OPT UP with community aggregation
There are two separate issues w/community choice aggregation:
1. Town level
The town of Fairhaven has currently opted up as a default town-wide to 10% more renewables (Class I, local, New England energy) than is required by the state (22% is renewable % required by the state and it goes up every year). People can opt down from that 10% using a simple form on the masscea website or by calling a number. We (Good Energy, the Fairhaven Sustainability Committee, Climate Reality Massachusetts Southcoast) did a big outreach campaign to seniors in particular to let them know how they could opt down. The contract should come up for renewal early next year.
Currently Fairhaven is the only town on the southcoast that has opted up for more renewables. That green dot on the pic below (found on this site) is Fairhaven. Our group made that green dot happen! We want to see more green for the southcoast. :)
1. Town level
The town of Fairhaven has currently opted up as a default town-wide to 10% more renewables (Class I, local, New England energy) than is required by the state (22% is renewable % required by the state and it goes up every year). People can opt down from that 10% using a simple form on the masscea website or by calling a number. We (Good Energy, the Fairhaven Sustainability Committee, Climate Reality Massachusetts Southcoast) did a big outreach campaign to seniors in particular to let them know how they could opt down. The contract should come up for renewal early next year.
Currently Fairhaven is the only town on the southcoast that has opted up for more renewables. That green dot on the pic below (found on this site) is Fairhaven. Our group made that green dot happen! We want to see more green for the southcoast. :)
2. Individual/Business level
People in any of the Southcoast towns can individually (or as a business) opt UP to 50% or 100% renewable energy for their home/business by using the simple form on the masscea website. This is easier than adding solar panels to your house. By the way, if you do have solar panels on your house, please also opt up! We want to support the program as much as possible. Opting up does involve a modest cost increase, but your investment in local renewable energy by opting up is one of the single best ways to combat climate change as an individual.
***BONUS***Once a town (like Fairhaven) has opted up by a default, any individual or business in the community can opt up to 50% or 100% and claim the extra cost as a deduction on their taxes. Individuals/businesses get a letter in February indicating the extra they paid for 50% or 100% clean energy for the previous year.
Resources:
https://masscea.com/ has aggregation info town by town. Again, this is a town approved program so each page has the town seal. This website also includes calculators for residents/businesses to see how much more opting up to 50% or 100% will cost per month based on their average kWh usage.
Green Energy Consumers Alliance exists to educate towns about aggregation.
Good Energy (more on community aggregation from their website here) is the company that negotiates the aggregation contract once each Selectboard decides on their energy package.
Neither one is going to advocate for anything in particular for the town. They're going to go with what the town wants. my/your/our job as climate activists and concerned citizens is to advocate for a higher percentage of renewables for the town.
One more thing to add: the two other great things about aggregation (and why the towns have signed up and other towns that don't have it yet are jealous) is that because the towns all buy in bulk and purchase energy at a fixed rate over three years, there is a huge cost savings. My contention is that we should use some of that cost savings to purchase a higher % of renewable energy even if right now that costs more. The other piece of the puzzle is that renewable energy costs have proven to be more stable than dirty energy prices.
People in any of the Southcoast towns can individually (or as a business) opt UP to 50% or 100% renewable energy for their home/business by using the simple form on the masscea website. This is easier than adding solar panels to your house. By the way, if you do have solar panels on your house, please also opt up! We want to support the program as much as possible. Opting up does involve a modest cost increase, but your investment in local renewable energy by opting up is one of the single best ways to combat climate change as an individual.
***BONUS***Once a town (like Fairhaven) has opted up by a default, any individual or business in the community can opt up to 50% or 100% and claim the extra cost as a deduction on their taxes. Individuals/businesses get a letter in February indicating the extra they paid for 50% or 100% clean energy for the previous year.
Resources:
https://masscea.com/ has aggregation info town by town. Again, this is a town approved program so each page has the town seal. This website also includes calculators for residents/businesses to see how much more opting up to 50% or 100% will cost per month based on their average kWh usage.
Green Energy Consumers Alliance exists to educate towns about aggregation.
Good Energy (more on community aggregation from their website here) is the company that negotiates the aggregation contract once each Selectboard decides on their energy package.
Neither one is going to advocate for anything in particular for the town. They're going to go with what the town wants. my/your/our job as climate activists and concerned citizens is to advocate for a higher percentage of renewables for the town.
One more thing to add: the two other great things about aggregation (and why the towns have signed up and other towns that don't have it yet are jealous) is that because the towns all buy in bulk and purchase energy at a fixed rate over three years, there is a huge cost savings. My contention is that we should use some of that cost savings to purchase a higher % of renewable energy even if right now that costs more. The other piece of the puzzle is that renewable energy costs have proven to be more stable than dirty energy prices.
How we advocated for an increase of renewables in Fairhaven in 2020:
Fairhaven gave residents the opportunity to give feedback on whether to increase the town's default renewables by 10% for the contract starting in January 2021. The projected cost increase was around $2 - $3 per month per household. A survey was conducted in June and July of 2020. Members of our group and the community attended various Selectboard meetings to give feedback on the proposal. The Fairhaven Selectboard voted on the issue at their September 2020 meeting and the measure passed 2 - 1. Then we (Good Energy, the Fairhaven Sustainability Committee, Climate Reality Massachusetts Southcoast) did a big outreach campaign to seniors in particular to let them know how they could opt down to if they couldn't afford the modest cost increase.
Fairhaven gave residents the opportunity to give feedback on whether to increase the town's default renewables by 10% for the contract starting in January 2021. The projected cost increase was around $2 - $3 per month per household. A survey was conducted in June and July of 2020. Members of our group and the community attended various Selectboard meetings to give feedback on the proposal. The Fairhaven Selectboard voted on the issue at their September 2020 meeting and the measure passed 2 - 1. Then we (Good Energy, the Fairhaven Sustainability Committee, Climate Reality Massachusetts Southcoast) did a big outreach campaign to seniors in particular to let them know how they could opt down to if they couldn't afford the modest cost increase.