• Beth Conover, Econover, LLC.Finally, we thank Theresa von Kuegelgen of the NREL Communications Office for the technical editing of this document. Of course, any remaining errors are the responsibilities of the authors.
NREL's Clean Energy Policy Analyses (CEPA)The CEPA suite of analyses and activities explore clean energy development and policy implementation at the regional, state, and local levels and disseminate that information to interested stakeholders. The activities gauge the effectiveness of and interactions between clean energy policies, provide insight into regional activities, investigate the interactions between local and state-level policies, and convene leading thought leaders to develop innovative regional, state, and local clean energy policies. The goal is to provide information to decision makers, researchers, and other stakeholders regarding the status of, barriers to, and possibilities for increased energy efficiency and renewable energy development at various levels of governance. For more information, see www.nrel.gov/cepa/. This report focuses primarily on energy use in electricity and buildings. For more information on transportation policies at the state and local level, please see the Alternative Fuels Data Center: www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/.
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Executive SummaryThis report examines the successes and difficulties that two large cities, Denver, Colorado and Austin, Texas, have experienced in implementing their respective city-wide energy plans. The report considers factors that have assisted or hindered putting energy initiatives from each plan into practice, including political, financial, and logistical realities. The report also examines the goals and design of each plan, and how throughout the implementation process the cities have altered expectations or the direction of energy initiatives included in the plans. This report provides state and local government policy makers and analysts with a more nuanced understanding of the successes and challenges distinct cities encounter in putting a city-wide energy plan into practice, including the following general lessons from the experiences of Denver and Austin.• Importance of state support: A city without a municipally owned utility (MOU) can develop and deploy local energy programs, but will likely have more options and a greater impact if supportive state-level energy policies are in place. An aggressive state renewable portfolio standard will aid a city in advancing its energy/climate goals by requiring the local utility to supply city residents and businesses with cleaner energy generated from renewable resources. City energy programs also benefit from the establishment of state demand-side management requirements for utilities.• Financial commitment from the city: City funding for staff and energy initiatives provides organizational and administrative stability for the implementation of a citywide energy plan. A city with an MOU is well positioned to implementing local energy efficiency programs and increase renewable energy sup...
