RETScreen
In collaboration with Natural Resources Canada.
Developed by the Government of Canada, RETScreen is used by the decentralised energy sector to help analyze, plan, implement and monitor energy projects. From installing a renewable energy system to implementing energy efficiency measures within a building, this software helps walk you through the entire process.
eLearning
RETScreen eLearning provides free video training to help you get the most out of the RETScreen Expert software. Content ranges from quick one-minute “how-tos” to longer overview webcasts.
RETScreen Project Life-Cycle Analysis
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Allows the user to establish reference climate conditions at a facility site for any location on earth and compare the energy performance of various types of reference (benchmark) facilities with the estimated (modeled) or measured (actual) annual energy consumption of a facility. Energy benchmarking allows designers, facility operators, managers and senior decision-makers to quickly gauge a facility's energy performance, i.e., expected energy consumption or production versus reference facilities, as well as scope for improvements.
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Permits decision-makers to conduct a five step standard analysis, including energy analysis, cost analysis, emission analysis, financial analysis, and sensitivity/risk analysis. Fully integrated into this five-step analysis are benchmark, product, project, hydrology and climate databases, as well as links to worldwide energy resource maps. Also built in is an extensive database of generic clean energy project templates as well as specific case studies.
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Allows a user to monitor, analyze, and report key energy performance data to facility operators, managers and senior decision-makers, including a facility's actual energy performance versus predicted performance. The Performance Analysis module integrates near real-time satellite-derived weather data from NASA for the entire surface of the planet and is connected to the Green Button.
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Allows a user to manage energy across a large number of facilities, spanning multiple energy efficiency measures in a single residential property to a portfolio comprising thousands of buildings, factories and power plants in multiple locations. Within the software, a user can create a new portfolio or open an existing file. The "My portfolio" database file is made up of individual facilities analyzed with RETScreen. Additional facilities can easily be added to the portfolio database. Sub-portfolios can be created to allow for comparison across different facility types and geographic regions, and a mapping tool helps the user visualize assets across the globe.
With a populated database, the user can enable a portfolio-wide analysis dashboard. The dashboard can be configured to include the results of benchmark, feasibility and performance analysis for each individual facility in the portfolio. The dashboard allows the user to consolidate results to readily track energy consumption and/or production, as well as costs and greenhouse gas emissions, all of which can be sorted by facility type, fuel type, country, etc. These results can then be used to report key metrics to various stakeholders.