Blog Archive - CESA Staff
Three Reasons to Support CESA
Dear Colleague, As you are thinking about end-of-the-year charitable contributions, let me give you three reasons to consider including the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) in your giving; 1. There is a unique opportunity to slow climate change. The new administration coming to Washington will give high priority to global warming and clean energy. As…
NYSERDA’s Award-Winning Offshore Wind Program
Since 2016, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has been working to develop offshore wind in the most responsible and cost-effective way possible. Its first procurement of offshore wind power has demonstrated the resounding success of its years of careful study, stakeholder engagement and planning. New York’s goal of 9,000 megawatts…
SMUD’s Energy StorageShares Program: The First Virtual Energy Storage Program in the US
SMUD’s innovative Energy StorageShares program is the first virtual energy storage program in the US. StorageShares allows SMUD’s commercial customers to invest in an off-site battery storage system and enjoy energy cost savings without siting batteries at their facilities. In this newly launched pilot program, eligible commercial customers make an up-front payment to SMUD for…
Michigan Solar Communities: Using a Community Solar Model to Expand Solar Access to Low- and Moderate-Income Communities
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Low- to Moderate- Income Access Program uses a community solar model to enable customers to access solar, obtain weatherization services, and save on their electric bills. The program represents a close partnership between two local electric utilities (Cherryland Electric Cooperative and the Village of l’Anse…
Energy Trust of Oregon’s Inclusive Innovation Project: Leveraging Community Expertise to Develop Equitable Solar Programs
Energy Trust of Oregon has a long history of clean energy innovation; it was involved in expanding the first Solarize program in the country in 2009. More recently, Energy Trust’s Inclusive Innovation Project sought to adapt innovative business development models to create effective solar programs that reach under-resourced customers throughout Oregon. Over the past four…
The Mass Solar Loan Program: Bringing Solar Ownership to Low-Income Homeowners
The Mass Solar Loan Program, launched by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) in 2015, combines strategic incentives and partnerships with local banks and credit unions to increase access to solar PV financing, while creating a robust solar lending market. Most recently, its incentives have focused exclusively…
Massachusetts and Vermont crack the code on distributed energy storage
In 2019, Massachusetts commenced a nation-leading experiment by, for the first time, incorporating behind-the-meter energy storage into the Commonwealth’s three-year energy efficiency plan, through the ConnectedSolutions program, as a peak demand reducing measure. The state argued that this represented a new type of efficiency. Batteries do not generally reduce net consumption of electricity – the…
ConnectedSolutions First Results: Massachusetts’ groundbreaking efficiency program for customer batteries receives its first report card
Last year, with technical support from Clean Energy Group (CEG), Massachusetts became the first state to officially incorporate behind-the-meter battery storage into its energy efficiency plan, and utilities began enrolling customers across the state in a groundbreaking pay-for-performance program. Now, preliminary results from this program, called ConnectedSolutions, have been published in a report from Navigant…
DC Court Upholds Major FERC Storage Order, Should Lead to Massive New Battery Markets Across Country
This morning, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit upheld a major federal rule (FERC Order 841) that should lead to significantly expanded battery storage use in wholesale markets across America. In a hotly contested case, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit unanimously ruled that FERC has the authority to require states…
CESA Honors Six Clean Energy Programs with the 2020 State Leadership in Clean Energy Awards
The Clean Energy States Alliance announced the recipients of the 2020 State Leadership in Clean Energy Awards at its annual membership meeting, held online in early June. Since 2009, the biennial Leadership Awards have recognized outstanding state programs and projects that have accelerated the adoption of clean energy technologies. The six winners were chosen by…
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- IRA & BIL Implementation
- 100% Clean Energy Collaborative
- Building Decarbonization and Clean Heating/Cooling
- Energy Storage Policy for States
- Energy Storage Technology Advancement Partnership
- Interstate Turbine Advisory Council
- Low- and Moderate-Income Clean Energy
- New England Solar Cost-Reduction Partnership
- Offshore Wind
- Renewable Portfolio Standards
- Scaling-Up Solar for Under-Resourced Communities
- Solar with Justice: Connecting States and Communities
- State Energy Strategies Project
- State Leadership in Clean Energy
- Sustainable Solar Education Project