The State and Local Solution Center is a resource hub for states, local governments, and K-12 school districts. Our resources are organized by topics that are foundational to public-sector energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable transportation activities: develop strategic energy plans and programs; implement data management systems; find funding or financing; and empower your workforce. Explore the popular tools and resources below.

This guide compiles popular technical assistance resources and initiatives available to states, local governments, and  K–12 school districts and highlights technical assistance offerings from other U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) offices, where to apply to DOE funding, and more.

Develop Strategic Energy Plans and Programs

State and Local Planning for Energy (SLOPE) Platform
A web-based platform that integrates and delivers data on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable transportation to enable data-driven state and local energy planning.

Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) Tool 
A web-based tool that helps stakeholders make data-driven decisions on energy goals and program planning by improving their understanding of low-income and moderate-income household energy characteristics.

State Energy Program Implementation Models
These are implementation models that serve as “how-to guides” outlining state approaches to overcoming energy barriers and achieving energy savings.

Framework for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Planning: Building Portfolios
This framework helps organizations develop an action plan that achieves Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets across their portfolio of buildings and vehicle fleets.

DOE’s 50001 Ready Navigator
The 50001 Ready Navigator is an online application that provides step-by-step guidance for implementing an energy management system in line with the ISO 50001 Standard.

Local Government Guide for Solar Deployment
This guide assists local government officials and stakeholders in boosting solar deployment with approaches to reduce market barriers that have been field tested.

REopt®: Renewable Energy Integration and Optimization
REopt recommends the optimal mix of renewable energy, conventional generation, and energy storage technologies to meet cost, resilience, emissions, and energy goals.

View all resources for strategic energy plans and programs.   

Implement Energy Data Management Systems

Building Energy Data Tools
DOE developed a comprehensive suite of tools for accessing, managing, analyzing and sharing building energy data.

Energy Data Management Guide
This guide is an interactive, online platform that provides the public sector with a seven-step approach to establish a data management program that can sustain energy savings of 2% a year.

Energy Data Management Manual for the Wastewater Treatment Sector
This manual describes the benefits of energy data management and provides step-by-step guidance for tracking and managing energy performance.

Energy Data Access: Blueprint for Action Toolkit
This toolkit provides resources to help building owners and communities overcome a lack of access to energy data for benchmarking, and highlights examples of effective partnerships between organizations.

Smart Energy Analytics Campaign Toolkit
The Toolkit collects the Campaign’s best resources to help facility owners and managers take advantage of savings opportunities and improvements from ongoing monitoring practices.

Find Funding or Financing

eProject eXpress
eProject eXpress provides a user-friendly and tailored pathway for state and local governments to document and display the ongoing value of their energy savings performance contract.

Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC) Toolkit
The ESPC Toolkit contains best practices from partners in the ESPC Accelerator that works to streamline the process and resolve ESPC barriers.

Performance Contracting National Resource Center (PCNRC)
The PCNRC is a hub for ESPC best practices in the public sector and also offers a no-cost, accredited, on-demand, Training Certificate Series to support performance contracting.

Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Toolkit Overview
The C-PACE Toolkit can build a foundational understanding of C-PACE, inform programmatic investment, improve implementation, and be used to support public-service objectives.

Better Buildings Financing Navigator
The Better Buildings Financing Navigator helps users explore a wide array of financing choices and identify relevant financing options for their energy projects.

View all funding and financing resources.

Empower Your Workforce

Building Your Energy Team
This webpage provides resources to assist the public sector in building their energy teams, including position description templates, national support programs, and case studies.

Better Buildings Workforce Development Portal
The Portal is a collection of training, education, and job opportunity resources to help organizations address workforce needs and help individuals take the next step in their career.

Solar Workforce Initiatives
Solar Workforce Initiatives include online and in-person training and education programs, work-based learning opportunities, collegiate competitions, certification programs, and more.

Building Science Education (BSE) Solution Center
The BSE Solution Center provides curated and free-to-use training materials on the fundamentals of building science.

The Wind Energy Workforce in the United States: Training, Hiring, and Future Needs
This resource provides a national assessment of the wind industry workforce and hiring needs to uncover educational pathways that would help close any gaps.

The interactive SCEP Project Map allows users to explore each state's State Energy Program and Weatherization Assistance Program projects, recently published SCEP success stories, and voluntary partnerships including Better Buildings Initiatives. Learn more and find resources.

Questions? Suggestions? Email us at stateandlocal@ee.doe.gov.