For municipalities that want to encourage residents to think comprehensively about their energy use, it makes sense to bundle both efficiency and solar outreach into one program in which residents are encouraged to get a energy assessment at the same time as a solar site assessment. A community collective purchasing model can be used to bundle solar and energy efficiency services and to overcome market barriers, including high upfront costs, customer inertia, and complexity in the purchase and installation process. A collective purchasing model encourages buying energy goods and services in bulk at the community or neighborhood level, which helps drive down costs. Further, this model of offering pricing as a limited-time-only proposition often motivates residents to act.
By administering a competitive procurement process for efficiency and solar services, a municipality can instill confidence in its constituents that the selected vendor is qualified to meet the needs of the community and will serve the public interest. This strategy outlines how to design and conduct a local outreach program to increase participation in Mass Save’s audit and retrofit opportunities, as well as to inform residents and businesses of solar opportunities and encourage the use of financial incentive options for solar installation. Read more.