[The Local Government Commission, which assisted twelve California communities in their investigation of CCA feasibility, has more information about Community Choice Aggregation.
This is an EXCERPT: read the whole article, "Stop waiting for 'leaders' to act on global warming".
Related:
» CCA in action in Texas
-Ed.]

By Peter Asmus

"One of the most promising models [for fighting climate change] is called 'Community Choice Aggregation.' CCA is the legal term for an innovative way for cities and counties to purchase electricity by votes of local governments.

"Previously, the only way for a local government to have a say in where the community's power came from was to establish a municipally owned utility. The CCA process provides an easier way to switch to an earth-friendlier power supply without taking on the burden of managing the power lines, collecting bills, and the divisive politics involved with the expensive process of bringing energy under municipal control.

"The easiest way to green our power supply on-site [in Marin County] is solar photovoltaics (PV)... The prime obstacle to widespread deployment of solar PV has been cost. One way to lower costs is to design community-based programs – highly feasible under a CCA – that involve citizens who have yet to tap solar energy in a big way, such as renters and those who lack rooftops with good exposure to the sun.

"For example, why not let renters purchase energy from strategically located 'community solar' systems located in the best spots in each neighborhood? Or how about integrating solar into our disaster relief planning, supporting new storage technologies that can help displace dirty (and increasingly expensive) diesel generators?"

Photo credit: Gaylon Keeling