You heard that right. Six municipalities in Chester County are collaborating on executing an Energy Transition Plan. And 22 municipalities in Chester, Montgomery, Delaware and Bucks counties, located in Southeastern PA, are "sitting together" in a multi-part seminar that is guiding them through the tall grass of developing their own Clean Energy Transition Plans.  Here’s a summary of these two projects:

West Chester Area Clean Energy Future

There are two halves to the Energy Transition Plan: the municipal government half, which leads by example (improving building and fleet efficiency); and enables policy and municipal projects (onsite solar, installing charging stations). This half has stalled a bit in 2020 because officials and staff have been consumed with other priorities and challenged by revenue declines. Understandable. But the other half, Community Engagement, has made some solid progress in 2020 -- thanks to the volunteer collaborative efforts of the six Environmental Advisory Committees in the six municipalities around West Chester

Dubbed the West Chester Area Clean Energy Future initiative, it is the marketing and sales team of the overall project. By following up with stakeholders from the intake interviews completed in 2019 and by expanding our outreach to parts of the community that were not well represented through public hearings, surveys, newsletters, social media, short videos and more, the team will develop engagement modules for each of several topics:

• A community-wide introduction - campaign goals, energy education, surveys, feedback, outreach and team-building
  
  

• Residential - Housing complexes, HOAs, new developments, public housing, landlords, renters, low-income families, off-campus students, housing developers
  
  

• Renewable energy for educational institutions - public & private schools, colleges, charter, day care centers, non-profits, and houses of worship
  
  

• Supporting small business - special focus on small retail (i.e. restaurants, grocery, convenience, markets, drug stores)
  
  

• Energy solutions for larger businesses - hospitals & other health care facilities, business centers, shopping centers, industrial
  
  

• Tracking - progress check, process review, recommendations for changes

Each module will be reviewed and approved by the West Chester Area Council of Governments before going live, to make sure that the proposed messaging is consistent with the direction of the elected officials in the area, and that any promises are aligned with local governments.

The modules above will be rolled out over the next few years and refreshed as needed when new opportunities become available. They represent long term commitments.  Watch the progress of the WC Area Clean Energy Future campaign on their website.

Developing a Custom Energy Transition Plan for My Community

Thirty-four municipalities in the greater Philadelphia area have passed Ready For 100 resolutions -- setting goals for transitioning to 100% renewable energy community-wide and establishing a committee to develop a detailed plan to get there. Great. Awesome. Now what? What does that mean -- “a detailed plan to get there”? Can we just copy the plan from Aspen, CO? From Ann Arbor, MI? What if my town doesn’t look like those? Not as big, different economic demographics, different state laws, different attitudes in the community towards embracing change.

By acting both locally and collaboratively, Ready for 100 municipalities can have a meaningful impact in reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and local climate risks. Given the immediacy of the challenge we are facing, the Chester County Ready For 100 team is hosting a multi-part online seminar to help RF100 communities (representative government staff and committee members) walk through the many aspects of developing a plan. 

Twenty-two municipalities are participating, each developing their own unique plan, but doing it together with others that understand that rapid and ambitious planning and action are urgently needed. 

Using the Department of Energy handbook, Community Energy Strategic Planning, the goal is for each municipality to develop a draft Clean Energy Transition Plan to submit for review and approval. 

The good news is that there are many actions municipalities can and must take to play their part in meeting the goal of  commitment to keep warming to 1.5°C (consistent with the goals of the UN Paris Agreement). Municipal-specific action pathways include committing to energy efficiency for municipal facilities, renewable energy procurement, the electrification of municipal fleets and on-site renewables. Even more important are the policies that municipalities create to enable and support the wider community in transitioning to renewables. Net-zero building codes, anti-idling ordinances, simplifying and streamlining solar permitting are some examples.

Topics covered to date include:

• Energy Vocabulary

• Identifying Stakeholders

• My Town’s Energy Profile

• Goal Setting

• Municipal Electricity Procurement

• Prioritizing Options

• Efficiency of Municipal Operations 

• Improving Municipal Fleets

• On-site Renewable Energy

It has been a learning experience for all involved. The seminar has evolved in format and substance to meet the interests of the participants. It is hoped that the series, which has been facilitated by volunteers from the Chester County Ready For 100 team, will continue into 2021 with contributions from other county teams and/or, perhaps, county government participation to continue to help these 22 communities along their journey and assist new communities that wish to start theirs.

 This blog was included as part of the 2021 Winter Sylvanian newsletter. Please click here to check out more articles from this edition!