IBEW Local 11 and LA/NECA Announce Net Zero Plus Electrical Training Institute

COMMERCE, Calif., Aug. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11 and Los Angeles Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association announce Net Zero Plus (NZP) and plans to expand the Net Zero Plus Electrical Training Institute (NZP ETI). Together, IBEW Local 11 and LA/NECA represent the second largest electrical labor union partnership of workers and contractors in the United States.

Net Zero Plus unites energy-efficiency practices, new clean-energy technologies, improved grid resiliency, and career development at the newly expanded NZP ETI, a national center of excellence in energy technology and training.

The NZP ETI will be the country's largest NZP commercial retrofit at 142,000 square feet. It will be a Net Zero Plus building because it will utilize efficient design and technologies to generate more energy than its annual energy demand of nearly 1 megawatt (MW). The facility will feature largely American-made products and technologies.  

"The electrical industry is currently undergoing a revolution due to improved energy-efficiency practices, integration of renewable energy on the grid, and developing clean technologies," said James Willson, Executive Director of LA/NECA,  "Net Zero Plus is at the center of this revolution and will transform the way buildings use, produce, store, and sell energy."

The NZP ETI will also serve as a living laboratory and demonstration center to test and showcase emerging technologies as well as assist in bringing them to market. The facility will feature small commercial to utility-scale operational Smart Microgrids, which will demonstrate how an existing electrical infrastructure integrated with advanced electronics, battery storage, PV solar panels, and advanced lighting controls can provide a platform for smarter and more reliable electrical systems. The utility-scale system will also integrate 12 electrical vehicle-charging stations and a high-efficiency chilled water mechanical system.

In addition to the these technologies, the facility will also utilize energy efficient building design features including plug load strategies, data management, operable and dimmable skylights, highly efficient industrial fans, new roof and wall insulation, LED lighting, an exterior solar shading device to reduce solar heat gains, and a high Solar Reflective Index (SRI) roofing material. 

The NZP ETI has been designed to support the expansion of electrical industry careers as Total Energy Solution Providers. Each year the facility will train thousands of electrical workers to become Total Energy Solution Providers and will be a national leader in electrical training for demand response, grid reliability technology, utility-scale battery storage, advanced building and lighting controls, and plug load strategies.

"Tomorrow's electrical professionals must be trained to become Total Energy Solution Providers to help customers realize and create new revenues, reduce energy costs, invest in energy independence, and achieve sustainability goals," said Dick Reed, President of IBEW Local 11, "With Net Zero Plus guiding all programs, apprentices and journeymen will receive this transformational training at the Net Zero Plus Electrical Training Institute."

The NZP ETI will open in 2015.

CONTACT:  Karen Hutchens, 619-236-0227, Cell – 619-985-7800, E-mail - karen@hutchenspr.com  

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11; Los Angeles Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association