy efficiency and building efficiency is an important emerging cluster for the Puget Sound region,” said Sarah Lee, principal economic development manager at the PSRC. “Organizations like the Smart Buildings Center are indispensable as we look to support this growth, attract new companies to the region, create jobs, and provide leadership for the nation.”

For more information, visit www.smartbuildingscenter.org.

Publication date: 11/17/2014

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