Community Renewable Energy

Community Energy for Government Entities

Energy security, economic development, and environmental responsibility are all hot topics on the world’s political stage. While the issues are massive, positive changes happen with steps taken at local, state, and regional levels. We welcome leaders from all levels of government to learn more and participate in community energy efforts.

The benefits of clean energy are vast: reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, creation of safe and healthy domestic jobs, independence from foreign sources of energy and unstable political regimes, security of renewable and distributed energy sources, and prevention of nuclear waste.

This website focuses specifically on Community Clean Energy projects, those that strive to demonstrate and retain the benefits of clean energy within the local community. In particular, community energy projects are known to offer a high level of local economic benefit. This website focuses not as much on the reasons, but on the practical methods to pursue clean energy use.

While community energy projects can have vast benefits, there also remain many challenges to development. To successfully implement community energy projects takes a variety of team members with different perspectives and capabilities including community members, developers, contractors, land owners and policy makers. These efforts typically come together when and where there are supportive policies in place, and successful projects can guide future smart energy policies. In fact, local governments that have realized the benefits of community energy are often among the greatest champions at state, regional, and federal levels.

Topics of particular relevance for government officials and other policy makers include permitting, public financing, ownership, and financial incentives for energy projects. These issues are woven throughout the website, which is organized by the major types of clean energy resources that are currently being developed in the Pacific Northwest. Sections on each major type of resource (wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and efficiency) can be found by clicking on the tab at the top of the page. In addition, separate sections for project management, a utility perspective, and additional resources delve further into the many issues that make up clean energy investment and project implementation.

You may also want to check out the recently published "Wind Energy Guide for County Commissioners" (PDF 1.1 MB) produced by the National Renewable Energy Lab in conjunction with the National Association of Counties. The guide provides county commissioners, planners, and other local county government officials with a practical overview of information required to successfully implement commercial wind energy projects in their counties.