• Local governments can incorporate procedures and language into codes and permitting to remove unintentional barriers and ensure that all populations have the opportunity to go solar.
  • SolSmart Guidance for Advancing Solar Equity
• To get a better understanding of environmental justice issues and a source for teaching about environmental justice, InTeGrate uses a systems approach to address the issues of environmental justice.
  • Environmental Justice
• Community solar is one way for low-income communities to access clean and lower-cost energy. As an example, Illinois has an Action Plan for energy generation and community solar for low-income communities.
  • Illinois Action Plan
• Improve Energy Efficiency of  Affordable Housing.  EPA  developed a guide for how local governments can incorporate energy efficiency in affordable housing. This not only helps to reduce emissions, but also helps low-income residents cut their energy costs.
  • Energy Efficiency in Affordable Housing
• Lastly, US DOE’s Better Buildings has a large array of resources for low-income communities. Topics include helping single-family homeowners, stakeholder engagement, and action planning.
  • Clean Energy for Low Income Communities
• A diverse group of collaborators representing tribal, academic, intertribal and government entities in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, developed a framework to integrate indigenous and traditional knowledge, culture, language and history into the climate adaptation planning process.
  • Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu 

• In an effort to reduce solar soft costs and assist local governments and other public entities seeking to install and finance rooftop solar systems, IREC developed a comprehensive toolkit on retail solar power purchase agreements (PPAs), sometimes referred to as solar service agreements.
  • Solar Power Purchase Agreements: a Toolkit for Local Governments
• The City of Pittsfield completed a planning document for a proposed microgrid. They showcase what buildings will be connected, the cost, and the benefits of the microgrid.
  • The City of Pittsfield Downtown Microgrid
• Solar United Neighbors offer a guide to help integrate battery storage for homeowners. Some of the information can also be helpful for commercial applications.
  • Battery Storage Guide
• The importance of investing in energy measures that can mitigate natural disasters and build resilient communities is demonstrated in US DOE case studies of how communities and schools are using solar plus storage and investing in becoming more resilient. They show that solar plus storage is saving the community time and money in the long term from natural disasters.
  • Planning for an Energy Resilient Future: Energy Project Models and Lessons Learned
• Case study of farms using microgrids and biogas to help reduce overall cost and electricity use. The collection of biogas helps reduce greenhouse gas while supplying the farm and 28 homes within the area.
  • Butler Farms Microgrid
• Case study of how a microgrid helped a rural town with the integration of solar storage and propane generators. The microgrid was a final fix for the town rather than band-aids and constant repairs.
  • Why and How to Bring Microgrids to Small Town America
• See for yourself how the vehicle to grid systems work and the benefits they provide in this 4.5-minute video.

• Clean Energy Group has a publication that helps answer questions around solar plus storage. They address questions like: What factors do I need to consider when designing a solar+storage system? What different types of batteries are available (and which one is right for me)? What size battery do I need? Is solar+storage an effective backup power solution? Can storage be added to an existing solar system? How long does a solar+storage system last? How much do batteries cost? How do I determine the value of solar+storage (savings, revenue, resilience)? And much more.
  • Understanding Solar Storage
• More intense storms mean that trees are likely to fall and cut off your power. WPS is willing to bury the 125 feet of power line leading from your house to the power pole.
  • System Modernization Reliability Project
• It is important to allocate funding for resilience against climate disasters. This paper identifies funding and grant opportunities through FEMA and other federal funding sources and provides case studies of how the funds were applied and their impacts in helping communities.
  • Planning for an Energy Resilient Future: Energy Project Models and Lessons Learned
• On the overall elements in play that support the shift to a resilient, renewable energy-based power system in Wisconsin and nationally.
  • Energy On Wisconsin Director’s Note

Solar Plus Storage Renewable energy with the benefit of battery storage can help your community or building be completely or partly off the grid when needed, or even sell power back to the grid.

• Basic technical background and understanding of solar+storage systems are provided in this guide by Clean Energy Group’s Resilient Power Project. It is meant as a starting point for project developers, building owners, facility managers, and state and municipal planners to become familiar with solar+storage technologies, how they work, and what is involved in getting a new project off the ground.
  • Energy Storage 101
  • Solar Plus Storage: A Resiliency and Climate Mitigation Strategy for Vulnerable Communities
• By placing a value on resilience and the avoided costs of power outages, solar plus storage systems are economically viable.
  • Valuing the Resilience Provided by Solar and Battery Energy Storage
• The following report showcases the cost of solar plus storage for residential use. It also illuminates some barriers to solar plus storage that one might face and how to get over them.
  • Installed Cost Benchmarks and Deployment Barriers for Residential Solar Photovoltaics with Energy Storage
• Most local governments and many businesses use backup diesel generators in power outages. A hybrid microgrid can be a stepping stone to a fossil fuel-free system. A life-cycle cost study on the resilience and economics of microgrids using NREL’s REopt tool shows that a hybrid microgrid that combines photovoltaics, battery storage, and networked diesel generators is more resilient and economical than traditional diesel-only systems.
  • Resilience and Economics of Microgrids with PV, Battery Storage, and Networked Diesel Generators

Microgrids are complex and expensive, but they provide a community the ability to island from the grid and continue to generate electricity when necessary.

• Connected communities are buildings that are energy-connected so that if one building is pulling more load than others,  other buildings share some of that load. Connected communities are very similar to a smaller scale microgrid. This study is a qualitative analysis of Connected Communities and their potential value. It can be helpful to learn energy management strategies that are incorporated into a project like a microgrid and ultimately can help with energy efficiency and resilience.
  • A Multi-Building Energy Management Approach
• EcoBlock is a downscaled microgrid that is implemented on a block-by-block basis and is being tested in the city of Oakland, CA. Along with the integration of a microgrid using solar plus storage, energy efficiency renovations of housing and commercial buildings are being done.
  • Renewable & Appropriate Energy Laboratory
• A more detailed report of what an EcoBlock is, the benefits and costs, and how they are being used.
  • EcoBlock: Grid Impacts, Scaling, and Resilience
• Many communities on the east coast are implementing microgrids to combat power loss from hurricanes. Multiple examples of the overall costs of microgrids are provided in:
  • Playbook 1.0: How Cities Are Paying for Climate Resilience
• This case study is about the success of one of the first microgrids in Wisconsin. Completed in 2018, the microgrid incorporates energy storage and generation onsite for the Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve.
  • Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve Microgrid Case Study
• To gain more knowledge about microgrids, the Clean Energy Group developed a map showing each microgrid in the United States with a case study. This is helpful to gauge what systems other states have and how that microgrid is helping that community, military base, school, or, medical facility.
  • Resilient Power Project Map

• A scorecard for developers to determine the more economical solar plus energy storage options.
  • Geli Project Qualification Score Card 

• National Energy Education Department (NEED) offers grants for energy-related curriculum for many age groups. NEED also has partners for working with community members and can help start an energy education program for schools and communities.
  • The NEED Project
• Focus on energy offers discounts to individuals who need energy-efficient products like lighting and general energy saving packs. They also help with incentives for heating and insulation.
  • Focus on Energy
• Federal Income Tax Credits and Other Incentives for Energy Efficiency through Energy Star.
  • Federal Tax Credits for Consumer Energy Efficiency
• The Wisconsin Weatherization Assistance Program (WisWAP) uses energy conservation techniques to reduce the cost of home energy. Correcting health and safety hazards and potentially life-threatening conditions is the first consideration in WAP activities. WAP not only provides assistance for weatherization for homes but also helps home improve their energy saving ability through things like insulation installation.
  • Home Energy Plus
• Updated lists of incentives relating to clean energy:
  • PSC Funding Opportunities
  • Energy On Wisconsin Funding Opportunities
• The Midwest Renewable Energy Association(MREA) has an initiative that provides grants, case studies, and other resources to get solar on top of your school.
  •  Solar on Schools
• A UW-Extension publication that covers financing for solar projects ranging from local and tribal governments installing solar systems on their own roofs and land, to assisting local businesses and residents with acquiring solar. It includes case studies of successful solar energy systems across the state and outlines creative local government actions, strategies, and partnerships that can lay the groundwork for financing those systems.
  • Solar Energy Financing Guide: Empowering Wisconsin Local Governments
• Solar Finance Simulator is an easy-to-use online tool for universities, hospitals, municipalities, and businesses to simulate long-term financial forecasting for four types of solar photovoltaic (PV) investment.
  • Solar Project Builder
• Case studies on how Wisconsin nonprofits used grant money to incorporate solar onto their buildings. The savings generated from cost saving helped the nonprofits free up funds to help advance their mission.
  • Solar for Non-Profits
• This paper helps identify financing strategies for low-income communities to have solar plus storage. It addresses the financing gap that these communities or building owners cannot get and helps by presenting the option of having third-party owners of the solar.
  • Owning the Benefits of Solar Storage