The Better Buildings Initiative has published an extensive guide to using distributed generation to build resilience, and previously ran an accelerator program to build critical infrastructure resilience through CHP. Energy efficiency measures are a powerful complement to onsite energy generation and storage, as they can significantly reduce the necessary size and cost of installing backup power systems, and can increase the reliability of existing backup power in serving critical loads. This is of particular relevance for commercial and industrial customers, for whom the economic impacts of a loss of power tend to be significantly greater than for residential customers.

In 2014, after the Polar Vortex event caused a spike in natural gas prices, the average customer of one gas utility in Illinois saw monthly bills increase by 57 percent. Simple efficiency measures can have major benefits in insulating firms and individuals from such major price swings.

Organizations can procure renewable energy in three ways: 1) Owning renewable energy systems and consuming the energy they generate, 2) purchasing renewable power from third-party-owned systems, or 3) purchasing unbundled renewable energy credits (RECs). In any case, an organization needs to own and retire the RECs associated with the power in order to make renewable energy claims. Renewable energy generation can occur on-site (e.g. rooftop solar, micro-wind) or off-site (e.g. utility-scale renewables, community solar). An organization’s portfolio of renewable energy may include one or a combination of these procurement options to meet a broader goal. Below are some basic topics about renewable energy that may help inform decision-making including green power markets, technology integration, and costs and feasibility.