We are members of local energy committees, advocates for adoption and expansion of clean renewable energy, and citizens who want to learn more about how they can become active.
Municipalities across Cape Cod and the Islands host town energy, infrastructure, or energy-climate committees. Their charge is to reduce the community’s contribution to climate change by promoting energy infrastructure that is cleaner, leaner, and more resilient, and to prepare, coordinate and execute mitigation actions and adaptation strategies that anticipate and respond to the effects of climate change.
We are a new network and welcome your participation. We invite you to share your accomplishments, initiatives, challenges, and resources. Contact capecodclimate@gmail.com for more information.
The Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative (CVEC) is a public cooperative* which develops or owns renewable electric generation facilities and procures or sells long-term electric supply or other energy-related goods or services including renewable energy certificate contracts at competitive prices to member Massachusetts communities.
Cape Light Compact is an intergovernmental organization consisting of the 21 towns on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard and Duke’s County. The Compact’s mission is to serve its 205,000 customers through the delivery of proven energy efficiency programs, effective consumer advocacy, and renewable competitive electricity supply.
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) is a state economic development agency dedicated to accelerating the growth of the clean energy sector across the Commonwealth to spur job creation, deliver statewide environmental benefits and to secure long-term economic growth for the people of Massachusetts. MassCEC works to increase the adoption of clean energy while driving down costs and delivering financial, environmental, and economic development benefits to energy users and utility customers across the state.
Support and promote expanded renewable energy production; support creation of a GHG inventory for the region; promote transition to renewable energy sources for heating for all public buildings; support development of battery storage capability; promote energy conservation and efficiency.
The ECCI is a coalition of energy/climate/infrastructure committee representatives from across the region who share committee goals, initiatives, progress, challenges and best practices. The entity meets twice a year in a virtual meeting co-sponsored by the Cape Light Compact and Cape Cod Climate Change Collaborative.
Upcoming Meeting Agenda: November 4, 2021 – Click Here
Meeting Notes July 22, 2021 – Click Here
Recordings of July 22, 2021 Meeting – Click Here
Recording of December 10, 2020 Meeting – Click Here
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Since the emergence of electrical systems in the late 1800s, society has created most of its electricity by burning fossil fuels—coal, oil, or gas. Today, electricity production gives rise to 25% of heat-trapping emissions globally. A global energy transition is under way, with the world shifting away from carbon-based fuels to renewable energy.
For much of the world, electricity powers the realities of daily life, keeping air conditioners cooling, heaters heating, lights illuminating, computers computing, and all manner of motors humming. The challenge facing us locally and globally is how to generate, transmit, store, and use electricity without burning fossil fuels. A mosaic of solutions for evolving means of transmitting, storing, and using electricity will evolve around electricity efficiency, production, and a more robust electrical system. They include:
Enhance Efficiency – Electricity efficiency solutions include technologies and practices that reduce demand for electricity generation, literally lightening the load, for the two biggest end-users of electricity—buildings and industry.
Shift Production – Production of electricity must move away from fossil fuels, as quickly as possible, with a spectrum of solutions that can help from small-scale/distributed to large-scale/centralized. Some solutions harvest photons from the sun. Others tap nature’s generous kinetic energy—the movement of wind and water. Still others use an alternate source of heat, such as geothermal or nuclear, for the same basic steam-turbine process.
Improve the System – To enable the transition to renewable electricity production and use, the broader electricity system also needs to evolve and upgrade. Flexible grids for transmission and effective energy storage make it possible to better balance electricity supply with demand.
