Local Government
Local Governments are uniquely positioned for successful clean energy projects because they have many of the connections needed for a successful project: relationships with local utilities, state and federal government funding, and in many cases they have the decision-making power to move a project forward. Often the first renewable energy project in a community is erected on local government property such as city halls, fire department stations, and others. To start a successful project at local government facilities, identify a contact within the local government administration who is familiar with available grants and knows the process of gaining city council and citizen support for the project. At every level of the project, working with your local utility and keeping them up-to-date is critical as they are the ones likely to assist in the final installation of your project.
Consult our community and utility project planning resources for more information, guides, and programs.
Contents
Initiatives & Best Practices
In the Works: Minnesota City Sustainability Best Practices Initiative – CERTs (June 2008)
Currently in its program design process, the Minnesota “GreenStar Cities” Initiative is a voluntary program to identify, support and recognize implementation of a set of sustainable development best practices that lead cities beyond compliance and encourage a culture of innovation. It is a CERTs-initiated program with several partners. Please read the concept paper to learn more, and stay tuned to the CERTs Web site for more information as the program design progresses.
Green Government Initiative – National Association of Counties
Launched in 2007, the NACo Green Government Initiative provides comprehensive resources for local governments on all things green, including energy, air quality, transportation, water quality, land use, purchasing and recycling. NACo serves as a catalyst between local governments and the private sector to facilitate green government best practices, products and policies that result in financial and environmental savings. Search their database to find out about green counties in MN.
U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement – US Conference of Mayors
More than 30 Minnesota Mayors have signed on to the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which requires that they work to (1) Meet or beat Kyoto Protocol targets in their own communities; (2) Urge state and federal governments to work toward at least a 7% greenhouse gas emission reduction from 1990 levels by 2012; and (3) Urge the U.S. Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to establish a national emission trading system.
Cool Cities – Sierra Club
Cool Cities encourages cities to sign the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, offers guidance, a rewards those excelling with positive press exposure. Dozens of cities in MN are participating.
Cities for Climate Protection – ICLEI
This is ICLEI’s Local Governments for Sustainability Climate Initiative. Cities who sign up pledge to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from their local government operations and throughout their communities. ICLEI helps cities achieve their goals by working through five key milestones. A handful of Minnesota cities are participating.
Canadian Community Energy Planning – Natural Resources Canada
This Canadian community energy program is extensive enough to be considered its own standard. They have compiled a planning guide for communities that is quite broad, with accompanying resources on different technologies and criteria for selecting consultants.
American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment
This agreement charges colleges and universities to take the lead on working toward climate neutrality by working to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and increase the integration of sustainability into the curriculum. Schools that sign on must implement at least two of seven actions. Click here to see MN presidents that have signed on.
Tribal Energy Program – US DOE EERE
The Tribal Energy Program promotes tribal energy sufficiency, economic growth and employment on tribal lands through the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. The program, part of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, provides financial and technical assistance to tribes for the evaluation and development of renewable energy resources, and provides education and training to help build the knowledge and skills essential for sustainable energy projects.
UK Transition Towns
A number of communities around the world have become “Transition Towns” by adopting the Transition Model for Peak Oil and Climate Change. The focus of this agreement is creativity, ingenuity and adaptability, and each town, village, or city that signs on puts together their own Transition Initiative.
City Initiatives
Minneapolis, MN – Sustainability Initiative
Boulder, CO – Climate Action Plan
Seattle, WA – Climate Action Plan
Cambridge, MA – Climate Protection Initiatives
Santa Monica, CA – Sustainable Santa Monica
Reports
Best Practices Review: Reducing Energy Costs in Local Governments – MN State Auditor (July 2008)
“Some great things are going on in local governments in Minnesota to reduce energy costs. These wise investments not only help hedge against increasing energy costs, but they also can help reduce operating costs,” stated Auditor Otto. The review features nine case studies that highlight best practices in reducing energy costs by cities, counties and school districts in Minnesota, and provides recommendations for steps to best practices, and cost/benefit analyses on different types of technologies and services to reduce energy costs. The review also links directly to financial resources, information resources, and cost calculators.
Lessons from the Pioneers: Tackling Global Warming at the Local Level – Institute for Local Self Reliance (January 2007)
This excellent report details the efforts of the first cities in the U.S. who decided to tackle Global Warming in a systematic way, evaluating the success of the cities and looking ahead to a climate movement led by cities.
Improving Energy Efficiency in County Buildings – National Association of Counties (June 2008)
This simple two-page primer lays out the basics of working on energy efficiency in county buildings, with a snapshot of Minnesota’s Blue Earth County and the hard work they have done to incorporate energy efficient building practices into both their new and existing facilities.
Green Collar Jobs in America’s Cities: Building Pathways out of Poverty and Careers in the Clean Energy Economy (2008)
This report by The Apollo Alliance and Green For All with Center for American Progress and Center on Wisconsin Strategy is a call to action and an strategic framework for local leaders, policymakers, and advocates to build green-collar jobs for the future in their locality.
Greener Pathways: Jobs and Workforce Development in the Clean Energy Economy (2008)
This report by Center on Wisconsin Strategy, The Workforce Alliance, and The Apollo Alliance highlights greener job prospects in three industries: energy efficiency, wind power, and biofuels, positing that without such a careful focus on key energy sectors, green job policy innovation and workforce training will have a dramatic an impact.
Tools & Standards
Clean Energy Projects You Can Do Now! – CERTs
Toward a Sustainable Community: A Toolkit for Local Government – UW-Extension Madison, UW-Extension Ashland County, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Superior, 1000 Friends of Wisconsin
The purpose of this toolkit is to provide ideas and descriptions of specific actions that a local government can take to transform itself into a model of sustainable practices. These practices can result in cost savings and increased employment, and enhance environmental quality and community well-being. The message of this toolkit is simple: local governments can lead by example.
The Clean Energy-Environment Municipal Network – US EPA
The Network is an informational resource network that supports local governments’ efforts to use clean energy strategies to advance community priorities.
California Climate Action Registry
The Registry is a private non-profit organization originally formed by the State of California that serves as a voluntary greenhouse gas (GHG) registry to protect and promote early actions to reduce GHG emissions by organizations, and provides leadership on climate change by developing and promoting credible, accurate, and consistent GHG reporting standards and tools for organizations to measure, monitor, third-party verify and reduce their GHG emissions consistently across industry sectors and geographical borders.
Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX)
The CCX is a financial institution whose objectives are to apply financial innovation and incentives to advance social, environmental and economic goals through the Chicago Climate Exchange and the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange. The exchange facilitates legally-binding emissions reductions with emissions trading and offsets for all six greenhouse gases, and project worldwide.
Clean Air & Climate Protection Software
This widely used software is created by the National Association of Clean Air Agencies, ICLEI, and US EPA. The software is designed to (1) Track emissions on either a supply or demand side basis; (2) Build emissions scenarios for use in the planning process; and (3) Create a full emissions reduction plan.
Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative – World Resources Institute
These inventory protocols spreadsheet tools are being used by hundreds of companies and many communities around the world to manage their GHG footprint and make a difference for the climate by developing new products, improving energy efficiency, and participating in GHG programs and markets.
Case Studies
2009 CERTs Conference
Sponsor and Exhibitor
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