2019 Year in Review

In 2019 Community Power alongside coalition partners have: 

• Launched a statewide climate justice policy conversation, aiming to craft a model 100% renewable energy bill around the concepts of Clean, Local, Equitable, Affordable, and Reliable energy; known as the “CLEAR“ bill.
• Supported partner organization Cooperative Energy Futures to launch 3 cooperatively-owned solar gardens in St. Cloud, Janesville, and Minneapolis, subscribing 81 households, 10 small businesses, 3 places of worship, and 2 cooperatives collectively saving ~$1,365,000 in electricity costs over the next 25 years; 
• Secured a landmark feasibility analysis of Inclusive Energy Financing in Minnesota, released by the UMN in August 2019. http://energytransition.umn.edu/projects/inclusive-finance-for-residential-efficiency/; When it becomes an operating program, Inclusive Financing will be a tool to reduce financial and property ownership barriers to energy efficiency and rooftop solar, thus allowing low-income and low-credit residents to access lower energy bills 
• Co-facilitated monthly conversations among twelve neighborhood and community organizations in the metro area, specifically focusing on how to create low-income and renter-focused efficiency resources; 
• Activated community members against Xcel Energy’s proposed acquisition of a fracked gas plant, a purchase that the Public Utilities Commission unanimously rejected in a 5-0 vote on September 27th; 
• Participated in several Public Utilities Commission comment processes to push the discussion and outcomes toward equity, access, and community-ownership including in energy utilities’ 15-year plans, conservation programming, and electric vehicle plans 
• Led the small effort to restore $350,000 in the Minneapolis City Budget for the Clean Energy Franchise fee enabled programs out of what would have been a $590,000 shortfall from the 2019 budget.