Improve local energy resilience by minimizing fuel poverty, installing distributed renewable energy systems, and developing microgrids that can improve energy system resiliency.
Best Practice of this action
Rating Guideline
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Ensure innovative and equitable delivery of energy saving and renewable energy programs to low-income residents (including mobile-home owners, among others), through coordination with non-profit organizations, the local utility, and the State Energy Office. |
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Assess opportunities to utilize city rights-of-way for innovative technology and systems, including distributed energy resource systems, to improve energy resiliency, in coordination with local utility companies. |
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Install clean energy systems for city-owned buildings and facilities, including islanding capability (with storage) for a redundant source of back-up power that can sustain function during extreme weather events. |
Resources
Energy Systems:
- The Federal Energy Management Program’s Technical Resilience Navigator (TRN) helps organizations manage the risk to critical missions from disruptions in energy and water services. It provides a systematic approach to identifying energy and water resiliency gaps and developing and prioritizing solutions that reduce risk.The TRN enables organizations to be proactive in identifying and addressing vulnerabilities to their critical energy and water systems to reduce outage impacts, and support continuous mission operations.
- See the renewable energy action 26.4 for community-based solar resources, resources for low-income projects, microgrids, and the integration with pollinator habitat.
- See also model and sample energy codes.
- Adapting to Serve Low-Income Residents profiles how an existing residential energy program in Duluth evolved to bring more efficient, economical and healthier homes to low-income residents in the wake of the 500-year flood of June 2012. [Applicable to 1 Star implementation.]
- Solar Energy: Building a Brighter Future for Region 5 - Equitable Economic Ecosystems (Region 5 Development Commission, 2021) details how locally produced solar energy has the power to stabilize energy costs in uncertain times.
- The Smart Energy Provider Program through the American Public Power Association provides best practices designation for utilities that show commitment to and proficiency in energy efficiency, distributed generation, renewable energy, and environmental initiatives, while providing affordable electric service.
Storage:
- How could energy storage work for your community? (CERTs 2021) See the workshop, Community-Scale Energy Storage Guide (Institute on the Environment, 2021), pilot projects and resources to spark ideas.
- Solar+Storage for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities, a solar+storage project by a municipal utility in Massachusetts, and several resilient power installations including the Hartley Nature Center in Duluth.
- The Resilient Power Project offers a toolkit and project map for Solar+Storage projects.
- SolarResilient is a new sizing tool for solar PV + battery storage systems intended for buildings that form part of a city's resilience strategy to provide power for extended periods during a large-scale grid power outage.
- See Clean Energy Group’s Understanding Solar+Storage: Answers to Commonly Asked Questions About Solar PV and Battery Storage and a companion resource, Solar+Storage Project Checklist, which serves as a quick and simple starting point for individuals and organizations who are considering solar+storage.
Order Number
8
Action Type
Finite