Energy Planning

Elevate Energy and Inova Energy Group supported the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Iowa Department of Transportation in the development of the Iowa Energy Plan. The plan includes 15 objectives and 45 strategies that propose a balanced approach to encourage growth in all of Iowa’s energy sectors while emphasizing sustainable practices, economic development, and the research and development required to keep Iowa on the leading edge of energy innovation. The team’s approach to development of the plan involved completing an assessment of current and future energy supply and demand, an examination of existing energy policies and programs, and identification of emerging energy challenges and opportunities.

The team led a comprehensive stakeholder engagement process that included a series of energy forums and facilitated working group discussions. The Iowa Energy Plan was completed in 2016.

In 2014, Elevate Energy developed a plan for the City of Madison to compete in the Georgetown University Energy Prize program, a competition among 50+ communities to reduce energy consumption. The plan built off of Madison’s strong track record of sustainability efforts.

Implementation of the plan included strategies for single and multifamily residential buildings, an analysis of municipal building energy priorities and training, and Cool Choices—an online energy behavior competition. Over a two-year period, Madison achieved a 10 percent reduction in energy consumption while at the same time experiencing a population growth of nearly 8 percent.

Below is a video showing one of Green Madison's "Energy House Parties." At a house party, friends and neighbors gather to learn about home energy performance and what steps can be taken to improve a home to save energy and money.

Elevate Energy was part of the Inova Energy Group team that supported the development of the Missouri Comprehensive State Energy Plan. The team, which brought together project managers, policy analysts, economists, engineers, and planners, focused on providing policy recommendations and actionable strategies that simultaneously addressed energy, environmental, economic, and other issues.

Seven public meetings were held across the state to get important input from various stakeholders. The plan and recommendations were then assessed for feasibility, cost, benefit, and timeline for implementation.

Check out our blog on what the plan delivers. The video below is from the 2015 Midwest Energy Policy Conference in St. Louis, where the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s Division of Energy presented the key recommendations of the comprehensive statewide energy plan.

Elevate Energy (then called CNT Energy) conducted a Sustainability Audit of Kane County, Illinois to assess its governmental operations. Elevate Energy developed the Kane County 2040 Energy Plan (KC2040EP), an update to the 2005 Kane County Energy Plan that focused on how projected population growth and land use changes would impact electricity consumption in the County.

The update expanded upon the 2005 plan to include natural gas consumption data and data from three municipal electric utilities. KC2040EP presents an analysis of how energy is consumed in the County and how consumption patterns are expected to change as the County grows. In addition, strategies are recommended for managing the County’s changing energy needs while incorporating energy planning into the larger long-range planning process. Kane County adopted the plan in June 2011.

Funded by the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, Elevate Energy (then CNT Energy) provided individual profiles that examined energy consumption, vehicle miles traveled, and greenhouse gas emissions for 276 municipalities in the Chicago region. These profiles served as a baseline from which communities could develop more specific strategies and accurately measure progress in achieving reductions in energy consumption and emissions. The companion MEPP Guidebook examined both municipal- and community-scale best practices for strategies in energy and transportation.