Imagine how not having secure, reliable access to energy would change your day-to-day life. For many people living and working on Maine’s islands and coast, that is their reality. Our communities need solutions for powering working waterfronts, securing funding for energy infrastructure, and keeping schools running after storms blow through. This is why Island Institute is working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on a new initiative to provide local leaders with the tailored support they need to help their communities realize a more resilient and affordable energy future.
In early June, Island Institute community development officers traveled from the Coast of Maine to Golden, Colorado for a three-day workshop at the National Renewable Energy Lab. The workshop aimed to train four community-based organizations in programs and resources that can aid communities in energy transitions. The Energy Technology Innovation Navigators—a collaboration among NREL, Island Institute, Spark Northwest, Great Plains Institute, and Renewable Energy Alaska Project—are part of a pilot initiative designed to strengthen NREL’s connections with a wider range of municipalities, tribal governments, small businesses, and nonprofits, helping them identify, plan, and implement energy transitions.
In the workshop, Navigators learned about a suite of technical assistance programs, a community learning management system, and funding opportunities. Navigators trained with software to plan, site, and predict life cycle costs for energy infrastructure including EV chargers and solar and battery storage. The workshop also provided facilitation and conflict resolution training, and other skills that are valuable to the work.
We are currently recruiting communities for the pilot and gathering information on community energy needs. Please email Brenna Cohen, Community Development Officer, if you’d like to learn more.
Kate Klibansky, Community Development Officer
The workshop in Colorado was a great opportunity to connect with similar organizations across the country, some that we have worked with since the beginning of the Energy Technology Innovation Partnership Project (ETIPP), and others that we just recently began collaborating with through Navigators. To have that amount of community development experience from the regional partners, and energy expertise from NREL in the same room was inspiring to say the least.
As we look ahead to the work we are embarking on, and the work that we have been doing with ETIPP, I’m proud to grow both our skills and our network to make a bigger difference for the Northeast.
Phoebe Walsh, Community Development Officer
I left the workshop feeling that Island Institute has a lot to be proud of—particularly our strengths in community development and the depth of relationships in communities. As someone who works primarily with Maine’s small working waterfront businesses, it was a welcomed change of pace to learn about the work happening in municipalities as far away as Alaska.
I’m really excited that NREL is developing a program to increase stakeholder engagement at the community level. I can’t wait to help inform this first year and see how it evolves going forward.
