On February 26, 2010, AHCMC, in conjunction with Nonprofit Montgomery and the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, convened a forum to help nonprofits identify new opportunities in purchasing energy. Four competitive suppliers – Avalon, Clean Currents, Electric Advisors and WGES made presentations to over 40 Montgomery nonprofits in an enlightening session hosted at the Jewish Social Service Agency. The session was spurred by Councilmember Roger Berliner who, at the 2010 HHS Committee review of the AHCMC budget, asked AHCMC to help its constituents find ways to save on energy by considering clean and renewable energy and energy aggregation pools.

Rabbi Fred Dobb, chair of Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light and rabbi of Adat Shalom gave a stirring imperative to protect and honor the planet that set the tone for a serious discussion about clean energy offerings, service options, and how nonprofits might realize 10-15% in savings by shifting from brown (coal) to green (wind) energy and essentially, doing well by doing good.

Next steps include the formation of a Task Force of interested nonprofits who have indicated that they want to take the process further. We’re putting together an Energy 101 Overview to help decipher the terms in this field and, once the Task Force convenes, we’ll present our plan for moving forward. Until then, comment below and let us know what YOU think about purchasing clean energy!
Wishing you Peace and Light,
Suzan