The OurEnergyLibrary aggregates and indexes publicly available fact sheets, journal articles, reports, studies, and other publications on U.S. energy topics. It is updated every week to include the most recent energy resources from academia, government, industry, non-profits, think tanks, and trade associations. Suggest a resource by emailing us at info@ourenergypolicy.org.
Resource Library
11 to 20 of 134 item(s) were returned.
The Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) prepared this case study to describe how the community based organization, Ecolibrium3, developed a community solar array and resilience hub to benefit residents of a low-income, historically marginalized community in Duluth, MN. To create these two distinct projects Ecolibrium3 made use of stakeholder partnerships, technical assistance, and community outreach. This case study illustrates how these two projects were developed, what they learned, and what advice they would give to those developing future programs.
This case study was developed as part of CESA’s Solar with Justice: Connecting States and Communities project. The Solar with Justice …
View Full ResourceSubsidized energy assistance programs are a popular policy tool for promoting energy justice, but, like other social benefits programs, are often undersubscribed. To improve uptake, some programs have turned to social influence strategies, such as asking program participants to refer their peers. Here, through a field experiment with California’s low-income solar program (N =7,676), we show that referral behavior depends on how existing participants are approached. Adding behavioral science strategies to a referral reward increases peer referral rates, referral quality, and ultimately solar adoption. Compared to only reminding existing adopters of a potential US$200 reward for referrals that result in …
View Full ResourceThe Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) prepared this case study to describe how Michigan’s energy office collaborated with local community action agencies and utilities to develop three separate community solar pilots aimed at reducing the energy burden of low-income Michiganders. Residents that participated in the pilots enrolled in community solar programs and received free weatherization services. This case study illustrates how the program partners developed each pilot, what they learned, and what advice they would give to those developing future programs.
This case study was developed as part of the CESA’s Solar with Justice: Connecting States and Communities project. The …
View Full ResourceThe United States needs to build an unprecedented amount of clean energy to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Power of Place-National lays out a vision and recommendations that steer energy planners and policymakers towards thoughtful net-zero strategies that benefit climate, conservation, and communities.…
View Full ResourceHow first-of-a-kind energy infrastructure projects impact—and are impacted by—society can determine market liftoff. Individual projects introduce far-reaching, multi-generational changes to local communities, while also setting the standard forfollow-on projects unfolding across the country. In this way, social considerations and impacts not only influence the success of each individual project, but ultimately determine social acceptance and adoption. As first movers, early players have an outsized role in shaping whether the clean energy transition is supported by, and supportive of, communities and workers across the country: new technologies can contribute to a more equitable and just future, or follow entrenched patterns of …
View Full ResourceThis report examined state energy equity actions from January 2020 to July 2022. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory partnered with E9 Insight to screen executive, legislative, and regulatory actions focusing on energy equity. A total of 95 actions were identified across 22 states and Washington, DC. Energy equity was most associated with resource planning, decarbonization, and energy efficiency regulatory focus areas. States tended to focus on distributive and procedural justice tenets over recognition and restorative justice tenets. The review also suggested that energy equity metrics are in nascent stages; most outcomes identified in equity actions did …
View Full ResourceTwenty-one states plus DC and Puerto Rico have set goals through legislation or executive orders to achieve 100% clean energy. The majority of Americans live in a state with such a goal. In an encouraging trend, states are giving increasing attention to equity and environmental justice in their 100% clean energy plans. These actions are particularly important, because low-income populations, communities of color, and other historically marginalized groups have suffered the greatest burdens from climate change yet have historically received the least investment in climate solutions.
This report documents state actions to advance environmental justice by reviewing the 100% clean …
View Full ResourceMaryland has cast itself among the nation’s climate leaders through its passage of the Climate Solutions Now Act (CSNA) and a greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goal of 60 percent by 2031. Equitably electrifying the state’s building sector is a pillar to achieving the state’s climate goals and of CSNA.
This report begins by assessing four main sets of housing- and energy-related policies, programs, and opportunities that currently exist in Maryland, and identifies barriers to implementation and openings for improved collaboration. It then moves to explain an alternative scenario, where the current disparate programs are streamlined through a one-stop-shop whole-home retrofit …
View Full ResourceThis paper from Evergreen and NRDC outlines an updated roadmap toward 80 percent clean power by 2030 and 100 percent clean electricity by 2035 now that the IRA is law. With two years remaining in his first term, President Biden must continue to pursue his agenda using standards, investments, and justice to tackle the climate crisis and build a thriving, just, and inclusive clean energy economy.…
View Full ResourceCommunity solar is emerging as a popular way to deliver a range of economic and social benefits that go beyond clean energy. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has set a goal for America to deploy enough community solar projects to power the equivalent of five million households by 2025 and create $1 billion in energy bill savings. To reach the goal, DOE has created the Community Power Accelerator, as part of the National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP). The Accelerator is an online ecosystem bringing together developers, lenders, foundations, community organizations, and other stakeholders to support the deployment of mission-aligned …
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