Canada launches clean energy software

Canada’s Environment Minister, the Honourable John Baird, and the Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, officially launched the latest version of RETScreen, a software tool originally developed by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) for renewable energy technologies.

The software, which NRCan provides for free, is used worldwide by more than 129,000 people, including architects, planners, investors, and other industry decision makers.

The government of Canada and partners have invested $1.8 million over the past two years in the latest version of RETScreen. This version includes a full array of financially viable clean power, heating and cooling technologies, and energy efficiency measures. The new energy-efficiency models are used for residential, commercial, and institutional buildings, and for industrial facilities and processes. RETScreen now features access to NASA’s global climate data for the entire surface of the planet.

Another major new feature is improved accessibility. RETScreen software has been translated into 26 languages, representing about two-thirds of the world’s population.

“This new version of RETScreen is going to dramatically improve how public and private stakeholders develop energy efficiency, cogeneration, and renewable energy projects around the globe,” said Dr. Marianne Osterkorn, International Director of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP).

RETScreen was developed by NRCan’s CANMET Energy Technology Centre in Varennes, Quebec, in collaboration with several partners, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Langley Research Center, based in Hampton, Va., and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), based in Vienna, Austria.

More information about RETScreen and a copy of the software can be obtained at www.retscreen.net . For information on the government of Canada’s programs to reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution, visit the ecoACTION Web site at www.ecoaction.gc.ca .

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