The City of Charlottesville is one of 50 communities in the country selected to compete for the Georgetown University Energy Prize, a national $5 million competition to rethink the way American communities use energy.
From the hundreds of communities that were interested in the prize, it is these 50 select communities that successfully: assembled a team, developed compelling and detailed plans, and secured commitments from their local government, electric and natural gas utilities, and community organizations.
“For every competitor, this is a community-wide effort: elementary schools, civics organizations, church groups, businesses, governments, and utilities have all united to help their community build a better energy future, and bring home the Prize,” remarked Dr. Francis Slakey, Founder and Executive Director of the Georgetown University Energy Prize.
The 50 competing communities are distributed among 26 states across the U.S.—from Alaska to Florida, from Vermont to Alabama, from California to Tennessee, and points in between.
“The competition looks truly like America,” said Dr. Slakey, “Not only do these communities come from across the map, they represent the nation’s full political, social and economic diversity. Some are paying the highest prices for energy, some have the ambition to be carbon net-zero, but all the communities share the goal of transforming America’s energy future.”
Local communities have long been the incubators for the practical implementation of innovative approaches to difficult problems. To reduce their energy consumption over the next two years, these 50 communities are trying a large variety of approaches, including:
- implementing bold new policies;
- conducting deep data-mining of their energy use;
- creating novel financing mechanisms;
- focusing on energy-intensive low-income neighborhoods; and
- trying radically unique approaches to behavior change, using gamification or the latest methods in social science research—one community is even mobilizing kids as a vector for change by creating a “pester power” campaign.
Insulation and air sealing are widely known as the most cost effective way to lower energy usage in existing homes. Weatherseal offers a range of insulation products as well we the expertise on how to best install it for maximum comfort and energy efficiency.
Visit energizecharlottesville.org to learn more about the competition. If you’re a City resident, sign up, and contact Weatherseal today for a free assessment of your insulation needs. We’ve been insulating Charlottesville homes for more than 25 years. Read our testimonials or visit our case studies.
