Jennifer Kallay
Username
Jennifer Kallay
Proposer First Name
Jennifer
Proposer Email
jkallay@synapse-energy.com
Proposer Last Name
Kallay
Proposer Company/Organization
Synapse Energy Economics
Proposer Phone
(617) 453-7034
Proposer Job Title
Senior Associate

Boston 2023 Areas of Focus

Proposer Additional Info
I am submitting this on behalf of Alex Train of the City of Chelsea. The City of Chelsea (the City) is the second most densely populated city in Massachusetts and has the highest percentage of foreign-born residents in the state. Chelsea’s microgrid project is ground-breaking in that it: (1) provides clean energy and resilience to many non-contiguous critical facilities that support the community, and (2) addresses equity by directly and explicitly incorporating the needs and priorities of this environmental justice community into the design of and planning for the project. The first phase of this project is in design and scheduled to be implemented by June 30, 2023.
Proposed Session Description
The Chelsea microgrid is a multi-year project to enhance clean energy, equity, and resilience in an environmental justice community. The project tackles existing buildings serving critical needs in urban areas. The first phase involves installing battery energy storage systems and solar to be used by City Hall, the Police Department, and a privately-owned, affordable housing building known as Janus Apartments. This session explores unlocking this high-priority and challenging potential by: • Empowering community members to participate in projects • Identifying buildings and technologies in alignment with community needs • Integrating community needs into contractor selection and implementation
Diversity and Inclusiveness
A key strategy in the creation of this session, including diverse and representative speaker selection, is to actively build equity. The key goal of the project is to enhance equity by implementing clean energy and resilience solutions in an environmental justice community. Community representatives will be presenting to advocate for these types of projects and drive solutions to challenges.
Learning Objectives
Identify key project participants, leaders, and governance structures.
Conduct efficient and effective community outreach to inform the project design and nurture champions.
Screen suites of buildings and technologies for inclusion in the project and select key criteria for evaluation and prioritization.
Embed community principles and priorities in contractor proposals and working relationships.
Has this session been presented before?
No
Additional Comments
This content has not been presented before and will not be presented at a conference prior to this one. We are looking forward to showcasing the learning to date from this phase and collecting valuable insight to inform future phases.
Session Format
Workshop or skill-building session
Presentation followed by facilitated discussion or breakout groups
Session Format Details
We propose a moderated panel presentation and discussion format for this session. In the first half of the session, the three panelists (including the City of Chelsea’s Alex Train, GreenRoots’ Sari Kayyali, and Synapse Energy Economics’ Jennifer Kallay) will provide brief presentations to provide important background and context for the discussion that follows. GreenRoots will focus on empowering community members to participate in projects. Synapse Energy Economics (Synapse) will focus on approaches to prioritize suites of buildings and technologies in alignment with community interest and needs. The City will focus on integrating community needs into contractor selection and implementation. In the second half of the session, moderator Jen Stevenson Zepeda of Climable will engage participants in a discussion with the panelists and one another and provide a plain language synthesis of key takeaways from the session.
Recommended Length
60-minute session
90-minute session

Strongest Content Connection - Boston 2023

Comments about your speaker roster
Community-led projects include a broader and more diverse group of stakeholders. Our moderator and panelists are key partners on the project team. The municipal government and GreenRoots are the heart and voice of the community. Climable assists GreenRoots with communications both from and to community stakeholders which directly inform project design and implementation. Synapse, in collaboration with all other partners, provides technical oversight of the City’s general contractor to ensure that contractor is meeting community priorities and needs.
Reviewer 1
Bastante, Silvana
Reviewer 2
Bastante, Silvana
Proposal #
149
Committee Decision
Being Considered

Presenters

Full Description
An inclusive clean energy economy is a top priority for the federal government and many states. Clean energy for underserved communities provides an opportunity to improve health and resilience and build wealth. But, these benefits will not accrue without intentional changes in both policy and practice. Advancing the practice of equitable, resilient, clean energy is the focus of this session.