What Happened?
Old Bridge, New Jersey, has developed a Municipal Energy Procurement Plan for 2014 expected to produce an estimated $133,964 in annual savings compared to its current fixed rate. The city put its energy management services up for bid, with the winning proposals offering 7.76 centers per kilowatt-hour for general energy and 5.18 centers per kilowatt-hour for lighting.
The Goal
Old Bridge was signed a contract with two different private energy providers – one for the municipality’s energy consumption during working hours and the other for the township’s lighting needs. By outsourcing energy and lighting services to private companies, Old Bridge will have more capital available to support improvements to public safety and public works programs.
Old Bridge’s strategy is a common trend seen nationwide. Municipalities are realizing significant savings in working with private companies for energy management. In the face of increasing deficits and tightened budgets, local officials must find unique ways to lower expenditures while preserving quality of services in other departments and agencies.
Municipal Energy Aggregation = Community Choice
Currently only six state in the US allow for municipal energy aggregation, also known as Community Choice Aggregation: NJ, MA, IL, OH, RI and CA. If you want to bring CCA to your state, Lean Energy US is a non-profit dedicated to expanding the success and scope of these clean energy opportunities. You can find their website at www.leanenergyus.org.
Revealing Case Studies
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation analyzed similar strategies across North America to identify best practices for developing a community energy project. The organization’s case study report broke down and compared energy initiatives in Canada, the United States and Mexico to showcase successes and point out where others fell short.
The Climate Action Plan and Carbon Tax strategy in Boulder, Colorado, was created to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and transit infrastructure. It also represented the first time a city launched a dedicated carbon tax to fund its environmental initiatives.
The Boulder program demonstrated high levels of success in raising environmental awareness among citizens and local organizations. The city partnered with academics, research institutions and industries interested in reducing emissions and improving overall efficiency to create a multi-disciplinary approach to achieving its goals. By working together, the effort aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent after five years of implementation.
In terms of long-term sustainability, the report explains Boulder’s strategy to focus its future efforts on transit development to make the most significant cuts in emissions. Building contractors will be used to perform audits and renovations to ensure all infrastructure is in compliance with the latest green building standards for optimal efficiency. But a portion of the project’s budget will consistently be allocated to the transportation sector where there is the most room for improvement.
Furthermore, Boulder consolidated its business sector strategies into a ClimateSmart at Work program. The strategy includes training, rebates and bid reviews to ensure the city is on the cutting edge of savings and efficiency from green technology and innovation.
The success of Boulder’s strategy can be attributed to officials building off a community-shared vision for the future and interest in climate-related changes to local operations and functionality. While major industries and companies played a role in the programs, local residents and agencies drove awareness and enabled initiatives to be approved and implemented quickly and efficiently.
Unique Energy Plans
Gov1 continues to follow energy-smart strategies such as trash conversion plants and like-minded public-private partnerships.