PRP Website Overview

The Public Renewables Partnership Web site has been designed to bring renewable energy information to one location to save time for consumer owned utilitiy managers, resources planners and customer service personnel seeking information on renewable energy. The Web site can be broken down into six parts.

1. The solid green bar at the top of the page: General links about renewable energy technologies and program incentives
2. Tan bar below the top solid green bar: Submit your ideas, learn how to aggregate demand, and request Western's Green Power & Market Research News
3. Resources at right top: Deep links to key industry players.
4. Tan box at left top: Resources for all PRP users
5. Tools green box at bottom Left: Resources to help with development and acquisition.
6. Page content at center: Holds information about key topics and links to pages on this and other sites.

Here are the general categories on this site.

Calendar of Events: Are you interested in learning about a particular renewable energy technology? Do you know when and where state renewable energy working groups are meeting? Would you like to know when and where the major renewable energy conferences will be held around the country? Check the Calendar of Events for more information.

State activities/resources: Thanks to DOE’s Wind Powering America and GeoPowering the West programs, many states now have Wind and Geothermal Working Groups. Check the State Activities/resources page to find out more about working groups in your particular state.

National activities/resources: Many national activities and resources are available to assist you in renewable energy development. From the American Wind Energy Association and the Geothermal Resource Council to the Florida Solar Energy Center and the National Wind Coordinating Committee. Use the National activities/resources link to access these organizations and resources.

Key industry contacts: Have you ever wondered who at DOE can help you find our more about renewable energy technologies? Do you know the experts at your local state energy office? Or at one of the national laboratories or the Environmental Protection Agency? We’ve compiled a list of key industry contacts to help you find an expert.

Grants, funding and RFPs: Do you know where to go for federal, state and other funding sources? Visit the Grants, funding and RFPs page to search for renewable energy and technology development grants.

Certified green power suppliers: The Public Renewables Partnership is exploring the value of a PRP-Certified Green Power product. Criteria are now under consideration. One important element will be a condition that PRP will only certify power provided by a not-for-profit, consumer-owned entities. To learn more about PRP Certified Green Power contact Dan Lieberman at the Center for Resource Solutions, 415-561-2120.

Consumer education: PRP has collected links to some of the best resources available for educating your consumers about renewable resources. Information ranges from that suitable for the general public to curriculum ideas for kindergarten through high school. Check out these resources at the Consumer Education page.

Marketing renewable resources: Are you interested in marketing the benefits of renewable resources to your consumers? We’ve collected an assortment of marketing pieces in ready-to-use formats. These range from radio advertisements and bill stuffers to full-page newspaper and magazine ads. We encourage you to use these resources; and we encourage you to share any resource you already have with us as well. We’ll post what you send to us for other DEED and CRN members to access and use. Marketing Renewable Resources tools helps eliminates duplicated effort among consumer-owned utilities and maximizes the use of proven renewable resource marketing pieces already developed and tested in communities just like yours.

Identifying and screening renewable energy projects Do you know how to identify wind resource potential in your consumer- owned utility service territory and which wind technologies are best for your wind resources? Do you know how to evaluate which roofs are best suited for solar energy applications or which buildings have the best passive and active solar opportunities? Do you know how to evaluate the biomass and geothermal resource potential in your utility service territory? PRP has collected the best resources for your consumer-owned utility to use in evaluating renewable resource potential and technology application. To access these resources, visit the Identifying and Screening Renewable Energy Projects Tools page.

Conducting market research with your customers: Are you interested in learning what your customers think about renewable resources? Have you ever conducted a survey or market assessment pertaining to specific consumer marketing objectives? PRP believes talking to your customers about important issues is critical to creating a healthy consumer-owned electric system. We’ve assembled some basic directions on how to conduct market assessments and consumer surveys as well as collect information from your customers using other formats. We’ve also included an assortment of template survey and market assessment instruments which you can customize and use immediately with your customers. To access these resources, visit the Market research tools page.

Reports and Publications: It’s incredible how many reports and publications exist on renewable energy technologies and resources. We’ve done our best to identify which reports would be of interest to consumer-owned utilities considering renewable energy resources and technologies and have listed them here. Check some of them out at the Reports and Publications page.

Project Development Case Studies: One of the most effective tools for evaluating the benefits and drawbacks or various renewable energy technologies and projects is a case study. PRP has collected an assortment of renewable energy technology and project case studies to assist your consumer-owned utility with evaluating the technology and application before you invest in it. We encourage you to use these case studies and share any case studies you already have with us. We’ll post what you send for other DEED and CRN members to access and use.

Partnership Opportunities: Interested establishing a PRP Partnership with a collection of other consumer-owned utilities? A partnership can range from aggregating demand for procuring photovoltaic panels to conducting a renewable energy workshop or conference. Simply complete the Partnership Opportunities form. We’ll log your request along with the others that we receive. As we identify two or more consumer-owned utilities desiring to create a partnership, regardless of the reason, we will coordinate with key industry stakeholders to cause action. Partnerships are one of the most powerful tools in the PRP repertoire of resources.

Presentations : Need to give a presentation to the utility manager or board of directors? What about that next renewable energy workshop your consumer-owned utility was planning to host? PRP has assembled a database of Power Point presentations. Our library of topics includes clean air, wind, geothermal, solar, economic development and more. We’ve even included scripted text to accompany the slides. Feel free to customize these resources to meet your audience’s specific interests. View our library at the Presentations page.