Community Energy Opportunity Finder

The Rocky Mountain Institute recently developed the Community Energy Opportunity Finder web site to provide the means by which communities can significantly improve their energy usage, and in doing so, reduce their environmental impacts while creating local jobs and savings. It demonstrates that green energy is not just an environmental idea; it?fs a means to build local economies.

The Energy Finder is a free, interactive, web-based tool that enables communities to explore untapped opportunities for economic development, pollution prevention, and risk reduction through energy efficiency. It helps any community estimate these benefits and provides details to get them started on their own energy projects.

Since approximately 40% of the energy consumed in the U.S. is for the building sector, and about 90% of that energy comes from fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas), increasing energy efficiency can go a long way toward saving money and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

More specifically, the Energy Finder allows a community to:

• Determine how much energy it can save by making energy efficiency improvements;
• See how community members can reduce utility bills in both residences and businesses, thereby freeing up money for community development and local re-spending;
• Enhance local, regional and national security by relying on efficiency and distributed, right-sized energy solutions;
• Better preserve the environment, both on a regional and global basis;
• Show residents who have never been involved how to participate in community affairs; and
• Find city- or county-specific recommendations for energy efficiency projects.

The Energy Finder was designed to be user-friendly. Once the required information has been entered into Energy Finder, it will provide city-specific recommendations for ways to reduce energy consumption and generate estimates.

The Energy Finder survey creates a community profile, or scenarios that will help you evaluate your community's energy savings potential. When starting the survey you will enter a step-by-step "data entry" process to collect current and projected data on your community's energy use and physical characteristics. There are eight sections to the survey, each which will require some time to complete. However, you can take your time completing them as the data you enter will be saved as you go from step-to-step. This allows you to do as much work as you want now and return later to pick up where you left off. To get started you will need:

• A computer with Internet access and basic home office software programs, including Adobe Acrobat Reader and Microsoft Excel;
• A team of two or three people working closely with the community's utility providers and town hall or county offices. This team should expect to spend up to a week collecting the survey information;
• To gather information from municipal utilities and local government offices regarding energy prices and usage, development rates and square footage of all commercial, residential, and public buildings in your community.

Based on the data you enter, The Energy Finder performs a series of calculations, and presents you with the potential dollar savings, emissions reductions, and the jobs that can be created by implementing community-wide energy efficiency programs.

Energy Finder is located at www.energyfinder.org. For more information or help using Energy Finder, contact the Rocky Mountain Institute at 970-927-3851 (www.wmi.org) or email: outreach@mri.org.

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