NODE Collective is recruiting collaborators and funders to help overcome the fragmented incentive data landscape

 

SAN FRANCISCO (March 21, 2024) — A new nonprofit alliance has formed with ambitions to build the most comprehensive and up-to-date open data repository of every residential electrification incentive program in the nation, with plans to make the resource open and accessible to all.

The National Open Data for Electrification (NODE) Collective was announced today by founding members from Eli Technologies, the Building Decarbonization Coalition, Rewiring America, RMI (founded as Rocky Mountain Institute) and the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center. Together, the group is sourcing, structuring and maintaining a comprehensive data set of incentives and rebates available to households, from highly efficient electric technologies like heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, induction cooktops and heat pump dryers to other building electrification solutions like battery storage, electric vehicle chargers, weatherization, and electric panel and wiring upgrades.

To address the fragmented incentive landscape, the NODE Collective will secure the most comprehensive data set of residential incentives, expecting to reach more than 2,000 incentives nationwide. The groups aim for widespread adoption of the data set so that consumers will find consistent, comprehensive data on incentives wherever they look.

The NODE Collective is committed to establishing the gold standard for tracking electrification incentives, guided by:

• Proactive Data Collection: creating dedicated submission channels to enable NODE to actively gather up-to-date and precise incentive data.
• Collaborative Updates: A network of stakeholders collaborating to maintain data accuracy and consistency, underpinned by structured protocols and expert review.
• Standardization of Incentive Data: By creating clear formats and guidelines, NODE Collective aims to eliminate inconsistencies, and facilitate streamlined access through publishing the data as a collective. The collective will also encourage and support rebate program administrators in standardizing and sharing rebate information to keep key program details up to date.

“Government-funded rebates, tax credits, and other purchasing incentives can be a key driver of consumer adoption of pollution-free technologies like heat pumps, yet navigating fragmented and outdated data can be a confusing and frustrating process,” said Andre Meurer, Head of Product at the Building Decarbonization Coalition. “That’s why we’re creating a comprehensive, reliable data source to ensure consumers and contractors can easily access all available incentives and rebates, reducing friction and confusion for households and market players alike.”

The NODE Collective is seeking additional members and funders to enrich the project, and all stakeholders—from local governments to large corporations—are invited to contribute and openly collaborate.

“With so many new incentives becoming available at the federal, state, local, and even individual utility levels today, there’s a need to work together to make this information easier to use,” said Autumn Proudlove, Associate Director for Policy and Markets at the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center. “The Center’s DSIRE project has a long history of making clean energy incentive data publicly accessible, and we’re excited to work with our NODE Collective partners to expand this impact by enabling the development of more consumer-facing tools with a standardized underlying data set.”

“This effort is essential to the project of accelerating the pace of residential electrification and we’re eager to recruit collaborators across governments, the private sector, and advocacy spaces to make this the very best data set for everyone,” said Tom Carden, Head of Engineering at Rewiring America. “This is about empowering homeowners and communities to improve their standard of living and save money by going electric.”

To keep the data set up to date, the collective will standardize the collection of incentive data, create a submission channel to gather up-to-date and precise incentive data and work with a network of stakeholders to maintain data accuracy.

“The urgency of the climate crisis requires choosing collaboration over competition when it offers the best chance to achieve our shared goals. That’s why we chose an open data collaborative model for NODE, to provide a bedrock upon which new solutions can be rapidly prototyped, iterated, and scaled,” said  Jeff Coleman, CEO, Eli Technologies. “Ultimately the result of the collective’s work will be about more than just tracking incentives, it will foster informed consumer decisions and empower market actors to fully embrace the electric future.”

“The Inflation Reduction Act presents a pivotal moment to revamp accessibility to home energy efficiency and electrification incentives, ensuring the economic and quality of life benefits of home retrofits reach those most in need,” said Lacey Tan, building decarbonization expert at RMI. “RMI is proud to be a part of the NODE Collective and contribute to this valuable and comprehensive data set of incentives and rebates.”

About Eli Technologies

Eli is on a mission to make clean energy and electrification affordable and accessible for everyone. Eli’s software streamlines access to rebates, tax credits, and financing for clean energy and electrification upgrades like solar, electric vehicle chargers, heat pumps, and more. We have built the core digital infrastructure to make accessing capital for decarbonization a frictionless experience for everyone involved, including incentive providers, homeowners, and the contractors and installers on the frontlines of the push to electrify.

About Building Decarbonization Coalition

The Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) aligns critical stakeholders on a path to transform the nation’s buildings through clean energy, using policy, research, market development, and public engagement. The BDC and its members are charting the course to eliminate fossil fuels in buildings to improve people’s health, cut climate and air pollution, prioritize high-road jobs, and ensure that our communities are more resilient to the impacts of climate change.  The Switch Is On campaign is an initiative of the BDC to educate, inspire, and make switching to electric appliances easier for communities, contractors, and all those who live and work in buildings.

About Rewiring America

Rewiring America is the leading electrification nonprofit, focused on electrifying our homes, businesses, and communities. We develop accessible, actionable data and tools, and build coalitions and partnerships to make going electric easier for households and communities. Rewiring America helps Americans save money, tackle nationwide emissions goals, improve health, and build the next generation of the clean energy workforce. We believe in an abundant, flourishing, climate-safe future, and know that, together, we can realize one.

About RMI

RMI, founded in 1982 as Rocky Mountain Institute, is an independent nonprofit that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; Nigeria; and Beijing. More information on RMI can be found at www.rmi.org.

About North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center

Since its founding in 1987, the NC Clean Energy Technology Center has worked closely with partners in government, industry, academia, and the non-profit community to promote the development and use of clean energy in ways that stimulate a sustainable economy.  One of the Center’s flagship projects is the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE), established in 1995. Today, DSIRE is the most comprehensive public source of information on incentives and policies that support renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, and transportation electrification in the United States.  The DSIRE project team provides data, analysis and technical assistance to thousands of homeowners, businesses, clean energy companies, policymakers, academics, advocacy groups and others documenting the rise of the clean energy economy.

 

Media Contact: Shannon Helm, NCCETC, slhelm@ncsu.edu