SUSTAINABLE STATES COMMUNITY ENERGY CHALLENGE

Large cities are often recognized for their clean energy efforts, yet suburban and rural communities are also setting goals and achieving impressive results. The Community Energy Challenge supports 30 cities, towns, and villages in five states to compare clean energy progress and identify areas of excellence and improvement. The challenge pairs the national expertise of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) with on-the-ground technical assistance from state-level programs. Each participating community receives a progress assessment using the ACEEE Local Clean Energy Scoring Tool, help to choose a clean energy project to pursue, and local and national technical assistance. Cities in each state are a part of a state-level peer cohort that shortens the learning curve for all. The project is a joint effort of Sustainable CT, Green Cities California, Sustainable Maryland, Minnesota GreenStep Cities, Sustainable Jersey, and the Sustainable States Network. An introductory webinar describes the project and is available here.