Mission & History
The Northwest Water & Energy Education Institute (NWEEI) offers both standard and custom learning opportunities throughout the Northwest for energy and water industry practitioners. NWEEI is located in Eugene, Oregon. Starting in 2018 all Energy Classes were offered online and in Fall of 2019 the Water Conservation Program is also online. Great opportunities for folks outside of the Lane Community College area. Both of these programs have been discontinued for the near future at Lane Community College. NWEEI can provide custom training to organizations that need Energy or Water education.
Guided by a regional advisory board, NWEEI has provided energy efficiency training and development throughout the Northwest region since 1998. Participants have included technicians, contractors, engineers, architects, consultants, utility personnel, and energy managers.
The Energy Management Program offered through Lane Community College has tied back as far as 1980 when Alan Gubrud, a physics instructor, obtained a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a curriculum that combined the principles of basic physics with energy analysis techniques. Students gained a working understanding of energy systems in the built environment and the tools to analyze and quantify energy efficiency efforts. The program began with an emphasis on residential energy efficiency / general solar energy systems and has evolved to include technician level commercial energy efficiency, renewable energy system installation and water conservation skillsets.
For over 30 years, the organization has successfully provided significant opportunities to train professional technicians who can immediately contribute to energy and cost savings in their own communities and was the first college in the nation to offer a degree in energy management. The Energy Management Program was named 2002/03 Innovation of the Year by the League for Innovation and received the Award of Recognition from the U.S. Secretary of Education in 1983.
In 2006, Lane Community College began the Water Conservation Technician program. Classes included Residential, Landscape, Agriculture, Mechanical Systems and Commerical/Industrial Water. In addition, students studied Regional Water Policy and Integrated Water Management. This program is not currently being provided. Custom training for water conservation might be available depending on the need.
The Energy Management staff are now partnering with a wider geographic group of partners. Give us a call to see what we can offer.
NWEEI offers the following energy training at your facility or one of our partnership locations:
Training Topics
- Residential HVAC
- Commercial HVAC
- Emerging Conservation Technologies
- Addressing High Energy Bill Concerns
- Green Procurement
- Residential Inspector Certification
- Compressed Air Challenge
- Load Calculations
- Water Efficiency & Conservation
- Data Logging
- System Maintenance
- Solar Energy Deregulation
- Direct Access
Current Certifications
NWEEI has a partnership training program that includes facilitating, coordinating, and marketing joint ventures to ensure that our customers receive the latest in energy efficiency education. We currently participate in partnership training with Building Operators Certification, and NWPPA (Northwest Public Power Association).