This story originally published on JISEA.org.

Communities play a key role in clean energy research, development, demonstration, and deployment.

“Scaling up clean energy integration, electrifying economies, and transforming energy systems will all occur at the community level,” said Megan Day, analyst at the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA). “Therefore, it’s essential that we partner with communities to really listen and understand their energy needs, challenges, and goals.”

Day leads the Sustainable Communities Catalyzer—one of the two inaugural JISEA catalyzers launched in May this year—that is mapping pathways for communities to achieve sustainable clean energy transitions.

Catalyzing Research Capabilities for Progress

JISEA launched the JISEA catalyzers to accelerate the clean energy transition through collaboration. The catalyzers are operated in partnership with JISEA’s founder and partner, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Each catalyzer brings together thought leaders from JISEA and NREL to leverage energy analysis, projects, data, and tools within specific research areas. Each catalyzer will be led by a principal investigator and incubated for 1–2 years before advancing into a new NREL-led program.

The Sustainable Communities Catalyzer supports several of NREL's critical objectives, including integrated energy pathways, circular economy for energy materials, and electrons to molecules. Since the launch in May, Day and her team have brought together people at NREL and JISEA who are working in sustainable communities to align capabilities and best practices and to identify future research needs.

What's Next for the Sustainable Communities Catalyzer

As part of the Sustainable Communities Catalyzer, JISEA/NREL performed new analyses to identify communities that have high potential for low-cost renewable energy deployment that could also bolster economic development and job creation. This analysis included the development of novel datasets that help energy stakeholders prioritize investments.

Day and her catalyzer team are working with several communities to model and analyze their energy transition questions. And, in the next year, the Sustainable Communities Catalyzer will “graduate” into a new NREL capability.

“We couldn’t have done this research without the catalyzers,” Day said. “We have a lot to offer communities, but the catalyzer has allowed us to pause, bring together the people involved, and reflect on what we’ve learned to inform work moving forward and be as effective as possible for communities.”

Note: The Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis retired in February 2025. This article has been updated to reflect editorial changes made after its original publication.