We asked and you acted! Response to our new Ask Erin segment has been tremendous. Each week, Erin Watkins, director of research at the chamber, will select one of your questions to answer in our newsletter. The intent is to showcase the vast resources available to members and keep us abreast of your needs.

This week’s question comes from Gil Crane, director of energy solutions, BMI Energy Management:

“BMI Energy is interested in helping companies lower their energy usage and costs. We are a 30-year-old, minority-owned, energy management company that works with our client’s corporate and facilities department.  We understand that Charlotte is an energy business center, as it is for banking, how can we tap into the energy business growth potential?”

Erin’s Answer:

The chamber is always keeping on top of the latest changes to this rapidly growing sector of our economy. We have lots of resources you might find useful including our comprehensive, 12 county list of North and South Carolina companies in the power cluster. That is companies like utilities, manufacturers for the power industry, engineering firms with energy experience, etc. The corresponding publication, which spotlights some of the major players in the industry, can be found on our website here:  http://charlottechamber.com/clientuploads/Economic_pdfs/Charlotte_Energy_2011.pdf

We also keep a list of companies in the sustainability industry that you can find by going to http://charlottechamber.com/eco-dev/charlotte-overview/  and clicking on Business Community Profile then Business of Sustainability.

Thanks for asking, Gil!