Community Energy Planning and Sustainable Energy Management have become a major activity of municipalities concerned about long-term community sustainability. "Green", "sustainable"’ and "energy security" agendas have become part of the municipal policies and strategies. As nonrenewable resources continue to be depleted, heavy dependence on fossil fuels cannot sustain growing energy needs into the long term. Clearly, there needs to be a progressive transition away from our high dependence on non-renewables to a stronger use of renewable energy resources and a greater efficiency in design and new technologies for energy systems. Municipalities have taken a leading role in helping communities plan for the transitions towards a more sustainable system of energy generation and use.

Communities across Canada and internationally face many energy-related challenges including rising energy prices, air quality problems, and infrastructure in need of repair or replacement. By engaging in long term strategic energy planning, communities can solve these problems in a manner that is cost-effective and sustainable for residents and the environment.

Solar energy is an imprtant component of community energy planning. Being perfectly suited for residential and commercial applications, solar energy systems can save over 50% of energy expenses for water and space heating, can "shave" utility power consumption peaks and provide backup for utility power supply. Finding a way to implement community energy plans to maximize the return on investment for both private and public dollars in solar technology is a challenging task. Green Power Labs’ SolarStar Rating method provides the solution through its comprehensive visual tools and detailed documentation to guide a city in adding solar component to community energy plans.

Solar Cities