State Leadership in Clean Energy: Innovation from Coast to Coast

The Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), a national, nonprofit coalition of public agencies working together to advance clean energy, has announced the recipients of the 2014 State Leadership in Clean Energy Awards. The 2014 awards recognize eight outstanding state programs and projects that have accelerated the adoption of clean energy technologies and strengthened clean energy markets. Winners were chosen by an independent panel of five distinguished judges, and are featured in a new report.

The 2014 awards were given to:

• The Alaska Energy Authority and the Kodiak Electric Association for Kodiak, Alaska: A 99% Renewable Energy Community
• The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for the Connecticut Microgrid Program
• The Connecticut Green Bank for the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program
• The Energy Trust of Oregon for the City of Gresham Wastewater Treatment Plant
• The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program
• The New Mexico Energy Conservation and Management Division for the Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit
• The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for its CHP Acceleration Program
• The Sacramento Municipal Utility District for SMUD’s Community Renewable Energy Deployment Program

“These award winners illustrate the tremendous creativity and commitment being shown by state agencies across the country in implementing clean energy,” said CESA Executive Director Warren Leon. “With eight very different programs highlighting diverse technologies including solar PV, wind, energy storage, hydropower, anaerobic digesters, microgrids, and combined heat and power, the 2014 State Leadership in Clean Energy award winners demonstrate that clean energy can create jobs, clean up the environment, and benefit local economies. These are programs to emulate.”CESA member organizations from across the U.S. submitted nominations for the leadership awards. Entries were judged based on public benefits and results, cost effectiveness, leadership and innovation, and replicability. Winners were chosen by an independent panel of distinguished judges: Steve Lindenberg (Senior Advisor for Renewable Power at the US Department of Energy), Andrea Luecke (President and Executive Director of the Solar Foundation), former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (Director of the Center for a New Energy Economy), Larry Sherwood (Vice President and COO of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council), and Robert Thresher (Research Fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory).

A report on this year’s State Leadership in Clean Energy award winners, including case studies of each program, is available on CESA’s website.

This website also contains information and links to a webinar series on these exemplary programs. These webcasts are free and open to the public.

• Economic Development and Job Growth in Massachusetts and New Mexico, Monday, December 8, 1-2pm ET
• Accelerating Resilient Power in Connecticut and New York, Tuesday, December 16, 1-2pm ET
• Clean Energy from Coast to Coast, featuring California and Connecticut, Friday, January 16, 2-3pm ET
• Achieving Net Zero in Alaska and Oregon, Friday, January 23, 2-3pm ET