“I truly believe that the work we do is crucial in achieving our nation’s clean energy goals. While ensuring an equitable clean energy transition, Ensight is able to identify and mitigate project risk with viability and equity in mind.”
– Monique Dyers, Principal and CEO of Ensight Energy Consulting
Improving access to renewable energy and localizing its benefits are among the most significant challenges in the rapid transition to clean energy. Overcoming a challenge of this magnitude will change more than the way energy is delivered; it will fundamentally change our relationship with energy from planning to powering our daily lives.
Fortunately, companies like Ensight Energy Consulting are designing solutions for these types of problems before they even happen. Ensight provides engineering and technical due diligence services, including independent engineering and owner’s engineering, to stakeholders of renewable energy projects.
Ensight Energy embodies the power of a small organization with big ideas, and that’s one reason it is garnering national attention for the groundbreaking initiative that started it all…
EQUITY: Connecting with the Housing Authority of the City and County of Denver (DHA)
In 2017, DHA launched the nation’s first housing authority-developed, owned, and operated Community Solar Garden 100% serving low-income residents. The 2-megawatt, $3.8 million project powers affordable housing units in Denver, helping low-income families and affordable housing developers reduce their energy bills.
The Community Solar Garden is a centrally located solar photovoltaic (PV) system that provides electricity to participating subscribers. Residents who join the program experience an average energy savings of 20 percent, and the project offsets more than 54,000 tons of CO2 emissions.
This is the first project in the nation where a city or county housing authority serves as the owner, and other housing authorities across the country are hoping to replicate its success with Ensight having provided independent engineering services to DHA and its finance partners. What’s truly impressive is that Ensight is receiving broader attention while keeping local community initiatives at the core of its purpose.
ACCESS: Simplifying Permitting and Localizing Benefits with the EmpowerSun Platform
Ensight’s subsidiary EmpowerSun Solutions is also garnering national recognition for developing a platform for underserved communities that provides customized solar planning resources and connects landowners with pre-certified project partners.
The platform’s inspiration came from a Colorado farmer who had land and wanted to know if solar power was feasible. He reached out to Monique for help, and she quickly recognized the broader barriers he faced. Monique’s solution? Create software that serves underserved communities and addresses issues like feasibility and permitting simultaneously.
In addition to marginalized communities, this innovation supports farmers and tribal entities in effectively leveraging their land for solar energy development. Ensight’s goal of increasing access to clean energy is shared with local developers, who provide essential feedback on how to build bridges with rural landowners.
If Ensight can create innovative solutions that empower low-income communities and landowners, imagine the potential when they collaborate with a national leader in residential solar (and COSSA members!) to harness the power of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in service of disadvantaged communities.
If Ensight can create innovative solutions that empower low-income communities and landowners, imagine the potential when they collaborate with a national leader in residential solar (and COSSA members!) to harness the power of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in service of disadvantaged communities.
COLLABORATION: Maximizing Project Value and Positive Impact with SunShare
Unlocking the full potential of IRA benefits requires an in-depth understanding of the massive new law and detailed planning to properly set a project up for long-term success. Thanks to strict and confusing IRA requirements, design, agreement, and permitting reviews are more important than ever. This is particularly true with the Owner’s Engineer model, as is the case with SunShare.
To complete a recent major project, SunShare tapped into Ensight’s expertise to maximize the project’s value for their company and the Colorado communities they serve. To highlight why this is so important, we once again turn to the numbers.
Ensight Energy served as Owner’s Engineer for this project, a model that qualifies it for incentives covering up to 50% or 60% of project costs. The best part? Meeting the requirements to maximize IRA incentives includes improving access to renewable energy for underserved communities and localizing the benefits of renewable energy.
This isn’t the bow on a pretty package, it’s the foundation of a better future.
All three of these models demonstrate how to build equitable renewable energy projects and programs from the ground up. Solutions that drive cost-effective access to renewable energy and remove barriers for underserved communities are rare enough, when identified, they demand our attention.
Ensight has a track record of extending the useful life, effectiveness, and equity of renewable energy projects typically ranging from 500kW to 10MW, and has provided engineering and advisory services to projects as large as 500MW—a rare hat trick in the solar and storage industry.
Ensight Energy was established by Monique Dyers, a Professional Engineer with over 20 years of experience. Monique’s impressive career includes positions with DNV Energy and UL Renewables, as well as a fascinating tenure in corporate roles, including Caterpillar Inc. (Yes, the same Catapillar every young sandbox excavator dreamed of working for).
Monique’s major accolades to date include 2014 Forty Under 40, 2015 Top Women in Energy, 2018 Who’s Who in Energy, 2019 Who’s Who in Energy, 2022 Top 40 Women Leaders in Energy Storage, and 2024 Sisters in Energy Solar Energy.
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