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Collaborating with Utilities to Meet Underserved Community Needs

信息技术2024-04-22RMI陈***

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Executive Summary

Introduction

The report addresses the pressing energy challenges faced by underserved communities, particularly those of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and low- and moderate-income (LMI) households. These challenges include escalating energy costs, frequent power outages, and barriers to accessing energy efficiency services. The heightened energy burdens experienced by these communities, indicated by a disproportionate share of income spent on energy expenses and longer recovery times following grid disruptions, necessitate comprehensive strategies to address energy inequities.

Key Findings

To mitigate these issues, the report introduces commercial-scale solar and solar-plus-storage (solar + storage) programs as tools for community organizations to access clean energy solutions. It outlines:

Program Types: Potential utility offerings designed to address community needs.
Collaborative Guidance: Practical advice for effective partnership between utilities and community organizations.
Enhancing Utility Programs: Methods for utilities to better serve historically underserved communities through community engagement.

Inspiration for these strategies comes from the work of three rounds of Solar Energy Innovation Network (SEIN) project teams, which have pioneered innovative approaches to solar and solar + storage solutions for underserved communities.

Use Cases

Four primary use cases for commercial solar and solar + storage are explored:

Solar for Bill Savings: Reduces energy costs for building occupants, particularly renters.
Solar + Storage for Bill Savings: Combines solar with energy storage to further reduce electricity expenses.
Solar + Storage Microgrid for Outage Survivability: Ensures continuous power supply during grid disruptions, enhancing safety and reliability.
Solar + Storage Microgrid for Community Resilience: Supports broader community resilience against energy crises, promoting social equity.

Collaboration Strategies

Community organizations are encouraged to prepare for discussions with utilities to drive tailored programs that meet specific community needs. This involves understanding utility offerings, preparing relevant data, and advocating for adaptations that address unique community challenges.

Conclusion

This report serves as a guide for community organizations and utilities to collaborate effectively, leveraging commercial solar and solar + storage solutions to address the specific energy needs of underserved communities. By focusing on practical applications and inclusive strategies, the report aims to facilitate a more equitable distribution of clean energy benefits, contributing to sustainable and resilient communities.

This summary highlights the main objectives and findings of the report, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between community organizations and utilities in addressing energy inequities faced by underserved communities. It provides a structured overview of the report's key sections and findings, ensuring clarity and ease of understanding.

CollaboratingwithUtilities toMeetUnderservedCommunityNeeds AGuidetoEquitableCommercialSolarandSolar+StorageDeployment November2023 Authors&Acknowledgments AuthorsErifiliDraklellisRachelGoldRobertoZanchi Authorslistedalphabetically.AllauthorsarefromRMIunlessotherwisenoted. Contacts ErifiliDraklellis(edraklellis@rmi.org),RachelGold(rgold@rmi.org) CopyrightsandCitations ErifiliDraklellis,RachelGold,RobertoZanchi,CollaboratingwithUtilitiestoMeetUnderservedCommunityNeeds:AGuidetoEquitableCommercialSolarandSolar+StorageDeployment,RMI,2023,https://www.rmi.org/insight/collaborating-with-utilities-to-meet-underserved-community-needs/ RMIvaluescollaborationandaimstoacceleratetheenergytransitionthroughsharingknowledgeandinsights.Wethereforeallowinterestedpartiestoreference,share,andciteourworkthroughtheCreativeCommonsCCBY-SA4.0license.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Disclaimer ThisworkwasauthoredbyRMIunderSubcontractNo.SUB-2022-10051aspartoftheSolarEnergyInnovationNetwork(SEIN).SEINisacollaborativeresearcheffortadministeredbytheNationalRenewableEnergyLaboratoryunderContractNo.DE-AC36-08GO28308fundedbytheUSDepartmentofEnergy’s(DOE)OfficeofEnergyEfficiencyandRenewableEnergySolarEnergyTechnologiesOffice.TheviewsexpressedhereindonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsofAllianceforSustainableEnergy,LLC,theDOE,ortheUSGovernment. AboutRMI RMIisanindependentnonprofit,foundedin1982asRockyMountainInstitute,thattransformsglobalenergysystemsthroughmarket-drivensolutionstoalignwitha1.5°Cfutureandsecureaclean,prosperous,zero-carbonfutureforall.Weworkintheworld’smostcriticalgeographiesandengagebusinesses,policymakers,communities,andNGOstoidentifyandscaleenergysysteminterventionsthatwillcutgreenhousegasemissionsatleast50percentby2030.RMIhasofficesinBasaltandBoulder,Colorado;NewYorkCity;Oakland,California;Washington,D.C.;andBeijing. AboutSEIN SEINseekstoovercomebarrierstosolaradoptionbyconnectingteamsofstakeholdersthatarepioneeringnewideaswiththeresourcestheyneedtosucceed.TeamsthatparticipateinSEINreceivedirectfundingandanalyticalsupportfromUSDepartmentofEnergynationallaboratoriesandparticipateinpeer-to-peerlearningwithotherteamstacklingsimilarchallenges. Theseteamsaredevelopinganddocumentingtheirsolutionsforsolaradoptionwithscaleinmind,sothatotherscanadaptthosesolutionstotheirowncontexts.Ultimately,thetrueimpactoftheseteams’effortswillbetoenableawidearrayofcommunitiestoadoptsolarsolutionsthatmeettheirneedsintheircontexts. SEINisfundedbytheUSDepartmentofEnergySolarEnergyTechnologiesOfficeandisledbytheNationalRenewableEnergyLaboratory(NREL). TableofContents ExecutiveSummary1 Introduction4 NavigatingThisReport6 ExploringSolarandSolar+Storage:UseCasesandStakeholderRoles7 FourUseCasesforSolarandSolar+Storage7 UseCase1:SolarforBillSavings8 UseCase2:Solar+StorageforBillSavings10 UseCase3:Solar+StorageMicrogridforOutageSurvivability13 UseCase4:Solar+StorageMicrogridforCommunityResilience14 StakeholderRolesinCommercialSolarandSolar+StorageUseCases17 SupportiveUtilityOfferings19 GuidelinesforEffectiveCollaborationbetweenUtilitiesandCommunity-BasedOrganizations:MeetingYourCommunity’sNeedsthroughCollaboration21 Why:TheValueofCommunity-UtilityCollaborationtoMeetCommunityNeeds21 What:CommunityNeedsCanBegintoBeAddressedbyCommercialSolarandSolar+StorageMicrogrids22 How:CommunityOrganizationsCanPrepareforConversationswithUtilitiestoDriveProgramstoMeetCommunityNeeds24 OptionsForAdaptingUtilityProgramstoMeetCommunityNeeds33 Conclusion37 AppendixA:BenefitsandChallengesofSolarandSolar+Storage38 BenefitsofSolarandSolar+StorageforBillSavings38 ChallengeswithSolarandSolar+StorageforBillSavings39 BenefitsofSolar+StorageMicrogridforOutageSurvivabilityandCommunityResilience40 ChallengeswithSolar+StorageMicrogridforOutageSurvivabilityandCommunityResilience41 AppendixB:SupportiveUtilityOfferings43 RebatesandGrants44 CompensationandRates46 FinancingArrangements49 TechnicalSupportandInfrastructure50 AppendixC:AvailableFederalFinancingOpportunities52 AppendixD:Non-TechnicalGlossary53 AppendixE:TechnicalGlossary54 Endnotes57 ExecutiveSummary Introduction Underservedcommunities,particularlyneighborhoodsofBlack,Indigenous,andPeopleofColor(BIPOC)andlow-andmoderate-income(LMI)households,grapplewithheightenedenergychallengesincludingrisingcosts,poweroutages,andbarrierstoaccessenergyefficiencyservices.Theseissuesmaybeaggravatedbysignificantenergyburdens,evidencedbyalargeportionofincomedevotedtoenergycostsandextendedrecoverytimespostelectricalgriddisruptions. Aspartofaholisticstrategytoaddresstheenergyinequitiesfacedbythesecommunities,thisreportofferscommunityorganizationsatoolforaccessingcleanenergyprograms,namelycommercial-scalesolarandsolar-plus-storage(solar+storage)programs.Thereport: 1.Providesanoverviewofthepotentialtypesofprogramsutilitiesmayoffertohelpmeetcommunityneeds, 2.Offerspracticalguidanceforeffectivecollaborationbetweencommunityorganizationsandutilities,and 3.Aimstofacilitatetheenhancementofutilityprogramsthroughcommunityinputandfeedback. Tot

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Collaborating with Utilities to Meet Underserved Community Needs

Executive Summary

Introduction

Key Findings

Use Cases

Collaboration Strategies

Conclusion

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