AND LOW-INCOME AND MINORITY COMMUNITIES
Over 50 diverse groups from across the United States have come together to express common concerns and solutions for our energy system. |
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The following Resolution on Sustainable Energy and Low-Income and Minority Communities is the product of an extensive, consensus-based process among representatives of groups focusing on environmental justice, low-income energy advocacy, clean energy, environmental, enterprise development, and Indian Country issues. While the process was indeed long, it has yielded a document that truly reflects common concerns about the state of the U.S. energy sector. As the accompanying fact sheet indicates, there is much to be concerned about-so much so that greater cooperation between our diverse communities is warranted if we are to make a positive impact on our national energy infrastructure.
It is no small task. But successful examples abound of groups and programs that are finding a way to deliver cleaner and more affordable energy solutions to low-income and minority communities:
- The Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia has successfully reached out to low-income residents to educate them on energy efficiency's benefits to their pocketbooks. ECA informs residents about efficiency in conjunction with local programs dealing with water, job training, and other core issues. In other words, ECA considers energy as part of a holistic community approach so that it is relevant to residents.
- The Center for Neighborhood Technology has launched two efforts in Chicago. One program offers energy-efficient appliances through local stores. Another involves the local utility to install community-owned, small-scale generation such as microturbines. Both efforts are addressing Chicago's notorious grid constraints so that local residents can save money and keep the lights on.
- Hopi SUN has successfully sold and installed solar photovoltaic systems for Hopi residents lacking electricity. The business is running full time and now even exports its services overseas. The business is a response to the disproportionate number of Indian reservation residents who lack basic energy services.
These and other efforts, some funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America program, show that with project champions, some funding, and innovative strategies, cleaner energy is not just the province of middle- and upper-class households. However, these programs are among an isolated few. Further, they are working within an energy system that offers few policies and business incentives to make energy and equity one and the same.
The barriers to cooperation are not surprising. First, groups from the relevant communities have limited resources and limited time to dive into issues that are not central to their concerns-for example, environmental justice groups must scramble to head off looming threats knocking on their community doorsteps every day. And renewable energy firms with thin profit margins are pursuing higher-income customers to buy more expensive energy. Second, both communities are not familiar with each other and share little cultural commonality. Physicists specializing in the photovoltaic effect rarely talk with grassroots organizers in low-income neighborhoods.
But cooperation is possible, even promising, and increasingly desirable. As this resolution shows, there are concrete, shared interests in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and small power plants known as distributed energy. Ultimately, all of the communities represented in this resolution offer something the others need-ultimate technological solutions, grassroots organizing skills, legal expertise, energy policy know-how, and practical local wisdom.
Folks may ask "Now what should happen?" This resolution seeks to create a framework, and we hope it will encourage you think about what you can do to help implement successful clean energy and efficiency projects in your neighborhood.
Virinder Singh, Research Director
Fredric Beck, Research Manager
Mary Kathryn Campbell, Internet and Publications Director
Roby Roberts, Executive Director