3FOOD

Third Industrial Revolution Consulting Group
options. The creation of a LSDFP fits with the larger policy context and direction. For instance,
the Third NEEAP is considering the creation of a public financial institution to facilitate
investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
1.3 Establishing a Resource Aggregation Capacity
While the Luxembourg Sustainable Energy Finance (LuxSEF) model provides a useful
aggregation of demand-side projects (whether energy-efficiency upgrades or rooftop
photovoltaic systems), there are other complementary institutional arrangements that the
LSDFP may want to consider to drive greater investments in renewable energy and energy
efficiency upgrades at an equivalent national or community scale. One such model is a
complement of energy cooperatives, referred to as Community Choice Aggregation (CCA). CCA
is a vehicle that enables community governments to aggregate or pool energy customers to
purchase and develop energy resources, as well as to administer energy programs, on behalf of
their residents and businesses. This institutional arrangement allows the local community to
shape the CCA program to prioritize desired benefits, including but not limited to, increased
investment in renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, economic development, carbon
reduction strategies, and workforce development efforts. 253
Like energy cooperatives, CCAs have the authority to buy and/or develop energy resources on
behalf of the residential, commercial, and government energy customers within its jurisdiction.
Whether heat or electricity, the energy continues to be distributed and delivered over existing
pipelines, electricity lines, and other infrastructure that is owned by a private company or
investor-owned utility.
By establishing a CCA program, cities and cantons can take increased ownership and control
over their electricity generation and consumption. More than just buying and selling electricity,
a CCA provides a platform for managing the community’s energy resources through the
administration of energy efficiency programs, as well as the through the development of local
renewables. Indeed, some local communities have been motivated to form community choice
programs as a means to achieve greater levels of renewable energy generation, encourage local
investment in energy resource development, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, amplify the
253 With origins in the State of California, CCA is statutorily enabled in California, Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island with a handful of other states considering legislation. For more background on
the idea of a Community Choice Aggregation model as it might be applied in the Netherlands or the region, see the
resources of Local Energy Aggregation Network (LEAN Energy US) at http://www.leanenergyus.org/. For a quick
review of energy cooperatives in Europe, see the Navigant report cited in footnote 1 of this overview.
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