PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A new joint initiative, led by the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources and Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), aims to work with communities across nine states to help them become more energy efficient.
The ACE program, which stands for Achieving Community Efficiency, is a collaboration funded via a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Energy's State Energy Program which provides financial and technical assistance to states in order to enhance energy security, advance state-led energy initiatives and maximize the benefits of increasing energy efficiency. Other ACE project partners include the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources and West Virginia Energy Office.
"The goal of ACE is to help communities save energy and reduce their carbon emissions, leading to cost savings and improved health for residents," said Sue Coakley, executive director of NEEP. "At the end of this year three-year endeavor, we hope to have a tested and proven energy project management platform which we can roll out to communities across the country."
"In Rhode Island, we are proud to be ranked third in the nation for our energy efficiency programs," said State Energy Commissioner Carol Grant. "We are excited to be working with NEEP on the ACE program to share our energy efficiency best practices with these communities and help them lower their energy costs as well as their carbon emissions."
"We are pleased to support this multi-state effort to empower small and medium-sized rural communities to increase energy efficiency, and we look forward to working with the states and NEEP to successfully design and implement this program," said Steve Chalk, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
ACE plans to engage 150 small, medium, and rural municipalities and school districts in nine states by providing customized technical assistance and resources to help them track their energy use, set energy reduction goals and identify opportunities for energy efficiency improvements. These communities often face unique challenges not found in large cities and may have limited access to clean energy resources and information. The nine participating states are Rhode Island, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.