As 38 communities across the United States join the fifth cohort of the Energy Technology Innovation Partnership Project (ETIPP), Island Institute will be there to guide and support communities in the Northeast as they spend upcoming months and years pursuing energy planning and analysis projects.
A U.S. Department of Energy technical assistance program, ETIPP works with coastal, remote, and island communities to develop more affordable and reliable energy systems. For many rural Maine communities, where energy costs are high and outages can last for days, this kind of support is essential.
Now in its fifth year, the program has supported more than 80 communities with projects including strategic energy planning, energy generation and storage assessments, weatherization, energy system optimization modeling, and other in-depth energy analysis projects. The program combines the energy expertise of national laboratory energy researchers with the localized support of regional partner organizations—primarily nonprofit and educational organizations—across eight regions spanning the United States and territories.
Including these new communities added for Cohort 5, Island Institute will have provided support to 18 community-driven energy projects across the northeastern seaboard.
“Our team is excited to welcome two new communities and two returning communities to ETIPP,” says Kate Klibansky, Senior Community Development Officer at Island Institute. “For the past five years, Island Institute has been supporting communities with energy reliability and resilience issues through this program by meeting communities where they are at, providing on-the-ground support, and engaging directly with diverse stakeholders and community members. Knowing that communities are getting direct expert support, especially in a challenging funding landscape, is huge to us.”
The communities accepted into the program for Cohort 5 are Belfast, Wiscasset, Cranberry Isles, and Islesboro. Belfast and Wiscasset will be developing strategic energy plans over the next 4 to 8 months, while Islesboro and Cranberry Isles will receive in-depth analysis for specific challenges and opportunities over 12 to 18 months, all with the support of national experts.
By combining Island Institute’s local knowledge with the technical expertise of national laboratory researchers, we look forward to continuing our support for ETIPP’s newest communities.
Both Islesboro and Cranberry Isles have participated in ETIPP before; Islesboro was one of the first ETIPP communities that started in 2020, and Cranberry Isles just wrapped up their strategic energy plan through the program last summer. Including these new communities added for Cohort 5, Island Institute will have provided support to 18 community-driven energy projects across the northeastern seaboard.
By combining Island Institute’s local knowledge with the technical expertise of national laboratory researchers, we look forward to continuing our support for ETIPP’s newest communities as they plan for a more reliable, secure, and affordable energy future
Learn more about Island Institute’s energy work here.
