To achieve the goal of NZECs in local planning and policy aspects, this study establishes a practical protocol, which contains a series of local energy efficiency strategies. Through the integration of the practical protocol in LCPs, it is able to holistically address local energy-related issues to promote the establishment of NZECs. Furthermore, this practical protocol can be used to assess the capacity of current LCPs on local energy efficiency
strategies. According to previous descriptions, this protocol can also assess to what degree the establishment of NZECs are addressed and promoted at each stage of the innovation adoption process. This study summarizes five categories and 43 indicators. Most indicators are developed based on a series of policy guides on the variable fields of local planning made by APA, including policy guide on Energy (APA, 2004), policy guide on Planning and Climate Change (APA, 2011), policy guide on Hazardous Waste Management (APA, 2002), and policy guide on Surface Transportation (APA, 2010). Some others are derived from “Oregon statewide planning goals and guidelines – goal 13: energy conservation” (Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD), 1974), and “Sustainable Urban Energy Planning – A Handbook for Cities and Towns in Developing Countries” made by United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and ICLEI in 2009.
The specific information of each category is stated in the following sections.
3.2.1 Factual Basis Category
After realizing the urgent need for local energy efficiency development, firstly, professional agents need to recognize the basic information and prediction of energy consumption and related issues in local level before other steps in the planning process (IEA, 2000), such as energy consumption and utility inventory, the awareness of state mandates on energy conservation, the predicted population growth, etc. Thus, within two sub categories and seven indicators, the factual basis category in the practical protocol is proposed to examine the existing and predicted conditions in LCPs. The details of
indicators in the category of factual basis are proposed in Appendix 3 – Indicator Explanation for Practical Protocol.
3.2.2 Goals and Objectives Category
As described previously, goals and objectives should reflect the realization of the future vision for local energy development, and guide the implementation of effective strategies proposed in LCPs (Brody, 2003a; Tang, 2008; Tang, 2010). In the practical protocol, the goals and objectives category is for local government to develop appropriate local energy policies, and can be used to examine the capacities of LCPs. The category of goals and objectives presents a series of consistent goals and objectives including maximizing energy conservation and energy efficiency, facilitating renewable energy use, controlling GHG emission, and developing compact urban form. The details of indicators in the category of goals and objectives are proposed in Appendix 3 – Indicator Explanation for Practical Protocol.
3.2.3 Policies and Strategies Category
As the core component of local planning, policies and strategies are able to directly guide local development with specific rules and policies in variable fields of local planning to achieve goals and objectives. The category of policies and strategies in the practical protocol contains various policies and strategies, each of which focuses on one specific aspect of local development towards the establishment of NZECs. Furthermore, the category can also examine to what degree LCPs adopt the effective policies and strategies that are suggested by APA and State mandates. This category of the practical protocol
contains seven sub-categories and 21 indicators. Among these indicators, 11 of them are developed from statewide planning goals and guidelines; which are state-guided (SG) indicators, the others are extra (EX) indicators. However, SG indicators are not mandated but suggested. The details of indicators in the category of policies and strategies are proposed in Appendix 3 – Indicator Explanation for Practical Protocol.
3.2.4 Coordination and Education Category
In this study, the inter-organizational coordination and public education programs are key factors to influence local makers to face the complex energy-related issues. Some energy- related issues, such as across-boundary energy resources, energy generation and transmission locations, state-level financial incentive programs, etc., cannot be addressed by single local jurisdiction, but need the coordination between different jurisdictions, stakeholders, private sectors, etc. The category of coordination and education provides opportunities for various aspects to collaborate at the local level for the establishment of NZECs. The public education programs in this category provide variable platforms and communication channels to mitigate cognitive gaps between local governments and public citizens in the local jurisdiction for policy making and implementation. This category in the practical protocol contains five indicators to assess the current capacity of LCPs on local energy efficiency strategies in aspects of coordination and education. The details of indicators in the category of policies and strategies are proposed in Appendix 3 – Indicator Explanation for Practical Protocol.
3.2.5 Implementation and Monitoring Category
The category of implementation and monitoring in the practical protocol provides a set of specific instruments to conduct local governments to effectively implement policies and strategies adopted in LCPs to promote local energy efficiency and facilitate renewable energy use, and monitor the performance of energy consumption and energy efficiency through the implementation of policies and strategies, and compare this with the predicted results. If the performance is not as good as prediction, local governments need to update and amend policies and strategies based on the monitoring data. This category of implementation and monitoring, in this study, also assesses the capacity of LCPs on local energy efficiency strategies in aspects of implementation and monitoring. The details of indicators in the category of policies and strategies are proposed in Appendix 3 – Indicator Explanation for Practical Protocol.