States, communities, businesses, and individuals around the U.S. are exploring how they can take part in the transition to clean energy. Because many aspects of our energy infrastructure are spread out – from the systems for heating and cooling our homes and businesses to the cars we drive – a full transition requires an all-hands effort. That also means our individual actions can help play a very meaningful part in moving us toward a clean, resilient, and secure energy future.  

Cape Light Compact offers programs to help simplify steps that residents and businesses on the Cape and Vineyard can take to move their homes and businesses, and our communities, away from fossil fuels. Below are three ways that you can participate in the clean energy transition! 

Local Green℠ 

The first way you can participate is by choosing an electricity supply option that supports local renewable energy. Similar to when you buy other items, the energy option you choose can influence the market. Choosing to support local renewable energy encourages the development of local renewable energy resources, which reduces our use of fossil fuel energy.   

Cape Light Compact offers three power supply options: standard power supply, CLC Local Green 50, and CLC Local Green 100. All of these options match 100% of customers’ electricity usage with renewable energy certificates generated by renewable resources, but the Local Green options go further and match 50% or 100% of customers’ electricity usage with renewable energy certificates generated by facilities located in New England. Supporting local renewable energy helps to displace fossil fuel generation closer to home and promotes a resilient local energy grid.   

All Cape and Vineyard electric accounts can sign up for the CLC Local Green power supply options. The cost difference is a couple cents more per kWh than Cape Light Compact’s standard power supply product. You can calculate the cost difference of switching to CLC Local Green and learn more about how these options support local renewable energy here.  

ConnectedSolutions 

If you have a smart thermostat connected to a central air conditioner or heat pump, another way you can be part of the clean energy transition is by participating a demand response program. You can enroll your smart thermostat in Cape Light Compact’s ConnectedSolutions program which gives the program permission to make limited adjustments to your thermostat during peak periods of electricity demand. These periods of adjustments typically occur on hot summer days when demand for electricity is highest. Participants always have the option to override the temperature adjustments made by the program. Slight adjustments across many thermostats lessens the strain on the electric grid and reduces the need for older, typically fossil fuel, power plants to turn on to meet the power demand, reducing polluting emissions. Enrolling in the ConnectedSolutions demand response program is easy and the collective impacts can be huge! Residential or small business electric customers on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard with an active Eversource account, and with a Wi-Fi enabled smart thermostat that controls their central air conditioning, can participate. When you become a part of the larger clean energy transition by signing up, the Compact also gives you a $25 e-gift card and an additional $20 e-gift card at the end of each summer season you participate. 

Home and Business Energy Assessments 

A third way to participate in the clean energy transition is by making your home or business more energy efficient. There are countless ways to do this, whether it’s by installing a smart thermostat, making improvements to the insulation in your home or business, or replacing old appliances with new, more energy efficient ones. Some of these changes are inexpensive, but many do have an upfront cost. Luckily, the Compact can help you figure out what makes the most sense for your home or business and has incentives to help reduce many of the costs. 

A Home or Business Energy Assessment is the first step in figuring out how you can make your home or business more efficient and comfortable. The Compact’s assessment uses a whole building approach to help identify which upgrades will help you save energy, make your space more comfortable, and reduce environmental impact. The no-cost assessment will provide you with a customized energy report and identify incentives you can take advantage of, such as up to 100% off the cost of recommended insulation upgrades for income-eligible homes or up to 80% off efficiency improvements for businesses. Homeowners may also qualify for a 0% interest Mass Save® HEAT Loan to cover the remainder of project costs after incentives.  

There is a lot to do for us to make a full transition to clean energy, but there are also a lot of people working to make it happen. Opting in to CLC Local Green power supply, enrolling in ConnectedSolutions, and making energy efficiency improvements to your home or business helps speed up the transition, makes the grid more resilient, and improves our community’s resilience to the changing climate.