President/CEO, Cambridge Energy Alliance
Cambridge, Massachusetts
August 2007

Executive Summary

The Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA), an initiative launched in March 2007 with the strong endorsement of Governor Deval Patrick and business leaders, plans to achieve unprecedented energy savings in the City of Cambridge over the next 4-5 years. The CEA is a showcase of innovation and entrepreneurship as reflected in its design, function and its creative financing model.

The CEA seeks a President/CEO who will embrace these path-breaking innovations and take the lead in collaboratively implementing the program throughout the entire city. The President/CEO will build a new organization with the genuine prospect of creating a national model for introducing and implementing energy savings programs and thereby reducing CO2 emissions linked to climate change.

Primary collaborators in this venture include the City of Cambridge, the Cambridge Health Alliance, the local electric utility (NSTAR), the Kendall Foundation, and leading business and nonprofit organizations including MIT and Harvard University.

Background

The City of Cambridge is one of the largest and densest cities in Massachusetts with a population of just over 100,000 residents. Founded in 1630, the city is home to well-known universities, a thriving biotech industry and a growing cluster of energy interests entrepreneurship. High civic and political engagement is the norm with local civic activities frequently well organized at neighborhood and city-wide levels.

The residents of Cambridge are a diverse and generally well-educated population. Approximately 26% are foreign born and over 30% of the residents speaking a language other than English at home. And 65% of Cambridge residents hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, a rate almost 41% higher than the national average.

The City is committed to a strong environmental agenda and has been a long-time municipal leader on climate change and sustainability. In 1999, the City Council passed a resolution to join the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP), a resolution that committed the City to prepare a greenhouse gas emissions inventory, set a target to reduce emissions, develop and implement a plan, and monitor the results. In December 2002, the City Council adopted a Climate Protection Plan that sets a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent below 1990 levels by 2010. (http://www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/et/env/climate/climate.html#clim).

Project Overview

The Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) is a new non-profit organization that will design, market, finance, manage, and document unprecedented efficiency improvements in the use of energy, water, and transportation in the City. Over the next five to seven years, the CEA will carry out an unprecedented $100+ million efficiency effort offering new technical services and financing options to all residents, businesses, organizations, and institutions. The CEA will also support installation of new renewable and clean energy generation, and technologies that curb electricity use during peak demand periods.

CEA will serve as an energy service company (ESCO), with responsibility for:

• Leading public information marketing campaigns
• Raising debt financing with the assistance of energy finance specialists
• Aggregating all available public revenue streams (Forward Capacity Market payments, efficiency incentives, renewable energy certificates, carbon offsets, etc.)
• Pre-qualifying efficiency contractors (ESCOs) for each of the following market categories: (1) small residential, (2) large residential, (3) small commercial & industrial (C&I), (4) large C&I, institutional and tax-exempt institutions)
• Providing selection and oversight of ESCO contractors and contracting for independent monitoring and verification of energy savings.

The program is intended to serve as a model for many other Massachusetts cities. Five additional cities, including Boston, will be chosen for the second phase of the roll-out. The Boston Energy Alliance will likely be underway within the year. It is anticipated that CEA could become a model for cities nation-wide.

Energy Savings and Emission Reductions

CEA initiatives will lead to a substantial reduction in the City’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2011, reducing electricity demand by 50MW, or approximately 15% of the peak load and reducing annual consumption of electricity, fossil fuels, and water by 10% city-wide. The target is to eventually reach a participation rate of 40-50% in each of the two residential and business/institutional market categories.

Partners

Project collaborators include the City itself, the Cambridge Health Alliance, NSTAR (the gas and electric utility), members of the corporate community, university and civic leaders including communities of faith, energy suppliers, and regulators. Start-up support for this project has been provided by the Kendall Foundation, the Barr Foundation and The Chorus Foundation.

Marketing Plan

Since a goal of the program is to enroll 40-50% in all four market segments, the public marketing campaign will seek to reach everyone living and working in the City. This plan is currently under development.

The campaign is designed to take advantage of the City’s natural ability to serve as an aggregator of energy demand, public incentives, and private investment. Its involvement in the marketing of CEA will raise the public profile and create a unique branding identity for the project, enhancing the visibility and credibility of CEA.

Governance and Role

CEA was incorporated in Massachusetts this spring (2007) and has applied to the Internal Revenue Service for 501(c)(3) status. CEA has a seven member Board of Directors, and intends to create a broader Advisory Committee to tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience of Cambridge residents.

Innovative Financing Model and Components

Cities naturally aggregate both needs and services and therefore can support the design of a unique, but replicable financial mechanism – a Revolving Fund for Energy Efficiency. As a means of financing the initiative, CEA, in conjunction with its many partners, will aggregate reductions of both energy consumption and peak demand within the City of Cambridge for participation in those markets that place an economic value on such reductions. Once the Revolving Fund is in place, the project is expected to become fully self-sustaining.

Approximately 80% of the financing is expected to come from private sources, initially through CEA’s investment banking partner, Bostonia, and subsequently through financial institutions that respond to the recently released Request for Proposals for Commercial and Residential Loan Programs. The remaining 20% is expected to come from government incentive programs that have been established to promote energy efficiency, power reliability, and environmental improvements. These programs include the electric utility’s System Benefit Charge, credits associated with New England’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), renewable energy certificates, and other carbon offset markets. As a result, energy savings and clean energy installations should in most cases be paid for by the project financing and be repaid from future energy savings. No upfront costs should be required for such installations, and there will be no cost to the City of Cambridge or local and state taxpayers.

One specific program that CEA will benefit from is the Forward Capacity Market (FCM), a program recently established by ISO-New England, the region’s electricity grid operator. The FCM was created to ensure adequate capacity to generate enough electricity to meet future demand by setting a market value for that capacity 3 years in advance. ISO-New England will run an auction in February of 2008 in which new market entrants will bid, and establish a price that will be paid to resources that deliver needed capacity to the electric system, with payments to winning bidders to begin in June of 2010. Annual auctions will be held in subsequent years.

One unique feature of this forward auction for capacity is that is it not limited only to resources that generate electricity. Regulators have required that this market allow any action that provides the electric system with the ability to meet peak demand to participate in forward capacity auctions. Therefore, the reductions in electric demand that result from investments in energy efficiency and load response measures are eligible for FCM payments through participation in the auction.

CEA has taken several steps to become a pre-qualified participant in the auction and plans to bid in the auction in February. The amount of demand resources that clear in that auction will begin earning revenue for the program. There will be additional auctions going forward so that as CEA ramps up over time, the amount of resources that are receiving payments through the FCM can be increased. The revenues CEA could receive from the auctions will depend on the market clearing price and the whether the full amount of the program’s demand resources offered in the auction clear.

Basic Function and Immediate Priorities

Two fundamental challenges will fill the days of the successful President/CEO candidate. The first is that of building a new and high-functioning organization and includes:

• Recruiting, energizing and directing a small staff
• Establishing and, as appropriate, amending operational standards
• Creating/reviewing an annual budget and financing availabilities
• Creating/reviewing an annual work plan
• Developing close/supportive relationships with the Board of Directors
• Becoming familiar with the Cambridge context – city government, major nonprofit and educational as well as commercial organizations, city politics, community groups, the history of the municipality, and especially its energy policies and their history—as a basis for playing a highly visible public role on behalf of energy efficiency throughout the municipality.

The CEA offers a remarkable opportunity to create a new and timely entity in a City that aspires to set a national standard for energy efficiency savings – a prospective national model for progressive action on the climate change front. Creativity has been at the heart of this endeavor from the outset.

Second is the challenge of creating and implementing a City-wide energy/climate program to conserve energy and reduce heat-trapping gases—a community centered program unlike any ever undertaken in the country. Major components in this challenge include:

• Establishing realistic goals for program implementation keyed to the reduction of energy consumption in the City of Cambridge
• Developing private and public financing to serve the program
• Developing the City-wide campaign to reduce energy consumption
• Managing contracts with energy service companies
• Establishing monitoring and verification protocols to confirm energy savings achieved
• Building strong, collaborative relationships with the City’s energy consumers – the City administration, major universities, businesses, schools, public housing units, the local utility (electricity and gas), and home and property owners.

Though focused on energy, the greatest opportunity and challenge embedded in this program is that of changing human behavior by public appeals to economics (savings) and to the abiding, dominant challenge of global climate change. Cambridge aspires to be seen, based on documented results, as a national and highly respected municipal leader in the realm of energy conservation. Early indications suggest that cities around the country – including New York, Boston and Chicago – will be eyeing Cambridge as a possible model.

Qualifications and Experience

Among the attributes sought in the successful candidate, the following stand out:

• Strong leadership qualities in both the organizational and public spheres
• Experience in developing and implementing strategies for change—translating creative ideas into action
• Sophisticated understanding of public policies and political processes
• An attractive, compelling public presence to promote the values and goals of the Cambridge Energy Alliance
• Good familiarity with contracting for services
• An open, optimistic personality with strong listening and collaborative disposition and skills.
• Grace, civility, imagination, sense of humor
• Relevant advanced formal education and management experience
• Energy policy experience is an advantage.

Compensation

The salary is market competitive at the higher end of non-profit CEOs. Benefits will likewise be commensurate.

For More Information and to Apply

Inquiries, nominations or referrals, and resumes with brief cover letters, should be directed in confidence to: the Search Committee Chair, CEA at: CEASearch@cambridgeenergyalliance.org

If additional information is needed, it will be sought. Otherwise no response other than an acknowledgement can be provided at this time. General information about the Cambridge Energy Alliance can be found at: www.cambridgeenergyalliance.org

The Cambridge Energy Alliance is an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes a diverse pool of candidates in this search.

Organization Description

The Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA), an initiative launched in March 2007 with the strong endorsement of Governor Deval Patrick and business leaders, plans to achieve nationally unprecedented energy savings in the City of Cambridge over the next 4-5 years. The CEA is a showcase of innovation and entrepreneurship as reflected in its design, function and its creative financing model. Anticipate an annual budget of under $1 million and once fully operational, contracts of +/- $20 million.

The CEA seeks a President/CEO who will embrace these path-breaking innovations and take the lead in collaboratively implementing the program throughout the entire city. The President/CEO will build a new nonprofit organization with the genuine prospect of creating a national model for introducing and implementing energy savings programs and thereby reducing CO2 emissions linked to climate change.

Primary collaborators in this venture include the City of Cambridge, the Cambridge Health Alliance, the local electric utility (NSTAR), the Kendall Foundation, and leading business, housing and nonprofit organizations including MIT and Harvard University.

To review the CEA Case Statement, including the position description, and to find more information on the initiative, see www.cambridgeenergyalliance.org.

The Position

CEA seeks a person with leadership experience/capability, the more entrepreneurial the better. A background in a public purpose organization and familiarity with energy policy issues are preferred qualities.

Roles & Responsibilities

1. Building a new and high-functioning organization, including:

• Recruiting, energizing and directing a small staff
• Establishing and, as appropriate, amending operational standards
• Creating/reviewing an annual budget and financing availabilities
• Creating/reviewing an annual work plan
• Developing close/supportive relationships with the Board of Directors
• Becoming familiar with the Cambridge context – city government, major nonprofit and educational as well as commercial organizations, city politics, community groups, the history of the municipality, and especially its energy policies and their history—as a basis for playing a highly visible public role on behalf of energy efficiency throughout the municipality.

2. Creating and implementing a City-wide energy/climate program to conserve energy and reduce heat-trapping gases; major components in this challenge include:

• Establishing realistic goals for program implementation keyed to the reduction of energy consumption in the City of Cambridge
• Developing private and public financing to serve the program
• Developing the City-wide campaign to reduce energy consumption
• Managing contracts with energy service companies
• Establishing monitoring and verification protocols to confirm energy savings achieved
• Building strong, collaborative relationships with the City’s energy consumers – the City administration, major universities, businesses, schools, public housing units, the local utility (electricity and gas), and home and property owners.

Skills & Qualifications

Among the attributes sought in the successful candidate, the following stand out:

• Strong leadership qualities in both the organizational and public spheres.
• Experience in developing and implementing strategies for change—translating creative ideas into action.
• Sophisticated understanding of public policies and political processes.
• An attractive, compelling public presence to promote the values and goals of the Cambridge Energy Alliance.
• Good familiarity with contracting for services.
• An open, optimistic personality with strong listening and collaborative disposition and skills.
• Grace, civility, imagination, sense of humor.
• Relevant advanced formal education and management experience
• Energy policy experience is an advantage.

Compensation

The salary is market competitive at the higher end of non-profit CEOs. Benefits will likewise be commensurate.

To Apply

Inquiries, nominations or referrals, and resumes with brief cover letters, should be directed in confidence to: the Search Committee Chair, CEA at: CEASearch@cambridgeenergyalliance.org

The Cambridge Energy Alliance is an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes a diverse pool of candidates in this search.