| Energy Committee Resources | |
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| Local Energy Working Group (LEWG) | To provide collaborative guidance and technical support to Local Energy Committees/Commissions (LEC's), municipalities, schools, and other political subdivisions* seeking to reduce energy use, minimize energy costs, and/or reduce fossil-fuel consumption.
Members* Timothy Fortier, NH Municipal Association Barbara Bernstein, NH Public Utilities Commission David Borden, New Castle Energy Committee Julia Dundorf, New England Grassroots Environment Fund Linda Darveau, US EPA Region 1 Ben Frost, NH Housing Finance Authority Eric Halter, CLF Ventures/Energy Technical Assistance Program (ETAP) Jill Longval, Nashua Regional Planning Commission Mike McCrory, Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission Madeline McElaney, Better Buildings NH - Plymouth Bob Reals, Jr., NH Division of Economic Development Chris Skoglund, NH Department of Environmental Services Roger Stephenson, Clean Air-Cool Planet * LEWG Member list does not include a significant number of participants on LEWG projects & teams |
| Feedback | | If you have questions suggestions, comments, or energy news you would like to see in the newsletter, please send an email to: |
| | | SPOTLIGHT NEWS | | SAVE THE DATE! The NH Local Energy Work Group Announces the 5th Annual Local Energy Solutions Conference (LES) will be held on April 13th at Winnisquam Regional High School in Tilton, NH. Stay tuned for updates at nhenergy.org. |
| PEER TO PEER: News & Wisdom from NH Towns | |
| BAREI | | The Berlin Area Renewable Energy Initiative (BAREI) is again hosting an energy fair. It will be held on Saturday, May 11, 2013 and like last year, at, and with the support of, The White Mountains Community College. Last year the event was a huge success and we are expecting it to be even better this year, not only in content, but also attendance. We are looking for both venders and/or speakers. If you are interested in either, or both, or just need further information please call or email at your earliest convenience. Ed Solar (Mon, Wed, Fri 8-5) (603) 752-3625 egs65@hotmail.com. BAREI is also partnering with Berlin Better Building and is giving away cash grants to help pay for 4 solar thermal systems to be installed in Berlin. This is a very exciting program.
Join us to help us plan
BAREI (Berlin Area Renewable Energy Initiative)
29 Bridge St. - Berlin, NH 03570-3599
Mon, Wed & Fri 8 am - 5 pm Shop Office 603-752-3625
Tues, Thurs, Sat & Sun (any day after 10 am and before 9 pm please)
Home office 603-449-2210 OURenergy future
Ed Solar - CoChair |
| Hancock Energy Advisory Team | | The Hancock Energy Advisory Team (HEAT) welcomed new members on November 14, 2012 and elected Pierce Rigrod to be the new chairperson. Pierce replaces Nancy Gamble as elected chair. |
| Permaculture Course being Offered | 2013 Permaculture Through the Seasons at D Acres Permaculture is a holistic, integrated system of design and implementation for a sustainable future. The internationally recognized design certification course was initiated by Bill Mollison, who co-coined the term Permaculture. At D Acres we are pleased to be offering this course for the fourth year. This curriculum-based course introduces the ethics, principles and practices of permaculture. This course is designed to maximize practical learning by following the annual flow of the seasons. Participants will gain exposure to the rhythm of the seasons and activities at the farm from planting to harvest & preservation. The course culminates with a permaculture design presented by each student for a location of their choice. This course is especially useful for homeowners, planners, design professionals, community organizers, farmers, and gardeners. It is adapted to a wide variety of learning styles and is presented via lecture, images, video, group discussion, hands-on experiences, exercises, and design projects. The course will meet on Saturday and Sunday of the identified weekends, and tuition includes 4 nourishing organic meals and simple accommodations for one night each weekend. While the course is based on permaculture ethics and principle, there are also practical examples for providing sustainable food and energy security. By incorporating natural systems and biodiversity with renewable energy, natural building and sustainable agriculture techniques participants are empowered to imagine village design and local economic emancipation. Through the process of site analysis and assessment, participants will be guided through the concepts of design to implementation. The two primary instructors of the course are Steve Whitman and Josh Trought. Steve is a community and environmental planner and adjunct professor at Plymouth State University. He has taught permaculture on five continents plus central America. Josh Trought is a founder and current director at D Acres of New Hampshire. D Acres is a farm based service and education organization that is based on Permaculture principles. Josh will also be supported by residential instructors onsite who will share their gardening and food preservation knowledge. In addition this year we are fortunate to be joined by a guest presentor, Michael Phillips. Michael is an acclaimed author, herbalist and orchardist from northern New Hampshire. His award winning books, The Apple Grower and The Holistic Orchard are the preeminent sources of information for organic growers in New England. Michael will be joining the course in May for a public presentation as well as a day long seminar on orchard management. More information can be found at: http://www.dacres.org/events/Permaculture%20Class/Permaculture%20Design%20Class.html. |
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| Town of Colebrook Announcement | The Town of Colebrook Energy Committee Announces the Release of an In-depth Study on the Feasibility of a Biomass District Energy System. In December, 2011 the Town of Colebrook hired the Biomass Energy Resource Center in partnership with Wilson Engineering to conduct an in-depth feasibility analysis of establishing a biomass district energy system in the Town of Colebrook. Last month that study was completed and is now available on the Town website. The final 97-page report, funded by grants from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the Northern Forest Center, Clean Air Cool Planet, and First Colebrook Bank details how a woodchip-fired central hot-water boiler plant, located in the Industrial Park, could provide hot water for heating to commercial buildings and homes throughout the downtown of Colebrook via a network of buried pipes. The study also examined how such a project could begin small, beginning with just 41 heat customers and expand to eventually connect over 400 buildings. The report explores the logistics, engineering, and financial viability of such a district heating plant that conceptually would be operated as a heat utility by the Town of Colebrook. The study concludes that, with some grant funds to lower the project's initial construction costs, the plant could reliably deliver heat to buildings and homes that choose to connect to the system for less than it would cost to heat their home or building with oil or propane. Woodchip heating is very common and has been growing in popularity in New Hampshire and Vermont over the past few decades. Today, dozens of schools, hospitals, colleges, and businesses in New Hampshire use boilers fueled with woodchips and pellets to lower their heating bills. Concord Steam, a private company, has operated a biomass district heating plant for over twenty years in Concord, New Hampshire. Unlike Concord Steam, who pipes steam to dozens of buildings, the proposed district heating plant in Colebrook would use modern hot water pipes commonly used in Europe. The recently released in-depth study, builds upon earlier preliminary studies, and draws the same end conclusion-that a woodchip fueled districting heating plant is logistically, technology and financially feasible and such a project would generate additional economic benefits. The benefits cited in the study include lower and more predictable energy costs, air quality improvements by reducing the number of small individual boilers in the town, and more dollars retained in the local economy by using local wood fuel. To get a copy of the feasibility report, go to the town website -Colebrook-nh.com. For further information, please contact, the Town Energy Committee at - kevincpw@myfairpoint.net or 17 Bridge Street, Colebrook, NH 03576 or call 603-237-8019. . |
| Alstead LEC | The Alstead LEC is finally starting the final phase of its project to weatherize the historic Shedd-Porter Memorial Library -- this phase being the application of closed-cell foam and cellulose to seal and insulate over the ceilings. Nothing has been easy, and the willingness of people to volunteer their skills and labor, as well as to vote the necessary funds, has been both important and gratifying. We won't know for some months how much fuel we will save, but we expect it to be significant. An idea the LEC is interested in, and welcomes comments on, is supplying combustion air for the oil-fired heating system indirectly, by ducting some outside air to a slightly undersized return duct leading into one of our two air-handlers. The idea is that the fresh air will be heated and then distributed to the public spaces, slightly over-pressuring the building and causing staler air to migrate to the oil burner and up the chimney. Currently when the oil burner needs air it causes replacement air to come in through leaky windows, creating uncomfortable cool drafts and increasing the demand for heat - so it would seem our idea would be more comfortable but not cost any more energy than the current situation. On a separate subject, the PUC web site has recently posted a report written by the EESE Board after having gotten a consultant's assessment on New Hampshire energy programs. It and several accompanying documents are new and are worth reading.. |
| STATE & REGIONAL: News & Events | |
| Free Online College Course on Climate Change | Climate Change, a topic that includes Global Warming, refers to the relatively abrupt shift in weather patterns during the last hundred years. This free online course examines the factors responsible for climate change; the biological and social consequences of such changes; and possible engineering, economic, and legal solutions to avoid more extreme perturbations. It includes daily video mini-lectures, weekly assignments, a textbook, readings, a midterm, and a comprehensive final. If you are interested, take a look at the 12 minute lectures that are included in the course materials site and watch some that interest you. Or jump in to do more, as you wish. |
| EESE Board Meeting November 16 | The NH Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy (EESE) Board meets November 16. Agenda9 a.m. - noon Legislative Office Building, Room 308 33 N. State Street, Concord. |
| 2012 Wastewater Utilities Energy Management Roundtable | 2012 Wastewater Utilities Energy Management Roundtable Thursday, December 6, 2012 8:00 AM-12:00 PM Great Bay Discovery Center Greenland, NH Approved for 3 Educational Credit Hours for NH and Maine Waste Water Operators Register by: November 23, 2012 Email to Darveau.linda@epa.gov, or fax to (617) 918-0718. |
| Housewarmings | The Efficiency Training Program is working with a couple of NH communities to host Housewarming trainings as a follow-up to last season's Button Up presentations. ETP can help homeowners learn by doing with Housewarmings that emphasize intermediate DIY weatherization techniques. A typical theme for these Housewarmings is blower door air sealing diagnostics and actual air sealing work. Depending on the house and interests of participants, other topics can include installing insulation, combustion safety, energy auditing diagnostics, duct sealing, etc. ETP can supply equipment, expert instruction, and some minor supplies. Housewarmings are usually limited to small groups of 6-12 participants. General criteria for communities hosting successful Housewarmings: - Have previously hosted one or more Button Up workshops, particularly Button Up 201
- Ability to arrange for an appropriate house and willing homeowner
- Ability to coordinate invitations and attendee RSVPs.
- Assistance with coordinating supplies and other logistics.
- Help with refreshments
Typically, Housewarmings are an all-day event, such as on a Saturday. Limited opportunities this fall. For more information, contact Andy Duncan aduncan@ccsnh.edu at Lakes Region Community College, or Sandra Jones sandra@plymouthenergy.org at Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative. The Efficiency Training Program is made possible by a grant from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Fund administered by the NHPUC. |
| PROGRAMS, TOOLS & RESOURCES | |
| Connecting & Sharing | | We Want To Hear From You... - Has your municipality installed energy efficiency equipment or financed energy efficiency projects through a lease-purchase agreement? We would love to hear your story of how your city or town benefitted (or not) from this form of financing. We are particularly interested in the local approval process, approval time, financing term, budget used and the benefits and hurdles you may have experienced with a lease-purchase agreement. The information gathered may be used for an upcoming article in the NH Local Government Center's Town & City magazine.
- Did your community pursue any energy-related warrant articles or bonds through Town Meeting? Please share the process and outcomes.
Please contact NHMA's Tim Fortier at 603.224.7447 x176 or tfortier@nhlgc.org. |
| Resources | | Summary of State Financing Programs The State Clean Energy Financing Guidebook provides a nice summary of the various energy financing programs deployed by states. EPA Releases Document on Energy Efficiency in Local Government Operations
EPA's State and Local Climate and Energy Program has released a final version of Energy Efficiency in Local Government Operations: A Guide to Developing and Implementing Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs (PDF) (72 pp, 5.3 MB). This guide describes how local governments can lead by example and achieve multiple benefits by improving the energy efficiency of their new, existing, and renovated facilities and their day-to-day operations. It is designed to be used by facility managers, energy and environment staff, other local government agencies, and mayors and city councils. New Online State and Local Resources Available Now: Clean Energy Financing Decision Tool & Guide States and communities are increasingly investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy to achieve their air quality, economic, and energy goals. In doing so, they have found that the up-front costs of improving energy efficiency and increasing renewable energy generation can be a barrier for many homeowners, building owners, and businesses. One way to address these barriers is by adopting clean energy financing programs that can make efficiency and renewable energy more affordable for these sectors. EPA's State and Local Climate and Clean Energy Program is supporting these efforts with the launch of a new online Financing Program Decision Tool and a Financing Program Decision Guide. The Financing Program Decision Tool is designed for state and local staff in the early stages of choosing a clean energy financing program. Answer a handful of simple questions, and the Tool highlights quickly the most promising program options for your jurisdiction to pursue. The Financing Program Decision Guide complements the Tool. This Guide includes the basics on financing-program options, as well as key considerations and factors for states and communities to weigh as they start up or expand their clean energy financing programs. Learn more here: http://epa.gov/statelocalclimate/state/activities/financing.html . Field Guide to New Hampshire's Municipal Buildings & Energy Audit Guidelines One of the challenges for New Hampshire towns and cities wanting to manage their building energy use is figuring out what kind of audit expertise they mkght need and how to ask for it. The energy auditing industry varies in procedure and depth, and each auditor brings their own individual strength and style to the table. Recognizing this and other challenges, the New Hamphsire Sustainable Energy Association, in collaboration with the Municipal Energy Working Group, and with funding from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, has sponsored the development of a Field Guide to New Hampshire's Municipal Buildings and Energy Audit Guidelines. This instructional resource is essentially broken down into two sections - the Field Guide and Energy Audit Guidelines. |
| Ongoing Events | Green Drinks is a world wide organization that helps bring together people interested in anything green to network and learn what is going on in their communities. Concord:Facebook users are invited to join Green New Hampshire Group, a virtual meeting place for those interested in all things green including local food, alternative energy, building, stores, and events Green Drinks is held on the first Monday of each month. Hosted by the Monadnock Sustainability Network, committed to encouraging sustainable living practices and resource conservation in the region through direct advocacy, education and outreach.
For more info: contact Bonnie Hudspeth
Portsmouth:
Mark Green Drinks down in your calendars for the third Thursday of the month at 2 Ceres Street Martini Bar. To receive our monthly reminder email tim@timgaudreau.com. |
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