The Mineola Union Free School District has appointed Ecosystem as the energy services provider to proceed with a comprehensive energy audit (CEA) at the district’s five schools. In July 2015, the district issued a public request for proposals (RFP) for a Phase 3 district-wide energy project. The chosen Energy Performance Contractor is to provide design and implementation services for the schools and to guarantee the recovery of contract costs from energy savings over a maximum term of 18 years. Continuer la lecture “Ecosystem to Conduct Energy Audit for Mineola Union Free School District” →

Sylvie, you’ve been doing energy efficiency projects at Ecosystem for 10 years. What were you doing before that?

SB – When I started university I wasn’t sure what profession was right for me, so I did a year of general studies at the University of Montreal. I learned about art history, genetics, criminology… I took a lot of courses, and figured out that I wasn’t interested in learning off by heart. I’d rather rack my brains. So I registered at the Polytechnique Montreal in mechanical engineering. I knew it would open doors for me. When I graduated, at first I had a little difficulty finding work, partly because I had only done one internship. I went to Trois-Rivières for a job in quality assurance with Marmen, which does machining and welding for large pieces of metal. I worked with components for hydroelectric dams. Out of 350 employees, perhaps 10 of us were women. It was a real factory. I had to tell experienced men what they were supposed to do or not do.

Continuer la lecture “Interview with Sylvie Barbeau, Project director” →