Connecticut’s microgrid program is among this year’s winners recognized by the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) for accelerating and strengthening clean energy tech and markets.
CESA highlighted Connecticut for its first-of-a-kind $45 million grant program to help communities improve electric resiliency through microgrid development. The state has conducted two solicitations with a third planned, and has so far funded 11 microgrids. Projects planned by Schneider Electric and FuelCell Energy were among winners in the most recent $5.1 million round.
Administered by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Connecticut’s microgrid program can act as a model for others, CESA said. The agency has given technical assistance to others and offers tools for microgrid development on the its website.
Keep up on the latest in the fast-moving microgrid market by following us on Twitter @MicrogridNews.
In addition to Connecticut’s microgrid program, CESA winners were:
- The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) for its CHP Acceleration Program
- The Alaska Energy Authority and the Kodiak Energy Association for Kodiak, Alaska: A 99 percent Renewable Energy Community
- The Connecticut Green Bank for the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program
- The Energy Trust of Oregon for the City of Gresham Wastewater Treatment Plant
- The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program
- The New Mexico Energy Conservation and Management Division for the Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit
- The Sacramento Municipal Utility District for SMUD’s Community Renewable Energy Deployment Program
“These award winners illustrate the tremendous creativity and commitment being shown by state agencies across the country in implementing clean energy,” said Warren Leon, CESA executive director. “With eight very different programs highlighting diverse technologies including solar PV, wind, energy storage, hydropower, anaerobic digesters, microgrids, and combined heat and power, the 2014 State Leadership in Clean Energy award winners demonstrate that clean energy can create jobs, clean up the environment, and benefit local economies. These are programs to emulate.”
CESA member organizations from across the U.S. submitted nominations for the leadership awards. Entries were judged based on public benefits and results, cost effectiveness, leadership and innovation, and replicability. Winners were chosen by an independent that included: Steve Lindenberg, senior advisor for renewable power at the US Department of Energy; Andrea Luecke, president and executive director of the Solar Foundation; former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, director of the Center for a New Energy Economy; Larry Sherwood, vice president and COO of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council; and Robert Thresher, research fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
A report on this year’s State Leadership in Clean Energy (SLICE) award winners, including case studies about each program, is available on CESA’s website.
This website also contains information and registration links for webinars about the programs. These webcasts are free and open to the public:
- Economic Development and Job Growth in Massachusetts and New Mexico, Monday, December 8, 1-2pm ET
- Accelerating Resilient Power in Connecticut and New York, Tuesday, December 16, 1-2pm ET
- Clean Energy from Coast to Coast, featuring California and Connecticut, Friday, January 16, 2-3pm ET
- Achieving Net Zero in Alaska and Oregon, Friday, January 23, 2-3pm ET
