Community-Led Clean Energy Strategies

Historic discriminatory policies and exclusionary decision-making processes have led to inequitable economic, social, and intergenerational outcomes that continue to impede community-led participation, decision-making, and accountability processes. Decision makers today can design clean energy policies and programs using equity-centered approaches that encompass community-led decision-making processes and accountability. Especially at the local level, local government officials can improve their approaches to  equitable clean energy planning  by empowering and engaging community-based organizations and local leaders in the development of clean energy solutions.

Community-based organizations (CBOs) are well-positioned to offer support and guidance to local governments that are ready to foster  inclusive, accessible, authentic engagement  and representation in clean energy decision-making processes and in policy and program outcomes. These partnerships can be mutually beneficial: input and guidance from local leaders can help CBOs provide services and benefits to their communities, and the partnerships can also establish accountability on both sides.

ACEEE’s new report, Fostering Equity through Community-Led Clean Energy Strategies, provides local, state, and utility decision makers, as well as CBOs and leaders, with an overview of effective community-based clean energy strategies and case study examples of organizations working to advance equitable, local clean energy solutions.

For decades, CBOs across the country have worked to advance clean energy policies and programs. This map highlights some examples of CBOs working to advance equitable clean energy policies, programs, and outcomes in their local communities.

Community involvement in clean energy decisions can help ensure that communities that have been historically marginalized shape and drive policies and program outcomes that best serve their own needs.

Community-led clean energy strategies, which have been used by CBOs for many years, are well suited to address inequities in the energy sector.

We identified six strategies that CBOs are using to drive clean energy in their communities. CBOs may use more than one strategy, depending on the needs and available resources in their community.

The following section summarizes the six strategies and includes examples of CBOs and community members leveraging each strategy to empower their communities.

Click on the arrow to the right of the slide deck below to advance through strategy descriptions and examples of community-led organizations employing each strategy.

We have selected three CBOs to highlight as case studies, exploring how they are working to advance clean energy in their local communities. These organizations are advancing community-led clean energy to build community wealth and resources, create new jobs, improve health and energy affordability, and increase community resilience. These organizations are Catalyst Miami (Miami, FL), Isles, Inc. (Trenton, NJ), and Verde (Portland, OR).

Decision makers can create a more just and equitable clean energy landscape by engaging with marginalized communities and giving them decision-making roles. Engaging with local community members in a way that empowers them to define and steer outcomes and accountability measures for policy and program decisions can ensure that those outcomes reflect the priorities of the communities they are meant to serve.

There are several ways in which decision makers can support community-led clean energy strategies and the CBOs in their communities who are advancing those strategies. They can provide funding to support local projects, create authentic and accountable engagement methods, and hire locally, among other strategies.

The following resources focus on strategies for collaboration with CBOs and other decision makers, building accountability, authentic engagement, and local capacity. For those who are new to community partnerships or who want to strengthen existing partnership efforts, leveraging the resources below is a first step toward fostering authentic and accountable partnerships with CBOs and amplifying community-led clean energy efforts.

ACEEE’s new report also offers several recommendations for local officials seeking to engage and support community-based clean energy efforts. See the report for more details.

In 2019, 44 leaders in environmental justice, clean energy, local government, and electric utilities gathered in Miami to discuss accountability. Together they co-created a framework to hold individuals accountable for an equitable transition to 100% clean, renewable energy.

The  Shared Accountability Framework  helps community and local government staff establish an accountability framework to embed in their transition to 100% clean energy. The accountability framework can be adapted to reflect commitments to community members.

In 2021, the Clean Energy States Alliance produced a guide for state energy agencies looking to strengthen their relationships with marginalized communities or for those interested in supporting energy equity.

The  Guide for States on Collaboration with Community-Based Organizations  starts with a discussion on the benefits of working with CBOs to advance clean energy. It examines how CBOs view the energy sector and their perspective on energy justice. The remainder of the guide provides strategies and resources for working with CBOs.

The  Spectrum of Community Engagement to Ownership  tool was developed by Rosa González with Facilitating Power to create a pathway to revolutionize community engagement efforts. Leaders across multiple sectors—such as local governments, philanthropic partners, and communities—can use this spectrum to assess their decision-making processes and solution development.

The spectrum is designed to:

• Acknowledge the marginalization of certain communities
• Assert a clear vision for rebuilding local democracies through inclusion, justice, and community ownership
• Articulate a development process for increasing the participation of residents in decision-making processes
• Assess community participation efforts and goals

A  Guidebook on Equitable Clean Energy Program Design  is a roadmap for local governments and their partners to design equitable clean energy programs. The guide provides actionable resources that local governments and their partners can leverage to advance equity in clean energy program development and implementation.

The guidebook shows how the processes of program design, program structuring, and program implementation and evaluation can be used step-by-step to embed equity across local government programs. The guide includes case study examples and relevant resources for further information and support.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)’s  Guidelines for Equitable Community Involvement  provides advice and case examples to help an individual or an organization understand sustainable development.

The guidelines intend to:

• Provide a compendium of practical ideas and solutions
• Help residents understand the operations of sustainable development and key actors involved
• Be individually adaptable and applicable as components in policy

For local governments, clean energy decision makers, and CBOs interested in learning more about our work, please visit ACEEE’s  local policy  research program for contact information and additional resources.