Maggie from Florida asks: Anyone implement an energy rebate program at a local level? Is it being managed by staff or was it contracted out competitively? Any advice on how to best implement/manage such a program?

The TAP Team responds: There are quite a few good examples of energy programs offered at a local level that offer rebates, technical assistance and other incentives. A few of these include the following:

• The City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County in Virginia jointly formed the Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) which is creating and administering energy efficiency (EE) programs for the residential sector. The Southeast EE Alliance (SEEA) seed funded the creation of LEAP in 2009 and the county and city have each allocated EECBG funds for LEAP to take programs to scale. They are currently working on rebates, incentives, and a local contractor network to deliver services to the residential sector. LEAP site- www.leap-va.org
• The town of Babylon, New York has rolled out the Long Island Green Homes Program in which residents can make energy efficient improvements to their homes at little or no cost and without assuming new debt through some innovative municipality-based financing initiatives. http://www.townofbabylon.com/whatsnew.cfm?id=252
• The Cambridge (Massachusetts) Energy Alliance is a not-for-profit organization created to save residents money, while reducing Cambridge’s carbon footprint. The Alliance is working with homeowners, businesses and institutions across the city to achieve unprecedented levels of energy savings and to expand clean energy sources. They offer:
  • Comprehensive energy assessments/audits for Cambridge buildings, generally for free
  • Up to 30% reductions in energy bills
  • Energy efficiency upgrades with no up front cash required
  • A one-stop energy solution with guaranteed quality
  • See: http://cambridgeenergyalliance.org/
• The ClimateSmart programs are run by the City of Boulder, Colorado's Office of Environmental Affairs. For information on Boulder’s programs, see: http://www.bouldercolorado.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1058&Itemid=396

The management of these programs varies. The municipalities listed above include both municipal staff tasked with running these programs and others that have an outside non-profit organization providing services on behalf of the municipality. There are other examples of municipalities that outsource these services to for-profit consulting firms (Charleston, SC is about to put out an RFP to hire one).

There is not one best way to go on implementing/managing municipal EE programs. There are good reasons and justifications for each of these three models. If the municipality is willing to employ city staff to operate their program, that may be the best way to institutionalize EE within the municipality while establishing it for the longer term. In some circumstances, residents may not be willing to expand the city’s payroll, but there may be an opportunity to access funds (e.g. ARRA) to pay for an outside consultant to operate the municipality’s programs. This can be a great way to get the ball rolling and build a successful track record on the value of EE. Finally, working in partnership with a separate non-profit organization may provide some of the benefits of getting EE programs rolling, while seeding a new mission-driven business that may be able to grow an EE infrastructure that can serve the community for years while drawing in other grants and resources beyond local taxpayer funds.

Has your city or county implemented an energy rebate program?  What worked?  What didn't?  Leave your best practices in the comments section below, or email us at solutioncenter@ee.doe.gov