Town of East Hampton
Delivered a roadmap to achieve 100% community-wide renewable energy
Summary
Optony supported the Town of East Hampton in developing a comprehensive, town-wide Renewable Energy Roadmap that advanced municipal decarbonization objectives. The engagement included baseline data collection to establish current energy use and emissions, followed by technical and strategic analysis of municipal fleet electrification, renewable energy deployment pathways, and facility decarbonization opportunities.
The resulting plan prioritized measures, phased implementation schedules, and provided a clear financial analysis describing capital needs, operating impacts, and lifecycle cost implications at the municipal level. Optony also identified relevant funding and procurement strategies, proposed governance and reporting practices, and defined key performance indicators to track progress and support informed decision-making by Town leadership.
The Challenge
Translating ambitious climate commitments into a clear, achievable implementation pathways to meet 100% of annual community-wide electricity demand with renewable electricity by 2020 and 100% of total community-wide energy consumption with renewable energy by 2030.
Our Approach
To support the Town's goal, Optony developed an analytical framework grounded in available municipal data and sector-specific energy modeling.
Optony developed a long-term energy model to project the Town’s electricity, heating fuel, and transportation energy use over the next 25 years. The analysis incorporated expected trends such as population growth, renewable energy adoption, and increasing use of electric vehicles to estimate how local energy demand and emissions could evolve over time. Using this model, Optony evaluated different clean energy strategies—both individually and in combination—to understand their potential costs, emissions reductions, and overall impact.
Community input was an important part of shaping the Town’s renewable energy roadmap. Two public surveys gathered feedback from residents and stakeholders on energy priorities and preferred programs. Results showed strong support for expanding solar and battery storage, offering financial incentives for renewable energy projects, and providing resources to help residents and businesses install solar systems.
This approach enabled the project team to compare the cost-effectiveness, emissions reductions potential, and system-wide impacts of multiple decarbonization pathways, ultimately identifying the most impactful and economically viable strategy portfolios for the Town’s clean energy transition.
100% community-wide energy consumption
Benchmark set to achieve by 2030.
Long-term energy modeling performed
Helping to evaluate clean energy strategies and understand overall potential impact.
Community engagement
Unique community-wide input gathered to inform the final renewable energy plan and options for the Town
Climate Smart Community Awardee
The Plan demonstrated the Town of East Hampton’s commitment to climate goals, helping to it to earn recognition by the State of New York as a Climate Smart Community and Clean Energy Community.
The Solution
The delivered report outlined the most cost-effective path for the Town to achieve 100% community-wide renewable energy by 2030 through a comprehensive mix of electrification and clean energy initiatives. By transitioning to electric vehicles, heat pump technology, and programs like community solar and community choice aggregation, the Town can dramatically reduce fossil fuel use while enhancing energy resilience. These strategies position the Town as a
leader in sustainability, driving progress toward carbon neutrality, cleaner air, and a stronger, more climate-ready future.
The Report identified building heating as the largest hurdle for the Town. Vehicle electrification and renewable adoption will require more ancillary support as the market evolves and electric and renewable technologies become more widespread.
Solutions identified by Optony included implementing a CCA, expanding community solar programs, offering incentives for purchasing BEVs, and providing financial and regulatory support for the installation of public fast EV chargers. Building heating, by contrast, was a much more difficult
challenge for a few reasons:
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Heating systems have long lifespans, making early replacement with electric equipment necessary to meet climate targets
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Moving to electric heating equipment can be disruptive for residents, making the hurdles for adoption higher than for solar or electric vehicles.
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The Town's heating was largely fossil fuel–based, requiring major transition.
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Market adoption is expected to be slower, requiring stronger policy and program support to accelerate change.
Optony suggested implementing a number of programs for supporting building electrification, including adjustments to codes for new construction, significant incentives for heat pump installation, and education initiatives to spread awareness of the viability of heat pump technology. Although the barrier for building electrification is significant, by adopting the strategies suggested by Optony, the Town could have a measurable impact on heat pump
adoption over the coming decades.
Solutions Delivered
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Load Forecasting
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Resilience Planning
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Electrification Assessment
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Electrical Fleet Total Cost of Ownership Analysis
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Battery Energy Sizing System Sizing and Assessment
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Renewable Energy Technology Analysis
Sustainability Impact
The Town received recognition for its efforts through designation as a Climate Smart Community and Clean Energy Community by New York State. This Renewable Energy Plan continued to demonstrate the Town of East Hampton’s commitment to achieving the goal of 100% clean power generation by 2030.
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Procure Carbon Offsets: Spend approximately $3 million in 2030 to offset the Town’s remaining emissions with carbon offsets. This would stand in addition to around $6 million in addition spending to that point in the plan, including a solar CAP tax.
02
Adjust the 100% Renewable Energy Plan Timeline: Adjust the Town’s goal to 100%community-wide renewable energy by 2040 and 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
03
Maximized Policy Slate: Spend the needed capital to electrify every private or publicresidence and ensure that vehicles are transitioned to electric vehicles by 2030.
