How We Operate
The Energy Democracy Alliance derives strength from our highly organized, yet decentralized leadership structure: many leaders make our work possible and our work is grounded in the varied experiences and expertise our member organizations. Our leadership is elected and accountable to our membership. We make decisions and do our work together through the following bodies:
Membership
The EDA membership consists of organizations from across New York who have agreed to work together toward our common goals, based on our principles of unity. The EDA membership is varied, including base-building and grassroots organizations, nonprofit and cooperative solar developers, policy advocacy organizations, sustainable business associations, and local nonprofit energy practitioners.
Member Convenings and Member Meetings
EDA members convene in person about three times a year. These convenings are used to set strategy together, make big decisions about our alliance, evaluate our work, and build skills together. The EDA membership also meets once a month by video conference to stay up to date on our work and make decisions together between convenings.
Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is an elected body tasked with ensuring that all of the EDA’s work is coordinated and that is aligned with our mission and principles. The Steering Committee keeps a bird’s eye view on all the moving parts of the EDA’s work and makes sure that everything is moving along according to plan. The Steering Committee oversees our Staff Coordinator and is also the primary body responsible for fundraising and budgeting. The Steering Committee also generates proposals regarding EDA structure, regranting, organizational direction and more, to be ratified by the membership. To ensure that the EDA remains accountable to low-income communities and communities of color, a majority of Steering Committee members must represent EDA member organizations that themselves have memberships that are majority low-income people or people of color.
Work Groups
The EDA is working to build a powerful movement for renewable energy that is equitable, local and accountable. Our work is developed and implemented through four Work Groups:
Policy & Intersectionality Work Group
This work group tracks policy developments at the state level and leads the EDA’s policy advocacy work, ensuring that our policy work always holds an intersectional analysis. This Work Group develops policy statements, intervenes in Public Service Commission proceedings, and works to influence policy makers through meetings and participation in stakeholder opportunities.
Community Owned Shared Renewable Energy (COSHARE) Work Group
The workgroup provides peer learning and technical assistance to member organizations and groups across New York striving to develop community solar projects that are owned and/or controlled by low-income people and people of color. COSHARE holds training, provides written resources, develops case studies, fundraises for project development funds, and more. Additionally, the barriers to community solar identified by COSHARE directly inform the EDA’s policy work.
Communications Work Group
This work group develops and implements the EDA’s narrative change strategy through earned media, social media, and videos. The Communications Work Group generates talking points for our campaigns and helps identify and prepare EDA spokespeople. The work group also holds occasional communications trainings for all EDA members. The Communications Work Group also develops outward facing materials for our campaigns, such as petitions and sign-on letters.
Basebuilding and Leadership Development Work Group
This workgroup conducts outreach to potential allies, plans mobilizations around our campaigns, and recruits new members. The workgroup also seeks to develop more voices and leaders through training and support.