Decision Maker Guides

Resource Source and Description Audience Topic Type Additional Tags File
A Guide to Community Solar: Utility, Private, and Non-Profit Project Development

Through practical tools, tips and case studies, this guide addresses issues common to community solar projects in order to help communities plan successful projects.

U.S. Department of Energy
Report
Guide or Toolkit
Better Buildings Financing Navigator

The Better Buildings Financing Navigator includes financing primers, factsheets, overviews and guides to area-specific policies and programs.

U.S. Department of Energy; Better Buildings Initiative
Guide or Toolkit
Better Rentals, Better Cities

Smart policies to improve your city's rental housing energy performance

Rocky Mountain Institute
Guide or Toolkit
Co-Digestion Economic Analysis Tool

The Co-EAT tool is intended to provide an initial economic feasibility assessment for co-diegestion of organic wastes, to compare the relative merits of three uses of biogas and provide a clear cost comparison of the economic implications of co-digestion.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Tool or Calculator
Community Power Interactive Toolkit

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance's Interactive Community Power Toolkit provides examples and case studies of actions that local governments, communities and electric providers can take to expand access to local clean energy.

Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Guide or Toolkit
Community Solar Business Case Tool

The Community Solar Business Case Tool provides a flexible financial model that projects the costs and benefits to the system developer and subscriber of a single community solar project.

West Monroe Partners; Elevate Energy
Tool or Calculator
Cost of Renewable Energy Spreadsheet Tool (CREST)

CREST models are designed for use by state policy makers, regulators, utilities, beginning developers or investors, and other stakeholders to assess project economics of solar, wind, geothermal, anaerobic digestion and fuel cell technologies.

NREL, DOE, SETP, NARUC, SEA
Tool or Calculator
DEQ Energy, Water, and Waste Reduction Assistance

No-cost, non-regulatory, on-site assessments are available from the NC Department of Environmental Quality for North Carolina businesses and public facilities.

NC Department of Environmental Quality
Service
Energy Efficiency—Jobs and Investments

Factsheet describing the economic benefits of energy efficiency investments and number of jobs created

American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
Factsheet
Energy Savings Potential State Fact Sheets

These factsheets present the potential for economic, energy and utility bill savings for each state, as well as a list of the top ten energy savings home improvements.

ResStock and National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Factsheet
Map
PDF icon Download (226.2 KB)
Executive Energy Leadership Academy

The Executive Energy Leadership Academy provides industry and community leaders an opportunity to learn about advanced energy technologies to guide their organizations in energy-related decisions and planning.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory
General
Housing Matters: Mapping Energy Burden

This blog post by NC Housing Coalition explains the problem of energy burden in NC and includes snapshots of state energy burden numbers and maps of the counties most affected.

North Carolina Housing Coalition
Report
Map
Jobs and Economic Development Impact Models (JEDI)

The Jobs and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) models are user-friendly screening tools that estimate the economic impacts of constructing and operating power plants, fuel production facilities, and other projects.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Tool or Calculator
Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) Tool

Created as a part of Better Building’s Clean Energy for Low Income Communities Accelerator (CELICA), this tool provides data for low- and moderate-income community energy expenditures across all 50 states, census divisions and tract levels and may be utilized in determining energy policy and program planning.

U.S. Department of Energy; Better Buildings Initiative
Tool or Calculator
Model Wind Ordinance for Wind Energy Facilities in North Carolina

The Model Wind Ordinance for Wind Energy Facilities in North Carolina is intended to provide assistance to communities designing a local wind ordinance. Each community is encouraged to modify the model ordinance to meet their needs.

North Carolina Wind Working Group
Policy or Regulation
PDF icon Download (124.17 KB)
Multifamily Energy Efficiency Retrofits: Barriers and Opportunities for Deep Energy Savings

This product of the Regional Energy Efficiency Organizations (REEO) was developed to inform national stakeholders about strategies used to achieve deep energy savings in the multifamily housing sector through energy efficiency upgrades.

Regional Energy Efficiency Organizations (REEO); 2016
Report
PDF icon Download (1.48 MB)
One in Three U.S. Households Faces A Challenge in Meeting Energy Needs

This 2018 article from the EIA describes energy burden and energy insecurity in the U.S.

U.S. Energy Information Administration
Report
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) and Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE)

An overview of the property assessed clean energy (PACE) model, an innovative mechanism for financing energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements on private property

Department of Energy
General
Small Community Wind Guidebook

A guide for communities, nonprofits, businesses, farms, municipal utilities and electric cooperatives to decide whether small community wind projects are right for them

Department of Energy: WINDExchange
Guide or Toolkit
Solar Cost-Benefit Studies

A collection of state-by-state and national studies on the value of solar and renewable energy technologies

Solar Energy Industries Association
Report
SolSmart National Designation Program

The SolSmart solar program is a national designation program, funded by the Department of Energy, to recognize communities removing barriers and promoting solar by making it easier and more affordable to install systems.

SolSmart
Guide or Toolkit
Service
State and Local Solution Center

Explore resources that enable strategic investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies through the use of innovative practices across the United States by a wide range of stakeholders, in partnership with state and local organizations and community-based nonprofits.

Department of Energy: Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
Guide or Toolkit
System Advisor Model

The System Advisor Model (SAM) is a techno-economic model designed to facilitate decision making for people involved in the renewable energy industry.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Tool or Calculator
The 2019 Housing Need in Watauga County

A 2019 factsheet describing housing need and energy burden in Watauga County

North Carolina Housing Coalition
Report
Policy or Regulation
PDF icon Download (457.88 KB)
The Carbon-Free City Handbook

The Carbon-Free City Handbook is designed to help city staff implement climate policies and actions that resolutely place their communities on an aggressive path toward sustainable, low-carbon economies.

Rocky Mountain Institute
Guide or Toolkit
Tools to Build Local Power - Clean Energy

Browse a list of the proven resolutions, actions, and rules cities can adopt to promote local economic development from clean energy.

Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Factsheet
What is an Energy Burden?

Learn about the physical, economic and health impacts of high energy burdens. RETI also explores the link between high energy burdens and renewables in North Carolina.

Renewable Energy Transition Initiative (RETI)
General
Why Wind Power for North Carolina?

An outline of the policy and public opinion landscapes surrounding wind power in North Carolina, as well as facts about the state's wind capacity and the economic potential of the energy source

North Carolina Wind Energy Working Group
Factsheet
Wind Energy in North Carolina

Find wind data and information in North Carolina, including maps, capacity, ordinances, and more.

Department of Energy: WINDExchange
Map
General