Community Energy Programs

Community energy programs are local government initiatives that make clean energy more affordable and accessible at the community scale. If you want to save tons of money for your constituents while demonstrating a high standard of community and environmental leadership, consider one or more of the following Community Energy Programs:

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Enroll Municipal Buildings and Facilities into Community Solar

Achieve 100% Renewable Electricity for Municipal Operations

Launch a Community Clean Energy Campaign

Implement a Community Choice Aggregation Program
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Enroll Municipal Buildings and Facilities into Community Solar

Community solar is a state-authorized program designed to save money on local clean energy. Enrolling municipal buildings and facilities into community solar is quick and easy and it costs nothing. Community solar is a great option because it will typically save a local government thousands of dollars in rising utility costs, right when they need it most.

With community solar, there is no cost. There is no need for a budget appropriation, expenditure, or new budget line. All savings are itemized on the utility bills that you already pay. Savings accrue to the municipality’s existing “utilities” budget line. There are no solar panels installed on your roof or property. There is no change to your electricity supplier. Just saving on your utility bills.

Many communities will save several thousand dollars by subscribing to community solar. For example, a town government in Central New York with a population of 5,000 is saving just under $5,000 annually. To learn how much your community is likely to save, you can request a free, no-obligation estimate.

Clean Energy Upgrades which can be completed by enrolling in community solar is a high-impact action under state climate and clean energy programs, worth 500 points.

Resources

Resolution to Authorize Community Solar for Municipal Accounts - Template
Enroll Buildings and Facilities

Achieve 100% Renewable Electricity for Municipal Operations

Local governments purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to demonstrate that 100% of the electricity for municipal operations is sourced from clean, renewable energy resources generated in New York. Claim major reductions in the carbon footprint of municipal operations.

Navigating the landscape of RECs can be confusing. To keep it simple, its best to consider options that meet a high standard of quality and regulatory compliance in New York. Not all RECs directly contribute to state clean energy goals. For example, RECs associated with a wind farm in Texas would not count towards New York’s goals, but they would count if they came from a hydroelectric facility in New York. That’s why it is important to specify and purchase exactly the type of RECs you need to meet your community’s objectives. Without proper specifications, you might pay too much or lose out on grants and recognition through state programs.

The quickest and easiest way to purchase and retire RECs is to work directly with PowerMarket to access RECs from qualified renewable electricity generators in New York.

100% Renewable Electricity is a high-impact action under state climate and clean energy programs, worth 500 points.

Resources

Resolution to Authorize 100% Renewable Electricity - Template
Procure RECs for Municipal Operations

Launch a Community Clean Energy Campaign

PowerMarket is ready to serve as your campaign's’ partner to develop and launch community campaigns for community solar and other distributed energy resources. We are highly experienced helping municipalities successfully complete campaigns to meet state grant program requirements.

Community Campaigns can be an effective way to encourage the adoption of community solar to generate value and savings for the municipality’s constituents. Campaigns are typically short-term efforts that target potential customers through widespread outreach and education. PowerMarket enrolls customers and provides outreach planning assistance, marketing materials, and customer support services.

Community Campaigns is a high-impact action under state climate and clean energy programs, worth 200 to 1,100 points.

Resources

Local Law to Authorize CCA Program - Template Memorandum of Understanding - Template Letter to Residents - Template Press Release - Template
Launch a Campaign

Implement a Community Choice Aggregation Program

Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) is a powerful policy tool that enables New York cities, towns, and villages to speed the transition to locally generated clean energy. PowerMarket's petition to the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) to become a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) Administrator in New York is currently pending.

CCA empowers communities to aggregate the buying power of individual members to negotiate more favorable prices and terms with respect to energy products and services.

CCA programs are established through a local law that allows local elected officials to choose where the energy comes from for their community. It is a program to purchase power and other clean energy products and services in bulk for virtually all homes and small businesses in the jurisdiction. All eligible customers are automatically enrolled in the program. It is an opt-out program - this is the defining characteristic of CCA. Customers are automatically enrolled and they can choose to opt out.

Community Choice Aggregation is a high-impact action under state climate and clean energy programs, worth 1,500 to 2,000 points.

CCA Program Options

The program administrator should offer technology-enabled capability to subscribe large numbers of CCA Members into electricity supply, community solar, and seamlessly incorporate Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) on an opt-in basis into the CCA program.

Resources

Local Law to Authorize CCA Program - Template
Implement a CCA Program

Supported by Powerful Technology

PowerMarket’s program management platform drives efficiencies in enrolling and managing large numbers of customers and creates superior customer experiences. The result is better customer engagement at lower cost.

PowerMarket Open Energy PlatformTM

PowerMarket’s Open Energy Platform™ is a program management and customer engagement platform that provides functionality needed to support all of PowerMarket’s clean energy programs including CCA, community solar, and other Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). Its modular architecture and configurable components allow us to support a wide variety of clean energy products and services. The platform is a highly customizable and secure solutions to scale as our clients’ clean energy programs scale, with full integration and white-label capabilities. The platform also provides for flexible billing workflows and billing services, making enrollement into new offerings fully turnkey and seamless.

Personal Dashboard

PowerMarket provides a fully interactive personal dashboard for anyone enrolled though one of our programs. After a simple sign-up and onboarding, users can view the current status of their participation, their monthly and cumulative savings, and their environmental impact. The self-service interface makes it easy to enroll in new programs and switch subscription preferences. The platform helps individuals see the important impact they are having on the community energy picture.

Data Security

PowerMarket takes the security of our community solar subscriber and developer client data and information very seriously. We have undergone multiple audits and IT diligence assessments from investor-owned utilities and Fortune 500, publicly traded energy companies, receiving exceptional marks on our security protocols. Our cloud-native software forms the backbone of the suite of community energy services we provide.

Download your free guide today

Intro to Community Energy Programs is a beginner-friendly guide where you can learn the basics of community clean energy programs and explore the different options to drive significant value for you and your constituents.

This in-depth guide will help if you want to:

  • Save potentially thousands of dollars and combat the sharp increases in utility prices

  • Increase access to clean energy at scale

  • Earn points and grants through state climate and clean energy programs

Get the Guide