The Energy Efficiency Expo returned to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center last week for its 2nd year bringing together some 1,000 decision-makers from ComEd's largest business customers - senior management, chief engineers, energy managers, facility managers, and plant managers - all looking for energy efficiency solutions for their organizations.

As the sole Platinum Sponsor of this important industry event, Connexion was well positioned to help deliver additional value to Expo attendees. Through our exclusive hands-on demos and classroom presentations, we demonstrated you how to CONSERVE energy through efficient power usage including Lighting, Motors and Transformers. CONTROL your energy assets through Competitive Rate, Building Automation Systems, Metering and Smart Grid products. CONVERT a portion of your energy needs to Wind, Solar, Geothermal and Independent Generation Sources.

We forged relationships with top tier clean energy partners to support our 'Conserve - Control - Convert' energy philosophy and demonstrated their solutions in our booth and through our in-depth training presentations. Alfa Energy, responsible for over $200 million spent annually on energy, with more than 4,000 clients, demonstrated the savings available through their rate reduction programs. CePort provided the key component of our 'Control' message; they helped our visitors understand how their building automation program can help clients gain deeper insights into their energy use,  understand how people and processes relate to their buildings, in real time And deliver a higher level of service to employees and tenants.

Business owners looking to make a strong sustainability statement were captivated by our Renewegy wind turbine demo. Renewegy's state of the art, electronically controlled, wind turbines are designed specifically for the needs of businesses, farms, schools, universities, and municipalities. View our YouTube video below to get a closer look at the Renewegy commercial grade turbine. It was definitely the star of the show!

Our clean energy, 'Convert' solution wouldn't be complete without a strong representation from the solar market; Denver based Solar Solutions, one of the largest PV equipment suppliers in the U.S., was on hand to explain the financial benefits and applications specific to the Chicago area. Solar Solutions carries all equipment necessary for large and small solar installations, including modules, inverters, racking, BOS, and accessories.

Our timely introduction of our clean energy solutions comes on the heels of an announcement from the DCEO that their Solar and Wind Energy Rebate Program is now open and they're accepting applications for Fiscal Year 2012. The focus of the Solar and Wind Energy Rebate Program, through the State's Renewable Energy Resources Program, is to encourage utilization of smaller-scale solar and wind energy systems in Illinois. A perfect opportunity for the Renewegy VP20 Turbine!

Eligibility applicants include homeowners, businesses, public sector and non-profit entities who are customers of an electric or gas utility that impose the Renewable Energy Resources and Coal Technology Development Assistance Charge. The program offers incentives up to 30% of total project cost for residential and business applicants, and 50% for public sector and non-profit entities. The maximum rebate is $30,000.

When you combine these state incentives with the available federal renewable energy incentives, you can offset approximately 60% of the your projects cost. To learn more about these incentives or any of our clean energy solutions, contact Connexion today.