Local Government Project Portal
Goal-Setting Guidance
Guidance for Setting a Renewable Electricity Goal:
A Framework to Help Municipalities Achieve Their Objectives
Why set a renewable electricity goal? How can establishing renewable electricity goals help municipalities
meet other key objectives? What aspects of renewable electricity goal setting are considered best practices?
This guidance document provides a framework for why and how to set a renewable electricity goal and
discusses the key considerations and benefits of doing so. At the end of the document, a four-pane
worksheet provides users with actionable steps to set a renewable electricity goal.
If, in setting a renewable electricity goal, municipalities wish to use renewable electricity (rather than just
generate it), they must substantiate the electricity as renewable and clarify the specific source/origin through
Renewable Electricity Certificate (REC) ownership. RECs must be retained for the electricity to be considered
green power, which EPA defines as the subset of renewable technologies that provide the highest
environmental benefit and reflect voluntary purchases, rather than mandatory purchases under state
renewable portfolio standards.
By increasing use of renewable electricity for municipal operations, local governments can inspire and create
pathways for citizens and neighboring towns and cities to follow suit. Using renewable electricity can boost
the local economy, create jobs, help insulate against energy price risk, and contribute to a cleaner natural
environment. Setting reasonable yet aggressive renewable electricity goals can serve as both the catalyst and
the anchor for accomplishing these objectives.
This guidance document addresses the following questions:
¦	What objectives do municipalities seek to accomplish by usinE renewable electricity?
¦	Why is goal setting important to meet renewable electricity objectives?
¦	What is the difference between the terms "enerEv" and "electricity"?
¦	What are the types of renewable electricity goals?
¦	Which municipalities have renewable electricity Eoals and how did they set their Eoals?
¦	What are key timins considerations for settins a renewable electricity soal?
¦	Which technolofiies should be considered in a renewable electricity Eoal?
¦	How can renewable electricity use create and support local jobs?
¦	How does current renewable electricity Eeneration and/or use factor into Eoal settinE?
¦	How does a state renewable portfolio standard affect soal settins and renewable electricity use?
¦	How mifiht other state policies affect Eoal settins and renewable electricity use?
¦	How does organizational resource availability (budgets and staffing) influence goal setting?
¦	How to include internal stakeholders in the renewable electricity Eoal-settinE process?
¦	How to include external stakeholders in the renewable electricity soal-settins process?
¦	What is the best way to communicate a goal?
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Guidance for Setting a Renewable Electricity Goal:	Page 2
A Framework to Help Municipalities Achieve Their Objectives	August 2018
What objectives do municipalities seek to accomplish by using renewable electricity?
Municipalities should consider their objectives at the beginning of the goal setting process. A municipality
may seek to use renewable electricity for:
¦	Environmental and health benefits, such as reducing harmful air emissions and improved public
health;
¦	Local economic benefits and job creation resulting from project development;
¦	Electricity cost savings and increased operational efficiencies;
¦	Budgetary risk reduction due to the long-term price certainty of certain renewable electricity
contract types;
¦	Energy system or infrastructure resiliency;
¦	Community pride due to environmental leadership/stewardship.
Narrowing down the municipality's primary reason(s) to use renewable electricity will help motivate, focus,
and unify teams tasked with implementing renewable electricity projects; having clear objectives will then
help prioritize project options.
¦	If municipalities seek to claim the associated environmental benefits from a project, they must retain
the environmental attributes or RECs associated with any generation from a renewable resource to
rightfully substantiate renewable electricity use claims. To ensure your use makes a difference, the
municipality should also prevent those RECS from being counted towards regulatory requirements,
such as state renewable portfolio standards.
¦	If municipalities seek to create local jobs, they should choose to build a project locally with local
developers and contractors.
¦	If municipalities seek additional revenue, where substantiating renewable electricity use claims are
not a key objective, they may opt to sell the environmental attributes or RECs associated with the
project to another party in order to lower the delivered cost of electricity from the project.
¦	If they seek cost savings and price stability, municipalities might investigate self-generation or a
Power Purchase Agreement supply option, which may or may not be sited locally.
¦	If municipalities seek to increase their infrastructure resiliency, they may consider an on-site solar
system with battery storage.
¦	If municipalities seek to demonstrate environmental leadership, they may set an ambitious goal
either by using high percentage of renewable electricity, a rapid achievement date, or both.
Different motivations may suggest competing paths or priorities to achieve the final project outcome.
Primary renewable electricity motivations should be addressed with municipal colleagues and agreed to at
the beginning of the goal setting process to best inform project options and support future success in
implementing them.
Why is goal setting important to meet renewable electricity objectives?
Setting concrete, publicized goals increases a municipality's chances of succeeding in generating and/or using
more renewable electricity. The goal setting process establishes the necessary internal buy-in from key
stakeholders early on. Working together across departments towards a clear end-goal will also help develop
a compelling case for use of municipal resources. Additionally, municipalities with a goal can better measure
progress over time and retain institutional continuity. Although municipal staff and organizational leadership
may change, public goals can continue to focus staff and resources to achieve progress toward a longer-term
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Guidance for Setting a Renewable Electricity Goal:	Page 3
A Framework to Help Municipalities Achieve Their Objectives	August 2018
renewable electricity commitment. Based on various stakeholder experiences, organizations are more likely
to achieve their environmental goals when goals are publicly announced.
What is the difference between the terms "energy" and "electricity"?
Electricity is a subset of energy, and therefore the use of each term in goal setting can lead to practical
implications in how municipalities set and implement their goals. Energy, a broader term, includes all energy
sources, such as fuels for vehicles, heating, and on-site combustion, in addition to electricity. While RECs
apply to emissions associated with purchased electricity, they do not mitigate emissions from other energy
sources. Although this EPA guidance document is geared towards setting a solar renewable electricity goal,
municipalities can also use the guidance to set other, broader renewable energy goals.
What are the types of renewable electricity goals?
A renewable electricity goal is generally expressed in terms of a solar system size (generating capacity in
kilowatts or megawatts) or as a performance-based goal (percentage of renewable electricity generation
and/or use in kilowatt-hours by a certain year). Municipalities can also express their goals as a percentage
reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions if they are purchasing renewable electricity to
reduce their emissions footprint.
Municipalities should also specify if renewable electricity goals apply to their municipal operations or to their
entire communities' electricity use. EPA's Local Government Solar Project Portal highlights various examples
of municipal renewable electricity goals. Municipalities can also consult NREL's training PowerPoint to learn
more about different terminology used in goal setting.
What are key rationales for different types of renewable electricity goals?
System Size Goals
System size goals (expressed in kilowatts or megawatts of generating capacity) may be more likely to
support local economic development, as the municipality is committing to install a certain amount of
generating capacity. A municipality must consider whether adequate opportunities exist to site a system
within the community to meet a fixed capacity target; if not, a municipality can consider siting a project
outside the community. While system size goals can result in more built capacity, the generation resulting
from projects only conveys renewable electricity use if the municipality retains the associated RECs. NREL's
PVWatts Calculator can help estimate the system size potential to fit a certain location and its projected
annual generation of electricity in kilowatt-hours (kWh).
Performance-based Goals
Performance-based goals (expressed in percentages) account for efforts to reduce electricity use with
energy efficiency projects, potentially making it easier to achieve a given percentage of renewable
electricity generation and/or use. If the municipality's electric load increases, (e.g. due to urban growth) it
may be more difficult to meet a specific percentage of renewable electricity use.
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Guidance for Setting a Renewable Electricity Goal:	Page 4
A Framework to Help Municipalities Achieve Their Objectives	August 2018
What are key rationales for different types of renewable electricity goals?
GHG Emission Reduction Goals
GHG emission reduction goals account for more than increased renewable electricity use, where using
renewable electricity often helps reduce GHG emissions substantially. Organizations that specifically seek
to measure and manage their GHGs should follow the appropriate accounting standards, namely the GHG
Protocol's Standard and related Scope 2 Guidance. Additional Euidance is available from EPA and other
organizations, including the Science-Based Targets Initiative, which helps organizations set ambitious yet
achievable GHG emission reduction goals. EPA considers setting an absolute GHG emission reduction goal
to be a best practice since intensity-based reduction goals may still allow for GHG emission increases.
Which municipalities have renewable electricity goals and how did they set their goals?
While setting their goals, municipalities can investigate how other governments of similar sizes or from
similar regions have set goals via EPA's Local Government Solar Project Portal. On the Portal, municipalities
can sort participants by state and view what other cities have accomplished. The Portal features large-scale
renewable electricity commitments by New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago, as well as goals from smaller
cities, such as Creve Coeur, MO; PuranEO. CO; and Ashland. OR. Municipalities are also encouraged to
participate in any regional sustainability networks, such as USDN Partner Networks, to learn how peer cities
may be pursuing renewable electricity goals and use.
What are key timing considerations for setting a renewable electricity goal?
Every goal should have an achievement date, which helps keep relevant stakeholders motivated and on track
to achieve progress. In setting this end date, municipalities should set an aggressive, yet reasonable, goal.
What scale of project is achievable in 5 or 10 years? What types of investments in electricity infrastructure do
community leaders seek to implement within the next 10 to 20 years? Such information should inform the
chosen achievement date for the renewable electricity goal. If approval and construction processes often
require additional time, municipalities should factor such timelines into the overall renewable electricity
project development timeline.
EPA encourages all organizations to set near-term interim targets to help galvanize resources and internal
action to meet the long-term end goal. For example, in the near term, municipalities could set a target to
develop a concrete action plan in six months, alongside a two-year target to accomplish a large-scale project.
Step 2 in the Local Government Solar Project Portal focuses on crafting such a plan. EPA recommends setting
a "half-way target," namely half of any stated objective(s) by a certain year. For example, Ashland. OR (see
page 30 in the linked document) set a goal to reduce fossil fuel consumption by 50 percent by 2030 and 100
percent by 2050. Deciding which end-date and interim targets are reasonable will depend on a municipality's
resource and policy constraints.
Which technologies should be considered in a renewable electricity goal?
How a municipality defines eligible renewable technologies will impact the types of projects and supply
options used to achieve the goal. Again, EPA uses the market definition of green power as the subset of
renewable technologies that provide the highest environmental benefit, a definition that municipalities
could also adopt. EPA also considers green power purchases to be voluntary, rather than mandatory under
state renewable portfolio standards. State definitions for eligible renewable electricity may differ, however,
and are often driven by non-environmental considerations including economic, job creation, and land use
objectives. Depending on primary motivations for using renewable electricity (such as local renewable
electricity use or local job creation), municipalities may choose to include or exclude certain sources from
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Guidance for Setting a Renewable Electricity Goal:	Page 5
A Framework to Help Municipalities Achieve Their Objectives	August 2018
their definition of eligible renewable resources. Additionally, the local availability of renewable resources or
the municipality's willingness to engage with non-local projects can factor into your selection. Depending on
local supply options, a goal that stipulates only using on-site resources may need to be less aggressive than a
goal which allows use of larger-scale off-site projects. Also, if municipalities seek to participate in recognition
programs (such as EPA's Green Power Partnership) or to collaborate with other organizations or registries,
they may choose to use renewable resources that are eligible for those programs.
How can renewable electricity use create and support local jobs?
Renewable electricity projects may create local jobs directly via project planning, component manufacturing
and transport, installation, grid connection, and ongoing operations and maintenance. According to the
International Renewable Energy Agency, on average, 73 percent of the jobs created by an onshore wind
project or a solar PV project are local installation and maintenance jobs. Renewable electricity projects can
also indirectly spur job creation in related sectors, such as energy-use management, project financing, sales,
consulting, and environmental sustainability. Municipalities can encourage local economic benefits by
emphasizing their priorities with developers and contractors. In requests for proposals (RFPs), some
municipalities require developers to hire a specific number or percentage of local positions, and/or to offer
job training programs during project installation. Some municipalities have also re-examined local planning
and zoning ordinances, permitting processes, and financing options to support local growth and job-related
economic benefits from renewable project development. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has a
Jobs and Economic Impact (JEDI) model, which is a user-friendly screening tool that estimates the economic
impacts of projects across various stages of the project development and operational pathway.
How does current renewable electricity generation and/or use factor into goal setting?
When setting a goal, municipalities should first determine how much renewable electricity is currently being
generated and/or used for municipal operations annually. Such information is often available from an energy
or facilities manager or electric service provider. EPA's Guide to MakinE Claims About Solar Power Use
provides more information on the impact of RECs on environmental claims for municipalities seeking to claim
use of renewable electricity.
Current percentage of renewable electricity use will serve as a helpful baseline from which to determine an
ambitious, yet feasible renewable electricity goal. For instance, if a city already uses 10 percent renewable
electricity in 2018, then 50 percent by 2025 might be an achievable goal, whereas 40 percent renewable
electricity use by 2025 might represent a stretch goal for a municipality that currently does not use any
renewable electricity. Urban municipalities may wish to estimate what percentage of feasible sites, such as
rooftops, parking lots, and critical infrastructure sites, already have renewables installed. While most
municipalities need not conduct a full site assessment prior to setting a goal, estimating the number of viable
sites may help in setting a reasonable goal, especially when considering a renewable electricity goal based on
system size or seeking to source renewable electricity from projects sited on municipally-owned facilities.
How does a state renewable portfolio standard affect goal setting and renewable electricity
use?
Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have renewable portfolio standards (RPSs). These state
policies generally require investor-owned utilities (and potentially publicly-owned utilities) to increase
renewable electricity use within a specified timeframe. Eight additional states have non-binding renewable
electricity goals. RPS policies with rigorous requirements to increase renewable electricity use typically result
in active markets, higher REC prices, and experienced market players, which may influence and affect goal
setting. The U.S. Department of Energy's DSIRE database or the National Conference of State Lenislatures'
map are helpful sources of information on renewable portfolio standards and goals.
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Guidance for Setting a Renewable Electricity Goal:	Page 6
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Voluntary renewable electricity use (i.e. green power) should not count toward state RPS requirements, if the
municipality is seeking to increase renewable electricity use and reduce their emissions footprint. For
instance, when setting a renewable electricity goal in Nevada, which requires an investor-owned utility to
supply 25% renewable electricity to rate payers by 2025, a local government should set a goal that is additive,
such as 50% renewable electricity use by 2025, which explicitly accounts for the renewable electricity use
required by state policy. In limited instances where states may have a 100% renewable energy target, such as
Hawaii, all new generation ultimately counts towards the RPS and therefore incremental voluntary action
does not result in incremental environmental benefit.
Some municipalities have publicly-owned or municipally-owned utilities. This goal setting guidance document
is not designed to set goals for increasing a publicly-owned utility's use of renewable electricity. Rather, it is
oriented toward municipalities that are interested in generating and/or using renewable electricity for the
municipal government's operational electricity needs.
Several state RPS policies have additional targets for specific technologies like solar. The presence of a
specific target (also known as a carve-out) for solar is likely to raise demand for RECs from eligible sources of
solar power, leading to higher market prices for solar RECs. In those markets, project developers commonly
propose selling the RECs from projects eligible to meet an RPS's technology carve-out, to improve the
project's economics. However, if those RECs are sold to increase the project's revenue, then the electricity
customer has also sold the associated claims of using "renewable" power. In these cases, project developers
commonly offer a REC swap or "arbitrage" option, whereby the proceeds from the RPS-eligible RECs are used
to purchase replacement RECs from a different project, which allow the customer to still substantiate
renewable electricity use claims. EPA's REC Arbitrage guidance document provides more information on this
approach.
How might other state policies affect goal setting and renewable electricity use?
Solar policies can vary dramatically from state to state, including by electricity market structure (competitive
retail vs. traditionally-regulated), by the requirements that developers must adhere to when connecting a
project to the grid (interconnection standards), by policies such as net-metering that affect project cost
recovery options, and by in-state utility rates and tax incentives. Thus, EPA recommends that municipalities
consult EPA's Green Power Supply Options Screening Tool (XLSM) (1 pg, 125 K , which explains how certain
policies affect project development and suggests viable supply options for specific geographic regions. After
using the screening tool, municipalities can review NREL's interactive Mid-Market Solar Policies site, which
further explains each state's policy landscape regarding mid-scale solar projects (those from ~50 kilowatts to
2 MW). NREL's resources help one determine how policy circumstances in different states might affect
project sizes, and therefore, determine a feasible, appropriately-sized goal. For instance, if a state does not
allow net-metering, a municipality will likely seek to install a smaller solar project to consume all electricity
produced on-site, and will account for smaller project sizes when setting a goal. In other states, policies may
support access to larger-scale projects, making a more ambitious goal achievable. The Department of
Energy's Solar Policy Toolkit provides further resources on solar policies. Overall, a robust knowledge of a
state's policy landscape will better inform the goal setting process and help set an appropriate goal.
How does organizational resource availability (budgets and staffing) influence goal setting?
Since a large renewable electricity project requires financial resources and staff effort to plan and execute,
determining the scope of available resources will help municipalities set ambitious, yet feasible goals. Has an
environmental manager or other full-time position been allocated to execute the renewable electricity
project? Do the available staff have some time to dedicate to this effort? Alternatively, does the municipality
have an energy or sustainability committee whose efforts could be leveraged? The availability of a full-time
staff member or committee available to work on project implementation could influence the type and level
of renewable electricity goal chosen and will improve chances of accomplishing the goal.
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Guidance for Setting a Renewable Electricity Goal:	Page 7
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Next, municipalities should evaluate several potential funding sources. For example, does the municipality
have access to a capital improvements fund? Have funds been set aside for sustainability projects? Are grants
available through the local utility for renewable electricity projects? Some renewable electricity projects,
such as power purchase aEreements, do not require capital investment and may save the municipality money
on electricity costs immediately. Other arrangements, such as solar land leases, can even generate revenue
for a municipality. More information about these financing options is available in the Department of Energy's
short guidance document, Solar as a Revenue Generator for Local Governments. Large funding sources are
not always necessary to successfully increase renewable electricity use. However, the process of setting a
goal and studying the feasibility of various project types will require both time and budgetary resources.
Thus, municipalities would benefit from an accurate assessment of these resources.
Third, municipalities should consider the time needed to accomplish a municipal project. How long do the
planning and commitment stages generally take for similar capital investment projects, design and approval
processes, and construction? When choosing a goal achievement date, municipalities should allot sufficient
time to accomplish each of the Project Development Pathway Steps; EPA recommends allotting 16 to 24
months to complete a mid-size renewable electricity project.
Finally, municipalities should consider the availability of various types of regional renewable electricity
sources. For example, is geothermal or hydropower an option locally? Are there viable biomass or biogas
options? Though solar and wind technologies are viable in most parts of the U.S., municipalities should
conduct a preliminary assessment of local sites that could be viable for an installation prior to setting a goal.
To do so, they can list any municipal properties that might be suitable for a larger-scale solar installation,
such as parking lots, cleared fields, brownfields, and the roofs of any large municipal buildings or critical
infrastructure locations. Municipalities need not conduct a detailed site assessment before setting a goal,
however, considering future project development steps, assessing potential aspects of a renewable
electricity development plan, and collecting site data using the EPA Solar Site Assessment and Utility Data
Spreadsheet can all help municipalities set a reasonable renewable electricity goal.
How to include internal stakeholders in the renewable electricity goal-setting process?
Engaging internal stakeholders to secure commitments from relevant decision makers will enable a smoother
goal setting process. Project leads should secure support from municipal leadership and engage the
participation of key internal stakeholders to solicit feedback on a proposed renewable electricity goal.
Typically, staff from the following departments (or local equivalent) should be engaged: the Mayor's office,
Facilities and Operations, Environmental Sustainability, Procurement/Purchasing, Communications, Legal,
Finance, and Public Works. Other influential stakeholders may also need to be included. This short video on
Stakeholder Analysis provides guidance on which stakeholders to engage, at what frequency, and what
information they need to be supportive of a specific initiative. It recommends creating a "power grid," to plot
stakeholders with the most interest in the project and the most influence over its outcomes. Powerful,
interested stakeholders should be engaged early and thoroughly, to secure their support for the initiative.
Interested stakeholders with less influence over its outcomes can be consulted periodically as the project
progresses. Finally, stakeholders with little interest in a renewable electricity goal who, nonetheless, retain
influence and decision-making power, should be provided with key information that could align with their
priorities to facilitate their support.
In addition to securing support from leadership, municipalities should identify an internal "champion" to
resolve any procedural or informational barriers among stakeholders. Before setting a goal, the champion
should anticipate and seek to resolve any stakeholder concerns. For example, the Facilities Department may
express concern over increased maintenance duties. The champion can explain that renewable electricity
project contracts feature different operations and maintenance options, including maintenance as a
developer responsibility, whereby the project would not place additional burdens on the Facilities
Department. The Procurement Office might be concerned about the potential project cost and the
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Guidance for Setting a Renewable Electricity Goal:	Page 8
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anticipated complexity of the contract. The champion can explain that some supply options, such as power
purchase agreements, require no up-front capital costs, and that several resources exist to help governments
navigate the RFP and contract negotiation processes. The Mayor's Office and Communications department
might be concerned with how other peer towns and cities are using renewable electricity and may seek to
publicly differentiate the municipality's leadership on renewable electricity. The champion can emphasize
recent studies confirming widespread public support for renewable electricity projects. For example,
according to a 2011 National Marketing Institute study, at least 80% of American consumers support the use
of renewable energy. Effectively managing the concerns of all important stakeholders will ensure that the
entire municipal team works together effectively to achieve renewable electricity goals.
How to include external stakeholders in the renewable electricity goal-setting process?
In drafting a renewable electricity goal, municipalities should also consult external stakeholders, such as small
businesses, citizens, project site neighbors, surrounding towns, and the media, to garner support for a
renewable electricity goal. External stakeholder engagement can also identify any unforeseen barriers and
concerns prior to setting a goal. Project leads are encouraged to conduct community feedback sessions to
solicit input on the primary objectives of a renewable electricity goal, the type of goal, the amount of
renewable electricity included, the end-date, and any interim targets. Similar to the process for internal
stakeholder engagement, project leads should anticipate concerns from various external stakeholder groups
and work to proactively alleviate them prior to finalizing the goal. After gathering external feedback on a
draft goal, project leads can work with the relevant internal stakeholders to modify or finalize the goal.
Additional resources related to external stakeholder engagement are available on EPA's Toolbox for
Renewable Enernv Project Development.
What is the best way to communicate a goal?
Municipalities may announce a public commitment by posting it on a municipal webpage, publishing it in an
environmental action plan, and/or issuing a press release, as some examples. This factsheet provides further
examples of how municipalities have expressed their goals. Alternatively, some towns may choose to pass a
legally binding municipal resolution, which formally commits the municipality to achieve a goal by a certain
year. How the goal is expressed and communicated (e.g. publishing a non-binding goal or working with the
city council to sign a resolution) can affect how municipalities work with stakeholders to garner support for
the goal and the timing of when the goal is released.
In addition to publicizing their goals on their websites and/or issuing press releases or public statements, EPA
encourages municipalities to celebrate their renewable electricity goals via social media, with local
community partnerships, and on EPA's Local Government Solar Project Portal to demonstrate leadership and
provide examples for other municipalities to follow. EPA can assist municipalities in creating credible public
outreach messaging regarding their renewable electricity goal and can feature the goal on EPA's Green Power
Partnership Linkedln Group. EPA encourages municipalities to develop creative messaging and visuals that
can galvanize and maintain support for project development towards meeting the goal. For example,
municipalities could create a solar project "thermometer" that measures progress toward the goal and/or
host a community-wide celebration when projects are completed and they meet their goals. By showcasing
their renewable electricity goals and outreach efforts on the Local Government Solar Project Portal,
municipalities can also help foster and disseminate best practices to their peers.
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Worksheet for Renewable Electricity Goal Setting
Based on the guidance provided above for setting a renewable electricity goal, the following worksheet
provides the necessary logistical steps to successfully complete the goal setting process.
1. Determine primary reasons for generating and/or using renewable electricity. Check the most
compelling reasons that best reflect your municipality's objectives in using renewable electricity. Then,
write out a renewable electricity Vision Statement to help guide and focus the project team throughout
the project development pathway.
EH Environmental and health benefits of increased renewable electricity generation in the
community, such as reduced air pollution and improved public health;
~	Local economic benefits and local job creation resulting from project development;
~	Electricity cost savings and increased operational efficiencies resulting from self-generation;
~	Budgetary risk reduction due to long-term price certainty and predictability of electricity prices;
~	Energy system or infrastructure resiliency;
~	Environmental leadership, including emissions and air pollution reductions;
~	Other	.
Determine if your municipality seeks to generate and use renewable electricity. Keep in mind, if your
municipality wants to claim use of renewable electricity, your municipality must retain the associated
environmental attributes (ie. RECs) to substantiate use of "renewable" electricity and to establish that
your purchase makes a difference above what would otherwise occur absent voluntary procurement.
~	Generate renewable electricity (without RECs)
~	Use renewable electricity (maintain REC ownership)
Vision Statement
2. Explore how other towns and cities have set renewable electricity goals. EPA recommends using EPA's
Local Government Solar Project Portal to evaluate examples of goals and commitments from other
municipalities. Regional sustainability networks, such as USDN Partner Networks, may also provide
information on renewable electricity initiatives in nearby cities.
~ Examples to follow from other municipalities' goals:	
~ How is their goal or the way they structured their public commitment inspiring?
~ List possible local, regional, and/or sustainability or infrastructure-related networks for
participation:	

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Assess municipal resources and policy constraints. Gather a realistic picture of available municipal
resources and potential constraints to set an ambitious, yet feasible goal.
EH How long does a project of this scale typically take?	
~	When should the project be completed?	
~	How much renewable electricity is the city currently using?	%
~	How much does grid-generated electricity cost locally?	per kWh
~	What is the difference between conventional electricity prices and the projected cost to self-
generate electricity from a solar project? If the costs to self-generate electricity are equal to or less
than costs of purchasing conventional power, the project may be financially viable. If not, project
leads should reassess the financial viability of the project in the context of your municipality's
broader objectives in seeking to generate and/or use renewable electricity.
~	How much budget is available to accomplish higher renewable electricity use? $	
~	Are there existing funds, financing options, or grants that could be used? Yes ~ No ~
Specify:	
~	Does my state have a competitive retail electricity market? Yes EH No EH
~	Does my state have a Renewable Portfolio Standard? Yes ~ No ~
If so, what is it?	
~	Does my state allow net-metering? Yes ~ No ~
EH Does my state allow for third party ownership or financing arrangements for developing projects?
Yes ~ No EH Specify below:
Determine members of an internal renewable electricity implementation team. Check the departments
that will form the internal municipal team or committee. Some possibilities include staff from:
EH The Mayor's Office	Environmental Sustainability
EH Facilities and Operations	Public Works
EH Procurement/Purchasing	Finance
EH Legal
~ Other(s)

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~ Lead staff member or internal "champion":
~ Proposed members of the renewable electricity advisory committee, which may include citizens and
local business owners:	
Conduct a stakeholder analysis. On the grid below, plot relevant internal and external stakeholders (e.g.
specific municipal leaders, colleagues, internal decision makers, allied department heads, influential
stakeholders) based on their interest in the project and influence on its outcomes. See this video for an
example of how to fill out the grid.
High
Keep
Satisfied
Manage
Closely
Power
LOW
Monitor
(Minimum Effort)
Keep
Informed
Low
Interest
High
EH Which stakeholders need to be engaged more versus less closely engaged?_
~ What are their primary concerns?	
~ What information will alleviate their concerns?
Work with internal stakeholders to set a draft goal. The information below provides examples of how
municipalities can structure their interim and end goals.
EH Draft renewable electricity goal (percentage-based or system size goal):
	% by		or		KW installed by	
EH Interim Targets: Finalize a renewable electricity Implementation Plan by	(i.e., ~one year
from now)
	% by	(i.e., ~3 to 5 years from now)
	% by	(i.e., half-way target)

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	% by	(i.e., ~3 to 5 years before the overall end-date)
	% of local solar by	
7. Garner support and feedback for a draft goal from external stakeholders. Municipalities should engage
residents, business owners, and any other influential community stakeholders early to build support for
the project and address concerns to ensure project success.
~ What outreach strategy, tactics, and deliverables (e.g. materials) will most effectively engage
community stakeholders?
EH Who will lead the development and distribution of external communications materials (e.g. flyers,
posters, email blasts, blog posts, stakeholder meetings, etc.)?	
~	Proposed date by which draft external outreach materials will receive internal approval:	
~	Proposed date(s) by which staff will engage external stakeholders with key outreach tactics:
~	Proposed date(s) for public engagement meetings (e.g. resident town hall(s)) (if applicable):
~	Proposed date by which internal team must incorporate stakeholder feedback into a final goal
proposal:	
~	Proposed date(s) for internal stakeholders to meet, discuss, and finalize goal:	
~	Proposed date and mechanisms (e.g. press release, social media, etc.) for publicly announcing goal:
8. Publicize goal! EPA encourages municipalities to celebrate their success in committing to a renewable
electricity goal. Municipalities should email their goal to EPASolarPortal@erg.com (contractor in support
of EPA) to feature their goals on EPA's Local Government Solar Project Portal.
~	Renewable electricity goal:	% by	 (or)		KW installed by	
~	Interim targets: Finalize a renewable electricity Implementation Plan by	
	% by		% by	
	% by		% of local solar by	
Press release date (if applicable):	
EPA notified of new goal by email? Yes ~ No ~
Congratulations on setting a renewable electricity goal!

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