The community-driven difference
From December 2022 Newsletter
Earlier this week, I received a pretty cool email from ACTT’s Solar Coordinator. The email read:
“Over the past 12 months, Mount Desert Island has added 1.1 megawatts of solar generation. This means solar development on MDI had a growth rate, this past year, of 40% (almost twice the average for Versant territory and three times higher than MDI's annual average over the previous three years). There is currently 3.8 megawatts of solar generation on MDI. We represent 21.7% of all solar in Versant territory and we are only 6.2% of Versant's customer base. In other words, we have over three times the average solar per capita in Versant territory. All of our current solar generation is owned by our community.”
Many exciting things happened at ACTT in 2022. Over 60 homeowner rooftop solar arrays were added through Solarize MDI 2.0. Over 110 home energy assessments took place through Weatherize MDI 2.0. We launched our semester internship program in January with five semester interns. We launched Local Leads the Way, supporting communities throughout the state. We developed Co-op Solar and the Comprehensive Building Solutions Campaign. We started the Climate Ambassadors program, Pizza in the Park, and Climate Chats. We helped the island towns enroll in the state’s Community Resilience Partnership Program, wrote a joint grant for three of the island towns that resulted in the second largest award in the state, and wrote successful independent grants for island towns for the second cycle of the program this fall. ACTT was selected as one of 12 island and coastal communities to participate in the Department of Energy’s Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project. We were on Maine Public and National Public Radio! We learned about the Inflation Reduction Act and are actively working to help the MDI community access the funding available through the act’s different components.
However, perhaps the most exciting development of this year was the way in which we landed on community-driven climate action as an ideal phrase to describe the orienting force underlying everything we do.
Yes, we need climate action and solutions urgently. And the process through which solutions are developed and implemented matters. That process can lie solely in the hands of those already in positions of power and ownership or the process can be significantly defined by the communities who are intimately and profoundly impacted by the shape solutions take. In short, local community members can have defining seats at the table and direct access to the benefits that accompany climate solutions or not.
ACTT arose from an inherently community-driven approach. We were established by a collective of local residents and shaped by the vision of the community, shared at our series of launch events. We take the responsibility that comes from these roots very seriously. We have always pursued a pathway in which solutions are both developed and implemented with a high degree of community participation. We know those solutions will best meet community needs, align with community priorities, and take advantage of opportunities to address multiple, intersecting challenges at once.
Take the example of solar development. We understand that solar siting matters. The community can play a defining role in siting solar, ensuring that siting occurs in alignment with local priorities. Solar ownership also matters. Those who own solar receive significant equity, saving at least 50% off monthly energy bills. This is very different from solar subscription in many, many ways. The model matters and can significantly distribute power and equity in a community.
The fact that all the current solar generation on MDI is locally owned reflects ACTT’s commitment to community-driven climate solutions. So, too, does the design of our Comprehensive Building Solutions Program, our approach to weatherization, our internship program, Co-op Solar, our educational events, and our focus within the technical assistance we are receiving through the Energy Transition’s Initiative Partnership Project (how much of our local electricity needs, accounting for increased demand due to beneficial electrification, can we supply through responsibly sited and locally owned solar and how does battery storage and smart grid technology play a role in developing local resilience hubs?).
A debate is rising in the climate solutions field. This debate pits urgent action against an approach informed by the priority of climate justice: the awareness that climate change is the result of and will exacerbate profound, systemic injustice and that we must address that systemic injustice to truly address climate change. Those at the heart of this debate would argue that we don’t have time for systemic, cultural shifts. We must transition off fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions via whatever pathway is the fastest. But here is what we have realized through this community-driven approach at ACTT: when we pay attention to how we quickly transition off fossil fuels, to questions like who is defining and implementing the solutions and who is owning and accessing the accompanying benefits, we can attend to both the need make this transition quickly and the need to do so in way that simultaneously addresses the system of injustice that got us here in the first place.
We are grateful to each and every one of you receiving this newsletter for the role you have played in shaping and carrying forward this priority of the community-driven approach.