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The Marion Institute is dedicated to identifying + promoting programs that seek to enhance life for the Earth + its inhabitants.
Programs

N.B.EnergyNOW!

Save Money – Create Jobs – Protect the Planet

P.O.W.E.R. is one of the core partners on developing and implementing New Bedford Energy Now!, a city initiative that offers 3 programs for New Bedford residents to save money on their energy costs – NB Efficiency Now!, NB Solar Now! and NB Challenge Now! The idea is to offer something to everyone and to create a simple and centralized process to access programs that can help people and the planet. NB Energy Now incorporates over a dozen community groups, NSTAR and several for-profit companies. This diverse collection of partners is working in collaboration to save residents money, create local jobs, and protect the planet through energy efficiency and renewable energy. NB Energy Now! offers free MassSAVE home and businesses energy assessments and all the incentives provided by MassSAVE, free solar energy assessments for your home or business and special financing for local residents, and access to the SouthCoast Energy Challenge, all through one entry point. The program makes it easy to track your energy use, use less energy, save money and help support local jobs.

P.O.W.E.R. is leading the outreach strategies, training new partners and data management. Our data team built a specialized data platform through Salesforce to manage all of the program’s data for the City. We are also working with our partners to make sure that the jobs created through this work are accessible to local residents and to people with barriers to employment. To find out more about NB Energy Now! visit: http://newbedfordenergynow.com/ or call: 1.855.NB.NOW.4.U (1.855.626.6948).

New Bedford Energy Now! builds on the success of the Community Mobilization Initiative. Beginning in July 2010, the Green Jobs Green Economy Initiative, P.O.W.E.R., the ESHU² Collective, the City of New Bedford, NSTAR and YouthBuild’s Urban Energy Solutions launched the first Community Mobilization Initiative (CMI) in the state. The initiative aimed to lower energy costs for residents and business owners, create jobs and reduce carbon emissions by using the strength of community relationships to offer access to and education about energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. P.O.W.E.R. reached over 3000 residents and businesses, connected hundreds of them with free energy assessments, created new local jobs and reduced 1000s of pounds of carbon from the atmosphere through insulation, airsealing, heating system replacement and changing light bulbs and thermostats. The initiative also taught us a lot about what is needed to improve energy efficiency. Stay tuned for a full report of the outcomes and lessons learned from the CMI coming in the summer of 2012.