Resources

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Bioenergy

Tools

  • The Bioenergy Training Center provides training programs for Extension educators on issues associated with the bioeconomy including resources, educational training, and assessment materials.
  • Farming Energy, a collection from UW-Extension’s Learning Store, contains over twenty publications centered around energy efficiency, renewable energy and conservation options for farmers and greenhouse owners.
  • UW Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Resource, a website, contains a collection of information on energy conservation and utilization for agricultural enterprises. The site offers publications, spreadsheets, audit tools, and links to other sites and presentations.
  • The Bioeconomy Tool Shed, a portal from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, gears to help those in, interested in, or starting a bio-energy business. The Tool Shed offers users access to a complement of web-based tools and information, statistical data, and other resources related to the sustainable production and conversion of biomass into products and fuel, a process often referred to as the bioeconomy.
  • The Bioenergy Training Modular Course Series provides a blueprint for facilitating potentially controversial bioenergy issues. It offers suggestions for Extension educators focused on the technical feasibility of bioenergy generation and approaches to assist communities in understanding the comprehensive implications of bio-based alternative energy.

  • Biomass Energy Resources Center Publications lists publications on biomass energy systems using wood fuels at the community scale and small commercial level from the Biomass Energy Resource Center, a nonprofit research organization. Includes studies on Fuels for Schools, Wood Chip and Wood Pellet Heating systems and technologies and case studies of community-scale systems.

Studies/Reports

  • The 3rd edition Anaerobic Digester Project Development Handbook, by AgSTAR 2023, is a comprehensive compilation of the latest knowledge in the industry on best practices for anaerobic digester (AD)/ biogas systems. AD biogas systems reduce methane emissions from manure management operations, while also providing other environmental and economic benefits. The Handbook is intended for agriculture and livestock producers, farm owners, developers, financiers, policymakers, implementers, and others interested in learning more about AD/biogas systems. The 3rd edition includes updates about: co-digestion of various feedstocks on farms, as well as for AD in industrial, institutional, and commercial facilities; options for biogas utilization, including transportation fuels and biochemicals; and, opportunities to combine AD/biogas systems and nutrient recovery for generating alternative fertilizers made from the digestate.
  • Wisconsin Biogas and Feedstock Survey Final Report  by WI Office of Energy Innovation, UW-Madison Extension and UW-Stevens Point, May 2021.  The survey findings included in this report highlight the current status of biogas facilities including operation, maintenance, and sources of biodigester feedstocks as a follow up to a previous study conducted by Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, Office of Energy Innovation (OEI) in 2016. Survey results also identify biogas and energy production, process by-products, as well as industry opportunities and challenges, potential supportive policies and recommendations. This study will support Wisconsin’s Clean Energy Plan 2021, a plan resulting from the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change Report (State of Wisconsin, 2020).
  • Wisconsin Biogas Survey Report, a 2016 report from the Office of Energy Innovation, examines the status of the state’s anaerobic digester industry and identified primary operational challenges, key financial barriers to project development, and opportunities for future industry development.
  • Recycle, Bury, or Burn Wood Waste Biomass?: LCA Answer Depends on Carbon Accounting, Emissions Controls, Displaced Fuels, and Impact Costs, a 2016 study in the Journal of Industrial Ecology, extends existing life cycle assessment (LCA) literature by assessing seven environmental burdens and an overall monetized environmental score for eight recycle, bury, or burn options to manage clean wood wastes generated at construction and demolition activity.
  • Pellets – A Fast Growing Energy Carrier, a 2014 fact sheet by the World BioEnergy Association, provides an overview of wood pellets, their properties, economics, and production in large and small-scale technologies. Due to their high-energy content, high-density, and positive CO2 balance, pellet production and use for power generation is growing. They are being used residentially and in power plants to fully or partially replace coal.
  • Bioenergy: Biomass to Biofuels, a 2014 book published by the University of Vermont, provides an overview and in-depth technical information on solid, liquid, and gaseous bioenergy resources, including topics such as microbial fuels and biogas. The book details the trade-offs between various feedstocks, provides evaluation criteria for biofuel project proposals, and features case studies.
  • Wood Heating Appliances for Homes and Businesses, a 2014 guide from UW-Extension, provides guidance on how to choose clean burning wood heating equipment that maximize benefits while minimizing health effects to owners and their neighbors.

  • Community-Driven Biomass Energy Opportunities: A Northern Minnesota Case Study, a 2013 paper by Dovetail Partners Inc., looks at two rural communities, Ely and Grand Marais, examining biomass to meet the 25 percent renewable energy consumption by 2025 Minnesota target. The study explores using timber harvest residues, sub-merchantable timber, and waste wood to heat homes, businesses, and government buildings, in either stand-alone or district energy systems.

Webinars/Videos

  • Biodiesel Production, a 2015 five-part video series from Tennessee State University Extension, goes through the step-by-step production of biodiesel using their mobile demonstration. The steps include producing oil from oilseeds, the degumming process, the biodiesel conversion process, making biodiesel, and separating and cleaning the biodiesel.

Climate Change

Wisconsin Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy leads the state of Wisconsin in fighting the effects of climate change through programs and policies that support the use of clean energy resources and technology. ​ It is charged with creating and implementing a clean energy plan to meet the goals of the Governor’s Climate Change Task Force Climate Plan.

Wisconsin Climate Connection is a website of the UW-Madison Extension Climate Leadership Team that provides Extension educational programs and initiatives to help respond to Wisconsin’s changing climate and other state focused climate resources.

Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) provides research-based historic and projected data to evaluate how Wisconsin’s climate is changing with the goal of fostering solutions.

Wisconsin State Climatology Office provides evidence of climate change & variability through graphical data analysis. Explore research on past, present, and projected changes in Wisconsin climate to help you make informed choices.

Tools

  • The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Equivalencies Calculator was updated by EPA February 2024. The calculator allows users to convert emissions or energy data to the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from using that amount. The calculator helps you translate abstract measurements into concrete terms you can understand, such as the annual emissions from cars, households, or power plants. It incorporates anesthetic gases as well as updates to emission factors. The Spanish version of the calculator is updated as well. Open the Calculator
  • EPA’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory Tools are a series of interactive spreadsheet models designed to help local, tribal, and state governments develop GHG emissions inventories. These interactive spreadsheet tools provide a streamlined way for governments to update an existing inventory or complete a new inventory. EPA updated the tools to reflect newly available information such as updates to emissions factors, new accompanying guidance for county and regional inventories on how to download federal energy and agricultural data, and a new data entry sheet to support data collection for the Community Module.
  • The Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) , published on November 14, 2023 by the Biden Administration, “highlights the ways in which all regions in the United States are currently experiencing harmful impacts of climate change” and provides the scientific foundation to support informed decision-making across the United States. Midwest states’ assessments are in chapter 24.
    The chapters include comprehensive analyses of region-specific climate issues as well as current mitigation efforts
  • Yale Climate Opinion Maps 2023, (September 2023) is a tool by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason Center for Climate Change Communication that allows users to explore differences in US public opinion about global warming within a state by county and across states. For each county, it shows public opinions on numerous questions under the categories of beliefs, risk perceptions, policy support and behaviors.
  • Agribusiness Executive Briefing: An Introduction to Carbon Markets, Carbon Credits and Environmental Attributes by Tim Baye, UW-Madison Extension, April 2022 presents a general understanding of the fundamentals underlying the current carbon market, the various carbon products, regulations, trading regimes and relevance of this market to agricultural producers, processors, and stakeholders. Natural climate solution “tools” are only as effective as they are understandable to those who would design, develop, and deploy them -that is the landowner, farmer, and the forester.
  • eGRID, the 2022 Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID) from the Environmental Protection Agency, is a comprehensive source of data on the environmental characteristics of almost all electric power generated in the United States. The new edition, eGRID2022 contains year 2022 data on emissions rates for criteria pollutants and greenhouse gases, electric generation, emissions, resource mix information, and power plant attributes. It can be used to help calculate greenhouse gas registries and inventories, carbon footprints, consumer information disclosure, emission inventories and standards, power market changes, and avoided emission estimates.
  • Solar Power in Your Community guidebook by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) 2022 is designed to assist local government officials and stakeholders unlock environmental and economic benefits of increased solar deployment in their communities. This edition contains nearly 40 case studies from around the country that show field-tested approaches to reduce solar market barriers, highlights new technologies and strategies to maximize the benefits of solar, such as combining solar with energy storage to improve resilience, and emphasizes strategies for improving the equity of solar deployment at the local level.
  • Planning for Power: Tools and Resources for Energy Resilience by Better Buildings is a YouTube video of a May 27, 2021 webinar presented by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the National Renewable Energy Lab.   Building managers, community planners, and policymakers are turning to distributed generation and storage technologies to help critical facilities remain operational when they are needed most. In this “hands-on” workshop, experts guided participants through publicly available online tools for energy resilience planning, such as REopt Lite and DER-CAM, that can assist in site-specific optimization of onsite generation and backup power. Attendees also learned about available funding resources to help resilience projects come to fruition.
  • Ready to Respond” (R2R) is a staffing toolkit designed to help affordable housing organizations anticipate and smoothly respond to climate risks and other emergencies and to protect assets. Enterprise Community Partners, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other groups partnered to develop the free tools.
  • EPA Climate Change Website – Beginning March 2021, EPA has a webpage to guide the public to a range of information, including greenhouse gas emissions data, climate change impacts, scientific reports, and existing climate programs within EPA and across the federal government.
  • EPA’s State Inventory and Projection Tool has activity data from 1990 through 2017, wherever possible. The modules were updated February 2020 as part of EPA Energy Resources for State and Local Governments. The Projection Tool and the accompanying Energy Consumption Projection Tool have been significantly expanded. Most notably, users can now create a simple forecast of all emissions starting at 2018 through 2050 based on historical emissions from the 1990-2017 time frame.
  • Net-Zero America, a study by Princeton researchers, December 2020 outlines five distinct technological pathways for the United States to decarbonize its entire economy in order to get to net-zero emissions by 2050. The study’s five scenarios describe at a highly detailed, state-by-state level the scale and pace of technology and capital mobilization needed across the country, and highlight the implications for land use, incumbent energy industries, employment, and health. It provides a blueprint for net-zero tracks in the next 10 years.
  • Net-Zero America webinar by Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) (that has a 100% Clean Energy Collaborative), February 2021, presents the Princeton Net-Zero America Study.
  • 54 Sources for Climate Change News, January 2020, by George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, shares 54 outlets that provide breakings news, research, reports, and expert analysis of topics related to climate change.
  • Energy Resources for state, local, and tribal governments, a website designed by the Environmental Protection Agency for state and local officials, provides information about developing and implementing cost-effective climate and energy strategies that help further environmental goals and achieve public health and economic benefits.
  • Climate Ready Communities: A Practical Guide to Building Climate Resilience, 2019, is based on the Geos Institute’s Whole Community Resilience framework, which uses a cross-sector, multi-stakeholder approach that is adaptive over time and creates multiple benefits across the community. This guide provides a seven step process that can help your community create an actionable resilience plan that is well supported by residents.
  • ClearPath™, an ICLEI USA Local Governments for Sustainability tool, is a powerful, advanced web application for energy and emissions management. ClearPath is the online software platform for local governments and policy makers completing greenhouse gas inventories, forecasts, climate action plans, and monitoring at the community-wide or government-operations scales.
  • ICLEI’s GHG Protocols are the national standards for local-scale accounting of emissions that contribute to climate change. There are four protocols for different emissions areas and needs:
  • Just Energy Policies and Practices Action Toolkit and presentation by the NAACP environmental Justice and Climate Program, February 2018, calls for clean energy progress. The toolkit is 8 modules of practical, user-friendly guidance on how a community can begin to phase out coal, nuclear, and oil facilities and bring in clean energy like wind and solar.
  • Forest Adaptation Resources: Climate Change Tools and Approaches for Land Managers, 2nd edition, a tool by the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) from September 2016, is an adaptive management process enabling land managers to consider climate change adaptation in their land management and conservation practices. This workbook is a decision support tool that enables land managers to develop actions that will help cope with climate change impacts specific to their location and circumstances. It includes menus of adaptation strategies for urban ecosystems as well as for forested watersheds. The Adaptation Workbook can be used by a diverse range of people working in forestry, natural resources, and agriculture, including biologists, foresters, planners, soil conservationists, and consultants.
  • Adapting to Urban Heat: A Tool Kit for Local Governments, a 2012 toolkit from the Georgetown Law Center, can help local governments reduce the effects of increased heat on their communities and citizens. The toolkit includes an analytical tool for policy makers to consider a combination of four built-environment changes (cool roofs, green roofs, cool pavements, and urban forestry), providing criteria for selecting among these approaches. The toolkit examines the roles that governments can play in pursuing these changes: shaping their own operations, mandating or providing incentives for private choices, and engaging in public education.
  • The Association of Climate Change Officials (ACCO) administers the Certified Climate Change Professional® (CC-P®) credential for mid-level practitioners. It is geared toward the experienced manager or executive responsible for driving climate change, resilience, sustainability or environmental initiatives, and professionals working extensively on climate preparedness, energy efficiency & continuity, renewable energy, resilience, adaptation or supply chain sustainability. The designation reflects competency in the fundamentals of climate change preparedness and strategic planning. A combination of related work experience and completion of all core curriculum courses and elective requirements is required for this designation.
  • Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework provides guidance to initiate systemic changes in planning, design, and delivery of sustainable and resilient infrastructure. It sets standards for what defines sustainable infrastructure across wastewater treatment, landfills, road and bridges, airports, green spaces, and more. It credentials leaders, provides third-party project verification, recognizes projects, and incentivizes higher performance.
  • Climate Access Resource Hub, a collection of resources from Climate Access, describes how from allergies and asthma to heat stroke and vector-borne diseases, the public health impacts of climate change are an increasing concern. The collection provides background information and recommendations for communicating a public health message within a climate context.
  • Top 10 Things You Can do About Climate Change The David Suzuki Foundation suggests 10 things ways people can help fight climate change. From assisting with the renewable energy transformation, greening your commute and, using energy wisely, to eating to reduce climate impacts, and divesting from fossil fuels, this resource provides ideas and links to help people combat climate change in their everyday lives.

Wisconsin Climate Resources, Studies, Reports

  • Wisconsin Emissions Roadmap, formerly called the WI Priority Climate Action Plan or PCAP,  March 2024, is linked on EPA’s Priority Climate Action Plans website. Prepared by Wisconsin DOA’s Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy (OSCE) the scope of the roadmap encompasses a statewide, multi-sector approach including:
    • industrial efficiency, electrification, and decarbonization
    • building electrification and retrofitting
    • clean transportation, fuels, and infrastructure
    • transit planning and expansion
    • distributed renewable energy
    • agriculture and soil solutions

    The measures should be construed as broadly available to any entity in the state eligible for receiving funding under the US EPA’s CPRG program and other funding streams, as applicable.

  • State Of Wisconsin Clean Energy Plan and Updates 2022- present, is a site of the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy (OSCE) that is in charge of producing the state climate plan and the Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) for the US EPA that will enable Wisconsin to bring in federal funding for implementation projects.Site contains links to:
    State of Wisconsin Clean Energy Plan, April 2022
    State of Wisconsin Clean Energy Plan Progress Report, 2022-2023
  • Wisconsin Trends and Projections web page by the Wisconsin Institute on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) includes maps with both historical trends and future projections of possible climate changes in Wisconsin related to seasonal precipitation and temperatures. Also on that page is a link to an Interactive Mapping Tool  by the University of Maryland that answers the question: “What climates today are most similar to the projected future climate of my location?” Also known as climate analogs, these maps show locations in the U.S. that currently resemble what the climate is projected to be like in Wisconsin in 2080
  • Climate Fast Forward Conference Summary, October 27, 2022, is a recap by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters of the primary findings and overarching themes developed by experts and stakeholders in facilitated break-out sessions at the Climate Fast Forward Conference  held in Madison in October 2022.
  • Agribusiness Executive Briefing: An Introduction to Carbon Markets, Carbon Credits and Environmental Attributes by Tim Baye, UW-Madison Extension, April 2022 presents a general understanding of the fundamentals underlying the current carbon market, the various carbon products, regulations, trading regimes and relevance of this market to agricultural producers, processors, and stakeholders. Natural climate solution “tools” are only as effective as they are understandable to those who would design, develop, and deploy them -that is the landowner, farmer, and the forester.
  • Climate Forward Agenda by the City of Madison highlights priority actions the City is taking to reach its climate goals, improve resilience, and grow a green economy. See Sustainability & Resilience: Climate for more information on Madison initiatives.
  • Strategies for Climate Action in Wisconsin, by Clean Wisconsin, February 2021 highlights a number of key strategies – and related Climate Change Task Force (CCTF) recommendations – that can help move Wisconsin forward on addressing climate change while building healthy communities and a healthy economy for all.
  • The Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change Report, State of Wisconsin, December 2020, includes 55 climate solutions across nine sectors that will lay the foundation for the state to better adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change, while also seeking environmental justice and economic opportunities in renewable energy and conservation.
  • Medical Alert! Climate Change is Harming Our Health in Wisconsin, by Jonathan Patz, et al, UW-Madison, October 2020  https://ghi.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/168/2020/10/Medical-Alert-Climate-Change-is-Harming-Our-Health-in-Wisconsin.pdf
  • Dane County Climate Action Plan: Today’s Opportunity for a Better Tomorrow, April 2020 by the Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change presents the top program, policy, and project recommendations that will enable Dane County to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and put Dane County on a path to deep decarbonization.
  • Presentation by Dan Vimont, Co-chair of Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) to the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change from WisEye, December 19, 2019.
  • The Climate Crisis: Why Local Governments Matter, a public issues forum of the League of Women Voters of Dane County, November 2019 features four speakers from NOAA, UW-Madison Extension, Dane County and the City of Madison. Links to the presentations are included as well as a voice recording of the presentations and panel.
  • Wisconsin Local Governments and School Districts in a New Energy Economy: Budgeting for the Clean Power Plan, a 2015 National Law Review article by Von Briesen & Roper, focuses on potential impacts of the Clean Power Plan on local government and school district budgets and reviews measures that can be taken to lessen or even neutralize the future increases in energy costs. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted the Clean Power Plan to mitigate the impacts of climate change, which calls for a 32 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector by 2030.
  • Climate Forward: A new Road Map for Wisconsin’s Climate and Energy Future, released June 2014, by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, is a report that identifies five “pathways to progress” to reduce Wisconsin’s dependence on fossil fuels and support sustainable energy sources. These solutions focus on energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy, improving transportation systems, carbon storage, and developing sustainable business models. The goal of the report is to shine a light on current conditions, barriers to progress, and opportunities—if Wisconsin chooses to engage and lead in the climate arena.

National Climate Change Resources, Studies, Reports

  • Innovation in Climate Adaptation: Harnessing Innovation for Effective Biodiversity and Ecosystem Adaptation, January 2024, by the National Wildlife Foundation in collaboration with several other organizations. This guide draws on lessons from other sectors—including business and technology—to explore the theory and practice of innovation in the context of climate adaptation and natural resource management.
  • “Participant perspectives on effective elements and impacts of climate change adaptation workshops in the United States”, January 2024. The authors examine climate adaptation workshops and what makes them effective from both the participant and facilitator perspectives. They found that participants viewed the following elements as having a positive influence on the outcomes: opportunities for varied interactions with a diverse group of participants; the availability of useful materials and opportunities to practice using them; the roles of high-quality facilitators; and a focus on real-world, local applications linked to ongoing responsibilities or projects.
  • Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation, a book by Danielle Arigoni, October 2023 uplifts the often-ignored needs of older Americans. By 2034, the U.S. will have more people over 65 than under 18. The country is not prepared to meet the needs of older adults in the face of an increasing number of disasters fueled by a changing climate. Arigoni outlines how to create safer, more livable communities in a changing world by integrating aging considerations into community planning and disaster preparedness efforts.
  • Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, is a study, October 2023 by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, based on interviews of over 1,000 adults, of which 906 are registered voters. The findings provide insight on how registered voters view a variety of domestic climate and energy policies. Key themes include public opinion on policy priorities, clean energy policies and transition, economic and environmental impact of clean energy, responsibility, international action in addressing climate change, and perceptions of fossil fuel companies and collective action.
  • Feeling the Heat: Climate Change’s Impact on Worker Financial Security, by Commonwealth, September 2023 is both an infographic and a report based on an online survey of 1,200 workers in the U.S. with household incomes between $30,000 and $80,000. The findings summarize the financial impact that workers say they are experiencing due to climate change; how their health, well-being, and living situations have been impacted; and their perceptions of what institutions can—and should—be doing to mitigate the impact of climate change on workers’ finances.
  • Global Warming’s Six Americas, December, 2022, by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication presents the results of the most recent annual survey on Climate Change in the American Mind. It shows Americans’ opinion about climate change and how those beliefs shift over time. The six audiences range from “Alarmed” -the most worried about global warming and the most supportive of strong action to reduce carbon pollution- to Dismissive” -do not think global warming is happening or human-caused and strongly oppose climate action. The other audiences include Concerned, Cautious, Disengaged, and Doubtful.Findings from the 2022 survey show that the majority of Americans (53%) are still either alarmed or concerned compared to only 22% that are either doubtful or dismissive. The Alarmed Americans (26%) outnumber the Dismissives (11%) more than 2 to 1. The report shows the change in opinions from 2012 through 2022.
  • Climate Change Enters the Therapy Room, New York Times, Feb 7, 2022
  • Net-Zero America: Potential Pathways, Infrastructure, and Impacts, a report issued December 15, 2020 by a large team centered at Princeton University, analyzes five possible pathways for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. The study’s five scenarios describe at a highly detailed, state-by-state level the scale and pace of technology and capital mobilization needed across the country, and highlight the implications for land use, incumbent energy industries, employment, and health.  All the pathways were found to involve annual spending on energy within the historic range of what the country spends on energy each year, about 4-6% of gross domestic product, or GDP.
  • Climate Reality, Project Drawdown, 1 hour youtube presentation by Dr. Jonathan Foley, March 2020 is an analysis of our changing planet, where greenhouse gas emissions come from, and new solutions to sustain the climate, ecosystems, and natural resources people depend on.
  • Sierra Club Ready for 100 is a national movement, currently made up of 100 U.S. cities, working to inspire our leaders to embrace a vision of healthier communities powered with 100% clean, renewable energy. Ready for 100 is a distributed campaign, creating networks of local leaders who support each other in building a powerful, well-organized movement from the ground up. Local volunteers are working city-by-city pursuing equity through transitions to 100% clean renewable energy that center the needs of affected communities and nationally are building a movement amplifying the stories to demonstrate that 100% is not only possible, but it is happening now.
  • National Adaptation Forum gathers the adaptation community to foster knowledge exchange, innovation and mutual support for a better tomorrow. The goal of the National Adaptation Forum convening is to provide guidance through the steps of the adaptation process, as well as across the spectrum of adaptation activities in the United States and around the world today. Training sessions and symposiums aim to be cross-sectoral in an effort to demonstrate the integrated nature of successful adaptation. As such they should engage multiple perspectives, either across sectors, geographies or stakeholders.
  • Predictors of global warming risk perceptions among Latino and non-Latino White Americans in the journal Climatic Change by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, May 2020, is a follow-up to their Yale Program on Climate Change Communication research note, listed below.
  • How Cities Are Paying for Climate Resilience: Playbook 1.0, July 2019
    The experiences of eight and other US cities that have begun to pay for large-scale climate-resilience projects, mostly to address sea level rise and flooding, amount to an initial approach—Playbook 1.0—for deciding who will pay for what and how city governments will generate the needed revenue. The Playbook contains eight distinct strategies. It is the foundation of an emerging financial capacity that cities are building in response to climate change.
  • An Introduction to Forest Carbon Offset Markets, North Carolina State Extension, July 2019 is a fact sheet that examines the opportunity that forest carbon sequestration provides in mitigating the impacts of climate change and the source of income it might provide forest landowners as a forest product in the carbon market.
  • Database of Road Transportation Emissions by Boston University provides the most detailed estimates available of local on-road CO2 over the past three decades. The New York Times did an analysis base on BU’s data in The Most Detailed Map of Auto Emissions in America, October 10, 2019. This article contains emissions information for the Milwaukee and Madison metro areas.
  • The Economics of Electrifying Buildings: How Electric Space and Water Heating Supports Decarbonisation of Residential Buildings, a 2018 report from the Rocky Mountain Institute, analyzes the economics and carbon impacts of electrifying residential space and water heating both with and without demand flexibility—the ability to shift energy consumption in time to support grid needs. The study compares the life-cycle costs of cold climate air source heat pumps (ASHPs) with conventional heating with and without air conditioners under various electric rate structures in Oakland, Houston, Providence, and Chicago.
  • These kids want to clear something up…, by the Weather Channel is a 2016 YouTube video of kids talking about climate science and appealing to their parents to take climate change action.
  • Climate Change in the United States: Benefits of Global Action, a 2015 report that summarizes the results from the Climate Change Impacts and Risks Analysis (CIRA) project, estimates the physical and monetary benefits to the U.S. of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. It shows that global action on climate change will significantly benefit Americans by saving lives and avoiding costly damages across the U.S. economy.
  • Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in the United States US 2050 Report, November 2015, is published by Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc. (E3), in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) is a collaborative global initiative to explore how individual countries can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to levels consistent with limiting the anthropogenic increase in global mean surface temperature to less than 2 degrees Celsius (°C).
  • Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions among Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality, a 2013 report from the Environmental Protection Agency, provides evidence that certain kinds of land use and transportation strategies – where and how we build our communities – can reduce the environmental and human health impacts of development.
  • Green Building and Climate Resilience: Understanding Impacts and Preparing for Changing Conditions, a 2011 report from the University of Michigan and US Green Building Council, looks at the likely impacts of climate change on the built environment and the adaptation strategies, codes, standards, and practices to adopt at the regional, neighborhood, and building scale so that environments designed and built today will be suitable for a range of uncertain futures.
  • Preparing for Climate Change: A Guidebook for Local, Regional, and State Governments, a 2007 guidebook by ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, presents a detailed, easy-to-understand process for climate change preparedness based on familiar resources and tools. ICLEI’s website also provides links to a number of other free adaptation resources.

Global Climate Change Resources, Studies, Reports

  • Climate justice in higher education: a proposed paradigm shift towards a transformative role for colleges and universities. Kinol, A., Miller, E., Axtell, H., Hirschfeld, I., Leggett, S., Si, Y., & Stephens, J. C. (2023). Climatic Change, 176(2), 15. doi:10.1007/s10584-023-03486-4 . Climate justice in higher education: a proposed paradigm shift towards a transformative role for colleges and universities. Climatic Change, 176(2), 15.
  • A Letter from the Coronavirus YouTube video from Italy (press settings, subtitles) illustrates through imagery the COVID-19 pandemic as a messenger for climate change. Video by: Darinka Montico – Written by Kristin Flyntz – Music ‘Cold Isolation’ · David Fesliyan – fesliyanstudios.com
  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change, issued a series of special assessment reports based on the assessment of the available scientific, technical and socio-economic literature relevant to global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels:
  • Paris Climate Agreement: 1st Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention, known as COP 21 was adopted in Paris in 2015. It is the world’s first comprehensive climate agreement. The Paris Agreement’s central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.
  • Project Drawdown, a comprehensive proposal in web-based form from a diverse group of researchers around the world, seeks to reverse global warming. It offers a comprehensive analysis of climate solutions – The Drawdown Roadmap, and their financial, social, and environmental impacts over the next 30 years. Nearly 100 solutions are provided in the Drawdown Solutions Library, by impact and sectors including: electricity, transportation, food ag and land use, buildings, idustry, land sinks, coastal and ocean sinks, engineered sinks, and health and education. Within each of these sectors are solutions to climate change with actions that can be taken today.
  • Climate-friendly heating: How to stay warm without fossil fuels, January 2020. Many countries have heating systems that still run on coal, oil and gas. But relying on these fossil fuels to keep us warm through winter adds to CO2 emissions. This paper examines some of the climate-friendly alternatives.
  • Financing Emissions Reductions for the Future – State of Voluntary Carbon Markets Report 2023. From Ecosystem Marketplace, this report provides all market participants – from small project developers to large corporate buyers to policymakers – a comprehensive view of voluntary carbon credits market conditions.
  • Greta Thunberg Does the Math, a video of a 5 minute presentation to the US Congress by Greta Thunberg, Swedish Climate activist and NY Times Person of the Year 2019, by The Years Project, in which she makes the science and mathematical realities of the climate crisis understandable and compelling.
  • Playing hooky to save the climate: why students are striking on March 15, a 2019 article in Vox, describes the strike by students across the globe on March 15, 2019 to protest government inaction on climate change. Climate strikes, including the Fridays For Future movement, are increasing among youth. The movement’s website provides resources and contact information for youth climate change activism.
  • Causes and Effects of Climate Change | National Geographic YouTube 2017
  • Attribution of Extreme Weather Events in the Context of Climate Change, a 2016 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, examines the current state of science of extreme weather attribution and identifies ways to move the science forward to improve attribution capabilities. Event attribution can answer questions about how much climate change influenced the probability or intensity of a specific type of weather event. As event attribution capabilities improve, they could help inform choices about assessing and managing risk and in guiding climate adaptation strategies.
  • Climate Change 101 with Bill Nye | National Geographic 2015 In this video Bill Nye, the Science Guy, explains what causes climate change, how it affects our planet, why we need to act promptly to mitigate its effects, and how each of us can contribute to a solution.

Health Impacts

Economic Development

Tools

  • Wisconsin Operating Engineers 139
  • Advanced Energy Now 2023 Market Report: Global and U.S. Market Revenue 2011-2022 and Key Trends in Advanced Energy Growth is a comprehensive assessment of advanced energy markets by revenue worldwide and in the US. The Advanced Energy Now 2023 Market Report found that the total revenue for advanced energy worldwide reached $2.1 trillion in 2022, exceeding $374 billion in the U.S. alone. Both markets grew by roughly 14% since 2021.  The report was produced by Guidehouse Insights for Advanced Energy Economy business Leaders.
  • Construction of a Solar Power Project, Oct , 2021, is a Building Wisconsin TV segment that features members of Operating Engineers 139 and job opportunities and training they provide for work on large-scale solar projects.  They showcase jobs in the construction of a 150 MW solar field across 2 square miles in Wood County near Wisconsin Rapids.
  • Infrastructure Financing Options for Transit-Oriented Development, 2021, a report by EPA’s Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Program identifies dozens of infrastructure financing options for transit-oriented development. The report provides examples of how some communities are using specific tools for individual infrastructure components, as well as strategies for combining and bundling tools to create plans that address construction phasing and market growth over time.
  • Interagency Working Group Funding Opportunities Web Tool  – from the Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Coal and Power Plant Communities & Economic Revitalization is a user-friendly, one-stop web tool enables leaders and advocates in Energy Communities to access up to $38 billion in available federal funding for infrastructure, environmental remediation, union job creation, and community revitalization. Many of the opportunities do not require any matching funds, helping reduce barriers many communities face in accessing funding for projects. Users of this centralized database can easily sort, and filter opportunities based on funding type, program purpose, and eligibility.
  • JOBS EV 1.0 is designed to permit quick analyses of economic impact associated with deploying electric vehicle supply equipment.  Built off the Excel-based platform common to other JOBS models, it permits users to estimate economic impacts for individual states, regions or the U.S. as a whole. Use it to estimate jobs associated with all aspects of electric vehicle (EV) charging — from station planning to construction and startup, from equipment production to installation and operation and from potential revenue streams.  A recording of the webinar by Clean Cities Coalition of the US DOE is posted.
  • Energy Efficiency and Corporate Sustainability: Saving Money While Meeting Climate Goals, an ACEEE topic brief of November 2019,  reviews the opportunities for reducing corporate carbon emissions through energy savings and efficiency targets. An ACEEE analysis of 30 corporate sustainability reports finds that all of them mention efficiency, but few deal with it throughout the value chain (in facilities and operations, transportation and distribution, supplier engagement, and product end-use).  ACEEE examines the key role of energy savings in each of these areas and makes recommendations for companies and investors.
  • Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE), a tool from the U.S. Department of Energy, provides state, local, utility, and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.
  • Selling the Sun: Establishing Value for Solar Homes, an online course from the U.S. Department of Energy and Elevate Energy, will provide real estate agents and appraisers information and tools to assess the market value of solar.
  • PV Value, a free, online solar valuation tool, calculates the energy production value for a residential or commercial photovoltaic (PV) system, calculating both the cost and income approach to value. It answers the question “How much is solar PV worth?”. The tool is Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice compliant and has been endorsed by the Appraisal Institute for the income approach method.
  • Energy Zones Mapping Tool (EZMT) by Argonne National Lab is a free online mapping tool to identify potential energy resource areas suitable for power generation and energy corridors in the United States. Features include: Nine energy resources: Biomass, Coal, Geothermal, Natural Gas, Nuclear, Solar, Storage, Water, and Wind; flexible modeling of power plant and corridor siting factors such as slope and land protections; tools to generate and analyze potential corridor routes; searchable database of policies and regulations.
  • The Energy Aware Planning Guide, developed by the California Energy Commission, presents a menu of strategies and best management practices to help local governments improve energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption through transportation and land use and enhance renewable sources of energy. Each strategy section contains general plan language ideas; implementation ideas; case studies; and resources. It also contains supporting information and references to help local governments organize strategies into an Energy Action Plan and estimate the likely energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction impacts of their strategies.
  • Energy Self Assessment, created by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), aids farmers and others in identifying ways to reduce energy consumption or produce renewable energy for various agricultural enterprises. It provides information on equipment and methods that can reduce energy usage as well as the cost savings associated with installing equipment.
  • Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals Project, a collaboration between the US DOE and NREL, provides tools and resources to support the development of an effective and highly skilled workforce in the residential energy upgrade industry. The project defines quality work through a standard work specifications tool, creates accredited training programs and advances professional certification for workers.
  • NREL’s Renewable Energy Optimization (REopt) screening tool identifies and prioritizes renewable energy projects at a single site or across a portfolio of sites in multiple cities, states, or countries. This tool provides a ranked list of renewable energy projects for different potential scenarios and identifies the technology sizes that meet the defined goals at minimum cost, along with the optimal deployment strategies. For more information about REopt, read the fact sheet.
  • The Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s Shared Renewable Energy For Low- to Moderate-Income Consumers: Policy Guidelines and Model Provisions report from 2016 provides information and tools for policymakers, regulators, utilities, shared renewable energy  developers, program administrators, and others to support the adoption and implementation of shared renewables programs specifically designed to provide tangible benefits to low- and moderate-income individuals and households.
  • Energy Strategy for the C-Suite: From Cost Center to Competitive Advantage, An Introduction to the Unified Approach to Energy Transformation,2016, a brief by EnerNOC, PwC, and Winston Eco-Strategies provides the value proposition for businesses to manage energy strategically and a roadmap for building an energy strategy that will take business performance to a new level.
  • Got Moola, a last updated in 2015 resource from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection Division of Agribusiness compiled for small agricultural businesses in Wisconsin, provides links to banks, technical assistance, funding opportunities, and many programs and organizations to help grow their businesses.
  • Transforming the Grid from the Distribution System Out: The Potential for Dynamic Distribution Systems to Create a New Energy Marketplace, released July 2014 by the Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI), is a report in which WEI researchers propose a new dynamic distribution system that has the responsibility of tracking load fluctuations, firming intermittent renewables and providing a distribution-level marketplace.
  • EPA’s On-Site Renewable Energy Generation guide, 2014 describes a variety of approaches that local governments can use to advance climate and energy goals by meeting some or all of their electricity needs through on-site renewable energy generation. As a part of EPA’s Local Government and Climate and Energy Strategy Series, it this guide is designed to be used by municipal energy coordinators, local energy and environmental agency staff, environmental and energy advisors to elected officials, utility staff, and community groups.
  • A climate and energy strategy guide for local governments, EPAs Green Power Procurement: A Guide to Developing and Implementing Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs, 2014, provides information about energy sources that generate no greenhouse gas emissions. This guide is part of EPA’s Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series designed to help policy makers and program staff plan, implement, and evaluate cost-effective climate and energy projects that generate environmental, economic, social, and human health benefits.
  • The Union of Concerned Scientists report of May 2013 titled ‘How Renewable Electricity Standards Deliver Economic Benefits‘ details the many economic benefits of Renewable Energy Standards known as Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards (RPS).  29 U.S. states, including Wisconsin and the District of Columbia, have each passed an RPS.  The renewable energy market in the U.S. has grown significantly as a result, and the economic benefits have been far-reaching.

Studies/Reports

  • Clean Jobs Midwest 2023, an annual report by Clean Energy Trust and E2, shows 734,754 clean energy jobs in 12 Midwestern states in 2022 with 71,489 in Wisconsin. The Fact Sheet breaks down the industry growth by subsector and regions in Wisconsin.

    Clean Jobs America 2023 by E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) is an annual report that contains state-specific reports. About 3.3 million Americans worked in clean energy at the end of 2022, up from 3.2 million the year before, according to the analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data and the findings of a national survey of more than 35,000 businesses across the U.S. economy.  The increase in 2022 marked the workforce recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic, with renewables, biofuels, and storage and gird modernization sectors passing pre-pandemic job numbers. Clean energy now empliys over 40% of energy workers in America.

  • Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, 2023, is an annual publication by the Business Council for Sustainable Energy in partnership with Bloomberg New Energy Finance, provides new industry information and trends for the U.S. energy economy, with an in-depth look at energy efficiency, natural gas, and renewable energy sectors as well as emerging areas such as battery storage and sustainable transportation.
  • Renewables 2023 Global Status Report is a collection of 5 publications on ongoing developments and trends in renewables from REN21, an alliance of governments, NGOs, industry groups and more, highlights the current status of the global solar and clean energy market. The 2023 collection consists of modules in: Renewables in Energy Demand, Renewables in Energy Supply, Economic and Social Value Creation, Energy Systems and Infrastructure, and the Global Overview.  Each module contains three key areas: renewable energy targets and policies, finance and investment, and market developments.
  • Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2022, a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency, presents key findings related to the continued decline in the cost of renewable power generation globally in 2022. Topics include cost reduction drivers for renewable power, power generation industry trends, and the outlook for renewable energy costs.
  • 2022 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), an annual employment analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy, finds that energy jobs have rebounded, after sharply declining in 2020 due the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic fallout. In 2021, energy jobs grew 4.0% from 2020, outpacing overall U.S. employment, which climbed 2.8% in the same period. The energy sector added more than 300,000 jobs, increasing the total number of energy jobs from 7.5 million in 2020 to more than 7.8 million in 2021. Jobs in clean energy industries drove increases, especially in solar, wind, and electric vehicles. View the Wisconsin Fact Sheet
  • Wisconsin State Profile and Energy Estimates, an updated in 2021 resource from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, focuses on energy industry statistics for the state of Wisconsin and compares these to other states.
  • Clean Infrastructure: Efficiency Investments for Jobs, Climate, and Consumers by ACEEE, June 22, 2021, finds “Energy efficiency investments in an infrastructure bill could result in more than 4 million more people working for a year (job-years), nearly 4 billion tons of reduced carbon dioxide emissions, and more than $300 billion in net consumer savings, all while building the foundation for a clean economy. The report analyzed the likely impacts from ten sets of energy efficiency investments in homes and commercial buildings, electric vehicles, transportation infrastructure, manufacturing plants, states, and cities. The analysis includes many new proposals, including for multifamily home retrofits, heat pumps and heat pump water heaters, industrial decarbonization technology commercialization, and industrial clusters.”
  • The 2020 Wisconsin Energy Statistics Book 41st edition produced by the Office of Energy Innovation at the PSC provides a snapshot of energy use intensity, economic, and environmental impacts for the years 2015 through 2017. It serves as a comprehensive source of data on all forms of energy from fossil fuels for transportation to natural gas for heating and renewable sources of electricity. Statistics cover consumption, generation, prices, expenditures, and renewable energy development in Wisconsin. New are chapters on the state economic profile and environmental impact of all energy use.
  • Wisconsin Clean Energy Business Supply Chain: Good for Manufacturing Jobs, Good for Economic Growth and Good for Our Environment, by the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC), January 2020, is a directory of 354 Wisconsin companies in the clean energy supply chain and a policy road map for the state’s clean energy future. The businesses listed in the report include installers and component manufacturers, as well as engineering and design firms, installers, repair services, construction firms and insurers. One of the report’s findings was that those Wisconsin companies often find work on jobs in states with more progressive clean energy policies like Michigan and Minnesota.
  • An overview of actions local governments can take to create a trained, equity- focused workforce  is provided in Cities and Clean Energy Workforce Development, a topic brief by ACEEE published in January 2020. The brief identifies 37 US cities with energy efficiency and renewable energy workforce development strategies and programs. Milwaukee is among them. Their workforce policy is identified in the ReFresh Milwaukee sustainability plan complemented by energy efficiency policy. One goal is to grow their cluster of energy-efficient and clean tech companies to create local jobs and energy expertise. This is being done in partnership with M-WERC.
  • How Cities Are Paying for Climate Resilience: Playbook 1.0, by Innovation Network for Communities, July 2019 explores the strategies that reflect the leading-edge of urban climate-resilience financing practices. It reviews 8 distinct strategies to obtain public and private financial resources that pay for large-scale climate-resilience. These strategies amount to an initial approach—”Playbook 1.0″—for deciding who will pay what and how city governments will generate the needed revenue.
  • They Grew Up Around Fossil Fuels. Now, Their Jobs Are in Renewables is NYT article March 26, 2019 that explores the stories of people from towns or families across America with roots in the fossil fuel industry who took a career path in renewable energy.
  • Cost-Reduction Roadmap for Residential Solar Photovoltaics (PV), 2017-2030, NREL, January 2018: The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) recently set new levelized cost of energy (LCOE) targets for 2030, including a target of 5 ¢/kWh for residential PV. This study is a roadmap for achieving the SETO 2030 residential PV target. It examines two key market segments that demonstrate significant opportunities for cost savings and market growth: installing PV at the time of roof replacement and installing PV as part of the new home construction process.  The potential is huge given that NREL estimates that an average of 3.3 million homes per year will be built or require roof replacement between 2017-2030 with a residential PV technical potential of roughly 30 gigawatts (GW) per year.

  • Clean Energy Sweeps Across Rural America, a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council in December 2018 (18 pg),  analyses the clean energy deployment expansion across the Midwest and the jobs, infrastructure development and economic gains created in rural areas as a result.
  • The Wisconsin Jobs Project: A Guide to Creating Jobs in Sensors & Controls for Advanced Energy, a 2018 report from the Wisconsin Energy Institute, Midwest Energy Research Consortium, and American Jobs Project, shows that Wisconsin’s sensors and control industry could potentially support an annual average of 44,000 jobs through 2030. Sensors and controls allow systems to respond to changing conditions (weather, changes in input, changes in demand). Wisconsin is poised to tap into the $287 billion global advanced energy systems market due to its strong existing sensor and controls industry, university research expertise, and potential demand for biodigester technology by agricultural businesses. The report outlines a range of policy recommendations that could encourage the development of this growing industry.
  • The Economics of Electrifying Buildings: How Electric Space and Water Heating Supports Decarbonisation of Residential Buildings, a 2018 report from the Rocky Mountain Institute, analyzes the economics and carbon impacts of electrifying residential space and water heating both with and without demand flexibility—the ability to shift energy consumption in time to support grid needs. The study compared the life-cycle costs of cold climate air source heat pumps (ASHPs) with conventional heating with and without air conditioners under various electric rate structures in Oakland, Houston, Providence, and Chicago.
  • From Power to Empowerment: Plugging Low Income Communities Into the Clean Energy Economy, a 2017 white paper from Groundswell, Sabol, Patrick, a community power nonprofit, details the critical relationship between energy and economic opportunity in the United States, and the case for making renewable energy accessible to low income households, for expanding and supporting energy efficiency programs that align with community solar, and for driving consumer adoption of these programs through place-based community organizations.
  • The National Solar Jobs Census, an annual report, last published for 2017, by the Solar Foundation, reviews current employment and projected growth in the United States solar industry. The reports includes factors likely to impact the solar industry, as well as information on research and development, production, sale, installation, and use of all solar technologies.
  • Bringing the Benefits of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to Low-Income Communities, a 2016 resource from the Environmental Protection Agency, offers informational resources to help state and local energy, environmental, housing, social services agencies, non-profits, and utilities understand successful models that they can use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by bringing energy efficiency and renewable energy to low-income communities.
  • The Hidden Costs of Fossil Fuels, a last revised in 2016 resource from the Union of Concerned Scientists, examines the hidden health and environmental costs, or externalities, resulting from the extraction, transportation, and consumption of fossil fuels. Externalities including global warming, air pollution, water use, and fossil fuel waste are presented and explained alongside real world examples and the latest research.
  • Integrating Community Values into the Full Cost of Electricity, a 2016 white paper by the Energy Institute of the University of Texas, examines movement toward community or values-based energy systems and asks if these values should be considered as one of the inputs into a model for the cost of electric service. Traditional cost modeling assumes individuals and communities will choose the lowest cost source for electricity; however, the marketplace is increasingly showing otherwise. The study looks at community energy systems including: District energy utilities, community-owned renewable generation, community approved use of eminent domain, and community choice aggregation. This paper is part of a series of white papers on the full cost of electricity.
  • Strategic Roadmap on the Energy Water Nexus, a 2015 report from the Midwest Energy Research Consortium (M-WERC) and The Water Council (TWC), projects that the EWN market will grow dramatically from the current $240 billion to nearly $500 billion by 2025. The EWN roadmapping report significantly expands the baseline EWN opportunity set to include many large water and energy embedded consuming applications in agriculture, industry, buildings, and residences outside of the traditional water and energy cycles. The report also defines and classifies six market segments and numerous products that make up the industry, focusing on the most potentially impactful EWN applications. Market projections, by market segment, from both top-down and bottom-up projections are contained in the report.
  • Empowered: A Tale of Three Cities Taking Charge of Their Energy Future, a 2015 book by Midwest Energy News and author Bentham Paulos, examines the current clash between regulated utilities and cities and their citizens over clean energy sources, energy pricing, and market choice in Boulder, CO, Minneapolis, MN, and Madison, WI.
  • Revolution Now: The Future Arrives for Four Clean Energy Technologies, most recently updated in 2015, is a report from the U.S. Department of Energy, focuses on four technology revolutions that are here today: Onshore wind power, polysilicon photovoltaic modules, LED lighting, and electric vehicles. Since 2008 they have achieved dramatic reductions in cost accompanied by a surge in consumer, industrial, and commercial deployment. This analysis explains both the magnitude of and mechanisms behind these nascent revolutions. Each of the sectors examined has also become a major opportunity for America’s clean energy economy.
  • Spatial patterns of solar photvoltaic system adoption: The influence of neighbors and the built environment, a 2014 article in the Journal of Economic Geography, examines the main drivers influencing the spread of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) system adoption. The analysis may be useful to marketers and policymakers interested in promoting PV systems.
  • City Power Play – 8 Practical Local Energy Policies to Boost the Economy, a 2013 report from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, shows local government officials how to boost their local economies with clean energy policies that address key economic and environmental problems. A case study is provided for each policy.
  • The Solarize Guidebook: A community guide to collective purchasing of residential PV systems, a 2012 guidebook by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the City of Portland, provides a roadmap for project planners and solar advocates who want to create their own successful Solarize campaigns. It describes the key elements of the Solarize Portland campaigns and variations from projects across the country, along with lessons learned and planning templates. The guidebook is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, a collaborative national initiative to make solar energy cost competitive with other forms of energy by the end of the decade.
  • Keeping it in the Community: Sustainable Funding for Local Energy Initiatives, a 2012 report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, outlines local funding options for community energy efficiency projects including utility partnerships, energy or carbon taxes, systems benefit funds, bonds, and revolving loan funds. Case studies of city programs using each funding strategy are presented.
  • Solar Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), a 2012 factsheet from the Solar Energy Industries Association, describes what a PPA is, how they benefit consumers, and key points interested consumers should consider before entering into a PPA.
  • Full Cost Accounting for the Life Cycle of Coal, a 2011 paper published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, presents a life cycle study that analyzes the full range of monetized, external ecological and public health costs resulting from using coal for electricity generation. The authors “estimate that the life cycle effects of coal and the waste stream generated are costing the U.S. public a third to over one-half of a trillion dollars annually … Accounting for the many external costs over the life cycle for coal-derived electricity conservatively doubles to triples the price of coal per kWh of electricity generated” [beyond the prices we pay for electricity]. Amounts and costs of each of the health, social, employment, and environmental impacts are provided.
  • Solar PV Project Financing: Regulatory and Legislative Challenges for Third-Party PPA System Owners, a 2010 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, details five challenges that Third-Party PPA system owners are facing: (1) definition of electric utility as seller of electricity; (2) power generation equipment included in definition of electric utility; (3) defintion of provider of electric services; (4) municipal utilities’ and rural cooperatives’ concerns over opting into deregulation of electricity generation, and; (5) determining whether third-party owned systems may net meter.

Webinars/Videos

Educator Resources

  • The Center for Green Schools, Building Learners program empowers k-12 students to use their buildings as learning laboratories and master STEM concepts. Students use Arc to collect and analyze data, and they conduct real-world investigations that inform sustainability improvements at their school. Working with their school’s facility manager and a volunteer green building professional serving as a mentor, students get exposure to sustainability careers and build positive relationships with members of their community.

    Piloted for two years, in fall 2019, the two-year Building Learners program was purchased by six schools, to become the inaugural class. A program of the US Green Building Council, Green Schools is rooted in the idea that all students deserve sustainable schools that improve their health and prepare them for 21st century careers.

  • CLEAN Teaching Climate and Energy Science provides a guide for educators built off the original climate and energy literacy frameworks. Educators can find summaries of each principle, possible challenges when teaching the principle, suggested pedagogic approaches for each grade level for grades 6-16, and relevant teaching materials from the CLEAN reviewed collection.
  • Energy Literacy: Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts for Energy Education is intended for formal and informal energy education, standards development, curriculum design, assessment development, and educator trainings. The guide is for anyone involved in energy education and focuses on areas of energy understanding, essential for all citizens that will help individuals and communities make informed energy decisions.
  • Spanish-language version of the USDOE Get Current coloring book is part of an ongoing effort to expand educational resources for the growing Spanish-speaking population in the United States.
  • The NRES 730-Energy Education in the Classroom KEEP course can be adapted for 4H face-to-face training; speak with Susan Schuller (susan.schuller@uwsp.edu).
  • KEEP, The Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program, provides resources geared to educators to increase their own knowledge about energy and to provide resources for students.
  • KEEP Energy Resources, fact sheets and activities that can be downloaded on energy efficiency and renewable energy systems.
  • NRES 733 Energy Education: Concepts and Practices, the course overview includes resources and activities and basic energy facts – free.
  • Renewable Energy Education Online Course NRES 735 (content is free; credit option is available through the Unviersity of Wisconsin-Stevens Point).

Energy Efficiency

Tools

  • ENERGY STAR’s Most Efficient 2024 List recognizes the most efficient products among those that qualify for the ENERGY STAR label.
  • 2023 Energy Star Top Cities, an annual list from EPA, shows which metro areas were home to the most ENERGY STAR certified buildings in the previous year. These regions continue to make impressive strides in cutting American energy bills and pollution through energy efficiency. Milwaukee, WI, tied with Boulder, CO, is ranked 8th of mid-size cities for Energy STAR certified buildings.
  • The Smarter Small Buildings by the US Department of Energy’s Berkley National Lab, 2023, offers small- and medium-sized building owners technical assistance and recognition opportunities for improved HVAC controls in their buildings. Small- and medium-sized buildings served by packaged rooftop HVAC units (RTUs) comprise the majority of commercial buildings in the United States. Improving HVAC controls will improve occupant comfort, save on energy costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Building owners can contact the Smarter Small Buildings Campaign to enroll and explore partnership opportunities for controls vendors, utilities, HVAC contractors, and other market stakeholders. Click here for resources on RTU controls product selection and case studies.
  • Electrification Tool Finder, October 4, 2023, for Local Government Clean Energy Initiatives by US EPA is designed to help local governments screen tools and resources to evaluate environmental and economic benefits of electrification programs at government operations and community-wide scales.
  • Focus on Energy’s Small Business Online Assessment tool helps businesses create a customized action plan by asking questions about your current equipment and operations and then recommending areas where you can make energy-efficient upgrades and realize great savings. Customers who complete an online assessment will have the opportunity to receive a FREE energy-saving pack to help kick-start their savings.To learn more about making improvements your small business’ energy efficiency, visit focusonenergy.com/smallbusiness.
  • ACEEE’s updated Local Clean Energy Self-Scoring Tool, January 2021, lets you score any community’s energy efficiency and renewable energy efforts using the metrics from ACEE’s 2021 City Clean Scorecard. The tool can be used to evaluate community-wide initiatives, government operations, and buildings, utility, and transportation policies.
  • Mayor’s Toolkit for Energy Efficiency by ACEEE, June 2020, describes seven strategies mayors can implement to improve the energy efficiency of their cities. It includes foundational policies, current city best practices, and many useful resources for policy and program development.
  • End-Use Load Profiles for the U.S. Building Stock  Lawrence Berkley National Lab (LBNL)  and Argonne National Lab LBNL are collaborating on a multiyear study to develop a database of end-use load profiles that quantify how and when energy is used for all major end uses, building types, and climate regions in the U.S. commercial and residential building stock. End-use load profiles are critically important to understanding the time-sensitive value of energy efficiency, demand response, and other distributed energy resources. This foundational data set will help electric utilities, grid operators, manufacturers, government entities, and research organizations make critical decisions about prioritizing research and development, utility resource and distribution system planning, and state and local energy planning and regulation. To view the End Use Load Profile Inventory, September 2019.

  • The Potential for Battery Energy Storage to Provide Peaking Capacity in the United States, a report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, examines the potential for utility-scale energy storage to provide peak capacity in the national grid. Energy storage is crucial to making the most out of our energy sources, and lithium-ion batteries are one way to do it. The researchers looked at how much peak capacity could be served by storage with different durations, and how this could change using solar and wind.
  • The Flip Your Fridge Calculator, a tool from ENERGY STAR, shows how much your old (10 years and older) refrigerator or freezer costs to operate and how much you can save by flipping it to ENERGY STAR. Carbon pollution savings are shown as well.
  • EnergyBoom, a website, helps consumers identify the most energy efficient products from laptops and waterheaters to LED lights, cars, and trucks. They use data and analysis from independent and government sources and report the basis for each listing.
  • The purpose of the policy tool for new buildings, an interactive tool by the Global Building Performance Network (GBPN), shows how 25 of the “world’s best” energy codes (loosely defined) compare across 12 metrics, including their holistic approach to addressing all energy loads in a building, the technical revision process, the establishment of future EE targets, enforcement standards, and integration with other related policy packages. The tool is designed to help identify the combination of elements to move the building stock in a particular region towards zero energy.
  • The Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), a tool from the Green Electronics Council, uses the standard from a global rating system for greener computers and other imaging equipment. The EPEAT system combines strict, comprehensive criteria for design, production, energy use, and recycling with ongoing independent verification of manufacturer claims. EPEAT can be specified as a requirement in purchasing proposals. Model contract language is provided on the website for PCs/displays, imaging equipment, and televisions. Anyone can look up products and see the level of certification different brands and models have achieved.
  • Municipal Energy Planning: An Energy Efficiency Workbook, a step-by-step guide prepared by University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension faculty serving on statewide Energy Conservation and Sustainability Teams, provides information for developing an energy efficiency (or energy conservation) plan for municipal governments. This guide seeks to address an educational need of elected officials and municipal staff to improve the energy efficiency of their facilities and operations.
  • Smart Location Database version 2.0, published by EPA’s Smart Growth Program, is a consistent nationwide GIS data resource for measuring location efficiency. The Smart Location Database may be appropriate for use in local and regional planning studies when local data is unavailable. The database includes over 90 variables characterizing the built environment, transit service, destination accessibility, employment, and demographics at the census block group scale. Users can download data for their selected region, view data online in an interactive map, or access data through a variety of web services.
  • SmarterHouse, a website by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and Enervee, helps consumers find quality products that reduce their energy bills. Consumers can visit the website to find energy-saving tips and buying guidance for purchasing new products like refrigerators and TVs, rated by the 0 – 100 Enervee Score. Shoppers can visit Enervee’s portal to find product information, pricing, and incentives offered by their utility.
  • EPA Energy Star Portfolio Manager allows users to track and assess energy and water consumption across a portfolio of buildings by entering energy consumption and cost data into a Portfolio Manager account. Users can benchmark building energy performance, assess energy management goals, and identify strategic opportunities for energy savings.
  • The 10 Tactics of Successful Energy Managers, a 2015 eBook by EnergyCAP, Inc. 2015 shows how the value of energy information is on the rise, how energy performance mandates, both public and private, are proliferating, and how energy management tools are becoming more powerful and complex.  This concise eBook provides useful information in a clear, simple, stepwise format to assist energy managers in effectively and efficiently tracking and managing their organization’s energy use and communicating energy savings and performance internally and externally.

Studies/Reports

  • The Midwest Heat Pump Collaborative provides industry resources to address needs and overcome barriers to ASHP adoption in the Midwest. This page has a list of resources, which includes tools to help contractors serve customers such as ASHP sizing and specification tools.
  • Leading with Equity: Recommendations for State Decision Makers, Utilities, and Regulators to Advance Energy Equity, by ACEEE, February 7, 2023, provides state decisionmakers, utilities and regulatory bodies with expertise from communities most impacted by climate change, the energy system and high energy bills.  Decision makers can use the factsheet to make comprehensive energy saving services accessible to communities of color and low-income communities, as well as to better include disinvested communities in their decision making.
  • ACEEE’s Utility Energy Efficiency 2023 Scorecard assesses the 53 largest US electric utilities, including Xcel Energy and We Energies on their energy efficiency program performance, program offerings and enabling mechanisms for efficiency.  The Scorecard provides utilities, regulators, and others, benchmarking data and a roadmap they can use to track performance and strengthen utility-sector energy efficiency. The CSG Midwest Policy Brief notes key regional trends, including Minnesota’s stance as a regional leader for energy efficiency.
  • The 2022 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, a report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), shows Wisconsin ranked 26th in energy efficiency. With a score of 13 out of 50, criteria included items like financial incentives, public building requirements, fleets, performance contracting, and research and development.  California ranked first scoring 47, followed by Massachusetts scoring 44.5. Minnesota ranked 10th. Michigan ranked 15th, while Illinois ranked 16th and Iowa ranked 35th.
  • The 2021 City Energy Efficiency Scorecard, a report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), ranks 100 of the most populous U.S. cities on policies to advance energy efficiency and do so equitably. The report includes recommendations and strategies for all cities to lower energy use. Cities are evaluated on their clean energy efforts across 5 policy areas: local government operations, community-wide initiatives, buildings, energy and water utilities, and transportation. Madison, Charlotte, and Honolulu are the most improved since the 2020 City Scorecard.
  • Guide to Thermal Insulation – 4th Edition by  BuildingGreen , November 2021, provides detailed guidance on insulation products and practices, including recommendations on what insulation to use and what to avoid. It contains information for architects and designers, builders, and anyone who is actively considering the impact of insulation on the quality of your indoor environment and the world. The report offers guidance to support appropriate material choices—as well as best practices—depending on the project and the budget and application including: sub-slab, exterior and interior of foundations, attic floors, rafters, cavity-fill (residential and non-residential), and continuous exterior insulation. For each category of insulation, the guide covers key health and sustainability considerations, performance issues, and installation recommendations, including global warming potential of blowing agents.
  • Reducing Your Digital Carbon Footprint in the Wake of COVID-19 by UC Berkeley, Continuing Ed Extension, May 2021 examines how digital technology produces carbon, growth of digital behaviors, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in digital activity. It covers strategies to improve energy efficiency/ carbon footprint from digital use including social media, streaming, online shopping, emailing, cryptocurrency trading, gaming, etc.
  • Energy Saving Equipment on the Farm is a website with video case studies and links about energy efficiency opportunities by CERTs – Clean Energy Resource Teams of University of Minnesota Extension.
  • Efficiency Standards for Rentals, by Rocky Mountain Institute, launched in 2019 is part of an action guide website that helps cities make housing more affordable while reducing emissions by establishing minimum efficiency standards for rental housing.
  • Breakthrough Batteries: Powering an Era of Clean Electrification, a report by  Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), October 2019, shows that the global green energy transition is happening faster than predicted due to massive investments in new battery technologies and applications. The cost of battery manufacturing capacity is expected drop more than half between 2018 and 2023 and will contribute to replacing natural gas plants and other infrastructure across the fossil fuel value chain. RMI examines what this means for industry players and identifies six emerging battery technologies with significant market potential for commercialization. The report identifies ramifications for investors, regulators, policymakers, and other in the industry as well as strategies that can reduce potential stranded asset risks.
  • ​ The High Cost of Energy in Rural America: Household Energy Burdens and Opportunities for Energy Efficiency, a 2018 coalition report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and the Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA), focuses on the energy burdens shouldered by those living in rural America. It finds that rural households across the United States spend a disproportionately high share of their income on energy bills – for air conditioning, heating, lighting, appliances, etc. – of about 40% more than their metropolitan counterparts. Energy efficiency upgrades can lessen these burdens by as much as 25%, resulting in up to $400 in annual energy bill savings while also reducing indoor health risks that can contribute to asthma, respiratory problems, heart disease, arthritis, and rheumatism for some households.
  • Quantifying the Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: A Guide for State and Local Governments, a 2018 report by EPA, discusses how state and local energy efficiency and renewable energy investments can produce significant benefits, including lower fuel and electricity costs, increased grid reliability, better air quality and public health, and more job opportunities. While the costs of clean energy initiatives get the most attention, less is devoted to the many benefits of clean energy, often because there isn’t a clear understanding of the benefits and how to estimate them. Analysts can use EPA’s this updated edition to learn how to quantify these benefits so that they can compare costs and benefits and comprehensively assess the value of energy policy and program choices.
  • Energy Efficiency in Affordable Housing: A Guide for Developing and Implementing Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs, a 2018 report by EPA, helps readers understand energy efficiency in terms of benefits, step-by-step approaches to green, affordable housing, key stakeholders, supportive policy mechanisms, implementation strategies, and investment and financing opportunities. It includes case studies from communities across the United States and links to resources, tools, and sources of funding.
  • Energy Savings, Consumer Economics, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions from Replacing Oil and Propane Furnaces, Boilers, and Water Heaters with Air-Source Heat Pumps, a 2018 report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), found that when it is time to replace heating or cooling equipment or in new construction, high-efficiency electric heat pumps or water heaters can often provide an attractive alternative to homeowners looking for a cost-effective solution. This strategy is part of the clean energy transformation that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency and electrification using carbon-free electricity.
  • Lifting the High Energy Burden in America’s Largest Cities: How Energy Efficiency Can Improve Low-Income and Underserved Communities, a 2016 coalition report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and the Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA), contains measurements of the energy burden of households in 48 of the largest American cities, including Milwaukee. It finds that low-income, African-American, Latino, low-income multifamily, and renter households all spend a greater proportion of their income on utilities than the average family. The report identifies energy efficiency as an underutilized strategy that can help reduce high energy burdens by as much as 30% and the policies and programs to ramp up energy efficiency investments in low-income and underserved communities.
  • Energy Efficiency in Separate Tenant Spaces – A Feasibility Study, a 2016 report by the US Department of Energy, finds significant potential to improve energy efficiency during the design and construction of tenant spaces and describes several possible steps to encourage owners and tenants to improve the efficiency of those spaces.
  • The Greatest Energy Story You Haven’t Heard: How Investing in Energy Efficiency Changed the US Power Sector and Gave Us a Tool to Tackle Climate Change, a 2016 report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), quantitatively discusses the importance of energy efficiency in the US power sector.
  • Energy Efficiency and the Clean Power Plan: Steps to Success and Best Practices in Developing State Lead-by-Example Programs and Considerations for Clean Power Plan Compliance, two 2016 white papers from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), provide a “how-to” guide for states as they embark upon the path to meeting Clean Power Plan emission reduction targets. Even with the Supreme Court stay, energy efficiency is a tool for creating jobs and keeping electricity affordable, as well as a strategy for reducing pollution.
  • Clean Energy Champions, a 2015 report by CleanEnergy States Alliance, shows the importance of state programs and policies. States have pursued many paths to the robust clean energy expansion underway today. The report provides a comprehensive review of all the significant ways in which states have advanced clean energy in the last 15 years with 31 case studies. The study finds four lessons for state effectiveness in advancing clean energy: innovation, consumer protection, distributed generation policies, and broad-based, nonpartisan, or bi-partisan involvement by both parties.
  • New Horizons for Energy Efficiency, a 2015 report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), found that 22 percent of the total projected electricity use in the year 2030 could be saved by the use of certain energy efficient practices.
  • Energy Efficiency in Water and Wastewater Facilities, a 2013 guide released by the EPA as part of the Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series, describes how water and wastewater facilities can achieve multiple benefits by improving energy efficiency of their buildings and day-to-day operations. It includes steps and considerations for developing and implementing these improvements to energy efficiency.
  • Saving Water and Energy through Clothes Washer Replacement in the Great Lakes Region, a 2013 white paper by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), profiles various opportunities for energy and water savings in the residential and commercial sectors.
  • Army Net Zero: Energy Roadmap and Project Summary, a 2013 report by the US Army partnered with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), assesses opportunities to increase energy security through improved energy efficiency and optimized renew­able energy strategies at nine of its installations. The Army tasked NREL to help develop roadmaps and recommend energy projects to meet the Army’s Net Zero goals. This report provides summary information, sample projects, and examples.
  • Beyond the Tip of the Energy Iceberg: Why Retrofits Create More Value Than You Think, an 2013 article by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), discusses the value beyond energy cost savings (VBECs) of deep energy efficient retrofits, including saved energy costs, health and productivity benefits, reputation and leadership, and risk reduction. RMI developed a retrofit value model for assessing VBECs and shows how value knowledge will expand energy investment.
  • Keeping it in the Community: Sustainable Funding for Local Energy Initiatives, a 2012 report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), outlines local funding options for community energy efficiency projects including utility partnerships, energy or carbon taxes, systems benefit funds, bonds, and revolving loan funds. Case studies of city programs using each funding strategy are presented.
  • Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools, a 2011 report by EPA, discusses how energy costs are second only to personnel costs as the leading draw on K-12 school district operating budgets. The report describes how to achieve energy savings and is designed for school district energy program managers, school districts and school boards, local government agencies, and mayors and city councils. The report is part of the Local Government Strategy Series.
  • Building Commissioning: A Golden Opportunity for Reducing Energy Costs and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, a 2009 report from Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory

Webinars/Videos

  • Planning for residential ASHP market transformation in Wisconsin by 2030 Webinar by Focus on Energy, May 2023, presents a playbook for the market transformation toward electrification by installing residential air-source heat pumps (ASHPs). The playbook, developed on behalf of the state of Wisconsin, outlines a strategic roadmap to make ASHPs the preferred choice for residential heating and cooling by 2030, focusing on actionable recommendations and top ASHP opportunities. Read more about heat pump initiatives on Slipstream’s website.
  • Equitable Workforce Development, a webinar by the Midwest ASHP Collaborative recorded July 20, 2023, includes a panel that presents key strategies of equitable workforce development in the push to install Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) widely identified by the Collaborative’s needs assessment based in Chicago and the Twin Cities. This presentation provides a better understanding of the challenges presented by status quo HVAC education, shares insights on skill and career development from the universe of workforce actors and identifies effective partnerships and strategies for equitable workforce development in communities across the Midwest. Register at the Zoom link here to view the webinar on-demand.
  • CERTs: Tackling poverty with community energy efforts, Minnesota’s Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) Energy Futures Series, archived discussion program from October 21, 2020, on Duluth’s Ecolibrium3’s work with a low income (LI) neighborhood of 6,000 residents through solar garden, Healthy Homes and other programs that benefit veterans, elderly and families in need. They promote sustainable living and resilience with transitioning to electrification, housing stock improvement, economic security, and health. Ecolibrium3 uses a third party project management model, working with Vista volunteers to make upgrades and progress for LI residents.

  • Understanding and managing power quality issues with LED lighting, a 2018 webinar by Seventhwave, discusses LED lighting power quality specifications that should be considered before purchasing and installing LED systems. Also discussed are several current voluntary and mandatory government and industry standards that offer guidance and present minimum recommended values to avoid common issues that arise with LED lighting systems. Viewers can learn about strategies to troubleshoot LED lighting issues on their own, as well.
  • Public Procurement of Energy Efficient Products: Lessons from Around the World, a 2013 webinar from the Responsible Purchasing Network, features discussion by representatives of the World Bank, US EPA’s ENERGY STAR Program, and the District of Columbia’s procurement office about key elements of a successful program for procuring energy-efficient products, including product testing and labeling systems; policy drivers; educational strategies; incentives to bring about behavior change; tracking and reporting systems; and more.

Energy Organizations

Wisconsin Organizations

  • Citizens Utility Board (CUB)
  • Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC)
  • Focus on Energy operates out of the Office of Energy Innovation and functions as a public benefits program, funded through utility partners. Focus on Energy’s programs address businesses, industry, residents, local governments, and schools in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
  • Gratton Lab research group’s mission, in the Department of Entomology at the University of Wisconsin, is to create fundamental knowledge through innovative science that links insects, landscapes, and their conservation in support of healthy ecosystems and human wellbeing. The lab conducts research on pollinators (pollinator plantings are widely used for large-scale solar PV projects) as well as how management of bioenergy crops (e.g. annual harvesting, fertilization, cover cropping) affects beneficial insects such as pollinators.

  • Groundswell develops community solar projects and programs that connect solar power with economic empowerment.
  • (KEEP) Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program
  • Mid-West Energy Research Consortium 
  • North Central Region Water Network The North Central Region Water Network is a 12-state collaboration designed to enhance connectivity across regional and state water projects, develop and carry out integrated outreach and education efforts, and coordinate projects with measurable short and long-term environmental and social impacts.
  • Property Assessed Clean Energy, PACE Wisconsin, enables commercial property owners to obtain low-cost, long-term loans for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation improvements. Projects financed using PACE can generate positive cash flow upon completion with no up-front, out-of-pocket cost to property owners—eliminating the financial barriers that typically prevent investment in revitalizing aging properties. PACE Financing is sourced from an open lending market and secured through a voluntary PACE Special Charge, repaid directly to the lender. Like property taxes, PACE Financings may be transferred to the next property owner if the property is sold.Eligible commercial properties include multifamily buildings of five units or more, as well as industrial, non-profit, agriculture, and hospitality properties. PACE financing is available to businesses in counties that have signed onto the PACE Wisconsin program.  A list of participating counties is found here.
  • Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC)
  • RENEW Wisconsin (RENEW), an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, advances state renewable energy policies through advocacy, education, and collaborative initiatives.
  • Slipstream is a nonprofit that creates, tests, delivers and scales the next generation of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs that move us farther, faster toward a clean energy economy. They partner with utilities, local and state governments, regulatory agencies and other organizations to inspire new solutions to big energy challenges.
  • The Customers First Coalition (CFC) is an issue advocacy non-profit organization dedicated to the interests of power customers of all sizes in Wisconsin. Since coming together over twenty years ago, Customers First has advanced a balanced approach to shaping energy policy that promotes consensus among Wisconsin’s energy stakeholders and produces sensible solutions to the State’s energy challenges.
  • The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) that promotes renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable living through education and demonstration. MREA education ranges from the technical, like trainings and certifications for solar and wind installation, to the broad via its annual Energy Fair for the public.
  • The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), a website from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, offers cost-share grants and loan guarantees to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for energy efficiency improvement or renewable energy development projects.
  • The Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI) researches electricity systems, transportation and fuels, and sustainability and society, focusing on the transition to new, clean energy systems and solutions . WEI fosters interdisciplinary projects, educates and prepares the energy leaders of today and tomorrow, and enhances public understanding of energy issues.
  • The Wisconsin Office of Energy Innovation (OEI) , the State Energy Office housed in the PSC, promotes innovative and effective energy policies and programs for the benefit of Wisconsin’s citizens and businesses. OEI puts out the Energy Statistics Book – see the 2020 Wisconsin Energy Statistics Book 41st edition for a snapshot of the state’s energy use intensity.
  • US Green Building Council Wisconsin
  • Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters
  • Wisconsin Clean Cities
  • Wisconsin Conservative Energy Forum (WisCEF)
  • Wisconsin Counties Association
  • Wisconsin Green Muslims
  • Wisconsin Health Professionals for Climate Action
  • Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts – WICCI …WICCI’s Mission is to generate and share information that can limit vulnerability to climate change in Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest. WICCI was formed in 2007  by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the University of Wisconsin Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. WICCI engages citizens; private and public decision-makers; and scientists from Wisconsin and the region in a collaborative network to
    • Develop scientific understanding of climate impacts;
    • Identify vulnerability to climate change and climatic variability; and
    • Enable better planning, investment, and other adaptation activities.
  • Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP), through the Profitable Sustainability Initiative (PSI), works with state manufacturers to identify and implement projects targeting energy and environmental improvements including energy upgrade audits. PSI Services involve three phases—diagnostic, assessment, and implementation—focused on realizing the highest ROI that can be achieved through profitable sustainability solutions.
  • Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council

Federal Organizations

National Organizations

  • American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)
  • American Solar Energy Society (ASES)
  • American Solar Grazing Association; The American Solar Grazing Association (ASGA) was founded to promote grazing sheep on solar installations. ASGA members are developing best practices that support shepherds and solar developers to both effectively manage solar installations and create new agribusiness profits. This is a not for profit trade association founded for and managed by sheep farmers who became solar graziers.

  • American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)
  • Electric Utility Consultants Inc. (EUCI)
  • Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR)
  • Microgrid Resources Coalition (MRC) Formed in 2013, the Microgrid Resources Coalition (MRC) is a non-profit organization comprised of owners, operators, developers, suppliers and investors in the microgrid industry working together to advocate for policies and regulations that support microgrid deployment. The MRC promotes widespread implementation of microgrids through laws, regulations, and tariffs that support microgrid access to the market, compensation for services, and a level playing field for deployment and operation.
  • National Adaptation Forum (NAF)
  • NRCS National Water and Climate Center
  • Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), a website from PACENation, offers details about a local government initiative in which private capital funding allows property owners to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects for residential and commercial buildings. With PACE financing, interested owners repay the cost of energy improvements through an assessment on their property taxes for up to 20 years.
  • Rocky Mountain Institute
  • Sierra Club
  • Slipstream, a combination of former organizations Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation (WECC) and Seventhwave, partners with utilities, local and state governments, regulatory agencies, and other organizations to create, test, deliver and scale the next generation of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.
  • Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) helps electric utilities implement and deploy clean energy and distributed resources.
  • The Energy Storage Technology Advancement Partnership (ESTAP) is a federal-state funding and information sharing project that aims to accelerate the deployment of electrical energy storage technologies in the U.S. ESTAP is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Electricity, managed by Sandia National Laboratories, and administered by the Clean Energy States Alliance.
  • The Transport Decarbonization Alliance (TDA) brings together leading cities, companies and countries to accelerate the worldwide transformation of the transport sector towards a net-zero emission mobility system before 2050. The TDA builds on statements of intent by those Heads of States, Mayors and CEOs that have expressed their intent to decarbonize before 2050. It targets all transport emissions from all modes of passenger mobility and freight transport. The Alliance aims to become the most visible, creative and effective nexus of public/private cooperation to allow the transport sector to meet the Paris Agreement objectives.
  • The U.S. Climate and Health Alliance is a national network of health and public health practitioners dedicated to addressing the threats of climate change to health.
  • US DOE Better Buildings is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designed to drive leadership in energy innovation. Through Better Buildings, DOE partners with leaders in the public and private sectors to make homes, commercial buildings, and industrial plants more energy efficient by accelerating investment and sharing of successful best practices. They provide resources such as toolkits, a financial navigator and case studies, a list of additional industry partners and programs, events, and webinars.
  • US Green Building Council (USGBC)
  • Windustry, a non-profit partnered with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), provides information and tools for evaluating easement contracts, landowner options, and economic impacts of wind energy to rural landowners, elected officials, utility representatives, and community planners.

International Organizations

  • International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
  • International Living Future Institute (ILFI) – is a global network dedicated to creating a healthy future for all. ILFI administers the Living Building Challenge and Zero Energy Certification among other standards. The Living Building Challenge is a philosophy, certification, and advocacy tool for projects to move beyond merely being less bad and to become truly regenerative. The living building challenge consists of seven performance categories, or “petals”: place, water, energy, health + happiness, materials, equity and beauty. Zero Energy standards requires that one hundred percent of the building’s energy needs on a net annual basis be supplied by on-site renewable energy. No combustion is allowed. Certification is based on actual, not modeled, performance.

  • International Solar Energy Society (ISES)
  • Project Drawdown is a global research organization that identifies, reviews, and analyzes the most viable solutions to climate change, and shares these findings with the world.

Other Useful Sites

  • Energy and Civilization: A History
    This book by Vaclav Smil explores how human innovations in energy have driven economic and cultural progress over the past 10,000 years. He traces the ways that society exploited energy in order to move forward and describes how energy innovations enabled major societal and technological advancements.
  • eXtension Energy Communities of Practice are resource areas used to organize expertise of professional educators on a specific subject matter. The resource areas also feature answers from experts to user-submitted questions. UW-Extension offers Communities of Practice in farm, home, and wood energy:
    • Farm Energy provides expertise on topics such as anaerobic digestion, biofuel, biomass and energy efficiency and renewable energy for rural applications.
    • Home Energy features information on energy efficiency for both existing and new homes and on renewable energy systems.
    • Wood Energy presents information on wood as renewable energy with wood sources, technologies, benefits, concerns, policies and incentives and provides case studies and success stories of wood energy applications.
  • Firesouls on Chequamegon Bay,” a Cooperative Extension video, traces the development of a regional community sustainability movement in the Chequamegon Bay area. The region boasts 5 Eco-municipalities, the successful Alliance for Sustainability and a wide variety of green initiatives including Energy Independent Community. The story highlights how UW Extension educators have been engaged in the initiative, as encouragement for others trying to implement sustainable community initiatives in their hometowns.
  • Star Community Rating System Technical Guide, provides guidance on how to use STAR to integrate sustainability into comprehensive, strategic, and sustainability plans.
  • Sustainable Marshfield,” a Cooperative Extension video, is a narrative of Marshfield’s journey toward sustainability. This city of 20,000 in Central Wisconsin is taking action to improve quality of life, work toward energy independence and make the city a place that embraces the future.
  • The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) is an esteemed certification in the solar industry. The NABCEP locator map lists NABCEP certified solar professionals throughout North America with a search engine by state and certification category. Wisconsin has 41 NABCEP professionals: PV Installer (35), PV Technical Sales (4), Solar Heating Installer (2).
  • The UW- Madison Extension Environmental Resources Center  provides education, information and technical assistance to promote sustainable use of natural resources in program areas such as energy and climate, green building, access to plentiful, sustainably managed sources of food, water and energy.
  • Today in Energy, a webpage from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, provides a daily briefing on energy in the US. The briefings explain topical data, analysis, issues and trends to build understanding of energy issues. The webpage contains an archive of briefings back to 2011 and displays energy commodity prices for each day
  • Wisconsin Land Use Megatrends: Energy, 2013, gives an overview of energy production and consumption trends in Wisconsin over the past 30+ years and discusses the potential and land use impacts of different future energy scenarios.

Energy Policies

Local and Tribal Government Policies and Plans

  • The Clean Energy Green Bay Plan, adopted by the City of Green Bay in Brown County in December 2023, sets goals of using 100% renewable energy and achieving carbon neutrality community-wide by 2050. The plan serves as a roadmap for the next 5 to 10 years detailing actions the Green Bay Community can take to reduce its carbon footprint. It sets interim targets for emissions reductions by 2030 for buildings, clean electricity, and transportation. The comprehensive clean energy plan including data collection was created with a grant through the Office of Energy Innovation supporting a partnership between the City of Greenbay, Slipstream, Green Bay Water Utility and Green Bay Metro Transit Staff.
  • The Green Bay Resolution to join the Wisconsin Local Government Climate Coalition (WLGCC) was approved May 5, 2021. In addition, ity establishes a climate goal of 100% clean energy and carbon neutrality for the City of Green Bay by year 2050.
  • Dane County Climate Action Plan: Today’s Opportunity for a Better Tomorrow, April 2020 by the Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change presents the top program, policy, and project recommendations that will enable Dane County to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and put Dane County on a path to deep decarbonization.
  • Wisconsin Solar Model Ordinance, (17-pg. pdf) by Great Plains Institute, August 2020, addresses components to consider in a solar ordinance for both urban and rural local governments addressing land use conflicts, protecting access to solar, and encouraging appropriate local development.
  • 100% Renewable Madison: Achieving 100% Renewable Energy & Zero Net Carbon For City Operations & Leading The Community, a November 2018 report commissioned by the City of Madison, offers three paths with timelines and costs for the City to get to 100 percent renewable energy and carbon. The report includes strategies to accelerate progress toward reaching these goals particularly for local government operations, but also for the larger Madison area community. The City chose the 100 percent by 2030 goal for City operations as a result, which is guiding budgeting and programming for implementation.
  • Energy Independent Community Plans are linked on the Energy Independence tab of this website.
  • Middleton Renewable Energy Resolution, the 2018 100 Percent Renewable Energy Resolution for the City of Middleton in Dane County, seeks to address global warming through ambitious yet achievable targets for energy-use reduction and renewable energy generation for City operations and the community as a whole. The mayor signed the Mayors’ Pledge in 2017 to support the Paris Climate Agreement. The City plans to reduce energy use for City operations by at least 15 percent by 2030; and by 50 percent by 2050; for community-wide energy needs by at least 10 percent by 2030; and by 40 percent by 2050. The City plans to meet 66 percent of City operations with renewable energy by 2030; 88 percent by 2035; and 100 percent by 2040; 21 percent of community-wide energy needs with renewable energy by 2030; 80 percent by 2040; and 100 percent by 2050. For more information or information slides.
  • The Madison Sustainability Plan: Fostering Environmental, Economic and Social Resilience, a 2011 plan written by the Sustainable Madison Committee (SMC) for the City of Madison in Dane County, outlines the vision for becoming sustainable as well as goals in ten categories: Natural Systems; Planning and Design; Transportation; Energy and Climate; Economic Development; Employment and Workforce Development; Education, Arts, and Community; Affordability and Social Equity; Children, Health, and Safety; and Arts, Design, and Culture.

State Government Policies and Plans

  • State Of Wisconsin Clean Energy Plan and Updates 2022- present, is a site of the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy (OSCE) that is in charge of producing the state climate plan and the Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) for the US EPA that will enable Wisconsin to bring in federal funding for implementation projects.Site contains links to:
    State of Wisconsin Clean Energy Plan, April 2022
    State of Wisconsin Clean Energy Plan Progress Report, 2022-2023
  • Solar Power in Your Community guidebook by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) 2022 is designed to assist local government officials and stakeholders unlock environmental and economic benefits of increased solar deployment in their communities. This edition contains nearly 40 case studies from around the country that show field-tested approaches to reduce solar market barriers, highlights new technologies and strategies to maximize the benefits of solar, such as combining solar with energy storage to improve resilience, and emphasizes strategies for improving the equity of solar deployment at the local level.
  • The Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change Report, State of Wisconsin, December 2020, includes 55 climate solutions across nine sectors that will lay the foundation for the state to better adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change, while also seeking environmental justice and economic opportunities in renewable energy and conservation. See Climate Change Wisconsin
  • Wisconsin Executive Order #52 Relating to the Creation of the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change, October 2019: This task force, is a collaborative effort with individuals from all around Wisconsin, who will make recommendations on how Wisconsin combats the effects of climate change. Climate change is a grave threat to the health, safety, and economic well-being of people and communities throughout Wisconsin.
  • Executive Order #38  Relating to Clean Energy In Wisconsin.  This EO, issued August 2019 by Governor Tony Evers, orders the Department of Administration to create the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy with the goal of ensuring all electricity consumed within the State of Wisconsin is 100 percent carbon -free by 2050.
  • Wisconsin Division of Facilities Development and Management Sustainability Guidelines for Capital Projects, reviewed April 2023, WI DOA
  • Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change First Meeting, recorded by WisEye, December 19,2019
  • Chapter PSC 119 Interconnection: Rules for Interconnecting Distributed Generation Facilities, a 2017 Chapter from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, outlines rules for distributed generation in Wisconsin.
  • Solar and Wind Access Laws Wisconsin has several laws to protect a resident’s rights to install and operate solar systems and wind.
    • Wis. Stat. § 60.61 limits local zoning restrictions. It specifically authorizes towns to enact zoning ordinances to provide “adequate access to sunlight for solar collectors and to wind for wind energy systems.”
    • Under Wis. Stat. § 66.0401, local governments — counties, towns, cities and villages — may not place any restriction on the installation or use of solar or wind energy systems unless the restriction:
      • serves to preserve or protect public health or safety
      • does not significantly increase system cost or efficiency
      • allows for an alternative system of comparable cost and efficiency
    • Wis. Stat. § 236.292 limits private land use restrictions. It voids all restrictions on platted land that prevent or unduly restrict the construction or operation of solar and wind energy systems. This law effectively prohibits private land use controls (e.g., deed restrictions, homeowner association regulations, easements, etc.) from preventing the installation and operation of wind and solar energy systems.
    • Wis. Stat. § 700.41 and Wis. Stat. § 844.22 ensure and maintain a person’s right to sun wind into the future against development that blocks solar access and vegetative growth that interferes with solar or wind system function.

Federal Government Policies and Plans

  • The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signed into law by President Biden, August 16, 2022 reduces the cost of health care, energy, and prescription drugs to lower inflation. It invests $391 Billion into transitioning the US to a clean energy economy. This includes: funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy and transmission; energy efficient buildings including affordable housing; conservation and resilience; manufacturing and Industrial decarbonization; climate-smart agriculture; electric vehicles and clean fuels; pollution reduction and environmental justice; and, clean energy workforce and economic development touching all sectors (from homeowners to tribes and businesses). Funding is available through a variety of avenues such as grants, tax credits, rebates (for EVs at time of sale), and competitive prizes. View The IRA Guidebook or read the Senate’s 1-Page IRA summary
  • Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)  is a $550 billion dollar funding package through fiscal year 2024 that supports general infrastructure (e.g., bridges, roads, and railroads), clean energy, and workforce development. Learn how BIL is delivering for Wisconsin, July 2022
  • Justice40 (J40) – Federal government-wide goal ( Executive Order 14008 Section 223 signed January 2021) that requires federal agencies to deliver 40% of the overall benefits from climate and clean energy investments to disadvantaged communities. This includes: investments in energy efficiency and clean energy, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of clean water infrastructure. J40 aims to address the historical inequities and disparities to BIPOC, rural, and disadvantages people across the US in exposure to pollution and climate risks. J40 works by providing underserved communities. with the opportunity to acquire federal money to invest in their workers and businesses to support sustainable and equitable outcomes.
  • Executive Order: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad  from January 2021

    Executive Order: Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackling the Climate Crisis from January 2021

    Rejoining the Paris Agreement from January 2021

Studies/Reports

  • How the Inflation Reduction Act Can Save You Money on Home Energy Costs, Jenny Abel, Tobe, E., Gruder, S., Ruemenapp, M., published October 2023 is a fact sheet for homeowners, renters, and those counseling them that shows funding available for home energy efficiency upgrades, renewable energy, and clean vehicles through the Inflation Reduction Act and how to access it.
  • Solar Installations.  The information on this Department of Natural Resources (DNR) webpage is provided to help explore early planning opportunities, permitting requirements, long-term land use, life cycle analysis and equity-based evaluations for developing your solar infrastructure project.
  • A Directory of State Clean Energy Programs and Policies for Low- and Moderate-Income Residents (March 2021) by Clean Energy States Alliance, lists and describes state clean energy programs for LMI residents and communities. It focuses primarily on clean energy generation, but also covers energy efficiency and thermal energy programs that include clean energy technologies. It contains only those state programs that feature strategies targeted specifically at LMI residents or communities. Wisconsin is not included. It does not include programs that are carried out by non-state parties, unless the programs are funded or administered by a state entity. It does not include federally funded low-income weatherization programs.
  • Transmission Lines and Birds by the National Audubon Society presents the organization’s support for managing and siting transmission lines responsibly to be safer for birds. Transmission lines are a critical to delivering energy from renewable sources to consumers. Because the nationwide network of power lines is so vast, millions of birds are killed each year in collisions – much more than from wind turbines. As a result, Audubon advocates for putting renewable energy projects close to consumers in order to minimize the length of power lines, for underground high-voltage lines to eliminate impacts to birds, whenever feasible, which also protects power lines from storms and wildfires, and other measures.
  • Securing Wisconsin’s Energy Future – A Wisconsin’s Green Fire Policy Analysis
    This February 2020 white paper by Gary Radloff addresses developments in energy distribution and management that help shape opportunities to improve Wisconsin’s energy system, and recommends policy for the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) and the state to move toward implementing the opportunities. The greatest opportunity highlighted is to focus future investments in modernizing Wisconsin’s energy system to enhance energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve system reliability and resiliency.
  • The Wisconsin Clean Energy Toolkit by RENEW Wisconsin, Wisconsin Conservation Voters, and Sierra Club is a comprehensive guide to energy policy options in Wisconsin. This resource is designed to help guide communities of varying sizes and with differing resources as they consider, craft, and implement clean energy policies, and how to ensure the greatest return on potential clean energy investments.
  • A Tale of Two States: Minnesota’s Clean Energy Policies Outpace Wisconsin’s, This Environmental Law and Policy Center report compares the clean energy policies and performance of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
  • Renewables 2023 Global Status Report is a collection of 5 publications on ongoing developments and trends in renewables from REN21, an alliance of governments, NGOs, industry groups and more, highlights the current status of the global solar and clean energy market. The 2023 collection consists of modules in: Renewables in Energy DemandRenewables in Energy SupplyEconomic and Social Value CreationEnergy Systems and Infrastructure, and the Global Overview.  Each module contains three key areas: renewable energy targets and policies, finance and investment, and market developments.
  • Standards and Requirements for Solar Equipment, Installation, and Licensing and Certification: A Guide for States and Municipalities, a 2017 guide from the Clean Energy States Alliance, provides information on standards and requirements for solar equipment, installation, and licensing and certification. The guide is designed for state and municipal officials who are developing or revising solar standards and requirements.
  • Shared Renewable Energy for Low- to Moderate-Income Consumers: Policy Guidelines and Model Provisions, by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), March 2016, provides information and tools for policymakers, regulators, utilities, shared renewable energy developers, program administrators and others to support the adoption and implementation of shared renewables programs specifically designed to provide tangible benefits to LMI customers.
  • A Handbook for States: Incorporating Renewable Energy Into State Compliance Plans for EPA’s Clean Power Plan, a 2015 publication from the American Wind Energy Association and the Solar Energy Industries Association, details how states can incorporate renewable energy into their plans to comply with the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. Renewable energy can provide large emissions reductions in a cost-effective manner when part of a balanced energy portfolio and can provide positive economic returns to a state. This handbook contains detailed information on the impacts of renewable energy policies and programs, calculating carbon reductions from renewable energy, and drafting compliance plans incorporating renewable energy.
  • Solar Power Purchase Agreements: a Toolkit for Local Governments, a 2015 toolkit from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), can help local governments overcome the common challenges and costs associated with solar power purchase agreements (PPAs). The toolkit is intended to provide the information local governments need to accomplish their solar procurement goals. It contains a variety of resources including general guidance on Request for Proposal (RFP), previously published reports, fact sheets, model PPAs, prior webinars, example RFPs, and executed PPAs.
  • Deploying Distributed Energy Storage: Near-Term Regulatory Considerations to Maximize Benefits, a 2015 report from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), identifies near-term regulatory policy considerations to help regulators and to facilitate growth in distributed energy storage. The report reviews current state policies and examines: Updating interconnection standards, clarifying eligibility rules for Net Energy Metering programs, creating markets for ancillary services and demand response, designing rate structures that send economic signals to energy storage customers, and implementing a broader scope for distribution system planning and management.
  • Nevada Net Energy Metering Impacts Evaluation, a 2014 study from Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc. for the Nevada Public Utilities Commission, investigates the value of distributed solar to the state’s utilities. Findings for 2014 and 2015 are that, under the current rate structure, rooftop solar reduces costs for all. It is a net benefit to the utility companies and to all Nevada ratepayers – even customers without solar.
  • Evaluation of Net Metering in Vermont, a 2014-revised report for the Vermont Public Service Department, analyzes the cross-subsidization effects of net metering on Vermont’s ratepayers. Cross-subsidization exists when customers using net metering systems do not pay for utility fixed cost and those costs are shifted onto other retail electricity customers. The report found that net-metered systems do not impose a significant net cost to ratepayers who are not net metering participants.
  • Third-Party Distributed Generation: Issues and Challenges for Policymakers, a 2014 report from the Energy Center of Wisconsin (now Slipstream), addresses the impact that third-party distributed generation has on utilities and the associated rate design implications. With solar PV system installations increasing and third-party distributed generation contributing to the trend, utilities have acted to reduce the short-term financial impact by requesting approval of increased monthly fixed fees for customers. This report focuses on the market trends in distributed generation, policy actions of different states, and details the current utility cost.
  • Guide to Successful Implementation of State Combined Heat and Power Policies, a 2013 report from the State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network, provides state utility regulators and other state policymakers with actionable information to assist them in implementing key state policies that impact combined heat and power.
  • Solar Power Generation in the US: Too Expensive or a Bargain?, a 2011 report, identifies the combined value that solar electric power plants deliver to utility ratepayers and society’s taxpayers. Using New York as a case study, the report found that, overall, solar electric installations deliver between 15 to 40 cents per kWh to ratepayers and taxpayers. The report identified benefits from solar electric power plants, which include environmental, fuel price mitigation, outage risk protection, and long-term economic growth components.
  • Toward a Sustainable Community: A Toolkit for Local Government, a toolkit from UW-Extension, provides ideas and descriptions of specific actions that a local government can take to transform itself into a model of sustainable practices. These are practices that can result in cost savings and increased employment, as well as enhance environmental quality and community well-being. The message of this toolkit is simple: Local governments can lead by example.

Equity & Justice40

Federal Government Policies and Plans

  • Justice40 (J40) – Federal government-wide goal ( Executive Order 14008 Section 223 signed January 2021) that requires federal agencies to deliver 40% of the overall benefits from climate and clean energy investments to disadvantaged communities. This includes: investments in energy efficiency and clean energy, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of clean water infrastructure. J40 aims to address the historical inequities and disparities to BIPOC, rural, and disadvantages people across the US in exposure to pollution and climate risks. J40 works by providing underserved communities. with the opportunity to acquire federal money to invest in their workers and businesses to support sustainable and equitable outcomes.
  • Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – is a $550 billion dollar funding package through fiscal year 2024 that supports general infrastructure (e.g., bridges, roads, and railroads), clean energy, and workforce development. Learn how BIL is delivering for Wisconsin, July 2022

Tools

  • Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) by the US Council on Environmental Quality)  has an interactive map and uses datasets that are indicators of burdens in eight categories: climate change, energy, health, housing, legacy pollution, transportation, water and wastewater, and workforce development. The tool uses this information to identify communities that are experiencing these burdens. These are the communities that are disadvantaged because they are overburdened and underserved.
  • Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) includes a collection of incentives and policies in Wisconsin that support renewable and energy efficiency.
  • HUD Exchange Rural Gateway is an information clearinghouse providing technical assistance, training, workshops, and peer learning and resource sharing to support rural housing and economic development.

Organizations

  • Great Lakes Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center hub ( Great Lakes EJ TCTAC) oversees efforts in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio to help underserved remote rural and tribal communities successfully navigate funding for projects in clean energy, pollution clean-up, and green workforce development. The Great Lakes TCTAC partners include University Extension offices in each state along with other key partners that will help the rural and tribal communities in the region. If you are interested in receiving support from the Great Lakes TCTAC, please fill out this short intake form.
  • Blacks in Green is a nonprofit organization selected by EPA to lead an Environmental Justice Technical Assistance center serving Black, Brown, and underserved communities in EPA Region 5  (including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio) that are disproportionately affected by pollution and climate change. They will help communities build capacity, identify solutions, and obtain relevant training to address environmental injustices.
  • The Community, Equity and Resiliency (CER) initiative, through collaboration of Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) and Office of Environmental Justice & External Civil Rights (OEJECR),  shares information, helps build community-driven partnerships, and engages with communities with the Inflation Reduction Act and other new Investing in America funding opportunities. The two-phased initiative begins with the Virtual Open House and is followed by the in-person Regional Roadshow events. During these events communities, partners, and grant applicants can learn, connect, and cultivate ideas on how EPA funding opportunities can create environmental and climate justice improvements in their community.
  • The Department of Energy Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs provides federally recognized Indian tribes, including Alaska Native villages, tribal energy resource development organizations, and other organized tribal groups and communities with technical assistance at no cost to advance tribal energy projects. Technicians provide support to assist Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages with energy planning, housing, and building energy efficiency, project development, policy and regulation, resilience, and village power.
  • Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation: Building Rural Communities helps rural stakeholders navigate programs and resources serving rural communities and businesses.

Resources

  • The U.S. Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs Current Funding Opportunities webpage identifies grants currently available for Tribal communities through the federal government.
  • DOE’s Tribal Nations and Native Communities Resource Guide, February 2024, from the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, provides resources for Tribal Nations to access and deploy clean energy funding opportunities. The guide covers DOE funding opportunities, clean energy tax credits,  clearinghouses for tribal entities, and administration resources.
  • Justice40 Initiative Covered Programs List published  by the Biden-Harris Administration, November 2023, lists the Inflation Reduction Act programs working to advance the Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Some key benefits will be cleaner air, good-paying jobs, and affordable clean energy. The 74 Inflation Reduction Act grant, rebate, loan, and other funding programs covered by the Justice40 Initiative together add up to over $118 billion in federal funding from 19 federal agencies. Learn more about the Justice40 Initiative here.
  • Who supports climate justice in the U.S.? by Jennifer Carman, et al at Yale University and George Mason University, November 2023. This study by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that 65% of Americans have not heard of climate justice but once they read about it, 53% support it. Across most demographic groups, a majority of Americans support the goals of climate justice after learning about them. The study identifies which are most supportive of, and willing to vote for policies, candidates, and overall goal advancing climate justice.
  • Feeling the Heat: Climate Change’s Impact on Worker Financial Security, by Commonwealth, October 2023 is both an infographic and a report based on an online survey of 1,200 workers in the U.S. with household incomes between $30,000 and $80,000. The findings summarize the financial impact that workers say they are experiencing due to climate change; how their health, well-being, and living situations have been impacted; and their perceptions of what institutions can—and should—be doing to mitigate the impact of climate change on workers’ finances.
  • Federal Energy Funding for Rural and Remote Areas: A Guide for Communities, October 2023, by DOE is designed to support members, partners, and decision makers of rural and remote communities in searching for federal funding to plan or build local clean energy projects. It includes sections on questions to ask before applying for federal funding, tips for navigating the federal funding process, understanding the federal process, finding federal funding relevant for your rural or remote community and an appendix for tribes.
  • Leading with Equity: Recommendations for State Decision Makers, Utilities, and Regulators to Advance Energy Equity, by ACEEE, February 7, 2023, provides State agency decisionmakers, utilities and regulatory bodies with expertise from the communities most impacted by climate change, the energy system and high energy bills.  Decision makers can use the factsheet to make comprehensive energy saving services accessible to communities of color and low-income communities, as well as to better include disinvested communities in their decision making.
  • The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Tribal Playbook: a roadmap for delivering opportunity and investments in Indian Country, May 2022, helps guide Tribal communities to available funding through BIL. The guide covers programs and funding opportunities specific to Tribal communities and guidance on Tribal eligibility for other programs under the law.

Trainings & Webinars

Green & Zero Net Energy Buildings

Tools

  • Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) Program is a certification by US DOE for single, multi-family, and manufactured homes that are high-performance, healthy, and energy efficient.  These homes are so energy efficient that a renewable energy system could offset most or all the home’s annual energy use. The homes must meet rigorous criteria set forth in the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home National Program Requirements that serve as a roadmap for builders and developers to create high-performance homes. If they are certified by a DOE-recognized third-party certification organization, they become eligible for federal tax credits and utility company rebates. Wisconsin builders use the requirements for cold & very cold climates.
  • WELL Equity Rating by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) Health Equity Advisory empowers organizations to act and drive accountability toward their diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility goals. The WELL Equity Rating is a set of evidence-based strategies from the WELL Standard for transforming how places are designed, operated, and managed to create environments where everyone can thrive. By meeting at least 21 of 43 features, a project can earn a WELL Equity seal.As of 2023, dual LEED (Us Green Building Council) and WELL (International WELL Building Institute-IWBI) certifications that bridge the market will elevate green and healthy buildings along with equity in the built environment.  Certifications are being coordinated by GBCI – a third-party credentialing and verification party.
  • LEED-WELL Dual Certification Promotes Sustainability, Health, & Equity As of 2023, dual LEED and WELL certifications will bridge the market and elevate green and healthy buildings along with equity in the built environment.  By partnering, the US Green Building Council and International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) are increasing opportunities for the uptake of LEED and WELL. This could be especially useful with people returning to the workplace after the COVID19 pandemic and with the emphasis on equity for Federal Inflation Reduction Act funding.  A study in the Journal of Building and Environment, September 2022, found occupants in WELL Certified buildings experienced increases in workplace satisfaction (by 30%), well-being (by 26%), mental health (10%), and productivity (10% increase).  Also, productivity and profitability have been found to be better in diverse and inclusive workplaces. Recently, a WELL Equity Rating was launched that empowers organizations to act and drive accountability toward their diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility goals. The WELL Equity Rating is a set of evidence-based strategies from the WELL Standard for transforming how places are designed, operated, and managed to create environments where everyone can thrive. By meeting at least 21 of 43 features, a project can earn a WELL Equity seal. WELL Press Release.
  • Envision, supported by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI), is a consensus-based framework and rating system for assessing sustainability, resiliency, and equity in civil infrastructure.  Envision is a comprehensive tool that can assist public and private agencies in delivering civil infrastructure that tackles climate change, addresses public health needs, cultivates environmental justice, creates jobs, and spurs economic recovery. ISI was founded by The American Public Works Association (APWA), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).
  • An insider’s guide to talking about carbon neutral buildings by New Buildings Institute (NBI), November, 2021, aims to provide a framework to help people talk about the transition to carbon neutral building design, construction, and operations,  including both operational and embodied carbon sources, consistently and with clarity. This document explains the relationship between energy and carbon metrics in the built environment and presents the common building components necessary for a carbon neutral future. Each carbon neutral component focuses primarily on building operations and is presented at a high level. The details behind each element can be adjusted to fit specific program needs. An on-demand webinar is also available to explain the guide and real-life applications.
  • EPA’s Benchmarking and Building Performance Standards Policy Toolkit, February 2021, aims to inform and support state and local government decision makers who are exploring adopting policies focused on reducing energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing commercial and multifamily buildings in their communities.
  • The Building Decarbonization Code is a tool by New Buildings Institute, February 2021 that aims to deliver carbon neutral performance. It is code language that serves as a building decarbonization overlay to the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and covers both residential and commercial construction. It is designed to help states and cities working to mitigate carbon resulting from energy use in the built environment, which accounts for 39% of U.S. emissions. Also, it offers market insight into rules that will determine how new buildings are designed and constructed in the future in order to curb the worst impacts of climate change.
  • The New Building Institute website contains many tools on zero net energy buildings
  • The Arc Platform takes data and turns it into a performance score and a visual graphic. Now, Arc can be used for free. The Arc platform allows users to measure performance, make improvements and benchmark against other projects. Arc is a complement to LEED and other green building rating systems, standards, protocols and guidelines and allows buildings and spaces to compare performance metrics and connect those metrics to green building strategies. Arc enables incremental improvements and can put a project on track for LEED or other rating system certification. Learn more at http://arcskoru.com/.

    For example, Arc can be used to upload energy data for each building. The platform automatically updates the energy score and calculates carbon impacts. It is compatible with Energy Star Portfolio Manager. For a tutorial on how to enter energy data into arc by meter, and how to share data from Portfolio Manager to arc, see YouTube

  • A Citizen’s Guide to LEED for Neighborhood Development: How to Tell if Development is Smart and Green, by Raimi + Associates and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC),  is a hands-on introduction to better community planning and design developed for local environmental groups, smart growth organizations, neighborhood residents and those interested in making their communities greener. It explains the environmental standard called LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) administered by the US Green Building Council & co-developed by USGBC, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Congress for the New Urbanism. It covers topics including: Smart growth and land use planning;  Transportation; Sustainable design and livable cities; Environmental advocacy and natural resource protection; Housing and affordability; Climate change and action; Equity and social justice; and, Public health.
  • Energy Savings Plus Health: Indoor Air Quality Guidelines for Multifamily Building Upgrades, is an EPA publication to help ensure that energy upgrades to multifamily buildings don’t come at the expense of healthy indoor air.  Organized around a set of 24 priority issues addressing key pollutants, sources and building systems, the guidelines outline specific assessment protocols for 16 different types of energy or other building upgrades.  EPA also developed a “Checklist Generator” tool that lets a user zero in on just the guidelines relevant to the project being undertaken, including a verification checklist to help track progress of recommended actions.
  • Energy Savings Plus Health:  Indoor Quality Guidelines for School Buildings Upgrades, created by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2015 to help school officials protect and improve indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools during building upgrades.​
  • Green Buildings for Cool Cities: A Guide for Advancing Local Green Building Policies by the US Green Building Council and Sierra Club, provides cost effective steps and avenues local governments can take to reduce energy use and green gas emissions of buildings. Buildings are important to target given that they use 70 percent of US electricity and are responsible for 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. This guide includes examples of municipalities engaged in each of the programs highlighted. First published January 2011, Green Buildings for Cool Cities will be updated in 2016.
  • Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Governments by US EPA, this 2010 resources guides local officials through assessing their codes and ordinances in relation to green building. This can help officials remove any barriers to sustainable design.
  • Roadmap to Green Government Buildings, from the US Green Building Council, is a guide for government professionals implementing green building programs and initiatives. It highlights key issues and references resources created by government green building experts.
  • Wisconsin LEED Certified Buildings, a searchable database of LEED certified commercial projects in the state, compiled by UW-Extension is no longer supported and on-line. However, it showed that as of February 2016, Wisconsin had more than 600 LEED certified and registered projects with most of the buildings in the Quad counties that include Milwaukee, followed by the southern then eastern districts (includes Green Bay and Fox Valley).  LEED Gold certification was earned by 109 buildings with 23 at the platinum level. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building rating system of the US Green Building Council.

Studies/Reports

  • Eau Claire Net Zero Energy Building Guide, January 2020 draft, is a tool for use by the municipality, institutions, businesses, residents, and others in the advancement of Net Zero Energy buildings within the City and larger metro area. The guide can be used for new construction and existing buildings.
  • National Roadmap for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings, USDOE, May 2021 outlines DOE’s national goal to triple the energy efficiency and demand flexibility of the buildings sector by 2030, relative to 2020 levels.  Grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) can remake buildings into a clean and flexible energy resource. The roadmap includes 14 recommendations to overcome barriers to achieving the full potential, adoption and deployment of grid-interactive buildings.
  • Green Infrastructure for Dane County: Benefits Add Up is a white paper by the Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change, January 2020. This white paper describes eight green infrastructure options and highlights innovative green infrastructure projects across the Midwest and around the world and provides a cost benefit analysis of a green roof.
  • Re-forming the Building Industry: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is one of a two-part report feature article from BuildingGreen, January 2020The report explores the depth and breadth of the building sector’s equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) problem; the negative implications for the industry; and some things individuals and firms can do to motivate change.
  • Net Zero Energy: Pipedream to Reality, slide presentation to APA Wisconsin by Ted Redmond –paleBLUEdot LLC and Ned Noel, City of Eau Claire, WI, October 2019
  • The Impact of Fossil Fuels in Buildings: A Fact Base, by Rocky Mountain Institute, 2019, analyzes direct building emissions, showing where they come from and how they fit into the overall emissions picture in the US. They are searchable by state. These data and charts also provide an understanding of the utilities and infrastructure that deliver gas, the buildings and appliances that use it, and implications for air quality and human health.
  • The Inevitable Solar School: Building the Sustainable Schools of the Future, Today by Mark Hanson,  Director of Sustainable Design Services at Hoffman Planning, Design & Construction, August 2019. The purpose of the book is to encourage public and private schools to build zero energy solar schools. The book describes the two major forces that are driving public and private schools and other buildings to solar energy. These forces are the recognition of climate change and the cost advantage of on-site solar energy. Either force would be sufficient reason on its own to change the school market, but in combination they become indominable.
  • Driving to Net 0: Stories of Hope for a Carbon Free Future – by David J Hrivnak,  September 2018, Scientists say we need to reduce our use of fossil fuels by 80% or more to avert the most dangerous effects of global warming. But is such a drastic cut possible without totally disrupting our lifestyle? The short answer is yes as the contributors of this book have shown.
  • 2018 Getting to Zero Status Update and Zero Energy Buildings List, a report from New Buildings Institute, summarizes the growth and trends from nearly 500 certified, verified, and emerging zero energy projects across the U.S. and Canada. The 2018 list reflects a 700 percent increase in six years from 2012. Wisconsin has five projects: Aldo Leopold Legacy Center, Baraboo (2007), Appleton General Aviation Terminal (2013), Green Leaf Inn in Delavan (2013), UW Arlington Ag Research Station, and Gundersen Health Systems, LaCrosse (2013).
  • Green Buildings Could Save Our Cities, one of four National Geographic Urban Expeditions Series January 2017, is a series of infographics by the numbers that illustrate the role of buildings in cities and the beneficial impacts of green buildings on energy use, health, waste, water, environment and other factors.
  • Net-Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) Market Analysis By Equipment (Lighting, Walls & Roofs, HVAC Systems), By Services, By Type, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2014 – 2025, a 2017 report from Grand View Research, indicates that in 2016, the U.S. accounted for the largest market share of the net-zero energy building industry, where onsite renewable sources generate 100% of a building’s energy needs. The report analyzes net-zero energy building market trends and projects that the market will reach over $78 billion globally by 2025. Opportunities and barriers involved in achieving net-zero energy targets and the role that green buildings can play in business improvement efforts are discussed as well.
  • Case Study: Parking Ramp Solar Array in Healthcare, a 2015 report from the U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings Alliance, describes Gundersen Health System’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certified parking structure with solar PV panels that offset 100 percent of its energy needs.
  • Green Building Economic Impact Study, a 2015 report prepared for the U.S. Green Building Council, quantifies the economic impact of green construction and of Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) green building on the national and state economies. Findings include that green construction will be responsible for 1.1 million jobs and contribute $29.8 billion to the GDP by 2018, with LEED responsible for 386,000 jobs. See infographic for report summary.
  • The Cost of LEED v4, an updated report by BuildingGreen, answers questions by owners and design teams about the affordability of LEED certification and the costs associated with each sustainable design strategy on a LEED for a new construction project. The report details which credits are likely to produce cost savings, cost synergies for bundling credits, and other strategic information.

Webinars

  • NBI: Getting to Zero: Carbon Neutral Codes Webinar On Demand is a one-hour webinar by New Buildings Institute (NBI) on the opportunities for states and cities to leverage their energy codes in order to maximize carbon reductions and minimize costs including a broad overview of best practice strategies and approach in action. NBI staff introduce new “decarbonization code language” that it is compatible with the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and can be adopted as an overlay option. The code language and supporting guidance, which will help adopting agencies move to carbon neutral requirements in newly constructed homes and commercial buildings, prioritizes efficient electric equipment.

Public Health

Tools

  • Energy-Plus-Health Playbook was created primarily to support program administrators designing or developing energy efficiency programs. The 84-page Playbook outlines three program tiers with increasing levels of health and energy integration. Written and developed by Vermont Energy Investment Coporation (VEIC), with input from energy and health experts, funding for the Playbook was provided by E4TheFuture.
  • Wisconsin Department of Health Services, studies how climate impacts public health in Wisconsin, and uses that to create strategies, tools, and trainings to help communities prepare for health outcomes related to climate.

Studies/ Reports

  • Medical Alert! Climate Change is Harming Our Health, Patz, J.A., Lois, A.N., Clifford, S., Brossard, D., Maibach, E. , University of Wisconsin-Madison, October 2020. The report shows ways in which climate change is and will continue to affect Wisconsin communities. It looks to health professionals to discuss climate issues with the public and policymakers to highlight the importance for policy actions to protect Wisconsinites from harm. Health institutions are encouraged to move to clean energy. Public health professionals are asked to craft early warning systems for extreme weather events, while government leaders are encouraged to prepare for climate disruptions and build resilience.
  • Global mortality from outdoor fine particle pollution generated by fossil fuel combustion, Environmental Research, February 2021, by University of Birmingham, UK, Harvard University, University of Leicester, UK found that “more than 8 million people died in 2018 from fossil fuel pollution, significantly higher than previous research suggested, meaning that air pollution from burning fossil fuels like coal and diesel was responsible for about 1 in 5 deaths worldwide. Press release
  • Protecting the Health of Vulnerable Populations with In-Home Energy Efficiency: A Survey of Methods for Demonstrating Health Outcomes
    This Research Report from ACEEE, Sara Hayes and Ronald Denson Jr.,  October 2019 shows that energy efficiency programs can make homes safer and healthier while directly benefiting vulnerable families financially. Efficiency-related building upgrades can improve housing conditions, reduce exposure to air pollution, and strengthen the financial security of families by lowering energy bills (and health care costs).Energy efficiency programs may also address other basic building safety measures, such as handrails and smoke, radon, and carbon monoxide detectors. These measures save lives. opportunity for energy and health professionals to work in tandem. Home-based energy efficiency interventions align well with the shift toward preventive health services and the increased focus on addressing the social determinants of health.
  • Estimating the Health Benefits per-Kilowatt Hour of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, by EPA in 2020, enumerates ways in which policymakers can ensure that this public-health value is reflected in energy planning, resource acquisition, utility dispatch and electric rate design.  It helps local and state governments estimate the outdoor air quality-related public health benefits of investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy (EE/RE) by providing monetized values for health benefits in dollars and cents per kilowatt hour for 4 strategies: energy efficiency, peak energy efficiency, solar energy and wind energy.
  • TedxOshkosh 2018: “Climate Change is Affecting Our Health. Is There a Cure?”
  • UW Research: Energy Efficiency Saves Lives, according to a March 2019 paper by UW researchers Air Quality-Related Health Benefits of Energy Efficiency in the United States, in American Chemical Society Publications. Their study quantified air emissions from power plants in the summer with mortality impacts, focusing on nitrous oxide (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, along with fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

  • In Fracking’s Wake: New Rules are Needed to Protect Our Health and Environment from Contaminated Wastewater, a 2012 report published by Natural Resources Defense Council, evaluates federal and state laws regulating the wastewater generated with hydraulic fracking and reviews the health and environmental risks posed by the waste stream and current disposal methods.

Renewable Energy and Storage

Studies/Reports/Tools

  • V2X Implementation Guide:  Implementation Guide and Mutual Air Agreement Template for Using Vehicle-to-Everything-Enabled Electri School Buses as Mobile Power Units to Enhance Resilience During Emergencies  guide describes the potential to use V2X-enabled ESBs as alternative emergency backup power sources during outages. The guide includes detailed steps for emergency managers and responders and other key stakeholders, such as school districts, school facility managers, and electric utilities, to take before, during, and after an emergency to deploy bidirectionally enabled ESBs to provide emergency backup power.
  • A new program is making battery storage affordable for affordable housing (and everyone else), Published March 9, 2021. The battery storage market for homes and businesses has been steadily growing over the past few years, driven by falling battery prices, demand for reliable backup power and the potential to cut energy expenses. However, the uptake of customer-sited battery storage has not been equally distributed across geographic regions or customer types, with higher-income households driving residential sales and larger energy users with high utility demand charges leading the commercial sector. This has left many behind, particularly lower-income households and small-commercial properties, like community nonprofits and affordable housing providers.

    However, a battery storage program first launched in Massachusetts, and now available in Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire, is beginning to transform the landscape for battery storage in homes, businesses and nonprofits. Unlike most battery storage programs and incentives, the design of the program, known as ConnectedSolutions in Massachusetts, focuses on supporting the energy needs of the regional electric grid instead of limiting the benefits to individual facilities…

  • 2050: The Hydrogen Possibility, a report by Wood MacKenzie, February 2021, details how green hydrogen is set to play a substantive role in the overall energy mix, with its development likely to happen faster than anyone predicts.
  • The Renewable Energy Resource Hub by US DOE Better Buildings is a one-stop-shop for dozens of tools, resources, and best practices to help organizations evaluate the viability of using renewables and overcome common barriers to implementation. The hub covers: renewables basicsthe business casefinancing renewable energy projects, how to overcome technical barriers, understanding and navigating utility and policy barriers and incorporating green power into energy procurement.
  • Battery Storage in the United States: An Update on Market Trends, This report, by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), July 2020, examines trends in large-scale battery storage systems across the US grid as of 2018. It includes information on applications, cost, trends and market and policy drivers. At the end of 2018, 869 MW of power capacity of large-scale battery storage was in operation in the US, over 90 percent of which was lithium-ion battery chemistries.

  • U.S. Renewable Energy Factsheet, published in 2019 by Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan outlines the United States current fuel mix and the predicted role renewables will play in the increasing energy demand.
  • Renewable Energy: A Gender Perspective, a 2019 report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), analyzes extensive survey data they collected on gender equality in the renewable energy industry to ensure equitable distribution for the large job growth accompanying the global energy transition to renewable, distributed energy systems. Researchers found that globally, women are largely underrepresented, though renewable energy employs more women than the energy sector overall at 32 percent compared to 22 percent. Opportunities and barriers to gender equality are explored, including the diverse skill sets needed along the renewable energy supply chain as opportunities, with perceptions of gender roles that hinder women from pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers as barriers. The researchers propose policies and solutions to advance gender equality in the renewable energy sector. A Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition (GWNET) has launched along with the second women’s mentoring program beginning March 2019.
  • New U.S. Power Costs: by County, with Environmental Externalities, July 2016, the first in a series of white papers from the University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute about the full cost of electricity. The study examines the total direct and indirect costs of generating and delivering electricity under the quickly changing conditions of the U.S. power industry. The researchers conclude that natural gas combined cycle, wind, and nuclear power appear the least-cost options across the most counties. The researchers created online calculators, as well, for people who want to understand the dynamics of determining the full cost of electricity. Daily Energy Insider
  • Clean Edge’s 2016 US Clean Tech Leadership Index tracks and ranks the clean-tech activities of all 50 states and the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S. – from EV (electric vehicles) and renewables adoption to policy, green building and investment activity. The Index is a tool for regional comparative research, a source for aggregated industry data, and a jumping-off point for deep, data-driven analysis of the U.S. clean-tech market.
  • Revolution Now: The Future Arrives for Four Clean Energy Technologies, revised in 2015. This US Department of Energy report focuses on four technology revolutions that are here today: onshore wind power, polysilicon photovoltaic modules, LED lighting, and electric vehicles. Since 2008 they have achieved dramatic reductions in cost accompanied by a surge in consumer, industrial and commercial deployment. This analysis explains both the magnitude of and mechanisms behind these nascent revolutions. Each of the sectors examined has also become a major opportunity for America’s clean energy economy.
  • Renewable Electricity Futures Study, This NREL, 2012 study explores the implications and challenges of very high renewable electricity generation levels—from 30% up to 90%, focusing on 80%, of all U.S. electricity generation—in 2050. It provides initial answers to important questions about the integration of high penetrations of renewable electricity technologies from a national perspective, focusing on key technical implications.
  • Planning and Zoning for ‘Frac Sand’ Mining, a 2012 report from UW-Extension, discusses characteristics and processing of frac sand and the regulation of frac sand mining, focusing on comprehensive planning and zoning.
  • Powering the New Energy Future from the Ground Up,” from nonprofit organization Climate Solutions published in July 2012, profiles a diverse range of cities that are testing and refining local clean energy and energy efficiency strategies. The report describes city-led clean energy economic developments including financial mechanisms, pilot projects, and clean energy marketing.
  • Project Profiles, compiled by RENEW Wisconsin, provides descriptions of renewable energy projects across the state, with links to resources for each project. The listing includes solar, wind and biogas projects.
  • Shares of electricity generation from renewable energy sources up in many states,” a post on the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Today in Energy blog, maps the renewable share of total electricity generation by state with and without hydroelectric generation comparing the statistic in 2001 and 2011.

Webinars/Videos

  • Energy Storage Workshops, Sandia National Labs and Maryland PSC, recorded webinars, March – April 2020:
  • Hydrofrac Sand: The Resource and the Issues in Wisconsin, a 2011 lecture by Professor Bruce A. Brown of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, provides information on Wisconsin’s hydrofrac sand characteristics, resource locations, and potential problems of mining

Resiliency

Tools

  • Planning for Power: Tools and Resources for Energy Resilience by Better Buildings is a YouTube video of a May 27, 2021 webinar presented by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the National Renewable Energy Lab.   Building managers, community planners, and policymakers are turning to distributed generation and storage technologies to help critical facilities remain operational when they are needed most. In this “hands-on” workshop, experts guided participants through publicly available online tools for energy resilience planning, such as REopt Lite and DER-CAM, that can assist in site-specific optimization of onsite generation and backup power. Attendees also learned about available funding resources to help resilience projects come to fruition.
  • Community Outreach and Solar Equity: A Guide for States on Collaborating with Community-Based Organizations by Clean Energy States Alliance February 2021 is aimed at state energy agencies that are looking to strengthen their relationships with local under-resourced communities or are beginning to engage in energy justice work. The guide is a collection of best practices, ideas, and principles that provide states a foundation for building equitable relationships with community-based organizations (CBOs) and for working with them on solar development.
  • State and Local Planning for Energy (SLOPE), is a data-driven online platform designed to help state and local decision makers understand the different ways they can meet their energy goals. Brought to you by eight U.S. Department of Energy technology offices and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), State and Local Planning for Energy (SLOPE), SLOPE integrates dozens of distinct sources of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and, soon, sustainable transportation data and analyses. Contact slope@nrel.gov with questions or feedback, and download this fact sheet to learn more.

Studies/Reports

  • Revolutionary Power: An Activist’s Guide to the Energy Revolution, a book by Shalanda Baker, co-director and co-founder of the Initiative for Energy Justice at Northeastern University, will be published January 2021. Baker explains how this unique moment in history provides an unprecedented opening for a deeper transformation of the energy system and urges people of color, poor people, and indigenous people to engage in creating a new energy system to upend the unequal power dynamics of the current system. Revolutionary Power contains a step-by-step analysis of energy policy areas that are ripe for intervention.
  • Green Infrastructure for Dane County: Benefits Add Up is a white paper by the Dane County Office of Energy & Climate Change, January 2020. This white paper describes eight green infrastructure options and highlights innovative green infrastructure projects across the Midwest and around the world and provides a cost benefit analysis of a green roof.
  • How Distributed Energy Resources Can Improve Resilience in Public Buildings: Three Case Studies and a Step-by-Step Guide, by Better Buildings, USDOE, September 2019 includes: benefits of integrating energy efficiency with other distributed energy to achieve resilience objectives; microgrids and distributed energy resources for resilience in critical infrastructure; two tools to analyze distributed energy options at critical facilities with case studies; and step-by-step guidance for conducting new analysis. Video presentation on DERs for Cost Savings and Resilience,  June 2020
  • How Cities Are Paying for Climate Resilience: Playbook 1.0, by Innovation Network for Communities, July 2019 explores the strategies that reflect the leading-edge of urban climate-resilience financing practices. It reviews 8 distinct strategies to obtain public and private financial resources that pay for large-scale climate-resilience. These strategies amount to an initial approach—”Playbook 1.0″—for deciding who will pay what and how city governments will generate the needed revenue.
  • Measuring Community Resilience with the STAR Community Rating System, published in 2018 by STAR Communities – a partnership between ICLEI and the US Green Building Council, is designed for local government staff and community leaders. It provides guidance on how to use the STAR Community Rating System to measure and improve local resiliency. This guide presents information, metrics, and case studies that communities can use to measure local resilience, recognize connected community systems, learn about best practices, and start setting a path towards becoming a more resilient and sustainable community.
  • Resilient Solar Case Study: The Marcus Garvey Apartments Microgrid, 2017, is a case study from the City University of New York’s Smart DG Hub examines the solar+storage microgrid system in the Marcus Garvey affordable housing complex in Brooklyn, New York, a neighborhood that experiences rolling blackouts more frequently than other parts of the city. The housing complex uses its solar+storage microgrid system to cut electricity costs, improve grid reliability, and provide resilient backup power for tenants during extended outages. The $1.3 million project features an anticipated 6.6 year system payback for the battery storage.
  • Smart DG Hub: Value of Resiliency Survey Results The City University of New York’s Smart DG Hub recently formed a Value of Resiliency (VoR) Strategy Team to recognize the value of resilience offered by solar+storage system installation. This report details the Smart DG Hub’s findings from interviews with three key industries—insurance, government, and banking.
  • A Framework for Local Action on Climate Change: 9 Ways Mayors Can Build Resilient and Just Cities This 2017 report by the Center for American Progress features cities across the U.S. that are taking steps to improve climate change resilience, along with the associated economic, racial, and social equity issues. Nine recommendations for mayors on designing and implementing climate change policies and preparedness strategies to build just and resilient cities while creating economic opportunities within their communities are included.
  • Solar and Storage for Energy and Resiliency guide, March 2016, about integrating solar into emergency preparedness by Utah Clean Energy provides essential information about solar + storage and how it can enhance resilience.
  • The EPA’s Combined Heat and Power guide, 2014 was also recently released by their Local Government and Climate and Energy Strategy Series.  This guide describes how local governments can utilize combined heat and power to achieve more efficient uses of existing, local energy sources and provides an overview of the benefits, costs, sources of funding, and case studies.
  • Creating Equitable, Healthy, and Sustainable Communities: Strategies for Advancing Smart Growth, Environmental Justice and Equitable Development, February 2013, a report by EPA offers low-income, minority, tribal and overburdened communities a range of approaches to shape development that responds to their needs and reflects their values. The report provides a menu of land use and community design strategies that community-based organizations, local and regional decision-makers, developers, and others can use to revitalize their communities. Case studies highlight seven communities that have used these strategies.

Solar

Solar Installers & Developers

Tools

  • Re-Powering America’s Land Initiative, by EPA (updated January 2024), encourages renewable energy development on current and formerly contaminated lands, landfills, and mine sites when that development aligns with the community’s vision for the site. This web page has resources on different topic areas and links to projects.
  • The U.S. Large-Scale Solar PV Database (USPVDB) released by the U.S. Geological Survey and DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory November 2023 is the largest and most comprehensive database to date on nearly 4,000 large-scale solar energy projects in the United States. USPVDB includes the location, size, and other characteristics of large-scale solar projects. This public resource is compiled to benefit research for large-scale solar energy development and inform siting and planning for future deployment.
  • The PVWatts Calculator, updated by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) January 2023, is a web application that estimates the electricity production of a grid-connected roof or ground-mounted photovoltaic system based on the system’s location, basic design parameters, and system economics. PVWatts calculates estimated values for the system’s annual and monthly electricity production, and for the monetary value of the electricity. The new version more accurately reflects PV performance outputs predicting a 7-9% greater energy output compared to the previous software.
  • SolSmart Program Guide, March 2023, by US Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office, provides resources to guide local governments through the national SolSmart designation program led by the City/ County Management Association. It recognizes local governments that have taken steps to address barriers to solar energy and provides no-cost technical assistance, through The Solar Foundation, to accelerate the development of local solar energy markets. More than 390 communities across the US with SolSmart designation are making it faster, easier, and more affordable for the community members to go solar. Categories addressed include: permitting and inspection, planning and zoning, government operations, community engagement, and market development.
  • National Simplified Residential PV and Energy Storage Permit Guidelines, by SolSmart were revised in September 2021 to help local governments develop an efficient and streamlined permit process for typical solar PV and storage projects. They assist communities to reduce unnecessary delays and cost while ensuring compliance with nationally recognized safety standards. The link to the pdf is at the top of the page.
  • SolSmart’s Local Government Solar Toolkit PLANNING, ZONING, AND PERMITTING Wisconsin, 2017, provides resources to assist communities in addressing barriers to solar energy installations tailored to each community’s needs. The Grow Solar Local Government Toolkit is a 3-state collaborative project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
  • Buzzing Around Solar: Pollinator Habitat Under Solar Arrays by USDOE Solar Energy Technologies Offices (SETO), June 2022 provides information on what pollinator-friendly solar is and the research projects funded by SETO in the Midwest and other areas to study its economic, ecological, and performance impacts and how to implement it at large scale.
  • Wisconsin Solar Model Ordinance, (17-pg. pdf) by Great Plains Institute, August 2020, addresses components to consider in a solar ordinance for both urban and rural local governments regarding rooftop, small scale, and large-scale solar installations. It covers land use issues, protecting access to solar, and encouraging appropriate local development.
  • Minnesota Solar Model Ordinance, 2020, from the Great Plains Institute: With increasing interest by property owners in solar energy installations, local governments have to address a variety of solar land uses in their development regulations. This model recognizes different community types and settings from rural to urban, all sizes and types of solar PV from roof and ground-mounted residential to large-scale solar. It addresses land uses, development standards, aesthetic standards, access issues, promotes solar-ready design and includes solar in regulatory incentives.
  • The CREATE Solar on Schools Toolkit contains resources to help schools plan and execute solar construction projects. Items include a ten step guide to creating a solar roadmap, a template request for solar development proposals, design considerations for school facilities, and other resources to expedite the solar on schools process. The Center for  Renewable Energy Advanced Technological Education (CREATE) is led by Madison College and funded by the National Science foundation. It is comprised of over 600 faculty and administrators representing hundreds of colleges, universities, and public school districts in all 50 states and three U.S. territories. Schools across the country are considering solar photovoltaic installations on campus to provide energy for their facilities and to provide an educational resource for students.
  • The Low-Income Solar Policy Guide, 2016-2020, was originally developed and launched in 2016 by nonprofits GRID AlternativesVote Solar, and the Center for Social Inclusion, to help drive the proposal and adoption of new low-income solar policies and programs, both as stand-alone efforts and as part of broader renewable energy programs. It is a tool for policymakers, community leaders and others who are working on solar access at the federal, state and local level.
  • Community Solar Business Case Tool, by Elevate, October 2017, provides a flexible financial model that projects the costs and benefits to the system developer and subscriber of a single community solar project. The tool development was supported by the US DOE SunShot Initiative’s Solar Market Pathways program.
  • Solar Finance Simulator (May 2017) is an online tool by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association that municipalities, universities, hospitals, and businesses can use to forecast the long-term impacts of 4 types of financial investments in solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Plugging in their own values, users can simulate and compare financial projections for direct ownership, power purchase agreement (PPA), debt financing, and operating lease. Please direct any questions about the simulator tool to info@midwestrenew.org
  • The FINDER model developed and used by Berkley Lab’s Electricity Markets & Policy Group, is applied in a range of independent research projects and in collaboration with state utility regulators and policymakers through technical assistance. Quantitative analysis includes evaluating the incremental impact of aggressive energy efficiency programs on U.S. utilities, as well as the incremental impact of increasing penetration of distributed solar photovoltaic systems on utilities and ratepayers. Applications of the FINDER model and analysis of model outputs have been used as part of technical assistance to a variety of state public utility commissions (PUCs). The model has also been used to support the State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network (SEE Action) with analysis used in workshops and trainings.

Webinars

  • EERE Siting Workshop #2: Challenges and Opportunities for Community Engagement hosted by USDOE, March 2, 2023 is a recorded video of a workshop for state energy officials, Ag Extension programs, and local officials focused on highlighting challenges and opportunities associated with engaging host communities in large scale renewable energy project siting and exploring the role that State Energy Organizations (SEOs) and other organizations can play in improving community engagement and siting outcomes. This is important in the context of federal goals of achieving a fully decarbonized power sector by 2035 and a fully net-zero economy by 2050, which necessitates a lot of new clean energy infrastructure – solar, wind, battery energy storage, and transmission. How projects are designed to minimize negative impacts and maximize meaningful community input in an effective process to provide equitable benefits to people in the communities that live by the infrastructure is the focus of this workshop.

Studies/ Reports

  • Impacts of non-residential solar on residential adoption decisions, a study by Berkeley National Lab and Tufts University, was published November 2023 in the journal Frontiers in Sustainable Energy Policy. The study shows that non-residential systems exert a continuous, long-term influence on residential adoption decisions. It explores separate results and influence mechanisms for solar installed on commercial buildings, government buildings, schools, and houses of worship. The results suggest that non-residential solar adopters could serve as partners in policies to “seed” residential adoption in underserved communities.
  • Snapshot of Global PV Markets 2023 by the International Energy Agency (IEA), April 2023, shows that global PV grew significantly in 2022 reaching 1.2 terawatts (TW) of cumulative capacity with the addition of 240 GW of new systems installed. Europe had the strongest growth with 39 GW installed; however, China dominates the market in both new and cumulative capacity with 44% growth or 106 GW of added capacity, for a total of 414.5 GW. The US market contracted in 2022 to 18.6 GW due to trade issues and grid connection backlogs.
  • Greening the Clean Energy Transition: Smart Siting and Pollinator-Friendly Solar Energy in Illinois , by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Pollinator Partnership (P2) March 2023, addresses where renewables are placed and how they are managed by co-locating pollinator vegetation within solar installations. The guide discusses site preparation, seed mixes according to soil moisture levels, planting, and site maintenance.
  • Tracking the Sun: Pricing and Design Trends for Distributed Photovoltaic Systems in the United States, 2023 Edition by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab is based on data from roughly 3.2 million systems, representing more than 80% of all distributed PV systems installed nationally through year-end 2022. The report describes trends related to project characteristics, median installed-price trends and variability in pricing. Also included is an econometric analysis to estimate the effects of individual drivers on installed prices for host-owned residential systems installed in 2022.

    The report, published in slide-deck format, is accompanied by a narrative executive summaryinteractive data visualizations, a public data file, and summary data tables.

  • Solar Photovoltaics Supply Chain Review report, by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), February 2022, explores the global solar photovoltaics (PV) supply chain and opportunities for developing U.S. manufacturing capacity. The report concludes that, with significant financial support and incentives from the U.S. government as well as strategic actions focused on workforce, manufacturing, human rights, and trade, America could reestablish a robust domestic solar manufacturing supply chain and become a competitive leader in a global solar industry. For the summarized fact sheet.
  •  Growing Crops Under Solar Panels? Now There’s a Bright Idea, by Matt Simon, in WIRED, October 14, 2021, he interviews researchers working on agrivoltaics where crops are grown under elevated solar panels who are finding that panels can increase yields and reduce water use. 
  • State Solar Spotlight on Wisconsin 2021 by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is an infographic that shows Wisconsin installed 395 MW of solar in 2021 (up from 237.3 MW in 2020), which ranks 15th nationally and supports 2,942 solar jobs. There are 145 solar companies operating in Wisconsin including 40 manufacturers and 63 installers/ developers. The solar industry has invested $1.1 billion in Wisconsin, including $415 million in 2021.
  • Solarize Campaigns: Helping Communities of Color Access Rooftop Solar by Rocky Mountain Institute, July 2020, is a blog post that examines actions local governments can take to address barriers to solar access by people of color through education and financing.
  • Community Solar Works for Low-Income Communities by Vote Solar
  • Commercial PV Property Characterization: An Analysis of Solar Deployment Trends in Commercial Real EstateThe commercial rooftop solar energy market remains an under-developed sector.  The market is estimated to contain 150 gigawatts of potential in the U.S. but it faces significant barriers to deployment to meet that potential, with an estimated 1.4 GW developed through 2017. Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (October, 2019) analyzed over 30,000 installed solar systems and the properties on which they are located.  The properties covered 20 states (including Wisconsin, representing 41% of commercial PV systems) and almost 30 different types including industrial, warehouse, school/university, office, retail, and municipal/government. The solar properties were compared to more than 2.4 million non-solar properties in the same geographies. This webinar and its slides review the contents of analyses focusing on which property and solar system characteristics are correlated with higher (or lower) levels of solar deployment and how they have changed over time.
  • Property Value Impact Study: Adjacent Property Values Solar Impact Study, prepared for NextEra Energy Resources by Cohn Resnick, July 2021, evaluates whether existing solar farms have had any measurable impact on the value of adjacent properties. The study includes research and analyses of six existing solar facilities (in Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, Illinois) and the property value trends of the adjacent land uses, including agricultural, single family and residential properties.

  • Performance of Bifacial Photovoltaic Modules on a Dual-Axis Tracker in a High-Latitude, High-Albedo Environment, a 2019 study by Sandia National Labs and Michigan Tech, published in the 2019 Conference Proceedings of IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists, shows that bifacial solar panels can outperform standard panels by producing 14–40% more electricity in northern latitudes during snow months where the reflection of the snow on the back of the panel increases production. The study was done with panels on dual-axis trackers in Vermont. The findings were in addition to the estimated 35-40% gain of a dual axis tracker over a fixed mount system.
  • How Solar Energy Became Cheap: A Model for Low Carbon Innovation
    UW professor Greg Nemet’s 2019 book tells the story of solar: the long road to economic viability and the lessons learned that could speed the progress of other low-carbon technology.
  • Design and Implementation of Community Solar Programs for Low- and Moderate-Income Customers, by Jenny Heeter et al. at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is a December 2018 report that explores a variety of community solar program designs and structures, successes and barriers, approaches to leverage incentives and financing, and to target marketing and outreach to customers.
  • Cost-Reduction Roadmap for Residential Solar Photovoltaics (PV), 2017-2030, NREL, January 2018: The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) recently set new levelized cost of energy (LCOE) targets for 2030, including a target of 5 ¢/kWh for residential PV. This study is a roadmap for achieving the SETO 2030 residential PV target. It examines two key market segments that demonstrate significant opportunities for cost savings and market growth: installing PV at the time of roof replacement and installing PV as part of the new home construction process.  The potential is huge given that NREL estimates that an average of 3.3 million homes per year will be built or require roof replacement between 2017-2030 with a residential PV technical potential of roughly 30 gigawatts (GW) per year.

  • Middleton Airport Solar Project, More than 16,000 Single-axis tracking solar PV panels, enough to power ~ 1,000 average WI homes annually. 16 million pounds CO2 annual avoided emissions. Low-growing deep-rooted prairie mix will be planted under panels.
  • Solar Knowledge LibraryThe Solar Institute at George Washington University has created a Solar Knowledge Library that provides videos about key solar energy topics, as well as links to additional resources. The videos are aimed at educating professionals who are not part of the solar industry but still play a key role in expanding solar deployment opportunities in the United States. The library project was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative’s Solar Training and Education for Professionals (STEP) program. The STEP program enables solar training and education for professionals in indirect and related fields such as real estate, finance, insurance, fire and code enforcement, and state regulations, and has established new credentials in solar operations and maintenance. The Solar Knowledge Library aims to foster a workforce familiar with solar, improve inspection compliance, expedite system permitting, reduce liability and insurance costs, and increase consumer confidence.
  • The Vision for U.S. Community Solar: A Roadmap for 2030 , GTM Research conducted a study in 2018 to evaluate the community solar market potential and identify pathways for community solar adoption nationwide by 2030. Three out of four households across the country cannot access traditional rooftop solar. Community solar is a proven solution that expands access to solar, regardless of income level or housing type. The study was supported by Vote Solar, GRID Alternatives, and Coalition for Community Solar Access.

  • Floating PV: Assessing the Technical Potential of Photovoltaic Systems on Man-Made Water Bodies in the Continental U.S, a 2018 paper from the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), found floating PV (FPV) projects across more than 24,000 man-made US reservoirs could generate around 10% of US annual electricity production, which would reduce the land requirements for conventional ground mount PV power plants by at least 2.1 million hectares. This could be useful in the Midwest where there is conflict over solar encroaching on farmland and in areas of the US that are land-constrained.
  • Community Solar in Wisconsin: Responding to Power Customers, the Customers First Coalition (CFC) Spring 2017 issue paper, highlights the growth of utility-scale community solar offerings from energy providers in Wisconsin. Community solar, also known as shared solar and solar gardens, are solar powered energy plants that pool resources from multiple members of a community to provide power and/or financial benefits in return.
  • Shared Renewable Energy for Low- to Moderate-Income Consumers: Policy Guidelines and Model Provisions by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), 2016, provides information and tools for policymakers, regulators, utilities, shared renewable energy developers, program administrators and others to support the adoption and implementation of shared renewables programs specifically designed to provide tangible benefits to LMI customers.
  • Going Solar in America: Ranking of Solar’s Value to Consumers in America’s Largest Citiesa report by NC Clean Energy Technology Center with funding from US DOE’s Sunshot grant, January 2015, analyzes energy in America’s 50 largest cities showing that solar can generate both significant monthly savings and long-term investment value. In 42 of 50 cities, solar costs less for average homeowners than energy from some of America’s largest electric utilities.
  • Solar Power on the Rise: The Technologies and Policies Behind a Booming Energy Sector, by the Union of Concerned Scientists, 2014, details the major drivers of the rapid adoption of solar power and explores the main types of solar available to individuals, businesses, and utilities. It outlines the technical, economic, environmental, and policy aspects of small- and large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and concentrating solar power systems. Accompanying infographics detail the falling rooftop solar costs and their increasing affordability.

Solar Energy Financing

Grant Writing Basics Blog Series

Get tips and advice for writing federal grant applications through the Grant Writing Basics Blog Series. The goal of the trainings is to provide the essential basics to begin writing.

Topics include:

  • Prepare for Reporting Requirements
  • Peer Review Panels and the Federal Grant Application Evaluation Process
  • How to Start Working on Future Funding Opportunities
  • Tips to Avoid Last Minute Problems
  • Additional Tips

For more information and Couillard Solar Foundation

Wisconsin Solar Energy Financing Guide

  • Solar Energy Financing Guide: Empowering Wisconsin Local Governments (May 2017): A  publication by Sherrie Gruder, UW-Madison Extension, that covers financing for solar projects ranging from local and tribal governments installing solar systems on their own roofs and land, to assisting local businesses and residents with acquiring solar. It includes case studies of successful solar energy systems across the state, and outlines creative local government actions, strategies and partnerships that can lay the groundwork for financing those systems.

Studies/Reports/Tools

  • America’s Federal Funding Opportunities and Resources for Decarbonization (AFFORD), is designed to help you identify, compare, and prioritize federal funding, tax credits, and other incentives.  This FREE tool was developed by the American Cities Climate Challenge, RMI, World Resources Institute, and Bloomberg Philosophies November 2023. The tool is useful for local governments, colleges and universities, Tribes, nonprofits, and public agencies.
  • Clean Energy Financing Tools and Resources for Local Governments, by EPA, February 2023, is a web page of financial resources that state and local governments can use to explore multiple options for financing clean energy investments.
  • The Clean Energy Financing Toolkit for Decisionmakers by EPA, February 2023, provides state and local decision makers with profiles of a dozen clean energy financing programs and examples across jurisdictions and access to more detailed programmatic resources. Decision makers can use the toolkit to identify, develop, or revise state and local clean energy financing programs.
  • Clean Energy Finance: Using Renewable Energy Certificates to Achieve Local Environmental Goals by US EPA, April 2021 is a factsheet for local governments. Purchasing RECs is one way local governments and tribes increase their renewable energy portfolios, and selling RECs from renewable energy they generate is another way to benefit from this market. RECs are market-based instruments that represent the property rights to the environmental, social, and other non-power attributes of renewable electricity generation. The primer introduces the different types of RECs, profiles how they work, and provides options for promoting or adopting RECs at the local level. The primer also defines “green power” and how organizations and local governments can join EPA’s Green Power Partnership. 
  • Solar For All Program Creates Savings for Homeowners by the Connecticut Green Bank, 2019, is a 2-page fact sheet that presents financial case studies.
  • Energy Independence: How to Afford Getting to 100 & Promote Sustainability to Boot! Presented by Sherrie Gruder for Green Tier Legacy Communities Sustainable Strategies Webinar Series, October, 2018.
  • Cost-Reduction Roadmap for Residential Solar Photovoltaics (PV), 2017-2030, NREL, January 2018: The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) recently set new levelized cost of energy (LCOE) targets for 2030, including a target of 5 ¢/kWh for residential PV. This study is a roadmap for achieving the SETO 2030 residential PV target. It examines two key market segments that demonstrate significant opportunities for cost savings and market growth: installing PV at the time of roof replacement and installing PV as part of the new home construction process.  The potential is huge given that NREL estimates that an average of 3.3 million homes per year will be built or require roof replacement between 2017-2030 with a residential PV technical potential of roughly 30 gigawatts per year.
  • Solar Energy Financing – Leading the Charge video Session at Wisconsin Academy Local Government Summit, April 24, 2018, Eau Claire. This includes presentations by Sherrie Gruder, UW-Madison Extension Sustainable Design & Energy Specialist on Solar Energy Financing Guide, A Toolkit for Local  Governments; Erica Kluetmeier, Former Fitchburg Sustainability Manager on Solar financing process and arrangement for 4 Fitchburg solar PV projects totaling 362 kW; Kurt Reinhold, President of Legacy Solar Co-op on their clean energy finance and project development service; and, Jason Stinger, Director of Clean Energy Finance at Slipstream on PACE Wisconsin commercial energy financing program. View the summit as recorded by PBS.
  • The Vision for US Community Solar: A Roadmap to 2030 and Beyond, A study from GTM Research, now Wood Mackenzie found that the U.S. community solar market could grow up to 50-80 times its current size by 2030 to 57-84 GW. This equates to serving nearly nine million new solar customers, including four million low-to-moderate income households, and amounting to $120 billion in capital investments. The Vision for U.S. Community Solar: A Roadmap to 2030, … also informs state policy recommendations for delivering on that enormous and largely untapped potential to serve American households and businesses with affordable and reliable solar power.
  • California Solar Center’s Guide to Solar Power Purchase Agreements explains PPAs for businesses, schools, nonprofits, and other organizations. It also provides examples of projects that have been completed using a PPA.
  • Fact Sheet; How to Estimate Demand Charge Savings from PV on Commercial Buildings from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory explains the basics of demand charges- the maximum rate at which a business consumes electricity each month,  and provides a new method that a potential customer or PV developer can use to estimate a range of potential savings in demand charges from a proposed PV system.
  • 2019 Distribution Grid Integration Unit Cost Database for PV from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) provides information to utilities, developers, and analysts for assessing distribution grid integration costs associated with PV.
  • Solarize Guidebook: A Community Guide to Collective Purchasing of Residential PV Systems, released May 2012 by the US Department of Energy SunShot Initiative, is a resource for project planners and solar advocates who want to power their neighborhoods with solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity. This solar PV volume-purchasing program is designed to lead customers through a process that highlights awareness, education, enrollment, site assessment, decision, and installation. With the guidance of solar professionals, a committee of neighborhood volunteers preselects contractors and puts out information to the community about the limited time offer along with education/information sessions to simplify and demystify the purchase process. Bulk purchasing and installation helps reduce the costs. The guidebook includes case studies, considerations, and a sample timeline to help implement the campaign.

Transportation

Tools

  • JOBS EV 1.0 is designed by Argonne Labs to permit quick analyses of economic impact associated with deploying electric vehicle supply equipment.  Built off the Excel-based platform common to other JOBS models, it permits users to estimate economic impacts for individual states, regions or the U.S. as a whole. Use it to estimate jobs associated with all aspects of electric vehicle (EV) charging — from station planning to construction and startup, from equipment production to installation and operation and from potential revenue streams.  Watch a recording of the webinar by Clean Cities Coalition of the US DOE.
  • AchiEVe Toolkit, developed by Sierra Club, Plug In America, the Electrification Coalition and Forth Mobility, designed to accelerate the switch to clean, electric vehicles (EVs) in an effective and equitable way. It covers a wide array of policy options at the state, local and utility levels and case studies on topics ranging from vehicle purchase to charging infrastructure to battery recycling.
  • Greenercars.org, a program of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), provides a database of vehicles searchable by class (type or body style, such as midsize car, minivan, standard pickup) and their ranking on environmental impact, from superior (greenest) to inferior (least green) on a five–tiered scale. The Green Score, presented on a scale of zero to 100, is based on official emissions and fuel-economy tests and other specifications reported by auto manufacturers. Users can access to press releases and important documents related to rankings and find web resources related to vehicle technologies and green vehicles.
  • Electric Vehicle Calculator, 2024, developed by ACEEE helps potential buyers and existing owners understand the true emissions impact of EVs in their state, given variations in electricity generation across states.
  • List of LEED-Qualified Cars, 2024
  • For a list of electric vehicles on the market as of March 2023
  • The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has launched the Infrastructure Voluntary Evaluation Sustainability Tool (INVEST), a voluntary, web-based self-evaluation tool enabling state, regional, and local transportation agencies to evaluate the sustainability of their transportation plans, projects, and programs. The tool includes three score cards: systems planning, project development, and operations and maintenance.

Studies/ Reports

  • Power play: Evaluating the U.S. position in the global electric vehicle transition by the International Council on Clean Transportation, June 2021 evaluates the U.S. position in the emerging global light-duty electric vehicle industry. The briefing analyzes U.S. vehicle manufacturing plants and automaker commitments to transitioning to electric vehicle production and compares these developments with those happening globally.
  • The Zero Emission Transportation Alliance released their policy platform, Roadmap to 2030, in January 2021 that is an action plan to help the US reach 100% electric vehicle sales by 2030. It emphasizes consumer incentives at point of sale for light-duty and medium and heavy-duty vehicles, and national investments charging infrastructure.
  • Strategies for Integrating EVs into the Grid report, 2018, by ACEEE, that examines how utilities and other stakeholders are responding to the large growth in electric vehicles, and how their actions relate to broader environmental goals. The report focuses on five categories of utility strategies: rate design, smart charging, charging station investment and ownership, vehicle purchase incentives, and coordination with state and local efforts. To provide insight into these strategies, the report includes case studies of three utilities that have implemented multifaceted EV integration plans.
  • Reports on EV Charging, released July, 2018 by Greentech Media examine the impact electric vehicle charging infrastructure will have on grids around the world.
    1. EV Charging Infrastructure Landscape: Global Market Evolution, Major Stakeholders, and Key Trends
    2. EV Charging Infrastructure Development: Case Studies and Project Strategies
    3. EV Charging Infrastructure Development: Global Market Sizing and Forecasts
  • Big Fuel Savings Available in New Trucks is a 2-page fact sheet from ACEE and other national organizations that models the projected fuel savings from the EPA and NHTSA fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and engines built for the 2014 to 2018 model years along with an extension beyond 2018 in order to reach 40% reductions from a 2010 baseline. By 2030, this reduction would be the equivalent of saving 1.4 million barrels of oil per day and reduce carbon pollution by 270 million metric tons.
  • Why Electric Vehicles are a Climate Solution by Climate Solutions, 2016, is a briefing paper that explores the dimensions of the climate opportunity that EVs offer, with a focus on Oregon and Washington. It considers the additional demand for electricity that widespread adoption of EVs would require, as well as some of the challenges and barriers that must be addressed for EVs to play a significant role in decarbonizing the Northwest’s economy.
  • Electric Vehicles: A Good Idea for Wisconsin? from UW-Stevens Point Center for Land Use Education, Land Use Tracker, Spring 2015

  • Straight Talk about CNG, released January 2015 by MG&E, is a video series aimed to inform businesses about performance, safety, availability, and maintenance of compressed natural gas vehicles (CNG).
  • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) released the 2024 Fuel Economy Guide, providing detailed fuel economy estimates and estimated annual fuel costs for 2024 light-duty vehicles in the US. The 2024 models also features customizable inputs including price at the pump, miles driven per year and percentage of miles in stop-and-go traffic to provide a more personalized estimate.
  • EPA’s Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions among Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality, 2nd Edition, 2013 provides evidence that certain kinds of land use and transportation strategies – where and how we build our communities – can reduce the environmental and human health impacts of development. View presentation slides. or view the resource information page.
  • EPA’s Smart Growth Program has released its Smart Location Database version 2.0. The database is a consistent nationwide GIS data resource for measuring location efficiency. The Smart Location Database may be appropriate for use in local and regional planning studies when local data is unavailable. The database includes over 90 variables characterizing the built environment, transit service, destination accessibility, employment, and demographics at the census block group scale. Users can download data for their selected region, view data online in an interactive map, or access data through a variety of web services.

Organizations

  • Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) is an organization of electric vehicle manufacturers, utilities, EV charging infrastructure providers and others that launched late 2020. They advocate for 100% of vehicles sold to be electric by 2030. Their vision is to “Secure American global EV manufacturing leadership, dramatically improve public health and significantly reduce carbon pollution”.
  • Wisconsin Clean Cities
  • Transport Decarbonisation Alliance (TDA) brings together leading cities, companies and countries to accelerate the worldwide transformation of the transport sector towards a net-zero emission mobility system before 2050. The TDA builds on statements of intent by those Heads of States, Mayors and CEOs that have expressed their intent to decarbonize before 2050. It targets all transport emissions from all modes of passenger mobility and freight transport. The Alliance aims to become the most visible, creative and effective nexus of public/private cooperation to allow the transport sector to meet the Paris Agreement objectives.

Wind

Tools

  • US Wind Turbine Database by the USDOE Wind Energy Technologies Office, USGS and the American Wind Energy Association provides the locations of land-based and offshore wind turbines in the United States, corresponding wind project information, and turbine technical specifications.
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines by USFWS, March 2-12-November 2021. These voluntary Guidelines provide a structured, scientific process for addressing wildlife conservation concerns at all stages of land-based wind energy development. They also promote effective communication among wind energy developers and federal, state, and local conservation agencies and tribes.

Studies/Reports

  • Wind Power and Birds, by National Audubon Society, July 21, 2020, presents the organizations conclusion that properly sited wind power can help protect birds from climate change. “Audubon strongly supports wind energy that is sited and operated properly to avoid, minimize, and mitigate effectively for the impacts on birds, other wildlife, and the places they need now and in the future. To that end, we support the development of wind energy to achieve 100% clean electricity.”
  • Wind Turbines and Health executive summary or read the full report. January 2019, a joint study by the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa Policy Project, and the Iowa Environmental Council summarizes the results of the best research available and concludes that there is little scientific evidence that sound from wind turbines represents a risk to human health among neighboring residents.
  • “Wind Turbines and Health: A Critical Review of the Scientific Literature”. An October 2015 study from MIT, RJ McCunney et al in .J Occup Environ Med. 2015 Oct;57(10):e133-5, reviewed literature related to sound measurements near turbines, epidemiological and experimental studies, and factors associated with annoyance. Results: (1) Infrasound sound near wind turbines does not exceed audibility thresholds. (2) Epidemiological studies have shown associations between living near wind turbines and annoyance. (3) Infrasound and low-frequency sound do not present unique health risks. (4) Annoyance seems more strongly related to individual characteristics than noise from turbines.

  • Global Wind Energy Fortunes (and Turbines) Growing Fast, at Least in Short Term, released August 2014 by Bloomberg BNA, is a report that highlights the technological advances made and the upcoming challenges facing the wind energy industry
  • The Solar and Wind Energy Supply Chain in Wisconsin,” a study by the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC), created in October, 2011 details the role of renewable energy companies in job creation and economic growth. The report highlights some of the over 300 companies serving wind and solar energy markets in the state and provides a list of solar and wind companies and their locations.
  • For wind energy facility developers:  FWS issued a document in 2012 entitled Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines (WEG), which provides a structured process for addressing wildlife conservation concerns at wind energy project sites. The WEG are built around a “tiered approach” to assessing potential conflicts. Each of the five tiers builds on information gained from the previous tier, and many smaller-scale or community wind facilities may not need to go beyond Tiers 1 and 2. The tiers encompass both pre-construction and post-construction timeframes and focus on establishing a scientific process focused initially on analyzing the potential project site, and later on gauging and monitoring impacts at that site.
  • The Impact of Wind Power Projects on Residential Property Values in the United States: A Multi-Site Hedonic Analysis.” Lawrence Berkley National Lab. December 2009, research to address the need to empirically investigate common community concerns about wind project development. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory conducted research regarding utility-scale wind energy development’s property value effects and produced the seminal work with the largest dataset, almost 7,500 sales of single family homes situated within 10 miles of 24 existing wind facilities in nine U.S. states. The analysis finds that if property value impacts exist, they are too small and/or too infrequent to result in any widespread, statistically observable impact, although the possibility that individual homes or small numbers of homes have been or could be negatively impacted cannot be dismissed.
  • 2009 Wisconsin Act 40 (The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) Wind Siting Rules) directed the PSC to promulgate administrative rules that specify the restrictions a political subdivision (a city, village, town or county) may impose on the installation or use of a wind energy system, and to help ensure consistent local procedures for local regulation of wind energy systems. As of March 2011, Wind siting rules, PSC 128, are in effect.
  • Threats to birds from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, discusses various threats by humans to the migratory bird population, including deaths caused by collisions with power lines and buildings, poisoning, and by-catch in fisheries.
  • The 2001 report Avian Collisions With Wind Turbines: A Summary of Existing Studies and Comparisons to Other Sources of Avian Collision Mortality in the United States, commissioned by the National Wind Coordinating Committee (NWCC) illustrates the major causes of bird mortality with the smallest relative impact from wind turbines.