With the inauguration of Josh Shapiro and new leadership at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), environmental advocates are looking forward to a new chapter, one that has tougher regulation on the oil and gas industry. To support this clean energy transition,  PACleanEnergy.com has launched a new online resource for municipalities seeking to lower their carbon emissions here in Pennsylvania.

In 2020 through mid-2022, a cohort of municipal representatives from the southeastern PA region collaborated on an extensive series of online sessions designed to assist in developing an Energy Transition Plan unique to each community, based on a common template. The first season of the municipal Community Energy Transition Planning Series (CESP) won recognition for Green Buildings United’s top award in 2020. The syllabus was inspired from this US Department of Energy Handbooks: Guide to Community Energy Strategic Planning | Department of Energy.

According to the Department of Energy, the creation of a robust strategic energy plan for your government and community can help save money, create local jobs, and improve our national security.

The new online resource, PACleanEnergy.com Learning Library For Government, is based on the CESP series and features presentations from regional and national topic experts, sample plans, and policy making resources during the two year program. 

Andrea Strout of Buckingham Township (Bucks County), who participated in the series, appreciates that the resources will now be available to other municipalities. “Many smaller municipalities and/or EACs have essentially one or two people working to craft their Climate Action or Energy Transition plans. By participating in the series, I gained access to knowledge and resources I never could have found on my own. People were incredibly generous with sharing their plans and other materials. The attitude was very much, ‘Steal’ this idea!’ Everyone knows we’re all in this together, time is short, and the more municipalities that get on board, the better.”

Municipal leaders and staff will find resources on both municipal operations energy transition efforts and community wide energy transition. The community resources will be of special interest to municipal Environmental Advisory Councils, Sustainability Committees, or other clean energy transition teams with programs and policy-related materials for engaging with local businesses, schools, houses of worship and community organizations.

Melissa Laffen of Upper Dublin (Montgomery County) is happy to see the work of the CESP series preserved and shared with others in PA. “The CESP Series offered a wealth of resources and information at our fingertips, some structure to help us get organized for the planning and engagement that was needed, access to experts across a variety of technologies and fields of study, and perhaps most importantly, the opportunity to build relationships with volunteers and officials in other municipalities that were working toward a common goal. Hearing what others were doing and learning from each other was at times humbling, at times comforting, and at times inspiring. I hope these resources will help others take the same level of leadership.”

All Pennsylvania municipalities are encouraged to review the sample plans and interviews with municipal leaders who have successfully completed plans from across the country including Ann Arbor MI, Arlington, VA, Cambridge, MASS, among others.

Bill Sabey of the Plymouth Township EAC who helped assemble the resources said the new website “will help municipal staff, elected officials, and Environmental Advisory Councils better understand their options when it comes to energy efficiency, the electrification of heating and cooling systems, transition municipal fleets to electric vehicles, and the procurement or production of renewable electricity.”

PACleanEnergy.com is managed by representatives from participating PA townships, boroughs, counties and regional councils that are serious about taking action to address climate change. 

Municipal leaders can go to the website and identify organizations with whom they can consult on their energy projects and see what projects have been undertaken in other municipalities. Municipalities spend millions of dollars on energy for their operations. Model municipal energy profiles, energy audit methods, and fleet assessments techniques are all covered. Municipal fleets are often the highest energy consumers in a municipal budget.

On the homepage of the website, there will also be an update on how to track state and federal funding relevant for local efforts. Douglas White, from Lower Providence Township, observes “the new website has a wealth of information about all aspects of planning for resiliency for ANYONE interested in helping to develop and implement various ways to achieve your goals. It’s clear that we all want to make efficiency and lower emissions a priority for the health, safety, and quality of life for our residents.”

Paula Kline of Westtown Township summed up the value of the new site: “Others who may feel like the idea of preparing a clean energy transition plan for their community is overwhelming, and I’m sure having these resources organized and laid out in a way that walks you through step-by-step will help them achieve their big goal.”

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