The Community Energy Challenge: Bringing Energy Conservation to Local Independent Businesses

摘要

The Community Energy Challenge (CEC) administered by Sustainable Connections inBellingham, Washington is a pilot program bringing resource conservation and energy efficiencyto local independent businesses, a historically underserved market sector. For large organizationswith over $1,500,000 in energy costs each year, Resource Conservation Managers (RCM) havebeen funded by the electric utility with demonstrated savings of between five and fifteen percent(Puget Sound Energy 2010). The CEC brings these services to smaller businesses by aggregatingmultiple accounts, providing a shared RCM who audits each facility and produces a customizedFacility Action Plan with support staff to ensure continued feedback with each client. Thisprogram differs from existing services for small businesses in that it includes a fuel-neutral audit,emphasizes soft conservation, supplies ongoing monitoring and technical support, providesenhanced financial incentives and low-interest loans, and establishes a platform for communitywiderecognition of energy conscious practices. The CEC simultaneously addresses multiplebarriers within the small business energy efficiency market, maximizing access to energyefficiency resources and improving energy performance community-wide. The novelty of thisapproach has resulted in an evolution of the program over its first year with several lessonslearned. The program has navigated challenges including establishing an initial level ofcommitment for participants, developing a meaningful benchmarking procedure across adiversity of industries, accurately representing potential savings, and ensuring implementation ofrecommended efficiency measures. This paper details some of the opportunities, obstacles andanswers to making a successful business model for energy efficiency in the small businessessector.