Municipal Framework for CEP Development
“I began researching Holland’s CEP in 2019. I noticed that its CEP, published in 2011, had very outdated goals: it delineated how to reach a target of 10mmt CO2e/capita by 2050, but I knew that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) outlined in its 2018 report that due to the scale and rapid acceleration of the climate crisis, much more rigorous targets were needed. The IPCC specifically recommended reducing CO2e by 50% by 2030. I began developing a report that provided specific steps to alter the existing CEP. I was serving as a student representative on the Holland Sustainability Committee, and the chairperson of the Committee invited me to present my report. Unfortunately, this never came to fruition, because shortly afterward, the pandemic hit and the country went into lockdown. A year later, the Sustainability Committee resumed meetings and a new committee called the Strategic Development Team was tasked with drafting a set of recommendations for the improvement of Holland’s CEP. I decided to evolve what I had begun working on for Holland into a larger framework that any municipality could use to develop a brand-new CEP or improve an existing CEP. Below is a brief history of Holland’s CEP process to provide an example context, followed by more information about the framework.”
– Zen Huggett
2011: Holland’s CEP
In 2011, Holland released its Community Energy Plan outlining the following goals for community energy use:
- Ensure economic competitiveness
- Provide reliable and affordable energy
- Protect the environment
The plan established the base case energy use, supply and demand in Holland, and predicted four future scenarios/courses of action. It set a goal of reducing carbon emissions to 24 metric tons CO2e/capita by 2050. The release of this Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in 2018 made it clear that this goal was wholly inadequate and must be improved if Holland were to do its part to mitigate the climate crisis.
2018: Energy Report
In 2018, a Special Report was presented to the Holland Sustainability Committee, and, subsequently, to Holland City Council regarding the progression of the CEP goals established in 2011. This report identified the electric emissions factor as being the driving force of reduction in carbon emissions and quantified Holland’s energy use at 19 metric tons CO2e/capita. 27.5% of this reduction was from the commercial sector, 43.4% from the industrial sector, 16.4% from the residential sector, and 11.7% from the transportation sector.
2022: Progress on New Goals
In 2020, a Strategic Development Team (SDT) was tasked with reviewing the Community Energy Plan (CEP) and developing a set of recommendations for its improvement. The Strategic Development Team’s recommendations were published in October of 2021, and the Community Energy Plan Steering Committee (CEPSC) was placed in charge of implementing the new recommendations. One key benchmark of the Report was the updated carbon emission reduction target: a 70% reduction in CO2e/capita from 2005 levels by 2030. Though a better target than that established in 2011, I believed that the city of Holland could have chosen a more rigorous target. My organization, Holland Sunrise Movement, urged the city not to approve the SDT recommendations unless they were modified in certain key areas. When the city did not agree, I was inspired to instead focus on developing a framework that other municipalities could use to develop robust community energy plans.
Community Energy Plan: Municipal Framework
“COMMUNITIES are at the forefront of the energy transition: citizens are increasingly asking their cities to develop and act on ambitious plans, and community leaders are seeing the social, political, and economic benefits of doing so. Even so, no standard roadmap or methodology exists to help communities transform their energy use. The purpose of this resource guide is to be that roadmap, and provide that methodology.”
(Community Energy Resource Guide, rmi.org)
Why a CEP?
- A Community Energy Plan is a roadmap for a community to set and achieve energy goals over a period of time.
- It is integral to keep municipal governments accountable to carbon emission reduction goals.
- Energy use accounts for roughly 70% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions worldwide; thus, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that rigorous energy goals are necessary to limit the effects of global climate change caused by these greenhouse gas emissions (Source: IPCC).
Improve an Existing Plan, or Develop New?
The process of developing a CEP is simple, and by following this comprehensive framework, individuals can:
- Create a proposal for their community government to develop a CEP
- Follow a systematic process to improve their community’s current CEP
How Does the Process Work?
This is achieved through a four-tiered process:
- Gather/utilize base case data (i.e. energy supply, demand, use and budget data).
- Set specific goals relating to different aspects of energy (i.e. residential, commercial, and industrial energy, recycling and composting, land management, and eco-transport).
- Create an education plan to increase energy literacy.
- Measure progress on goals.
Slide Deck for CEP Development/Improvement Proposal
Written Transcript for CEP Development/Improvement Proposal
Summary of CEP Development/Improvement Proposal
State and Federal Tax Incentives for Energy Goals
Draft Resolution to Instate a Community Energy Utility
Draft Resolution to Instate a Sustainability/Energy Taskforce/Committee