Connecticut residents should be proud of the progress they have made toward clean energy. 11 communities in particular should be commended for surpassing 20 local clean energy systems within their municipality. The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), the state-run governing organization for clean energy, founded the Clean Energy Communities to encourage cities and towns to commit to their campaign and in return they would receive a clean energy system (solar photovoltaic, wind, or solar thermal) paid for by the program.
In order to qualify as a Connecticut Clean Energy Community, the municipality must adhere to three requirements:
1. Commit to the 20% by 2010 Clean Energy Campaign with minimum purchase requirements (municipality must make voluntary clean energy purchases of at least 13% in 2010);
2. Commit to the EPA Community Energy Challenge;
3. Achieve a Qualification Threshold through Local Support for Clean Energy:
– 100 points within a community or regional school district (all towns must participate in program)
– Points equal to 10% of households within the community; or
– 1 Gigawatt-hour of CTCleanEnergyOptions purchased by a local C&I customer
* Points are earned from local sign-ups to CTCleanEnergyOptions, local clean energy installations and purchases of Green-e certified Renewable Energy Certificates by a local C&I customer.
When a free clean energy system is earned (at least 100 points must be saved), CCEF and its consultants will help the community choose the best location for the installation. All equipment purchases and installation costs will be paid for by CCEF. The minimum size of solar photovoltaic installation is 2 kW which would require 200 points or the municipality can choose to purchase kWs in addition to what it has earned.
One of the criteria to earn points toward a free clean energy system is by completing local clean energy installations. The 11 Communities listed below are honored for the number of clean energy systems that have been installed within their town or city limits. A municipality earns 3 points for every project funded by CCEF. As you can see by the points earned, Stonington has already earned a Clean Energy System paid for by CCEF, and Milford and New Haven are very close.
TOP 11 COMMUNITIES (as of May 2010)
| Municipality | Clean Energy Systems | Clean Energy System Points |
| Stonington, CT | 42 | 126 |
| Milford, CT | 33 | 99 |
| New Haven, CT | 33 | 99 |
| Branford, CT | 28 | 84 |
| Mansfield, CT | 25 | 75 |
| Westport, CT | 25 | 75 |
| Fairfield, CT | 23 | 69 |
| Waterford, CT | 23 | 69 |
| Middletown, CT | 22 | 66 |
| Greenwich, CT | 21 | 63 |
| Newtown, CT | 21 | 63 |
