Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance’s Post

More BIG news from Energy Smart Colorado... Eagle County Government, in partnership with Energy Smart Colorado, has been selected as 1 of 12 local governments and Tribes to receive #EECBG Competitive Program funding. We just began award negotiations with the DOE State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) for a $1.4 Million award to reduce energy burdens for underserved households in Colorado’s rural mountain communities. Energy Smart Colorado was founded through a #EECBG grant received by Eagle County Government in partnership with Pitkin County and Gunnison County and we are honored to receive renewed funding - that recognizes our growth from three to 18 Counties - and to focus on improving housing affordability and increasing energy efficiency of low-to-moderate income (LMI) households. This funding will equip Energy Smart's 10 partner sustainability organizations with staff capacity, provide bilingual program support, bring workforce training initiatives to rural communities and help communities achieve their climate action goals. Learn more about this historic funding here https://lnkd.in/ez9gDAsJ and here https://lnkd.in/eV8Yui_P

With the right support, just how much could community energy achieve? An inspiring article and call to arms from Bristol Energy Cooperative's CEO in The Ecologist. What gets in the way of community energy coming into its own isn't just availability of funding, but small tweaks in policy, delays in connection time and a range of issue that could be resolved with the right focus. https://lnkd.in/edHedY-U

Growing local regenerative economies, that are community-led, place-sourced and achieve positive outcomes across intergenerational wealth, housing, jobs, training, biodiversity health, and land use, needs a developmental, community-natural-wealth building approach. Thanks for sharing your take Community Power Agency on the energy transition and this highlight: "The review recognises the need to have cross-discipline and whole of government coordination of opportunities for local communities and businesses. To achieve this, we urge the Government to work collaboratively with local stakeholders to identify and build collaborative solutions to the big issues like housing, jobs, training, biodiversity protection and land use planning." “We know communities and local businesses are motivated to participate in and benefit from renewable energy, but they need support and coordination to be able to do that”. Where is this happening well? Where needs greater support? There is an self-determination/agency piece in here that needs to be amplified and that is the evolution of governance. Privilege to be working alongside enterprises and systems coordinators in places through Regen Labs and the Regen Places Network, whoo are leaning into this need. #regenerativeeconomy #regenerativebusiness #renewableenergy #placebased #communityenergy

Having good community relations can pave the way for a project's success and is crucial in the development of renewable energy projects. For 25 years, we have successfully engaged landowners and communities on renewable projects by focusing on understanding the values of the community, educating community leaders on all aspects of the project including safety, and addressing their social and environmental concerns. Comment here if you'd like more information on how Cinco can help.

The University of Kansas Institute for Policy & Social Research, the Center for Compassionate and Sustainable Communities, and the Urban Planning Program just released an Energy Transition Atlas, which provides a nice one-stop shop for identifying county permitting requirements in every county in the state. LinkedIn's link preview is just a boring box, so I've taken a screenshot so you can see what the resource looks like! Within the map, they provide some immediate, summarized information on the general requirements (setbacks, sound requirements, etc.) but also provide a link directly to zoning regulations as applicable. County permitting is becoming an increasingly important (and often incredibly difficult) component of developing utility-scale renewables, and tools like this help provide resources for starting to think about the permitting pathway for a project. Link to map ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dZHbpw69 (If the thought of county permitting stresses you out, reach out! It's a complex piece of the renewable energy puzzle, but I love working through it.)

Community Energy Planning is the process by which communities collaboratively select and strategically implement emissions-reducing initiatives that fulfill the NJ Energy Master Plan goals. This process includes assembling a planning team of local municipal staff, elected officials, relevant municipal board and commission members, and community volunteers. This planning team assesses the municipality’s needs and helps find the opportunities for energy resiliency, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. See below for application deadline. #newarknj #greencities #greenbuilding #newarkandproudofit

DO YOU LIVE IN WESTERN NL & SUPPORT GREEN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT? Support economic & social prosperity in our community. Please send in your message of support for the World Energy GH2 / Project Nujio’qonik. Send your letter to: EAProjectComments@gov.nl.ca Or Fill out a comment card at the WEGH2 office and add your support. DON’T WAIT! deadline is March 20, 2024. Lets be loud & clear as we show our support & your desire to see this project go ahead for all the right; legitimate reasons: -HOPE FOR THE FUTURE! - keeping family home (for generations) -economic development & stability -environmental stewardship -good paying jobs -new green Industry -green energy development -tax base to support roads/schools/hospitals/infrastructure -keeping our towns ‘alive’ & prosperous… our population is aging; in 20 years many smaller communities in our region may not exist if we don’t create sustainable infrastructure/industries & jobs for the next generations.

DO YOU LIVE IN WESTERN NL & SUPPORT GREEN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT? Support economic & social prosperity in our community. Please send in your message of support for the World Energy GH2 / Project Nujio’qonik. Send your letter to: EAProjectComments@gov.nl.ca Or Fill out a comment card at the WEGH2 office and add your support. DON’T WAIT! deadline is March 20, 2024. Lets be loud & clear as we show our support & your desire to see this project go ahead for all the right; legitimate reasons: -HOPE FOR THE FUTURE! - keeping family home (for generations) -economic development & stability -environmental stewardship -good paying jobs -new green Industry -green energy development -tax base to support roads/schools/hospitals/infrastructure -keeping our towns ‘alive’ & prosperous… our population is aging; in 20 years many smaller communities in our region may not exist if we don’t create sustainable infrastructure/industries & jobs for the next generations.

Bay St. George Newfoundland residents…. Please send in your comments of support For the World Energy GH2 / Project Nujio’qonik. The deadline for public comment is March 20, 2024. Comments to be sent to: EAProjectComments@gov.nl.ca Lets be loud and clear as we show our support and your desire to see this project go ahead for all the right; legitimate reasons: -HOPE FOR THE FUTURE! - keeping family home (for generations) -economic development and stability -environmental stewardship -good paying jobs -new green Industry -green energy development -tax base to support roads/schools/hospitals/infrastructure -keeping out towns ‘alive’ and prosperous… our population is aging; in 20 years many smaller communities in our region may not exist if we don’t create sustainable infrastructure/industries and jobs for the next generations. https://lnkd.in/e7euNUta