Energy Sector Case Studies
This tab features case studies that describe examples of how adaptation has been incorporated in energy planning and policy.
Resources are automatically presented by date. Apply additional filters to narrow the list by state, impact, region, or jurisdictional focus.
37 results are shown below.
Filter by States AffectedSelect states to filter this list
All
Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Marianas Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Resource
2018
The District of Columbia Public Service Commission’s (DCPSC) establishment of the Customer Impact Working Group within the Modernizing the Energy Delivery System for Increased Sustainability (MEDSIS) initiative is a replicable example of how utility commissions are working to invite equitable input in grid modernization efforts. DCPSC initiated the MEDSIS initiative as a means of making the energy delivery system more sustainable, reliable, efficient, cost effective, and interactive for District customers. DCPSC approved the establishment of six working groups to elicit input from a diverse range of stakeholders in order to address key issues related to modernizing the District’s energy delivery system. The Customer Impact Working Group is examining how grid modernization efforts may impact various customers, including exploring questions of customer equity, data protection and privacy, consumer protection, and low- and limited-income customer inclusion. This Working Group will produce recommendations aimed at ensuring that all customers benefit from grid modernization efforts.
Resource Category: Planning
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
2018
In early 2018 the Port of Long Beach, in conjunction with Schneider Electric, began planning a microgrid solar Photovoltaic (PV) and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project. The project will enhance reliability and resiliency of the port’s electricity supply, and reduce the port’s carbon footprint, while simultaneously strengthening local workforce development initiatives, and providing paid, on-the-job training to port workers. By powering the port’s electric terminal equipment and reducing its reliance on diesel generators and the grid, the project reduces the port’s GHG emissions footprint and criteria air pollutant emissions. The microgrid implementation will use union labor from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, with paid training hours to fill workers’ knowledge gaps in installing comparable microgrids. Moreover, the project enlists and provides educational experience to students from the University of California - Irvine, Advanced Power and Energy program in analyzing its performance data. Funding for the plan comes from a $5 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC), combined with $2.12 million in matched funds from the Port of Long Beach. The grant requires that the project demonstrate benefits to electricity customers in the local grid in the form of enhanced reliability, lower costs, or improved safety. An overriding objective of all CEC grant projects, is to “lead to technological advancement and breakthroughs to overcome barriers to achieving the state’s statutory energy goals.” As such, the project must document lessons learned in implementation and maintenance in promotion of replicability of similar projects, and the commercialization of microgrids more broadly.
Resource Category: Solutions
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
January 30, 2018
Safeguarding California in Action provides an overview of the state agency action case studies that were included in the Safeguarding California Plan - the state's climate change adaptation plan. This supplementary document provides 33 examples of actions funded by the state, that state agencies are implementing to make communities, infrastructure, services, and the natural environment more resilient to climate change.
Resource Category: Solutions
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
January 2018
The California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) allocates its Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) to fund projects located in and benefiting low-income and disadvantaged communities, which is an example of utility commissions participating in equitable grid investment. EPIC funds come from rates charged to electricity customers of the state utilities and supports investments in clean energy technologies that benefit ratepayers of investor owned utilities. AB 523 directs the California Energy Commission (CEC) to expend at least 25 percent of its EPIC funds for Technology Demonstration and Deployment funding (TD&D) at sites located in, and benefiting, “disadvantaged communities,” and adds an additional requirement that the CEC expend at least 10 percent of its EPIC funds for TD&D at sites located in, and benefiting, low-income communities located in the state. The CPUC approved the allocation of $60 million of its EPIC funding to projects located in and benefiting low-income and disadvantaged communities that are also specifically prioritized for the investment of proceeds from CA’s cap-and-trade program. These investments are aimed at improving public health, quality of life, and economic opportunity in disadvantaged communities, which are defined by AB 523 as those most burdened by pollution from multiple sources and most vulnerable to its effects, considering socioeconomic characteristics and underlying health status.
Resource Category: Funding
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
June 2017
In 2017, Southeastern Montana Development Corporation (SEMDC) released the Southeastern Montana Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (
Resource Category: Planning
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
May 18, 2017
In 2017, the District of Columbia’s Departments of Energy & Environment (DOEE) and Employment Services (DOES) partnered with GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic to start Solar Works DC, to implement a low-income solar installation program with a job training component. The purpose of the Program is to focus on training disadvantaged members of the D. C. community in solar installation, and provide low-income families with solar energy systems. Over a three-year period, more than 200 individuals have been trained in solar-related related industries.
Resource Category: Education and Outreach
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
January 17, 2017
This Georgetown Climate Center (GCC) case study on the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration (K4C) explores how local governments and other partners are coordinating at the regional scale to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the King County region of Washington state. This case study explores how the K4C was formed and has organized its decisionmaking, what local governments and other stakeholders are involved in the collaborative, what roles it is playing to reduce emissions in the region, and how the collaborative funds its activities.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Hillary Neger , Annie Bennett
Resource Category: Law and Governance
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
September 2016
From the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), this report examines the current and potential future impacts of climate change and extreme weather on the U. S. energy sector. The report provides step-wise guidance to building a vulnerability assessment framework and a subsequent resilience plan for electric utility assets and operations. The guide highlights a number of available tools, projections, sample metrics, and completed assessments to support planners in identifying risks, evaluating options, and developing effective plans.
Resource Category: Solutions
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
January 2016
The Green Zone Environmental Program (GZEP) is a program run by the District of Columbia’s Department of Energy and Environment that provides young adults aged 14 to 24 with summer careers in clean energy. Every year, over 300 youth and young adults throughout the District -- with a focus on recruitment from vulnerable, under-represented communities -- enroll in a six-week training and educational Program. The DOEE and GZEP partner with local businesses to expose participants of the Program to both classroom and hands-on training in the areas of stormwater management, solar energy installments, green infrastructure construction, landscaping, and more.
Resource Category: Education and Outreach
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
Resource
2015
California’s SOMAH and MASH programs provide an example of how financial incentives can be used to support installation of solar energy photovoltaic (PV) systems on multifamily affordable housing properties. Assembly Bill 693 provides financial incentives for the installation of PV systems, prescribes criteria for participation in the incentive program, sets targets for installation of solar PV systems, identifies various required elements for the Program, and gives direction to the California Public Utilities Commission on the administration of the Program. The SOMAH program's goal is to encourage the installation of 300 megawatts (MW) of solar power to benefit affordable housing units by 2030. This program is funded through GHG allowance auction proceeds and is administered by nonprofits and electric utilities. Eligible building owners and tenants can receive solar credits through a virtual net energy metering system. The program provides direct economic benefits by allowing low-income renters to receive energy produced on the roof of their housing unit, which lowers monthly utility costs and helps “disadvantaged communities” reap the benefits of the growing California solar industry.
Resource Category: Funding
See Resource Login to Add to My Resource List
