A new green certification has been added to the eclectic mix of independent third-party indicators of environmentally beneficial products, systems, buildings, etc.
Administered by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), which also runs the LEED certification for green buildings, the PEER certification (for Performance Excellence in Electricity Renewal) measures power system performance.
More particularly, according to the PEER overview page:
PEER evaluates power generation, transmission, and distribution systems across desired outcomes of optimal efficiency, quality, reliability, and resiliency, and with minimized impact to the environment…PEER addresses power generation, transmission, and distribution–from the time it leaves the generator until it reaches the customer.
PEER includes a screening process to provide independent assessments of power system projects and a rating system for potential certification.
The rating system has four outcome-based credit categories and 68 credits. Â Reliability & Resilience credits address power quality, supply availability, interruptions, risk mitigation, restoration, redundancy and microgrid capabilities.
Energy Efficiency & Environment credits address energy efficiency of power delivery, air emissions, resource use, renewable energy credits and power delivery impacts.
Operational Effectiveness credits address electricity costs, asset utilization, load shaping, general operation expenses, capital spending or investment, corrective maintenance and indirect costs.
Customer Contribution credits address customer grid service capability, meter data access, tools, choice, incentives and dynamic pricing.
According to the PEER web site, the new certification is important because of the environmental costs of relying on traditional energy sources and the costs of poor power quality:
Electricity is lost through conversion and waste, which has a negative impact on the environment as well as the economy. Reliance on non-renewable energy sources threatens our environment. Poor power quality can damage electrical devices. Power outages, usually as a result of severe weather, costs the economy billions of dollars a year and poses risks to critical infrastructure.
A search of the federal trademark records shows that GBCI owns U.S. Service Mark Registration No. 4,683,005Â for the mark PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE IN ELECTRICITY RENEWAL for the following services in Class 41:
Education services, namely, providing courses and classes for teaching professionals in the fields of achieving a standard level of performance in terms of electricity sustainability including: reliability, power, quality, safety, energy efficiency, environment, cost efficiency, and customer engagement
While educational services are important, given the central focus on independent certification, it seems odd that GBCI hasn’t applied for a certification mark registration for the word PEER, the full phrase, and/or the PEER logo shown above.
Certification marks differ from ordinary trademarks and service marks in that, instead of indicating the commercial source of a product or service, they communicate that goods or services meet certain quality or manufacturing standards. They are owned not by the individual businesses, but by the organizations that set the standards.
For further discussion of certification marks see my previous posts here, here, and here.
Regardless of its trademark protection strategy, GBCI remains a force in green certifications and the new PEER certification has the potential to have a major positive impact on power generation, transmission, and distribution.
