CURRENTS Summer 2016

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By Jordan Decker, Local Government Commission

At LGC, and through the Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative (SEEC), we hear from energy and sustainability leads in local governments far and wide that one of the most critical pieces of a successful, goal-achieving, cost-effective energy project is an energy champion. Having a champion on the inside of government that is well-informed of the many benefits of acting on energy efficiency and sustainability – and that knows the resources a local government can leverage (funding, state policies and requirements, technical assistance) – can be the person that helps unstop a project that has encountered an unsure supervisor, a confusing next step or a need for external funding.

We also hear that one of the most challenging things that can happen mid-project is loss of staff, through cutbacks, reassignment, or staff turnover. To help get new staff up to speed – and connect existing staff with new resources to plan and implement more and better projects, the Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative (SEEC) has developed some new Energy Efficiency 101 resources:

• A walkthrough of basic energy efficiency (EE) questions, from “why care about EE?” to “what does EE action look like?” and “what EE resources are available?”
• Energy efficiency 101 presentations sharing energy efficiency benefits, driving policies, case studies, best practices, available incentives, technical assistance, and more.
• A 101 overview of what agencies handle what energy topics at the state level.

Get these resources and link to more on the Coordinator’s new Energy Efficiency Resources 101 page.

Building Capacity with CivicSpark

Know the value of an energy champion, but need additional staff capacity to make it happen? Check out the work being done by CivicSpark, a Governor’s Initiative AmeriCorps program dedicated to building capacity for local governments to address climate change and water management needs, in different regions in California – and consider applying to add a CivicSpark fellow to your team for the 2016-2017 service year.

• CivicSpark projects – North Coast region
• CivicSpark projects – Sierra Nevada region
• CivicSpark projects – Sacramento region
• CivicSpark projects – San Francisco Bay Area region
• CivicSpark projects – Central Coast region
• CivicSpark projects – Los Angeles region
• CivicSpark projects – Southern California region