Connecticut is highlighted in the newly released report, Returning Champions: State Clean Energy Leadership Since 2015, by the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), a national, nonprofit coalition of state agencies and other public organizations. The report provides a comprehensive look at the ways in which states are advancing clean energy and suggests how to further encourage growth. Insert a sentence at the end of this paragraph which briefly summarizes the clean energy developments in your states, as recognized within the CESA report. Connecticut was recognized for the Solar For All program with PosiGen and its solar incentive for low-and-moderate income homeowners.

“We are pleased to be recognized as one of 21 innovative models states are using to grow clean energy markets nationwide,” said Isabelle Hazlewood, manager at the Green Bank. “The Connecticut Solar for All program is a shining example of how public-private partnerships can expand access to clean energy for underserved communities and achieve inclusive prosperity in the clean energy economy.”

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Returning Champions describes the many important ways that states across the nation are supporting clean energy generation and markets. The report highlights 21 case studies from 19 states, covering a variety of state programs such as r community solar, low-income solar access, bioenergy, renewable heating and cooling technologies, energy storage, offshore wind, and renewable thermal.

The report’s four thematic chapters emphasize the most important issues that the states have been focusing on over the past few years:

• Setting more aggressive goals for renewable energy electricity generation, for carbon-free energy, and for energy storage.
• Supporting markets for emerging technologies, including offshore wind, electric vehicles, air source heat pumps, battery storage, microgrids, hydropower from irrigation systems, and advanced biomass and biogas systems.
• Modernizing the electricity grid to incorporate variable sources of electricity generation, distributed generation, and electric vehicles efficiently and cost-effectively, as well as efforts to replace fossil fuels for heating.
• Focusing on fairness and equity for clean energy to ensure that low- and moderate-income households can access the benefits of clean energy and to put appropriate consumer protection measures in place.

CESA Executive Director Warren Leon, the report’s lead author, summarizes the overall role of the states: “The United States is experiencing a transition to clean energy in great part because states have been able to propel clean energy policy implementation, and because governors, legislators, and state agency staff have provided leadership, innovation, and funding to support the transformation of the energy sector to cleaner and more reliable technologies.” He added, “It is important to recognize the achievements of Connecticut’s clean energy programs and those of other states so that public support for these programs continues and additional progress is made.”