Northern Westchester Energy Action Consortium

Strategic Plan
2011-2015
December 2010
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NWEAC Inter-Municipal Agreement signed April 21, 2010
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Mission Statement
Strategy 2:
Use Regional Scale in Pursuing Energy Solutions
Goals/Strategies
Strategy 1:
Address Consumer Behavior to Reduce Energy Demand
Strategy 4:
Build NWEACs Capacity to Achieve its Strategic Plan
Governance
Strategy 3:
Transform the Region into National Model Using Grassroots Approach
Constituencies
Strategic Direction 2011
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Mission Statement
The Northern Westchester Energy Action Consortium (NWEAC) consists of 14
municipalities in Westchester County, New York.
Consortium members collaborate to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, save money
for our residents, businesses and municipalities, increase energy efficiency in our
communities, enable renewable energy generation, increase economic activity and
align our local efforts with county, state, and federal initiatives.
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Goals/Strategies
To successfully attain NWEACs short and long term Goals, four broad Strategies
have been identified
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Address Consumer Behavior to Reduce Energy Demand
Why?
Energy is a consumer market. Consumers must have the tools, inspiration and
motivation to change behavior in order to reduce energy usage and demand.
By providing focused resources to each of the residential, commercial, industrial,
municipal and education sectors, we can move toward realizing our goals.
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Address Consumer Behavior to Reduce Energy Demand
How?
1. Profile current usage patterns
E.g., GHG emissions inventory work
Underway in 7 NWEAC municipalities
2. Develop Climate Action Plans
Underway in 7 NWEAC municipalities
Addressing all sectors
Addressing major sources of energy consumption
Waste management
Transportation
Residential and non-residential buildings efficiency
3. Develop/provide enabling programs
E.g., Energize Northern Westchester Residential energy efficiency upgrade program
4. Develop consumer-oriented messages for enabling programs
Effective in reducing energy consumption
Money-saving
Easy to use
5, Educate and inform residents about the benefits of changing energy consumption behavior
Reduced municipal, residential and commercial costs
Reduced regional emissions from all sources
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Use Regional Scale in Pursuing Energy Solutions
Why?
Regional approach offers greater inspiration and opportunities to address the
issues of energy supply and demand.
Regional perspective fosters innovation and enables appropriate scale to develop
pilot projects in such important areas as micro-grids, alternative energy and
energy efficiency upgrades.
Regional scale makes projects more viable. Grant applications are more
competitive due to larger scale. Per capita project costs are reduced. Scale
increases potential to create commercially successful solutions.
Regional approach results in greater results. The larger the scale the more impact
achieved.
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Use Regional Scale in Pursuing Energy Solutions
How?
1. Identify and develop programs that have regional capacities and can be
replicated elsewhere
2. Secure funding streams for regional pilot initiatives
3. Promote municipal shared services
Increases operational efficiencies of municipalities
4. Develop revenue generating projects, e.g.,
Increase NYISO revenue from verifying energy reductions
Explore revenue from sale of waste management by-products
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Transform the Region into National Model
Using Grassroots Approach
Why?
NWEAC has the expertise, motivation, access and clout to develop cutting
edge, impactful solutions. As such, it has the capability to serve as a national
model for regionally-based energy reduction initiatives. NWEAC should take
advantage of its abilities to identify, develop, support and promote local
sustainable development initiatives that have the potential to be successful
regional models. NWEACs expertise and experience can be utilized
elsewhere. Benefits of scale can be realized.
Grassroots initiatives have the excitement and vitality to develop into broad
solutions.
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Transform the Region into National Model
Using Grassroots Approach
How?
1. Encourage grassroots initiatives that can be models for other communities
Develop projects with an eye toward opportunity for regional replication
2. Identify project champions
To lead each project
To put together a strong team
3. Set high standards for processing and reporting
Build measurable components into each of NWEACs strategic goals
Measure performance
4. Act as a resource clearinghouse for member municipalities
Notify of attractive opportunities
5. Develop and disseminate program-related best practices
In order to facilitate their replication
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Build NWEACs Capacity to Achieve its Strategic Plan
Why?
In order for NWEAC to have a strong impact, it must optimize its capabilities. To
do this, NWEAC must devote resources to build its capacity in order to realize
the changes it seeks to bring about.
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Build NWEACs Capacity to Achieve its Strategic Plan
How?
1. Pursue grants and strategic partners
Identify, explore and optimize opportunities
Establish, maintain and enhance professional contacts
2. Maintain a vibrant organizational structure
Maintain a culture of support for cutting edge ideas/bold initiatives
Create an economically sustainable organizational structure
Hire staff as needed
Make minor modifications to governance structure as needed
3. Build NWEAC brand
Recognizable name
Understandable/clear value proposition
Replication capability
4. Work with local groups as conduit to residents
Municipal energy advisory panels
Town Boards
Other community/local/regional environmental groups
5. Obtain widespread participation in NWEAC initiatives
Create marketing strategy framework
Optimize channels of communications
Recruit citizens
Encourage ideas
Be responsive to citizen needs
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Governance
NWEAC Board of Directors
One BOD position from each member municipality
Program Director
Can be a municipal selected BOD member
Can be a non-municipal affiliated individual
Votes on Executive Committee
Non-voting on BOD if non-municipal affiliated individual
Meetings
6 BOD meetings/year
Conference calls/F2F as needed
Committees to date
Programs
Waste management
Marketing/Community outreach
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Constituencies
Primary constituents
Municipalities
Residents
Schools
Local businesses
Local Institutions
Secondary constituents
Funders
State and federal government
Other mission-related NGOs
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Strategic Direction 2011
1. Initiate major project to introduce affordable energy efficiency upgrades for
homeowners in 14 NWEAC municipalities
Energize Northern Westchester
2. Grow and increase the benefit to our communities by developing related but
equally important initiatives
3. Work toward self-funded regional solutions
4. Obtain 501-C3 status