WE CAN REACH ‘DRAWDOWN’ BY MID-2040’S

ISSUE 60 • March - May 2020 ☀ Happy Golden Anniversary Earth Day! .... pp. 20-21 ☀ FREE! SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR VT, NH, MA, NY, ME and Beyond R S! EA Y 12

Energy Independence, Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Living and MORE! www.greenenergytimes.org | 802.439.6675 Is COVID-19 We Can Reach ‘Drawdown’ a Precursor to A new report. The Drawdown Review provides the most in-depth assessment Climate Change? of climate solutions and their potential by Mid-2040s Jessie Haas to reduce greenhouse gasses and build a climate-safe future.

San Francisco (March 3, 2020) – A new report from the world’s leading resource on climate solutions demonstrates that ‘Drawdown’ – the point at which green- house gas levels in the atmosphere peak and begin declining, stopping climate change – is feasible with existing, estab- lished technologies and practices. Project Drawdown’s new publica- tion, The Drawdown Review, builds on the The new coronavirus molecule. Image: Wikipedia organization’s inaugural analysis, pub- As Earth Day approaches it’s clearer lished in the 2017 New York Times Best- than ever: We’re all in this together. Seller Drawdown, and takes into account That’s always been true on the only the rapidly evolving landscape of climate living planet we know for sure exists, solutions available today. but COVID-19 has taught us to see it In order to reach Drawdown, the new and say it. Who is important now? Ev- analysis finds that we must not only eryone, but the heroes are healthcare quickly reduce emissions toward zero, but workers, grocery store clerks, delivery also support nature’s carbon sinks to help drivers, people who help us commu- sequester greenhouse gases that have nicate while physically isolated from already been emitted. This means climate All images: Project Drawdown each other, the plants that pull-down solutions fall under the broad catego- CO2 and give out oxygen, and the rich, ries of: emissions sources that must be Project Drawdown’s findings show Drawdown Review shows that meeting regenerative shield of biodiversity that reduced; natural and engineered carbon that we could cease global warming by these goals is physically and economically has built health on earth forever. sinks that can be expanded; and more the mid-2040s to the mid-2060s, thereby feasible but will require much more ag- As the economy slams on the fundamental societal solutions – espe- meeting the goals of keeping the world gressive and immediate action world- brakes, many are pointing to benefits cially improving access to education and below 1.5 or 2˚C warming – important wide. for our only planet. Emissions are health care for all – that accelerate the climate benchmarks set forward by the To reach Drawdown, and thereby bring down 25% in China. The canal water path to a climate-safe future. Paris Agreement on climate change. The us to a climate-safe world, the research in Venice is clearer because of the Cont’d on p.32 decrease in boat activity. Fine particu- lates are down 40% in San Francisco under shelter-in-place, 28% in New York, 32% around Seattle. That’s saving Time to Go Fishin’ IN THIS ISSUE: lives. Air pollution causes asthma and George Harvey E-Transport on 2 Wheels pp.4-5 lung inflammation. Studies of SARS, We have over ninety species of fish Electric Mustang p.6 closely related to COVID-19, show in the Northeast, and many of them are increased risk of infection and a dou- abundant, fun to catch, and tasty. With Community Solar pp. 9-13 bling of death rate among those who climate change and pollution, we have Sustainable Investing p.19 breathed polluted air. some cautionary notes, but the opportuni- So, as life slows down and the ties abound for sport fishing all through Earth Day Feature pp. 20-21 skies clear, it’s tempting to focus on the year. In fact, fresh water fishing may be Choosing Insulation p.24 silver linings. But Samantha Gross of one of the outdoor activities that has been the Brookings Institute says in Inside so far least changed by warming weather. Attic DIY Upgrades p.29 Climate News, “I actually worry about True, the ice fishing season may suffer environmentalists getting too happy with warmer winters. But the biggest Energy from Manure p.32 and worked up about the fact that threats to fish species are still in the future, Fishing in a stream in Vermont. Tim McCabe, USDA Serious about E-Mowers p.39 emissions are going down.” The effect rather than the present. Invasive species Natural Resources Conservation Service. is similar to losing weight when you’re that threaten aquatic environments exist, sick; usually there’s a rebound, and but their impacts are not as difficult as It is true that fishing is under pres- Please recycle or you gain the weight back. That’s not those felt by moose, for example, which sures that all anglers should be aware of. share this publication the same as signing up for Noom or are suffering declining populations due to While climate change has not yet altered Weight Watchers and really changing invasive ticks. fresh water fishing terribly, when finished Cont’d on p.37 Cont’d on p.21 A SolAr This edition of Green Energy Times is brought to you, in part, from the generosity of these sponsors: G.E.T. IT! Powered ComPAny Bringing G.E.T. to NY State EEN ENERGY T MES www.nyses.org GR... be energy independent! ™ GREEN ENERGY TIMES (G.E.T.) TABLE OF CONTENTS 1749 Wright’s Mountain Road • Bradford, VT 05033 Tips to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Every Day t/f: 802.439.6675 • [email protected] G.E.T.’s COMMUNICATIONS TEAM: G.E.T. Staff NEWS AND HAPPENINGS ...... 3 The Green Energy Times team wants to share some ideas with VT TO ACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE...... 3 Publisher/Editor/Production ...... Nancy Rae Mallery you on what you can do now to help the planet and reduce your General Factotum ...... George Harvey carbon footprint. We hope you learn some new ideas that you can RESOLUTION ON CLIMATE POLLUTION...... 3 Coordinating Director...... Michelle Harrison adapt to your everyday lives. Look for more ideas in the next issue. TRANSPORTATION ...... 4-6 Copy Editor ...... Ray Brewster, Susanna Lewis 1. If you drink coffee or tea every day at work, consider bringing in a PROGRESS IN E-TRANSIT...... 4 Recreational Editor ...... Roger Lohr ceramic mug from home rather than relying on disposable paper A huge special thank you to all of our contributing writers! cups and plastic lids. They may not seem like much, but those paper E-TRANSPORTATION ON TWO WHEELS ...... 4 Lori Barg, Dr. Alan K. Betts, David Blittersdorf, John Bos, Randy cups and plastic lids add up month after month. Besides, everything E-CARGO BIKE PROGRESS...... 5 Bryan, Michael Canavan, Anna Chaffe, David Cohen, Chris tastes better in a mug. Cusack, EarthTalk® (Doug Moss and Roddy Scheer), Pablo Fleis- ELECTRIC MUSTANG...... 6 chmann, David Fried, John Gage, Worth Gretter, Nate Gusa- 2. Avoid eating meat one day a week (Meatless Mondays or kov, Jessie Haas, George Harvey, Cassandra Hemenway, Henry whenever works for you!) Image: electricsaver1200.com NH EV-RELATED POLICIES...... 7 Herndon, David Keefe, Evan Lawrence, Roger Lohr, Johanna 3. Purchase second hand when possible. For example, buy used books or use the library SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAICS (PV)...... 7-13 Miller, Catherine Paplin, Larry Plesent, David Roberts, Evelyn when possible. Swett, Barb and Greg Whitchurch VT SOLAR CARPORT...... 8 4. Grow food on the nearest patch of land you have access to. You need sun and a way to Ad Design/Layout ...... Nancy Rae Mallery, PJ Fischer water plants. Good soil can be built from the ground up. Use low-till or no-till organic ST. JOHNSBURY SOLAR STORY...... 9 Printing ...... Valley News W. Lebanon, NH using 100% recycled methods. Growing your own food can reduce the carbon impact of dinner by 68% VEC COMMUNITY SOLAR...... 10 paper & eco-friendly EPA approved environmentally-safe inks (cabaus.org/gardening-carbon-footprint). Advertising Team: 5. Change over incandescent lightbulbs to LEDs. They use 90% less energy, while NH COMMUNITY POWER ...... 11 ...... Nancy Rae Mallery, Bradford, VT 802.439.6675 producing much less heat in your house (important in the summer). Since they also last COMMERCIAL SOLAR IN THE MONADNOCK. 12 [email protected] much longer, there can be a good return on investment (www.tcpi.com/lighting-calcula- COMMUNITY SOLAR NY...... 13 ...... Michelle Harrison, Londonderry, NH 603.437.0167 tor). [email protected] INCENTIVES ...... 14-15 ...... Don Smallwood, So. Hero, VT 802.373.3309 6. Get involved. Help plant trees or milkweed, pick up plastic trash, carpool to a protest [email protected] or a meeting, or start a hyper-local environmental group, to learn, take strength and RENEWABLE ENERGY...... 16-17 Distribution: Sally Bellew, Larry Chase, Johnny Hinrichs, comfort from the company of others and take action. THE WOODLANDS GOES SOLAR...... 16 Hippo Distribution, Manchester, NH, Daniel Hoviss, George Law- 7. Drive smart. Slow down; go the speed limit or less. Brake and accelerate gently. Good ton, Rosalyn Moore, our New York Team: Joanne Coons, Steve ENERGY TARGET FIXATION...... 16 Ellsworth, Wyldon Fishman, Bob Freeston, Peter Hudiburg, driving can make a 33% difference in efficiency. DON’T IDLE. Your car gets zero mpg David Kupras, Joan Rech; Russ Lanoie, Alan Phenix, Marty Phil- while idling (https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.jsp). NY LARGE RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS. 17 brick, Larry Plesant, George Plumb, Alisha Scudder, Don Small- 8. Schedule a weekly sabbath for your car. Let it rest and recover, while you do the same. ENERGY & BUSINESS SOLUTIONS ...... 18-19 wood, Sustainable Hanover, Wenda Luff, Don Smallwood, Eric On that one day, make it a rule to travel only if you can carpool or take public transporta- Stevens, David Van Houten, Barb & Greg Whitchurch. HIGH COST OF ICICLES...... 18 Hopefully we have not forgotten to mention anyone. It is your tion. help that paves the way to a sustainable future. 9. Reduce the size of your lawn by planting a deep border of native plants to feed and SUSTAINABLE-ORIENTED INVESTING...... 19 Please support our advertisers. They make G.E.T. happen! shelter bugs and birds. Biodiversity isn’t just a pretty frill, it’s the main event here on US BIG BANK WON’T FUND DRILLING...... 19 Earth. Mow what’s left of your lawn less frequently, and let the clippings remain as ABOUT G.E.T. mulch, to help improve soil health and carbon sequestration. If you stopped using a FEATURE: EARTH DAY #50...... 20-21 Green Energy Times is produced by 100% solar power, off-grid power mower altogether, you could cut carbon emissions by 80 pounds per year (www. with a 3.8 kW PV system. We live and know that Energy Inde- CELEBRATING EARTH DAY...... 20 pendence is indeed possible – with clean, sustainable renew- audubon.org/climate-makeover).Subscribe to Green America greenamerica.org for more able energy along with reducing your needs. We walk the talk! ideas including their National Green Pages that lists sustainable businesses around the GREEN UP DAY CELEBRATES 50 YEARS...... 20 Our mission is to create Energy Awareness, Understanding country. FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE WITH TREES... 21 and Independence – Socially Responsible Living. Stop thinking that what you do about the climate crisis is less important than any other Solar Power works! … anywhere under the sun! person, group, company, political party, or country. Change at any level is always depen- EARTH DAY ECO-CHALLENGE...... 21 G.E.T. is published bi-monthly, Jan., Mar., May, Jul., Sept. & Nov., dent upon an individual. Be one of them. Do what you can, as soon as you can. by NRM Advertising Company. It is free and available through- HEATING & COOLING ...... 22-23 out 90% of VT & 80% of NH: the Upper Valley-St J. down to Brat- GO RAD NOW!...... 22 tleboro, Windsor-Ludlow, Barre-Montpelier-Burlington, Stowe, Mooretown-Waitsfield, Morrisville, Hardwick, Danville, NEK, LETTER TO THE EDITOR COOL YOU, COOL PLANET...... 23 Grand Isle, Woodstock-Rutland-Bennington; NH: Woodsville- Hanover-W. Leb.-Plainfield, Enfield-Claremont, Keene-Concord- Comment on “Tips to Reduce Your BUILDING & ENERGY EFFICIENCY.... 24-31 Plymouth-Laconia, Littleton, & towns in between; NY in the Carbon Footprint Every Day” in the Hudson Valley from NYC to L. George, the I-88 corridor ... January 2020 issue of G.E.T. CHOOSING INSULATION/CARBON VALUE..... 24 If you would like to have G.E.T. available somewhere you have AEROBARRIER CASE STUDY...... 25 not seen it, let us know! 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The following is from Wikipedia: INDOOR AIR QUALITY THINGS TO KNOW..... 30 By advertising in Green Energy Times or sponsoring us, you not only help to create energy awareness, understanding and inde- “Styrofoam is a trademarked brand EFFICIENCY VT EEN CONTRACTOR ...... 31 pendence for a sustainable future, but also help to support our of closed-cell extruded polystyrene efforts to make it all happen! Please call one our Advertising CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS ...... 26-27 foam (XPS), commonly called “Blue Representatives today! A TRILLION TREES...... 26 Editorial Policy: Green Energy Times works with a variety of Board,” manufactured as foam continu- 30th Annual writers and also publishes community submissions on vari- ous building insulation board used in ON FIRE BOOK REVIEW ...... 26 ous topics. We aim to publish content that is independently VBSR Conference researched, unbiased and relevant to our audience. Submissions walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal RESOLVE TO SAVE THE EARTH ...... 27 are subject to our guidelines. Publication is subject to our edito- September 22nd, Burlington insulation and water barrier. This material THE GREENHOUSE GAS, CO2...... 27 rial judgment & schedule. is light blue in color and is owned and Join 300 forward-thinking Subscriptions: $30/yr. See form on page 36 or contact us. business professionals, network SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE ...... 32-35 Green Energy Times would like to thank everyone who has manufactured by The Dow Chemical submitted articles or helped in any way to make this all a real- Company. with 40+ exhibitors, enjoy a SPOWER FROM MANURE...... 32 ity. We want to also thank our advertisers & ask that you sup- In the United States and Canada, the localvore lunch, choose from 15 port them. Say that you saw them in Green Energy Times. 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Vermont Committed to Acting on Climate Change Long Ago – in Words at Least Johanna Miller sioners of key state agencies, as well as In 2006, the State of Vermont en- outside stakeholders with essential exper- shrined strong carbon pollution reduc- tise, to come up with a strategic plan for tion goals in statute. Unfortunately, climate action. The charge of the Climate despite that commitment, Vermont’s Council is to recommend strategies and greenhouse gas emissions are 13% solutions to: above 1990 levels, when they are sup- • reduce emissions, posed to have been cut significantly • ensure a just transition, protecting low below that by now. income and vulnerable Vermonters, You need only look to city halls, town • help communities adapt in a warming greens and to increasingly crowded world, and committee rooms in the State House • harness the strengths of our natural to see that people’s patience is running resource assets – our farmlands, forests and out, as is the time to do something soils – for their many carbon-shaving, about this pressing problem. The world’s resilience-creating benefits. leading climate scientists now say we H.688 provides a missing framework to have until 2030 – 10 years – to reduce ensure long overdue, swift progress. It also our collective consumption of fossil provides accountability, which has been fuels by half or risk increasingly cata- missing for far too long. That accountabil- strophic consequences. ity comes in the form of enabling citizens Thankfully, there is a legislative effort to bring suit against the state if they fail The reality is there is no more time to ers to pay.) Or whether it comes in the to move beyond rhetoric to concrete to meet certain milestones with a narrow kick the can down the road. H.688 is a fun- form of diminished quality of life,such steps and strategies that will ensure we remedy of required action. damental, essential bill that, strengthened as, for me, losing community gems are doing our part to tackle the climate It’s an essential foundation of strategic by a strong House, the Senate should like the Morse Farm Ski Touring Center, crisis. In late February, the planning and accountability move swiftly to pass and Governor Scott which shuttered its ski operations in Vermont House of Rep- BUSINESS Vermont has long lacked. should not hesitate to sign. 2018 noting, “Climate change has not resentatives voted 105 to Thankfully, there are almost As Vermont Treasurer Beth Pearce made been our friend.” 37 to support H.688, also AS USUAL two decades worth of good very clear in recent testimony supporting The reality is we have no more time known as the Vermont work in this arena to set the the bill, “Climate change is a threat to our to waste, and so many good reasons to Global Warming Solutions WILL NOT state up for action – and way of life… and bottom line. Each year act, including the tremendous job-cre- Act. Winning the support success – to do this work we delay, we have more risks and more ating, economic benefits of unshack- of Democrats, Republicans, GET US TO well, including over a dozen costs.” ling ourselves from fossil fuels. independents and progres- 90% BY plans, analyses, research and Indeed. Vermont must finally do our part to sives, this bill turns our reports such as a comprehen- Delayed, insufficient action is already help combat the intensifying climate long-held climate pollu- 2050 sive 2007 plan from Governor taking a real toll on Vermonters lives and crisis by holding ourselves accountable tion reduction goals into Jim Douglas’ Climate Action pocketbooks. Whether that comes in the to pollution-reduction progress. H.688 requirements. Commission1, the stakeholder-shaped form of increased public health costs and sets the strategic course to do this es- Modeled after similar efforts in Mas- Vermont Comprehensive Energy Plan2 complications from potentially debilitat- sential work well. sachusetts, Maine and New York, H.688 and, more recently, Governor Phil Scott’s ing tick-borne Lyme disease. Whether that Sources available on GET’s website. sets the stage for a strategic process and own Climate Action Commission’s report3 comes from paying for growing numbers Johanna Miller is the Energy & Climate approach designed to serve Vermont’s which outlined over 50 strategies de- of storm-ravaged roads, bridges, grid in- Program Director at the Vermont unique needs and all Vermonters well. signed to put people to work and protect frastructure and more. (Last year’s intense Natural Resources Council and served on H.688 establishes a Climate Council vulnerable Vermonters all while doing our Halloween rain storm, for example, racked Governor Scott’s Climate Action Commis- consisting of secretaries and commis- part on climate change. up over a $6 million price tag for Vermont- sion. Reach her at [email protected]. A Resolution to Take Action NH Solar on Climate Pollution ebate pdate John Gage the New Hampshire Reso- R U This spring, voters in lution to Take Action on The PUC has announced the forty New Hampshire Climate Pollution warrant re-opening of the C&I Solar Rebate town meetings and local article. Why do voters in Program. The program will re-open elections have a chance “tax-free” New Hampshire on Monday, March 16, 2020. The to ask their state and like this? Because, as PUC will conduct a public lottery federal representatives economist George Shultz to determine queue positions for to enact cash-back car- says, “It’s not a tax if the applications. The deadline to submit bon pricing legislation. government doesn’t keep applications for the public lottery is This policy is an efficient, the money.” It seems vot- 4:30pm on April 17, 2020. The PUC fair, and beneficial way ers do want a price on will hold the lottery on April 21, to incentivize producers carbon if it’s done in a way 2020 at 1:00pm at the Commission’s and consumers to favor that protects their pur- office, 21 South Fruit Street in Con- the energy efficiency chasing power. and clean energy solu- Who is behind this? cord, NH. If the number of applica- tions received does not appear to tions needed for a John Gage at the Carbon Cash-Back Coalition table outside the polls at Windham High Residents in each town secure climate future. A School on town election day, March 10, 2020. Windham, NH passed the resolution. learned about the science, exhaust available funding, then the vote in favor does not Courtesy photo. economics, and policy at lottery will be cancelled. cost a municipality any- carboncashback.org, then For official information, visit PUC thing but will help state clean energy around the world and put collected signatures to website at bit.ly/NHPUC-CandI_So- lawmakers and Congress take action extra cash in most Americans’ wallets. put the article on their town’s warrant. lar_Incentives. with a policy that economists say will Of the twenty-seven towns that have The goal is to drive public discussions rapidly accelerate the transition to voted so far, twenty-one have passed about cash-back carbon Cont’d on p.18 Transportation Solutions WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 March 2020 4

provided by Burlington Electric Department (BED) to help them meet their state renew- Progress in Electric Transit able energy standard obligations to reduce David Roberts fossil fuel use. BED has already sourced There are clear environmental and eco- 100% of their power from renewable nomic benefits to switching over to electric sources, amplifying the emission reductions vehicles for household travel, but the great- associated with the switch to electric buses. est savings and greenhouse gas reduc- Recent analysis suggests the new buses tions occur when we reduce the amount will each result in 78 tons of CO2 emission of driving we do. For individuals, that reductions annually. may include swapping out a car trip with GMT, FTA, BED and other project part- walking, bicycling or working from home. ners recently celebrated the delivery of the Public transportation by bus and rail can electric buses with a ribbon cutting event also reduce vehicle travel for those living in announcing the buses entry into regular areas served by these options. operations following driver training pro- Most transit and school buses on the grams. GMT also received FTA funding for road today are powered by diesel fuel, cre- two smaller buses that are currently in the ating tailpipe emissions that add to pollu- procurement process. tion. This is particularly a problem in urban The State of Vermont also recently communities where higher concentrations announced Volkswagen environmental of pollution can be more detrimental to mitigation funding awards for their $2 mil- human health. Noise pollution associated lion electric bus pilot program. Marble Valley with diesel buses can also have impacts on Transit in Rutland was awarded funding neighbors along bus routes. Fortunately, for two transit buses. Barre Unified Union advancements supporting electrification of School District, Champlain Valley School Dis- personal vehicles, like decreasing battery trict, and Franklin West Supervisory Union energy storage prices, are also benefiting also received funding for two electric school larger buses and trucks. Many bus manu- buses each. This Vermont pilot includes Green Mountain Transit (GMT) riders try the Proterra electric bus at the ribbon-cutting event on January 28, 2020. technical assistance and monitoring that will facturers already offer electric options, with Image: David Roberts. some focused exclusively on this market document the experience of purchasing and segment. Purchase prices of electric transit running the buses to inform best practices and school buses have decreased in the funds stemming from the Volkswagen these pioneers to start testing the waters as additional electric buses are integrated past few years, but they remain 25-40% diesel cheating settlement, or from other with a small number of electric buses to en- into transit and school operations. more expensive than fossil-fueled vehicles sources. sure the technology and vehicles selected You can learn more about what’s hap- to acquire. However, operating cost sav- California is a national leader supporting will meet their requirements in all weather pening in your region by searching for your ings due to reduced fuel purchases and the transition to zero emission buses. The conditions. Green Mountain Transit (GMT), state’s Volkswagen mitigation program and maintenance needs may cover the higher State has developed regulations requiring based in Burlington, Vermont, is among inquiring with transit and school bus opera- purchase cost over the life of the equip- all bus purchases after 2029 to be electric the latest to initiate a pilot of two full-sized tors on their plans. ment, especially for high-use transit buses. or hydrogen fuel cell. Bus operators in Proterra electric buses. These GMT buses David Roberts is the Drive Electric Vermont Many transit operators have also used many northeastern communities have also were funded by a combination of sources, coordinator. He has driven all-electric vehicles grant funding to cover the incremental started to embrace electrification. Colder including a Federal Transit Administration for the past seven years and says if you have to cost, either through federal grants, state winter temperatures have led most of (FTA) low or no-emission grant and funding drive, drive electric.

They have higher emissions than walking or regular biking, but outperform electric E-Transportation on Two Wheels cars and most forms of public transporta- tion. Even gas-powered scooters, of which Jessie Haas (currently available in the U.S.) features a EZ Bike sells several brands, are fuel-sip- How can we drive Bosch electric motor, dual-piston hydraulic pers, getting over 100 mpg. less or pollute less disc brakes, oil shocks, LED lighting, an LCD In addition to the newly available NIU while doing the driv- dash, and an USB charging port. NIU scoot- scooters, strides are being made in freight ing we have to do? ers are manufactured in China. NIU debuted delivery by bike as well. E-cargo bikes are We all know transpor- a new model at the Consumer Electron- now available for as low as $1500 (the tation is one of our ics Show in Las Vegas in January, and it is Radwagon longtail e-cargo bike from Rad biggest emitters of self-balancing, has a range of 150 miles, will Power). Four Vermont utilities offer e-bike greenhouse gas, but go up to 50 mph, and has a self-parking rebates, including Green Mountain Power, public transportation feature. This is being marketed for “riders of and the possibility of Vermont subsidies is is spotty in the north any experience level,” and is set to go into under discussion in Montpelier. country and rural production this summer. New York City began experimenting with areas. Electric cars Though the price of an electric scooter e-bike delivery in December 2019. The city and plug-in hybrids A NIU way forward. Courtesy image. is high compared to a bicycle, it’s quite low plans to permit up to 100 delivery e-bikes can be pricy. What’s compared to a car, and offers one of the (run by companies like Amazon, DHL, and an environmentally-ethical commuter or but ‘smart’ can also mean cool and fash- most environmentally clean transportation UPS) to park in commercial loading areas modes available. E-bikes are even better. usually reserved for delivery company to do? ionable. Forbes predicts the NIU scooter Cont’d on p.5 How about electric bikes? They are will be “the new Vespa.” The NIU Scooters listed by Project Drawdown as number 69 were introduced in the United States in of its one hundred most effective solu- the fall of 2019, and more models are tions to global warming. According to scheduled to hit the lots soon. Project Drawdown, half of all urban trips EZ Bikes is carrying three models of NIU A NIU WAY FORWARD are under 6.2 miles, an easy distance for scooters, with prices ranging from $2699 fit, young bikers or on flat ground. For to $4599. As with all electric vehicles, the less fit or in hilly areas, or for longer range varies with temperature and driving distances, a bike with electric assist makes style, but the most economical scooter, bike travel more viable and enjoyable. the MQi+ Sport, has an estimated range Tens of millions of Chinese now commute of 75 to 100 kilometers. This is made on e-bikes, largely in response to strict possible in part by a fourth generation anti-pollution laws. lithium-ion battery made by Panasonic, EZ Bikes and Scooters in Exeter, NH, is which has a longer life and range and is a leading purveyor of electric bikes, with lighter, safer, and more powerful than several lines, Emotion, Magnum, and Ad- other comparable batteries. NIU scooters dmotor. The Magnum Ui5, priced at $1299, feature advanced controllers and come is its economy bike. EZ Bikes has also with a prepaid Sim card which allows recently added a line of electric scooters, the controller to be accessed 24/7. The manufactured by NIU, which the website controller has gps, theft-control devices, identifies as the world’s largest provider of remote tracking, and vehicle diagnostics, More than an Electric Scooter… “smart urban mobility solutions.” For NIU, including keeping tabs on battery life “smart” means environmentally friendly, and motor performance.Image source: The VTCCC NQI Newsletter series a Smart Scooter! ezbikesandscooters.com Transportation Solutions WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 March 2020 5 Progress of E-cargo Bikes SMART COMMUTING IN NH & VT Dave Cohen Transportation emissions are among the worst offenders that add to the rising CO2 levels in our atmosphere. In recent months we have learned that our efforts have begun To this day, whenever I to reduce the detrimental air quality counts (NHDES), but as you may have learned from hear New England legisla- numerous other reports such as the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), http:// tors and even regional climatechange2013.org/, global warming is still advancing faster than expected. energy advocates mention How do we get our emissions down now? By making new commuting choices! bicycle transportation I fre- Lots of choices. Smart Commuting is all about knowing your options and planning quently have to inquire, so ahead. There are many choices to get around in New Hampshire and Vermont, The first what is a bicycle? I ask this place to start in Vermont is “Go Vermont” for statewide choices to travel more efficiently. because there’s a sense that Whether getting around town, commuting to work or school, or planning a day trip, on their minds is a vastly share the driving or ride with someone else to help save our planet and to save approx. outdated version of the $2,000 annually. The statewide VT site also lists services for commuters, tourist, and shop- bike. You know, someone pers. hunched over a 10-speed In New Hampshire you’ll find a similar site at “NH Rideshare” where you can find car- bike, tooling up a hill with Image: chicargobike.blogspot.com pools, transit routes and schedules, bike and walk trails and links to statewide transporta- perhaps a rear rack. tion information. It’s time for New Englanders to get on out of the box. Carrying heavy loads, kids, When carpooling, remember to use the local Park n Ride lots to meet your connec- tions. Start your trip planning at connectingcommuters.org or nh.gov/dot/programs/ with the big bike update! There’s a world- or making gardening runs has never been rideshare/ for statewide choices.Drive Electric wide revolution in design and technology easier on a bike. And now there are online that’s dramatically altering what a bike companies, including Rad Power with their IN NEW HAMPSHIRENew Hampshire can do. A lot of this has to do with the budget RadWagon longtail e-cargo bike UPPER VALLEY RIDESHARE (UVRS) - Carpool matching, benefits and support for com- emergence of the electric bike. Thrilling going for as low as $1500! Compared to the muters in/out of Upper Valley. 802-295-1824 x208. uppervalleyrideshare.com. advancements in the past 10 years with major companies retailing their e-cargo ADVANCE TRANSIT (AT) – Free weekday bus for Lebanon, Hanover, Enfield, Canaan, NH, motor and battery technology make a 10- bikes at upwards of $3000, the RadWagon and Norwich and Hartford, VT. Dartmouth and DHMC Shuttles. ADA & Travel Training to 15-mile commute truly possible for way is a real deal, but that also depends the Services. 802-295-1824. advancetransit.com more people, hill climbing a non-issue, and level of hill climbing power you need and CARROLL COUNTY TRANSIT - Services and connections to Belknap County. hauling heavier loads more viable than quality of components you’d like to have. 888-997-2020 tccap.org/nct.htm ever. But best of all, e-cargo bikes have a CITY EXPRESS - Serves Keene. 603-352-8494 hcsservices.org/services/transportation/cityExpress.php However, the real shining moment unique way of inspiring local lifestyles, SCS TRANSPORTATION - Services for Sullivan County.. 603-542-9609. SCSHELPS.ORG perhaps belongs to the cargo bike. In the livable communities and physical fitness, CONCORD AREA TRANSIT (CAT) - Serves Concord 603-225-1989 concordareatransit.org 1990’s, there were only a handful of small unlike electric cars which mainly promise frame builders in the US making cargo to exacerbate more sprawl, more traffic CONTOOCOOK VALLEY TRANSPORTATION (CVTC) - Monadnock Rideshare for the southwest region 877-428-2882 cvtc-nh.org bikes. Then, in 1998 Xtracycle introduced and more car-based lifestyles. And so, if the Free Radical, an attachment that we really want e-cargo bikes to really take COOPERATIVE ALLIANCE FOR REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION (CART) - Serving the Chester, Derry, Hampstead, Londonderry, Salem and Windham, limited service to could transform almost any bike into a off in New England we need support from Plaistow. 603-434-3569 cart-rides.org longtail cargo bike suited to haul kids, state and local governments. Thankfully, DARTMOUTH COACH - Services to Boston, Logan Airport and NYC 800-637-0123 dart- cargo, laundry, plywood or practically Vermont is leading the way with four of mouthcoach.com anything you need to carry. That was a the state’s utilities offering e-bike rebates, MANCHESTER TRANSIT AUTHORITY (MTA) - Manchester, with links to Nashua and game-changer. But it wasn’t until 2008 that including its largest utility Green Mountain Concord. 603-623-8801 mtabus.org/services/local-buses Yuba Bikes introduced its Mundo, the first Power. Now there’s even talk of state subsi- MID-STATE REGIONAL RIDE RESOURCE DIRECTORY - Services elknap-Merrimack fully integrated longtail cargo bike. That dies to boost this great option and make a Counties, excluding Hooksett and the towns of Deering, Hillsborough and Windsor of opened up a whole new market. A few purchase even more viable. Hillsborough County. 603.225.3295 x1201. midstatercc.org years later brought an avalanche of new Finally, if you really want to get the low- NASHUA TRANSIT SYSTEM (NTS) - Buses and trolleys with bike racks. 603-888-0100 RideBigBlue.com products and designs for families, house- down on cargo bikes and their potential holds and businesses to go car-free. Many to create change, catch a screening of the NH RIDESHARE – Your Source for Transportation Alternatives. nh.gov/dot/programs/ride- share/ are American entries like Madsen Cycles, internationally-released cargo bike docu- Bike Friday, Surley and, of course, Xtracycle mentary MOTHERLOAD (www.motherload- IN VERMONT and Yuba, but quite a number also come movie.com). It’s time to go for the big bike UPPER VALLEY TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (Vital Communi- from overseas. update! ties) - Works with UV employers and communities to promote and improve commuting But this story would be rather incom- options. 802-291-9100 vitalcommunities.org/transport/index.htm Dave Cohen is an integrative psychothera- plete without highlighting the revolu- pist in Brattleboro, (davecohencounseling. VERMONT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC TRANSIT - Lists transit, ferries and more tionary combination of the cargo bike com), specializing in approaches in mind/ at aot.state.vt.us/PublicTransit/providers.htm with e-assist technology. E-cargo bikes body modalities and ecopsychology. He is also AMTRAK - Long distance train service. Discounts for AAA members and student advan- are demonstrating amazing potential for the founder and director of VBike (vbikesolu- tage card. (800) 872-7245 amtrak.com businesses and households wanting to tions.org), an advocacy group dedicated to shift up to the bike in a big way. Every CHITTENDEN COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY - Burlington bus service with promoting new bike design and technologies links to Montpelier, Middlebury and commuter route to Milton. cctaride.org major cargo bike company now has one or for everyday bicycle transportation in VT. several models that include e-assist right CONNECTICUT RIVER TRANSIT - Services in Bellows Falls and Springfield. crtransit.org GO VERMONT - Offers carpool matching and commuter connections in VT 800-685- 7433 connectingcommuters.org E-Transportation on Two Wheels – Cont’d from p.4 GREEN MOUNTAIN RAILROAD - Day trips from White River, Champlain Valley, Bellows trucks and vans. The bikes will also be concentrates bikes in the most congested Falls and Rutland. rails-vt.com exempt from parking fees. Many large area of Manhattan, from the Battery up to GREEN MOUNTAIN TRANSIT AGENCY - Local service in Barre, Montpelier, Grand Isle, companies already operate cargo bikes in 60th Street. Stowe and Lamoille. 802-223-7287 gmtaride.org major cities outside the U.S. Mike Parra, Project Drawdown estimates that e-bike CEO of DHL Express America, is quoted travel could increase from around 249 GREY HOUND/VERMONT TRANSIT - Long distance bus services. 1-800-231-2222 grey- in the New York Times as saying, “The billion miles a year (mostly in China) to 1.2 hound.com/ DHL Cubicle has enjoyed great success in trillion miles per year by 2050. This could LAKE CHAMPLAIN FERRIES - Transport between New York and Vermont via Lake Cham- Europe, with each bicycle deployed taking reduce one gigaton of carbon dioxide plain. 802-864-9804 ferries.com at least one conventional delivery van off emissions, and save e-bike owners $226 the road “ This reduces congestion and billion by 2050. It will also go a long way MARBLE VALLEY REGIONAL TRANSIT- For Rutland, Killington, rural Manchester, Poult- local air pollution, as well as greenhouse toward making global cities livable and ney and Rutland to Bellows Falls. City routes Free on Saturday. 802-773-3244 thebus.com/ gas emissions. Parra says that cargo bikes breathable. RURAL COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION (RCT) - Buses, vans, and volunteer drivers. “will play an important role in hitting our Links: www.drawdown.org/e-bikes; www. Routes via The Jay-Lyn, The Highlander (Newport - Derby Line); The US RT2 Commuter environmental targets.” niu.com/en; www.ezbikesandscooters.com. (St. J. to Montpelier) and Free routes to rural areas. 802-748-8170 riderct.org New York plans to allow small cargo bikes to park on wider sidewalks in the city Jessie Haas has written 40 books, mainly STAGE COACH - Commuter buses from Randolph and Fairlee to Dartmouth, Local village and to travel on the city’s network of 1400 for children, and has lived in an off-grid buses. 800-427-3553 stagecoach-rides.org miles of bike lanes. The pilot program cabin in Vermont. 6 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 Transportation Solutions FORD MUSTANG MACH-E Follow Us An Electric Mustang! Greg and Barb Whitchurch Ahh, the Ford Mustang. A roar from the engine, belching exhaust, spin- ning tires, clouds of smoke, gasps of fear and excite- ment from the crowd, the smell of burning rubber and fossil fuels. It’s all so old school now that the new Ford Mustang Mach-E is due out late this year. It will leave those earlier Equipped with an extended-range battery and rear-wheel drive, Mustang incarnations in the dust? Mach-E has a targeted EPA-estimated 300 miles of range. Images: ford.com No roaring, no smoke, no spinning tires, but man, will it move! As each hour of charge. Level 2 is a dryer-type with other electric vehicles (EV) conver- 240 VAC 30 amp (or more) socket, which will sions, you can count on improved balance, supply 10 to 60 miles/hour. Level 3 is “fast cornering, traction, control, acceleration, yet DC,” which requires a very large and expen- also increased safety and economy. And no sive installation often found at Hannaford’s pollution to threaten the astonished crowd. throughout New England, and some conve- Yup, Ford has decided to move on from the nience stores and supplies 40 to 50 miles in THE ALL-NEW torque, power and acceleration limitations just 10 minutes. PlugShare.com will show all inherent in the internal combustion engine levels everywhere in North America. (ICE) design. Back to the Mach-E. The folks at Grap- Although the first edition is already sold pone Ford made this little teaser: bit.do/ out, Ford is taking reservations for other grappone-mach-e. There are other infor- configurations at bit.do/mach-e. The Mach-E, mative Mach-E videos on YouTube. The which is a SUV, starts out at about $44,000, extended range rear-wheel drive Mach-E is but Ford estimates the savings alone from targeted for 300 miles; the extended range owning an EV are $14,120 over five years all-wheel drive should be 270 miles. The of ownership (an average of almost $3,000 tricked-out GT model, with options includ- per year), which compares favorably with a ing 459 hp, will do 0 to 60 in the mid-three $30,000 ICE car. seconds range --- 255 hp is standard on the This figure reflects both the reduced base model. (My LEAF has 107 hp and my Kia maintenance and fuel costs, plus the federal has 201 hp and, given their instantaneous incentives. There are often state and utility torque, both veritably LEAP out of entrance incentives as well. (Vermont’s utilities kick ramps onto the highways!) in several thousand dollars more, plus many Grappone Automotive Group itself is an businesses and Italian immi- other organiza- grants’ success tions contribute story. The toward these fourth-gener- purchases for their ation owner of employees.) See the business, pages 14 and 15 in Amanda Grap- this issue for incen- pone Osmer, tive information. has leveraged Bob McCullen, her position to General Sales become deeply Manager at Grap- involved with pone Ford (who local and state- Check Out The has placed his own reservation), says that the wide community support programs (bit. FordPass phone app, which also acts as a key do/nh-rfw and DeweySchool.net/, and bit. to the car, will assure that a driver is never do/grappone-comm, among many others), All-Electric, too far away from a charger. But efforts such including employee support and develop- as the West Coast Green Highway, which is ment. The business has also provided im- placing EV charging stations every 50 miles portant support to Green Energy Times. One Mustang Inspired, from British Columbia to Baja, California (bit. example from several years back represents do/wcgh), are quickly assuaging anxieties a forward-looking climate change response about available charging. that would qualify as quite ambitious, even As the pace of charger installation ac- by today’s standards; bit.do/grappone- Performance SUV celerates worldwide, New Hampshire is remodel describes a showroom and office hard at work building out their EV charging whole-building remodel of amazing scope capacity(bit.do/nh-ev-corridors); Vermont and foresight. currently has 234 public charging stations The Mustang Mach-E is Ford’s entry into (https://www.driveelectricvt.com/). Interest- the American EV marketplace. They’ve ingly, although more and more workplaces chosen the model that they think will best Learn More At and shopping areas are installing them, show off the advantages of the EV drivetrain, about 80% of EV charging in the U.S. is actu- while satisfying Americans’ desire for the grapponeford.com/mache ally accomplished at the owners’ homes. SUV form. Level 1 charging is simply the grounded 120 Barb and Greg Whitchurch have two EVs VAC 20-amp socket already in your garage, and live in a passive house in Middlesex, VT - which gives about five miles of range for bit.do/phc-li-vgbn. Transportation Solutions WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 March 2020 7 Comments for NH PUC Regarding EV-Related Policies Randolph Bryan, NH Resident, EV Enthusiast | 12 February 2020 to 20 years (notably Volkswagen and GM, pen without policies and rates to encour- The New Hampshire ALL-ELECTRIC VEHICLE with Ford, Toyota, BMW, and Nissan not age this behavior. Also, it is reasonable to Public Utilities Commis- far behind). Chinese EV manufacturers are expect that not all EV charging require- sion (NH PUC) is solicit- among the largest in the world and poised ments will be met by off-peak charging. So, ing comments on the to enter the U.S. in the coming years. Tesla additional power resources will be needed state’s Electric Vehicle has set the standard for EVs with great suc- during peak and shoulder hours. Solar (EV) adoption policies as cess, and, is gaining market share from the deployments (residential, commercial, mu- specified in SB-575-FN, legacy majors. nicipal, and utility) can provide peak time enacted in 2018. Objec- At UC Berkley, a recent Berkeley Evalua- power and energy sources that can offset tives should focus on tion and Assessment Research (BEAR) study the added load. Large and small solar de- Rate Design Standards also concluded that EVs are good for the ployments should be aggressively pursued, for EV applications and host state economy due to the increased especially utility scale deployments. Residential/Commer- portion of operating expenditures that Also, the NH PUC should consider that it cial Time of Use (ToU) remain in-state and improved air quality. is difficult for EV Service Operators (EVSOs) rate offerings for EVs. I This would be true for NH, also. to be profitable. Car charging locations offer my comments and For utility and PUC consideration, resi- are critical for EVs to be adopted by the suggestions to the NH A cutaway of an electric vehicle. Image: Department of Energy. dential and commercial solar can impact public and for EV tourists to feel comfort- PUC for consideration. home and building energy use, but the ad- able about coming to NH. The nature of car Subject matter references are available increase aggressively. dition of EV requirements will push demand charging sites is that the demand is spiky upon request. A critical market trend in the U.S. and higher than most on-site solar sources can (car charging at high rate or not at all). Un- Background: EVs are now commonly world markets are growing mandates for supply, ensuring connection to the grid is der low site use scenarios, typical of initial regarded as heir apparent to become the substantial and full change away from needed. years of a charging location, demand charg- dominant transportation drivetrain. This is internal combustion engines (ICE) by EVs will represent considerable new load es tend to dominate the cost of electricity predicted to happen relatively quickly (new dates ranging from 2035 to 2050 (China, and revenue for the utilities. Much of the and make it far higher than, say, residential car sales over 15 to 30 years) due in part to UK, Europe, Cal-Zev). The California Zero added load could be handled with few rates or most commercial use rates. growing immediate need for clean energy Emission Vehicle (CAL-ZEV) mandate states upgrades to the existing infrastructure if To encourage EV adoption in NH, I offer solutions, improving cost - capabilities of (including all New England except NH) have charging occurs during off-peak hours. This various objectives and policies to consider. EVs (battery technology and performance, adopted ever stricter change schedules and could allow lower electricity rates (better References are available upon request at lower manufacturing cost), and that EVs incentivizing policies with commensurate utilization of infrastructure) but won’t hap- [email protected]. are substantially lower cost to operate (fuel success in change achievement. This is our and maintenance). EV prices have reached immediate neighborhood and NH’s policies EVSO means EV Policy Objectives to consider Policies to consider: initial price parity with internal combustion can’t afford to be left behind (attractiveness service operators. for Rate Design: ToU means time of use. engine (ICE) vehicles for some cases and for business and tourism). V2G means vehicle to will do so across the board by 2025, with All the major car manufacturers are now Enable EVSOs to make money. Lower/eliminate Demand Charges for EVSOs. Allow re- grid – sharing power to/ sale of KWH for chargers [done] from grid to vehicle. most passenger car applications at parity by committed to change most or all of their V2G/H means vehicle to 2023. Adoption of EVs will likely continue to drivetrains to electric over the coming 10 Spread charge infrastructure. Encourage Make-Ready commitments to low income grid or home – vehicle to and non-garage multi-tenant dwellings. Include ‘make- home is a subcategory of vehicle to grid, using the ready’ in building codes vehicle only to provide Prepare for faster Grid technology Consider faster depreciation for Utility CapEx. power to/from the home. CapEx means capital change. expenditures like buying equipment versus Lower the High Cost of NH Encourage faster adoption of lower cost renewables. operating costs. Electricity. Encourage off-peak charging. Encourage V2G use of Make Ready is a term used customer EVs. by utilities to describe commitments and polices Policy Objectives to consider Policies to consider: to bring grid power close for TOU Rate Design: to the end use point (like a parking lot of a multi- Encourage off-peak charging. Adopt dedicated residential/commercial EV charge tenant building where no We Dare You to look power currently exists). circuits. Allow ToU rates on Residential Charge Circuit. This brings down the initial Encourage V2H/G power Prepare for V2H/G trials. Expand net-metering to cost of installing charging equipment in some places, under the Hood! exchange include V2G uses. making it easier to justify.

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The First five Vermont Solar The Vermont Solar Carport Carports sold will get a A New Green Offering from Two Worker-Owned Companies discount of $1,000. Responding to policy makers’ push to more deeply integrate renewable VGreen program seam making a rugged, leak- proof energy into homes, businesses, and can help Vermonters roof that is easily able to accommodate transportation, Catamount Solar and begin their transition future technologies. TimberHomes Vermont announced from fossil fuels to This design stands out with its clean that they are teaming up to offer the solar and put their car lines, hand-crafted pegged mortise- Vermont Solar Carport. A marriage under a handsome and-tenon joinery, and its showcase of between beauty and function, the roof for an affordable locally sourced timbers. Vermont Solar Carport is a timber frame monthly payment The first five Vermont Solar Carports structure with a standing seam metal and potential savings sold will get a discount of $1,000. roof made with pine and white oak tim- on their electric bill. To learn more, contact Catamount ber from New England forests and built Subject to weather, Solar at www.Catamountsolar.com or right here in the Green Mountains. financing and permit- TimberHomes Vermont at www.timber- “Our carport offers a lot in one pack- ting, they can be homesllc.com. age: it provides the economy and du- installed in as little rability of roof-mounted solar, a classy as six weeks from the MANY THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR: parking shelter, and plenty of space to first phone call. put bikes and kayaks, stack firewood, “Anyone in Ver- or store other outdoor gear,” said David product was the logical next step for mont who is investing in green energy for Hooke, one of the founding member- these like-minded companies bringing their home or business is eligible for our owners at TimberHomes Vermont. to clients the strengths of each. The new excellent VGreen loan rates and terms. “Our unique design puts all braces and product will be launched on Thursday, VSECU is committed to making it easy for cables six feet, eight inches above the March 5 at 10 am at TimberHomes Ver- our neighbors to take steps toward their ground, so you can drive or walk into mont’s Montpelier shop at 21 Fork Road. energy independence,” said Laurie Fielder, the carport from all sides.” “Our carports are available in one, two the VGreen Program Director at VSECU. Catamount Solar and TimberHomes and three-bay models with space for New Hampshire residents who become Vermont have worked together on nu- 5.85kW, 8.8kW and 11.7kW of solar re- members of the Northeast Sustainable merous projects over the years. Devel- spectively, allowing customers to custom- Energy Association (NESEA) can also ac- oping a jointly designed and branded ize depending on their current and future cess these low rates. power needs,” said The Vermont Solar Carport is engineer- Andrew Wible, approved for New England. There are a member-owner at variety of installation methods to allow Catamount Solar. for virtually all site conditions. The solar VSECU, a panel racks clamp right to the standing credit union for everybody in Vermont and a leader in solar and energy improve- CATAMOUNT SOLAR ment financing, is teaming up with Catamount Solar INSTALLS BATTERIES and TimberHomes Vermont. Special low-cost financing Launch of the Vermont Solar Carport. Images courtesy of TimberHomes Vermont. through VSECU’s Losing Losing your your power power in the in the summer winter is like is like Camping Survival

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St. Johnsbury Solar Story financial deal for both the town and the school district will get income by leasing school system. According to Kevin Davis, Vice the land to the array, receiving $98,000 over One Good Solar Array Leads to Another President of Sales for NST, over the 25 years of the course of the 25-year contract. George Harvey their agreement, the town would save about The net metering credits will be offered $325,000 and the school would save $400,000, to other Green Mountain Power customers, and the array will pay $125,000 in taxes. likely ones that cannot benefit from rooftop The solar system is also a good deal for the solar on their own property. It is expected environment. The array will produce 915,000 that those credits will be worth about kilowatt hours annually, enough to power $150,000 each year. They are important be- about 125 homes. That much clean electricity cause they give many non-profit organiza- reduces carbon emissions by 17,000 metric tions, including schools, an opportunity to tons, according to NST. benefit from solar power even though they Getting the solar array built and running do not have federal taxes against which behind the GMM was not the end of the story. they can apply the credits. Kevin Davis The school had put a fair amount of thought said, “Net Metering Agreements are ide- into how it could use a 21-acre parcel it had ally suited for schools, municipalities, and been given on Breezy Hill Road. It decided other non-profit organizations that cannot that it wanted to use the land for another directly monetize the various tax credits The St Johnsbury 500kW solar system net-metering credits will be worth about $150,000 each year. solar system. that accompany solar projects like this, due Courtesy photo from Norwich Solar Technologies. The solar array on Breezy Hill Road was to their tax-exempt status.” approved at the town meeting on March The solar systems in St. Johnsbury are not In St. Johnsbury, Vermont, on a piece of The array was to be 500 kilowatts (kW), the 10. In terms of the capacity and expected all about saving money, however. School land that was pretty much out of sight be- limit for municipal or school net-metered solar productivity, this array will be very similar to superintendent Brian Ricca explained, “This hind the Green Mountain Mall (GMM), there arrays. (The net metering cap for schools was the one near the GMM. In this case, however, is really about stewardship of our environ- used to be a sand pit. In time, the sand pit raised last year so they can take up to 1 mega- the business arrangements will be different. ment in St. Johnsbury.” He stressed a need operations stopped, and the pit became watt if needed from multiple arrays.) It was The school district, which owns the land, will for public entities to address alternative just another non-productive piece of prop- more than the municipality needed, so there not get net metering credits for the energy energy options. erty, having no use and paying no taxes. would be additional electricity off takers. Nor- produced, since they already have all of the Norwich Solar Technology is based in Fortunately, sand pits, landfills, and wich Solar Technology (NST), the developer, net metering credits that they need to offset White River Junction, Vermont. Its website is other such sites do have a use. They can be looked for the most obvious partners for the their bills from the first project. Instead, the norwichsolar.com. developed for solar arrays to produce clean municipal system and approached the St. electricity. Usually they either reduce mu- Johnsbury School District. By happy coinci- nicipal costs or pay taxes. NST began to take dence, this was just about the same time that interest in development of a project at the the School District was looking for a way to sand pit in 2018 and had Preferred Siting reduce its use of grid electricity. They decided discussions with the St J Select Board and to take the available portion of the solar array. Planning Board, amenable to the plan. The solar system behind GMM was a good

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1010 March JUNE 2020 15, 2014 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 802.439.6675 Solar Photovoltaics (PV) - Vermont Vermont Electric Co-op’s Community Solar Program George Harvey Many people who would like to get dependent on the cost of electricity or the this credit for as long as they are sponsor- Will I be required to pay taxes on their electricity from solar systems are time the sun shines, over a period of ten ing panels. the monthly credit I receive or include restricted due to our living arrange- or twenty years. The program is intended Is VEC selling the Renewable Energy it in my tax filing? No, the monthly ments. Those of us who rent our homes to appeal to people who want to support Certificates (RECs)? VEC is not selling the credit is not considered income. are unlikely to be able to install solar solar power and have no means of their RECs for the portion of the project spon- To learn more connect with the great systems, of course, and many who own own to install it, but the financial incentive sored by VEC members. These RECs will be folks at VEC: https://www.vermontelec- their homes have unsuitable roofs and is not trivial. retired and will help VEC meet the goals tric.coop/community-solar or call them yards that are too shady. To qualify for participation in the pro- and requirements of Vermont’s Renewable at 1 (800) 832-2667. There are solutions for these prob- gram, a person has to be a VEC member. Energy Standard, which was established in lems. Community solar programs were The VEC service area includes all of Grand 2015 by Act 56. developed to address the needs of Isle County and most of the northern third Will I be eligible for federal tax credits people who want solar power but are of the state. Those who find such a system for the cost of the sponsorship? No, the living where installing panels is not an appealing but are not in the VEC service federal tax credit is already being claimed option. Such programs are not all alike, territory should probably contact their and is built into the price of the sponsor- however, and anyone who wants to own utilities to find out what programs are ship. get into one would do well to find out available to them. what is available, comparing the details. The FAQ area on the VEC website has In some cases, developers put up a more information (http://bit.ly/VEC-CS- system, selling panels to subscribers. In FACS). Here are a few of them: other cases, the systems are owned and What if I change my mind or move? Vermont Electric Cooperative is member-owned and committed to the best operated by utilities. Details of cost and Will I get my money back? Yes, participants interests of our members and their communities. This is why we developed payback vary rather widely. can opt out of the program at any time. VEC Co-op Community Solar – an easy and efficient way for all VEC members Those who opt out will receive a portion Vermont Electric Co-op (VEC) has to get great value while supporting clean electricity. created its own Co-op Community of their initial investment back, depending Solar Program, and many VEC members on how long they participated. A partici- With three projects up and running in Alburgh, Grand Isle and Hinesburg, might be interested in looking into it. pant can also transfer their sponsorship to now is a good time to support solar with VEC Co-op Community Solar. In the VEC community solar model, another VEC member’s account as long as subscribers are not owners of panels, that member has enough usage to take but instead sponsor them. Sponsorships advantage of the monthly credit amount. can last for ten years or for twenty. The Will the solar credit change month cost of the sponsorship of a panel is a to month? No, the credit is fixed and one-time payment similar to the cost of guaranteed to participants. The credit a solar panel. amount is based on a guaranteed genera- The investment by a sponsor is paid tion per panel and VEC’s value of solar. VEC back in guaranteed, fixed amounts, not guarantees that participants will receive Solar Photovoltaics (PV) - New Hampshire WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 March 2020 11 Community Leaders Join Together to Form Community Power New Hampshire Municipal and county-led project aims technologies, and to remove other barriers to bring competition, decarbonization, and to progress by coordinating action at the local governance to the electricity sector. Public Utility Commission and Legislature. (This article was written jointly by a At present, CPNH’s activities are orga- coalition of communities forming Com- nized into four categories and working munity Power New Hampshire.) groups: (1) governance agreement; (2) Community Power New Hampshire regulatory and legislative engagement; (3) (CPNH) was recently formed by local operating model design; and (4) commu- and regional energy committees, town nity engagement. Local governments work- managers and sustainability staff, elected ing on Community Power implementation officials, city energy managers, county are invited to contribute to one or more of administrators, and regional planning com- CPNH’s Working Groups. missions. We have come together because on behalf of their residents and businesses. and evolve them over time, making decisions Governance Agreement we believe that through joint action, we But the functions required for sophisticated about energy supply rates, renewable energy CPNH and municipal attorneys are can most fully realize the opportunity of wholesale electricity procurement and retail content, and surplus revenue allocation. reviewing a Joint Powers Agreement a competitive, decarbonized, and locally- electricity sales and services require an 2. Reduce and control cost: Community (authorized by RSA 53-A), a contract among governed electricity sector as made pos- economy of scale beyond the capacities of Power programs will have access to competi- local governments that creates a new sible through Community Power programs most NH municipal governments. tive rate offerings relative to their default locally-governed legal entity (CPNH) to (RSA 53-E). utility energy supply, and the ability to better competitively solicit and contract for the The solution is CPNH, a new entity gov- manage electricity cost drivers (e.g., capacity). Our goal is to create a pathway to erned by local governments to serve local services necessary for Community Power Community Power implementation that 3. Accelerate decarbonization and renew- operations. Over the coming months, we governments. CPNH will competitively solicit able energy: Community Power programs is accessible to all New Hampshire cities, and enlist service providers to implement ad- may choose to procure renewable energy by will work together to refine the details of towns, and counties. The two main objec- vanced power procurement and other func- purchasing Renewable Energy Credits, such an agreement, including the process tives that will allow us to realize that goal tions (e.g., data management and analytics) contracting with existing renewable energy by which additional local governments may are: (1) form a new, locally governed legal required to realize the full potential of Com- generators, or enabling construction of new join CPNH and participate in its governance. entity (CPNH) with the technical capacity munity Power. CPNH will enable individual renewable energy systems. Regulatory and Legislative Engagement to provide the services required of Com- communities and individual Community 4. Stimulate competitive, local markets for The Public Utilities Commission is consid- munity Power programs; and (2) support Power programs to set their own electricity modern energy products and services: ering a rulemaking process that will affect Community Power programs will have access individual communities to develop their rates and their own program goals. Community Power programs. Coordina- to retail products and service providers own Community Power programs, and join We have identified the following goals for enabling integrated demand-side manage- tion with electric distribution utilities is CPNH if they choose. Community Power, some of which may be ment and market-based deployment of an important part of Community Power. Why CPNH? prioritized over others by different communi- distributed energy resources including For example, the process for data transfer The Community Power Law (SB 286) ties: dynamic and real-time pricing options, between utilities and Community Power was enacted in fall 2019. It enables local 1. Strengthen local control and choice: distributed generation, energy storage, programs should be clarified and stream- governments – cities, towns, and coun- Participating communities will have the electrification of transportation and heating lined. CPNH is already actively engaged in sectors, and energy efficiency. ties – to procure and provide electricity ability to craft their own energy portfolios the regulatory process. 5. Modernize local infrastructure and Operating Model Design strengthen resiliency: Community Power programs may enhance resiliency of critical CPNH will likely have a mix of internal facilities through planned deployment of staff and sub-contracted service provid- local energy resources and microgrids, as well ers. For example, functions like (1) energy as advanced interval meters and Smart Grid portfolio management and engagement communications working in partnership with in ISO New England wholesale markets; or local distribution utilities and others to (2) retail customer services (including data modernize our local infrastructure. management, notifications, websites, bill- 6. Streamline local and regional coordina- ing), may initially be competitively sub-con- tion: Community Power programs, working together with Regional Planning Commis- tracted to expert service providers. Enlisting sions, counties, and other partners, can of service providers will be conducted in collaborate on electrification of public transit, a competitive and transparent fashion. streamline permitting for innovative Careful thought will be given Cont’d on p.19 12 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 Community Solar in New Hampshire Green Energy Options Brings Commercial Solar to Monadnock Region Pablo Fleischmann designed to fully net the anticipated current and future building usage, parking, Beth Caldwell of RGBC annual energy load of the EMF build- aesthetics, and of course the technical side. Associates and EMF Inc. (an ing. To do so required a solar design This is what EMF does with our information IT service company) had a that utilized all sections of the flat technology customers. GEO went above clear goal of transitioning the and pitched roof as well as a ground and beyond when the inevitable twists and EMF building in Keene, NH mount solar array six panels high by turns of a project this size posed challenges. to clean and renewable solar eleven panels long. Panel optimization And last but not least, it’s fun working with energy when she walked into was used to get the most out of each people who share your concern for the the Green Energy Options panel regardless of differences in solar environment.” Store in Keene. She had access from momentary shading of Only two months after the beginning of become sufficiently informed portions of the array. construction, the now complete 107 kW on solar energy investment Bob Gogolen, RGBC Associates’ solar energy system is providing energy to to be confident that this co-owner and President of EMF Inc., the building and the grid through the New could also be a sound finan- worked closely with Green Energy Hampshire Net-Metering program and is on cial decision; she could “do The rooftop array installed by Green Energy Options for RGBC Associates in Keene, NH. Options throughout the develop- target to net all of the energy usage of the well by doing good.” Image: Albert Karevy. ment and construction process, both EMF building going forward! Beth said, “Federal tax to provide input on decision points RGBC Associates is now offering light credits and long-term financial benefits in solar was less than the cost of not making along the way, and to become an informed commercial office and warehouse rental made the project with Green Energy Op- the investment, and did not have the risks and educated solar energy facility owner. space in the EMF building that includes a tions a sensible one. Just as critical as finan- that accompany most investments. This work Gogolen and GEO worked closely on menu of IT and other business service and cial incentives, was our commitment to do was all done before RGBC Associates invested ground mount siting to ensure parking and support options. They believe that their what we can for our planet’s future, where a single dollar, resulting in a fully informed vehicular flow was ideal when the project was investment and commitment to renewable we are, with what we have. Climate change decision to go forward with a 107kW solar complete. The ground mount section of the energy and efficiency makes their space is not a trivial matter. We are convinced that project. solar array has become an aesthetic cen- even more attractive. what we do about our carbon footprint is Don McCormick, Commercial Solar Devel- terpiece and statement of RGBC Associates’ Pablo Fleishmann is the co-owner of Green more important than what we say. Our solar opment at Green Energy Options said, “Most commitment to green energy. As an expert Energy Options of Keene, NH with his wife Valerie project was a wise financial investment, and people do not yet realize what a strong and in network and communication systems, Piedmont. Green Energy Options is a Certified a moral choice driven by our values.” easy investment a commercial solar energy Bob became instrumental in the design and B Corporation and mission-driven business Starting from this place, RGBC Associates project is. It pays for itself by converting the troubleshooting of communications for the devoted to moving the Monadnock region and Green Energy Options began a system- money you are already spending on electric- control and monitoring system and revenue toward greater energy independence, sustain- atic process of design, cost calculation, and ity and taxes, and using them to pay for a du- grade meter. ability and regenerative ways of living. a return on investment analysis that verified rable solar energy facility for you. If you pay On GEO, Gogolen said, “What impressed Many thanks to our sponsor: Beth’s assumptions and identified a project taxes and use electricity, then it is cheaper for us most about Green Energy Options was approach that would fully meet their goals. you to buy a solar energy project than to do their approach. They obviously understood The result of the design and cost-benefit nothing!” the technology, but took a holistic approach analysis showed that the cost of investing RGBC Associates solar energy project was to our needs: business, permitting, financial,

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er pays Arcadia and what NYSEG charges Community Solar Mechanicville, New York every month after the credits for electric- Chris Cusack ity fed into the grid via the community solar farm are taken into account. Arcadia has been a Not only is the community solar proj- driving force in opening ect impressive to walk through, but it is community solar farms exciting to be part of the effort in some across six states to date. small way as a subscriber of Arcadia Pow- Arcadia, solar developer er. Stemming off some carbon emissions partner ForeFront Power, makes me feel good on paper. Seeing it and numerous state in real life was a crystalline moment. agencies opened the Sources: www.wamc.org/mechanicville- solar farm on Pruyn Hill solar-farm, and www.forefrontpower.com/ Road in Mechanicville, nyserda-2gw. New York, in December. One of two adjacent solar arrays make up the combined project. Courtesy photo. Chris Cusack is a software engineer and This achieved an impor- blogger who is passionate about reducing tant milestone: New York’s solar genera- (e.g. mowing) more efficient. subscriber signs up with Arcadia and gives our carbon footprint and improving our tion reached 2,000 megawatts (or two Compared to installing solar panels Arcadia the ability to see and pay their impact on the environment. His blog can be gigawatts) which is roughly a third of the on an individual house, one of the many current electric utility provider, in my own found at https://syncopatedcodes.com. 2025 state-wide goal of 6,000 megawatts benefits of community solar is how it ge- case the utility provider is NYSEG. Arcadia (or six gigawatts). That, in itself, is a huge nerically feeds the solar-produced energy then starts to bill the subscriber for their accomplishment. into the grid. That means that local energy monthly usage as documented by NYSEG. Thomas and Janice Johnson, whose users are running off solar as opposed to So, the subscriber pays Arcadia who in turn family has owned the land for over 100 non-renewable generated energy. More pays NYSEG. years, leased the site to the operators. to the point, it’s really democratized in The subscriber receives a 5% discount Talking with the couple, it was easy to that you don’t need to be a high-income on their monthly bill for the portion they see how proud they were of the accom- investor in solar to get solar-generated elect to get through the community solar plishment and of the innovative use of energy anymore. With community solar, all farm. The subscriber can choose 50 or 100 the land. consumers of electric power in the area are percent of wind or solar or a combination The solar array consists of 18,500 now getting solar-generated power. of both, through Arcadia. The subscriber panels producing 6.12MW or over seven The appeal to electricity subscribers is is paying Arcadia what they used to pay million kilowatt hours. This is equivalent they can take part in driving the change NYSEG, minus the 5% discount. to taking 800 cars off the road. The solar toward solar energy without having to own Interestingly, the subscriber can see on array feeds power directly to the grid, their own solar panels or their own home. their NYSEG account the exact credit which supplying enough power for an estimat- Renters and homeowners alike benefit NYSEG gives for the electricity fed into the ed 1,000 residential customers. In the in- from solar energy generated at this site. grid via the community solar farm. Judging stallation of panel support structures, the The financial arrangement between by the amount of credits on the NYSEG wiring was run through an underground Arcadia and the subscriber appears simple statement, Arcadia makes their profit on conduit to make the land maintenance but is actually clouded in handoffs. The the difference between what the subscrib-

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© 2019 RELiON Battery, LLC. All rights reserved. RELiON Battery is not liable for damages that may result from any information provided in or omitted from this publication, under any circumstances. RELiON Battery reserves the right to make adjustments to this publication at any time, without notice or obligation 14 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 UP-TO-DATE INCENTIVE INFO: WWW.DSIREUSA.ORG INCENTIVES Lighting • Special pricing on select ENERGY STAR® FEDERAL VERMONT LEDs at Vermont retailers. NEW HAMPSHIRE FEDERAL INVESTMENT CLEAN ENERGY • LEDs for indoor growing: $100 back for Renewable Energy Incentives DEVELOPMENT FUND qualifying fixtures Offered Through the NH Public TAX CREDIT The Small Scale RE Incentive Program, Weatherization Utilities Commission The federal investment tax credit (ITC) for administered by Renewable Energy • Comprehensive air sealing and NH PUC: Get up-to-date information at most technologies, including solar, wind, Resource Center (RERC), provides funds to insulation projects with an Efficiency https://www.puc.nh.gov/Sustainable%20 heat pumps, and fuel cells, is 30% of help defray the costs of new solar thermal Excellence Network contractor: 50% off Energy/RenewableEnergyRebates.htmls expenditures. For commercial geothermal and advanced wood pellet heating systems. eligible project costs, up to $2,000. generating systems, microturbines, and Commercial Solar Rebate Program Advanced Moderate income Vermonters get up to combined heat and power the ITC is 10% Advanced Wood Heating Incentives are limited to 25% of the total wood pellet heating systems -- $6,000 per $4,000 back. of expenditures. • Air sealing and insulating your attic project cost or $50,000 if less than the AC pellet boiler/furnace (in partnership with incentive payment otherwise calculated, • Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit: Efficiency Vermont). Details at www.rerc-vt. and/or basement with a contractor of http://bit.ly/energy-gov-R-E-tax-credit your choice: up to $500; Moderate income whichever is less. The Program is available to org or call (877) 888-7372. non-residential structures with a commercial • Electric Vehicles - Tax credit for qualified • Retails sales of “Advanced Wood Boilers” Vermonters get up to $1,000 back. plug-in electric drive vehicles including • DIY: $100 back for completing eligible electric meter located in New Hampshire. are exempt from Vermont’s 6% sales tax. Incentive levels for PV systems are as follows: passenger vehicles and light trucks. For http://tax.vt.gov/exemptions,, projects, like weatherizing windows and vehicles acquired after December 31, 2009, doors, and sealing air leaks in your attic • $0.40/watt (lower of AC and DC) for new • Details at https://fpr.vermont.gov/ solar electric facilities. the credit starts at $2,500 and goes up to woodenergy/rebates and basement. $7,500 based on the battery specs. Appliances (must be ENERGY STAR) • Expansions to existing solar systems are not • Windham County eligible. • Dehumidifiers $25 - $40 rebate USDA RURAL • For residential low- and moderate- • Incentive levels for solar thermal systems • Clothes Dryers - $400 rebate income residents there is a pellet stove are as follows: DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM • Appliance recycling: $50 + free pickup program. Contact the Windham and • $0.12/rated or modeled kBtu/yr for new USDA Rural Development Program - Rural Windsor Housing Trust for more informa- of secondary refrigerators/freezers Energy for America (REAP) solar thermal facilities fifteen collectors in size tion: Tara Brown at 802-246-2119 Heating/Cooling/Water Heating or fewer; $0.07/rated or modeled kBtu/yr for • Finance the purchase of renewable • For wood heating (pellet or chip boilers/ • Central wood pellet boilers and new solar thermal facilities greater than fifteen energy systems, and make energy furnaces) in municipal buildings, schools, furnaces: $6,000 rebate (in partnership collectors in size; improvements; energy audits. Funding is and non-profits contact the Windham with CEDF) • Expansions to existing solar systems not awarded on a competitive basis; grant Regional Commission: Marion Major at • Heat Pumps: eligible. funding cannot exceed 25% of eligible 802-257-4547 ext. 109 or windhamre- • Air-to-Water System: $1,000/ton rebate Contact [email protected] or at project costs and combined loan guaran- gional.org/energy/wwh • Centrally-Ducted System: $800/ton (603) 271-2431. tees and grants cannot exceed 75% of In Rutland County (and towns in neigh- rebate For C&I solar program details, go to: www. eligible project costs. boring counties that boarder Rutland Co.) • Ductless Heating & Cooling System: puc.nh.gov/Sustainable%20Energy/Renew- • Applicants include Feasibility studies/ contact Melanie Paskevich mpaskevich@ $400-$500 discount at participating ableEnergyRebates-CI.html regular REAPs: agricultural producers and nwwvt.org at NeighborWorks of Western distributors PACE rural small businesses. Energy audits and Vermont, (802) 797-8610. • Heat pump water heaters: discounts The state also has passed PACE (property- renewable energy development assis- Pellet Sap Evaporators: up to $600 at participating distributors; assessed clean energy) enabling legislation tance: local governments, tribes, land grant Incentives are available for new, high-effi- • Moderate-income Vermonters are also which will allow towns to use the PACE colleges, rural electric coops, public power ciency wood pellet- or chip-fired evapora- eligible for bonus rebates up to $500 mechanism to finance clean energy proj- entities. Grant must be used for Construc- tors utilized as primary evaporators for heat pumps and heat pump water ects through property taxes. tion or improvements, purchase and completely replacing oil or cord wood- heaters. Please refer to the Residential PV program. installation of equipment, energy audits, fired units. $200/sq-ft of evaporator pan. • Window air conditioners: $200 for permit fees, professional service fees, Info at RERC-vt.org select ENERGY STAR Emerging Technol- Residential Solar/Wind Rebate Program business plans, and/or feasibility studies. ogy models -Effective January 2, 2018, this program Find more at www.rurdev.usda.gov/ Other Utilities Heating Offers • Smart thermostats: up to $100 back for • Members of Washington Electric Co-op offers rebates to qualifying NH residents NH-VTHome.html or call 802-828-6080 in select ENERGY STAR models. who install photovoltaic (PV) or wind tur- VT or 603-223-6035 in NH (WEC) can get a $1000 rebate on approved pellet boilers and $500 for pellet furnaces. Wood Stove Change-Out bine electrical generation systems. Rebate BIOREFINERY ASSISTANCE This can be combined with the CEDF and CEDF Change-Out levels are $.20 per watt of panel rated PROGRAM EVT incentives for a total of $7000; $250 for Customer must have an existing/installed power up to $1,000, or 30% of the total qualifying pellet or wood stove installed by non-EPA certified stove to change-out: facility cost, whichever is less. Check for USDA Rural Development offers oppor- a qualified installer. This can be added to • Pellet stoves: $1,000 incentive* updates at http://www.puc.state.nh.us/Sus- tunities to producers to develop biofuels stove offers from CEDF and EVT. • Cord wood stoves: $800 incentive* tainable%20Energy/RenewableEnergyRe- through the Biorefinery Assistance Program. • Members of the Vermont Electric Co-op * These incentives end Dec. 16, 2019 bates-SREG.html The program provides loan guarantees for can get a $150 credit on the purchase of an • A $100 incentive is also available to Residential Solar Water Heating the development, construction, and retrofit- approved pellet stove: www.vec/energy- replace the catalyst in an existing Rebate Program ting of commercial-scale biorefineries. EPA-certified woodstove. programs. • $1500 - $1900 per system based on The Biorefinery Assistance Program was • $300 fed. tax credit now available on annual system output established to assist in the development VT TAX CREDITS 2019 stoves purchases. • Vermont offers an investment tax credit of new and emerging technologies for the Efficiency Vermont offers a $650 rebate Commercial Bulk Fuel-Fed Wood for installations of renewable energy equip- development of advanced biofuels and for a new pellet or cord wood stove. * ment on business properties. The credit is C&I Pellet Central Heating Systems aims to accomplish the following: * Cannot be combined with above offer. • Increase energy independence equal to 24% of the “Vermont property por- • 40% of the heating appliance(s) and • Promote resource conservation, public tion” of the federal business energy tax Residential New Construction installation cost, up to a maximum of health, and the environment credit from 2011 to 2016. For solar, small • Enroll to receive a home energy rating, $65,000. An additional 30% up to a maxi- • Diversify markets for agricultural, forestry wind, and fuel cells this constitutes a 7.2% expert technical assistance, and incen- mum $5,000 is available for thermal storage. products and agricultural waste materials state-level credit for systems and for geo- tives – Efficiency Vermont Certified™ Systems must be 2.5 million BTU or less • Create jobs and enhance economic thermal electric, microturbines, and com- projects receive up to $3,000 cash back Residential Wood Pellet Boiler/Furnace development in rural America bined heat and power systems, this • Washington Electric Coop and Vermont • 40% of installed system up to $10k • For more information go to constitutes a 2.4% state-level tax credit. Gas Systems customers may also receive • Must meet thermal efficiency and www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_Biorefinery Tier III programs additional incentives particulate emissions standards • Additional incentive offers may be avail- Commercial and Institutional www.puc.nh.gov – Sustainable Energy or able through your local utility provider, con- tel. 603-271-2431 for more information REGIONAL • Buildings over 5000 square feet can get and current program status tact your utility for more information. a rebate of $1.25/sf up to $50,000 from NEW ENGLAND GRASSROOTS EFFICIENCY VERMONT Efficiency Vermont, plus an additional LOCAL INCENTIVES ENVIRONMENTAL FUND All incentives subject to availability, limits, $3000 from the CEDF. Some towns provide property tax exemp- MODEST GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR and may change at any time. For complete Other Opportunities To Save tions for renewables – visit www.bit.ly/ COMMUNITY-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL details, and participating retailers/ NHtownRenewablesTaxBreaks WORK IN CT,MA,RI,NH,VT,ME contractors, call 888-921-5990 or visit • Advanced Power Strips – special pricing • These are offered on a town-by-town basis. starting at $6.95 • Must be volunteer driven or have up to 2 efficiencyvermont.com/rebates. • The state also has passed PACE (property- • Sense Home Energy Monitor: $199 full time paid staff or equiv. EVT has started a new program giving assessed clean energy) enabling legislation • Discount Pool Pumps – up to $500 back • have an annual budget up to $100,000 away free energy efficient products and which will allow towns to use the PACE on select ENERGY STAR models • “Seed” grants of $250-$1,000 and “Grow” appliances (including wood and pellet mechanism to finance clean energy projects • Home Energy Loan – low-interest loans grants of $1,000-$3,500 stoves) to income eligible customers. through property taxes of up to $35,000 for home weatherization • Go to www.grassrootsfund.org/grants/ https://www.efficiencyvermont.com/ • Information at www.nh.gov/osi/energy. and heating improvements or call 802-223-4622 for more info. free-products for more information. While we at Green Energy Times try to keep things up to date, incentives are always changing. Be sure to check with the appropriate sources for the latest information. INCENTIVES UP-TO-DATE INCENTIVE INFO: WWW.DSIREUSA.ORG WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 March 2020 15 NH Electric Cooperative Incentives pickup and $30 rebate. For program homeowners who install solar PV systems with NYSEG/RG&E rebate program up to $1050. More for Electric Vehicles and Electric requirements and scheduling information go low-interest loans to help finance the projects. info at http://bit.ly/NYSEG-Rebates. to www.NHSaves.com/recycle. • The $30 million partnership program Car Charging Stations • Instant rebates available on certain between Massachusetts Department of Energy Home Energy Waste • NHEC offers a $1,000 incentive on a ENERGY STAR® certified LED light bulbs Resources (DOER) and MassCEC, will work with Getting a home energy assessment can Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), $600 on a purchased through participating NH retailers, local banks and credit unions to provide help you take control of your energy costs, Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV), and instant or mail-in rebates available on financing to homeowners interested in solar identify where your house is using the most and $300 on Electric Motorcycles. ENERGY STAR® certified light fixtures (varies electricity. DOER’s program expands borrowing energy and which improvements would NHEC offers incentives for Level 2 by retailer, see store associate or rebate form options through lower interest rate loans and have the biggest impact on your bottom Electric Vehicle Charging Stations. for details). Infor: NHSaves.com/lighting. encourage loans for homeowners with lower line. Heating and cooling costs frequently For Commercial and Municipal Members • Rebates are available to residential electric income or lower credit scores. account for 50% of residential energy bills. – Incentives are up to $2,500 per charging customers of the four NHSaves utilities. • Mass Solar Loan: www.masssolarloan.com. Identifying your energy waste can lead to unit. A maximum of two charging units The most updated loan principal buy down big savings. Visit: http://bit.ly/ny-nrg-waste. NHSAVES Online Store rate based on household income can be found may be installed off-peak hours at a rate • Our extensive online store offers RENEWABLE ENERGY/NY-SUN that is lower than the basic residential rate. discounted pricing for residential electric For Residential Members at http://www. http://ny-sun.ny.gov/ NHEC’s ENERGY STAR Heat Pump customers of the four NHSaves utilities on a masssolarloan.com/. incentive structure for 2020 is as large variety of LED light bulbs and fixtures, • Renewable Thermal Infrastructure Grant NY-Sun is structured around custom- follows: as well as offering additional products to Program: www.mass.gov/funding ized Megawatt (MW) Blocks targeted Heating and Cooling - (Must meet or make your home more efficient, such as MA SMART INCENTIVE to specific regions of the state. To learn exceed the minimum efficiency require- lighting controls, advanced power strips, This info may have been updated. Check more, see the Megawatt Block Incentive ments - SEER 18/EER 12.5/HSPF 10 ) $500 thermostats, water saving devices, and website. SMART incentives are only available Structure. per ton various weatherization products. Orders for PV systems sized under 25kW. All Ever- The Megawatt (MW) Block Dashboard Geothermal - (Must meet or exceed the and product fulfillment are handled by our source West and Most of National Grid Blocks provides real time infor on the status of minimum efficiency requirements - EER vendor, EFI. are full for 25kW and larger. There will be a block and current incentive levels by sec- 16/3 COP ) $500 per ton • Visit www.NHSaves.com/lighting-catalog. 400MW review process this spring and sum- tor and region. Block status is updated as Cooling only - (Must meet or exceed the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy mer. Details at http://masmartsolar.com and applications are submitted, so check for https://www. mass.gov/solar-massachusetts- current status. http://bit.ly/MW-block minimum efficiency requirements - SEER Initiative (PAREI): plymouthenergy.org 15/EER 12.5/ ) $70 per ton renewabletarget-smart. Residential and Small Business Wi-Fi thermostats - (Must be installed • NH Solar Shares: nhsolarshares.org MA STATE INCENTIVE • http://bit.ly/ny-sun-Solar-Res-sm-bus with a heat pump also receiving an NHSaves: nhsaves.com This info may have been updated. Ck website. incentive ) $100 rebate per T-stat Commercial and Industrial MA State Incentives can be found at: www. • http://ny-sun.ny.gov/Get-Solar/Com- Weatherization Bonus – (Available for Energy Star® Residential Heating, masscec.com/get-clean-energy mercial-and-Industrial members participating in the Home Cooling, & Water Heating • Incentive updates for air-sourced heat Performance with ENERGY STAR Program ) pumps: https://www.masscec.com/air- Commercial Energy Storage $250 per ton Equipment Rebate source-heat-pumps NYSERDA is providing $350/kWh of Whole House Bonus – (Available for • Rebates of up to $500/ton on Air Source • Wood stove Change-out program: https:// energy storage capacity in addition to the qualified heat pump applications that and Geothermal Heat Pumps. Rebates of www.masscec.com/commonwealth-wood- current NY-Sun solar incentive. https:// offset 80% or more of the total heat load. $500 - $750 on Heat Pump Water Heaters. stove-change-out on.ny.gov/2FvS6L1 Rebates of $100 on WiFi Thermostats Two years of fuel use history is required ) HEATING PROGRAMS Community Solar $250 per ton • Program details and application at www. This info may have been updated. Ck website. • http://bit.ly/NY-sun-Community ENERGY STAR Heat Pump Water NHSaves.com/heating cooling • The Commonwealth Woodstove Change- Heater – (Must meet or exceed 2.3 energy Commercial/Industrial PV Installer Out program, a partnership between • http://ny-sun.ny.gov/For-Local-Govern- factor ) $750 rebate on 50 gallon or greater Other NH Electric Utility Programs MassCEC, the Massachusetts Department of ment/Local-Government Load Buy down – NHEC provides interest See also individual utilities for additional Environmental Protection and the Depart- subsides through participating banks and programs and variations. NH electric util- ment of Energy Resources, offers rebates to Residential/Small Commercial ities may offer low or no interest on-bill credit unions for the installation of assist Massachusetts residents in replacing Solar PV Installer qualified heat pump installations. Must get financing for energy efficiency projects. non-EPA-certified wood stoves with cleaner, pre-qualified. Loans up to $15,000 after • Visit www.NHSaves.com/resource/ for • http://ny-sun.ny.gov/Get-Solar/Find-A- more efficient EPA-certified wood or pellet Solar-Electric-Installer rebate. individual utility contact information. stoves. Woodstove Program Info: http://bit.ly/ NH Home Performance with Business Programs mass-cec-woodstoves Financing Options ENERGY STAR Includes programs for: small and large busi- • Heat Loan info: http://bit.ly/mass-save-heat-loan • http://bit.ly/NY-Sun-Financing Sponsored by all NH electric and natural ness, new equipment and construction, • Insulation Incentives: http://bit.ly/mass- Clean Power Estimator gas utilities in partnership by the U.S. Dept. seminars, lighting incentives, and catalog, saves-home-insulation • http://bit.ly/NYSUN-power-estim and low and no interest financing programs. of Energy. Fuel-blind eligibility using the ELECTRIC VEHICLES Geothermal • Visit www.NHSaves.com/ for informa- This info may have been updated. Ck websit3: Home Heating Index (BTUs of heating fuel • rebate of $1500 per ton of installed ca- / conditioned square feet / heating degree tion about NH business incentives for https://mor-ev.org/ electricity efficiency. pacity for residential/small-scale systems, days). Must provide at least 12 months of $1,200 per ton for commercial/large-scale heating fuel history. Once qualified, eli- NH Weatherization Assistance systems up to $5000 gible homes get a $450 value compre- NEW YORK hensive energy audit for $100 (rebated if Income-Eligible Programs Electric car improvements installed), and 50% instant Home Energy Assistance and NH commu- RENEWABLE ENERGY INCENTIVES • buyers in New York State can now get rebate for eligible weatherization improve- nity action Weatherization Assistance Pro- a rebate of up to $2,000 on qualifying EV ments up to a $4,000. gram. Financial assistance paying fuel bills, OFFERED THROUGH NYSERDA models from participating dealers. See • Visit www.NHSaves.com/HPWES for and free weatherization improvements Welcome to the New York solar incentive https://on.ny.gov/2Rd14zL more information and an online Home for qualified applicants. Funding from U.S. and rebate information: 169 programs • Charge Ready NY: $4,000/installed Heating Index calculator Dept. of Energy, NH utilities. and incentives at: http://dsireusa.org (enter Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) charging Visit https://www.nh.gov/weatherization. your zipcode) Programs and Services from stations for public, workplace, and multi- NH ENERGY STAR Homes htm for application criteria, FAQs and local NYSERDA: For the latest NYSERDA solar, unit dwelling stations. http://bit.ly/Char- • Incentives for new homes which meet program contacts ground source and air source heat pumps, geReadyNY. ENERGY STAR guidelines. Incentives include EV residential and commercial incentives Utility sponsored incentives & tips: • HERS rating fees paid by the utility, rebates and more visit: nyserda.ny.gov/All- for ENERGY STAR lighting, appliances –up to MASSACHUSETTS Programs. http://bit.ly/utility_sponsored_incentives $4,000 based on the HERS score. NYSERDA currently has a $1,500 per ton • Visit www.NHSaves.com/newhome for Commonwealth Solar Hot Water Clean Energy on Farms incentive on geothermal for residential more details. (SHW) Programs • $19 Million Available to Accelerate • Visit http://www.masscec.com/shw systems (<10tons) and $1,200 per ton for the Use of Clean Energy Technologies On NHSaves Residential ENERGY STAR ® commercial (>10 ton) systems. MassSave Heat Loan SHW Farms. Learn more at: http://bit.ly/NYSER- certified Products Program More info available at: https://scoophvac. DA-Farm-Clean-Energy. • Mail-in/online rebates are available Through this loan program, customers may com/2019/11/01/rebates-ashp/ toward the purchase of the following borrow at 0% interest the costs of a Solar EV Incentive from National Grid National Grid ENERGY STAR® certified products: Clothes Domestic Hot Water and/or Thermal Heating • National Grid savings for customers, system. Apply through receiving the Mass- National Grid, in partnership with BMW, is http://bit.ly/Thanks-For-Saving-Energy Washers, Clothes Dryers, Room Air Condition- bringing eligible customers an incentive on ers, Room Air Purifiers, Refrigerators, Save Energy Audit. . • For more utility rebates google the utility a BMW i3 or BMW i3s EV. Form is at https:// name and search for rebates. Dehumidifiers, and Pool Pumps. For current Energy Efficiency www.NG-BMWi3. rebate information and forms go to www. • Visit www.masssave.com/residential-pro- • Energy Rebates: https://NG-energy- NHSaves.com/appliances. gram.. Please call 866-527-7283 to schedule a rebates UP-TO-DATE INCENTIVE INFO • Refrigerator/freezer recycling is available free home energy assessment. CAN BE FOUND AT: – unit must be in working condition (10 – 30 Heat Pumps Mass. Solar loan Program $1000 per ton NYSERDA incentive. WWW.DSIREUSA.ORG cubic feet in size), program includes free Mass Solar Loan focuses on connecting 16 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 Renewable Energy Solutions The Woodlands Saves with Solar Anonymous $500,000 Gift Funds 179kW Solar System for Alice Peck Day Lifecare

important project,” she residents had great questions and good added. feedback along the way. They really The grid-tied system appreciate this sustainable gift of locally was installed by ReVision generated electricity.” Energy, an employee- The solar array at The Woodlands: owned, certified B Corp • Consists of 511 photovoltaic panels with locations in Maine, with a maximum output of 350 watts New Hampshire, and per panel. They come with a 25-year Massachusetts. warranty and an expected useful “Although our region lifespan of 40-plus years. is known as northern • Is expected to generate more than New England, it’s worth 205,000 kilowatt hours of clean, noting that we are actu- renewable electricity per year for the ally at the same latitude next 40-plus years while offsetting more as sunny places like the than 220,000 pounds of carbon French Riviera,” said Phil pollution from regional fossil fuel power Coupe, co-founder of plants each year. This is equivalent to ReVision Energy. “In fact, eliminating the carbon pollution from a solar array in Lebanon, burning 159,700 pounds of coal or New Hampshire, will 14,200 gallons of gasoline each year for generate roughly the the next four decades. same amount of electric- ity each year as an array • Will offset the equivalent of 360,000 in Houston, Texas. This miles driven in a combustion engine means that APD Lifec- car. This is the same amount of CO2 are will derive a strong sequestered each year in 189 acres of economic and environ- our northern forest. mental return on its solar Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital Alice Peck Day Lifecare (APD) is powered by their new solar system. Courtesy photo from Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital. investment by reducing (APD) has been a non-profit, communi- utility costs and eliminat- ty-based health care organization since Due to the generosity of an anony- parent organization for The Woodlands. ing 110 tons of carbon pollution each 1932. They joined the Dartmouth-Hitch- mous donor, Alice Peck Day (APD) “We expect to save about $25,000 a year year,” he added. cock Health system in 2016. APD also in- Lifecare has installed a 179kW rooftop on our electricity costs and our resi- Kimberley Quirk, Branch Manager cludes APD Lifecare, a non-profit senior solar system at The Woodlands inde- dents really enjoy knowing we are using for the Enfield office of ReVision Energy living community with two facilities pendent living community in Lebanon, renewable energy. It just feels great to be knows many of the residents of Wood- that support more than 150 residents New Hampshire. green; that’s a real passion for many of lands and helped with the design of the in assisted and independent living. Visit “We’re overjoyed by what this gener- our residents. The Woodlands is home to solar array and provided information and AlicePeckDay.org and APDLifecare.org ous donor has made possible. This solar people who care about the environment question-and-answer sessions during for more information. array will contribute to our electricity and who make good things happen. Our the installation. “It was exciting to work usage with power from the sun for years anonymous donor feels the same way. As on this project from early conception into the future,” said Cindy Jerome, a tree-hugger myself, I’m delighted that almost a year ago to final installation Many thanks executive director of APD Lifecare, the Woodlands residents led the way in this and commissioning. The Woodlands to our sponsor: Energy ‘Target Fixation’ David Blittersdorf able. I occasionally feel that it will be This essay impossible for our society to embrace originally ran change at the rate required to make this in Green En- transition, but, nevertheless, I feel the ergy Times in need to keep on talking about it. October 2011. So, at the risk of sounding like a Not much has street-corner prophet of the apoca- changed in lypse, I’m here to say: The end is near. nine years. But Or at least the end of the status quo as as I write this we’ve come to know it. The era of in- brief introduc- credibly cheap fossil fuels is over. They tory paragraph in mid-March 2020, are expensive to mine and move, not there is a massive change underway only financially but environmentally. as the “Black Swan” event of COVID-19 For hundreds of years, since the start of crashes our bubble economy, forcing the coal-powered Industrial Revolution the shale oil and gas industry to go in the 1700s, these fuels have enabled This cartoon by Leah Wittenberg from the original article in Green Energy Times in October, 2011. bankrupt. The CO2 crisis increasingly us to create the most complex, energy- threatens human survival, and we need intensive society the world has ever to do better with our time and money experienced. But all of this is drawing use of oil counts for more than 50% of the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North going forward. to a close, or a big change. I know it in our total energy consumption. Rather Carolina. I took off and kept looking my gut, and I’m sure you feel it too – the than thinking of how to reduce energy at a parked hang glider to my left in “I’m feeling sad today, although I future of energy is the defining issue consumption and come up with other the landing zone with the intent to am usually a happy and optimistic of our age. Meanwhile, our leaders are ways of living and working, it has been avoid it. I kept looking at that glider. person. For many years, I have had mired in aging systems, floundering easier the past decade and more to go Looking. Looking. I hoped to land a vision for humanity’s future in a as they try to prop up our economic along with a flawed idea of how to fix away from it. But guess what? I ended world with real, physical limits to system by depleting our finite energy our finances and spend more on mean- up crash-landing right into it. The growth and energy consumption. The sources with imaginary money. ingless stuff as a way to grow our way lesson in this case was to avoid mis- problem is that getting there requires Our economic and financial system out of our economic problems. But, all takenly fixing on the wrong destina- a paradigm shift, a major change in was conceived and runs on the assump- of this is just happy hour, the last round tion, because you always will go – or how we operate. The status quo has tion of infinite resources, but we are at of a carefree party before we hit the fly – right where you are looking. As got to go. What has worked for the a decision point regarding energy. Our unyielding brick wall of resource limits. a society, we’re experiencing “target past few centuries no longer works, #1 fossil fuel in usage and in practical It hurts when you run into an unyield- fixation” on a grand scale. We are now that it has become clear that fos- value is oil. Over 40% of the world’s en- ing object at full speed. I discovered this looking at – and fixating on – fossil sil and nuclear fuels are not sustain- ergy usage is of extracted oil. Vermont’s when I was learning to hang glide on and nuclear energy as the Cont’d on p.17 Renewable Energy Solutions WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 March 2020 17 21 Large-Scale Renewable Energy Projects Slated for NYS Governor Cuomo announces details for 21 large-scale renewable energy projects to provide clean, affordable energy for New Yorkers Governor Andrew M. Cuomo • Sandy Creek Solar: Boralex will build unveiled the details of the awards for a 19.99-MW solar facility in Adams and 21 large-scale solar, wind, and energy Ellisburg. storage projects in upstate New • Greens Corners Solar: Boralex will York, with a total capacity of 1,278 build a 120-MW solar facility in megawatts (MW). These projects will Hounsfield and Watertown. spur over $2.5 billion in investments • SunEast Fairway Solar: SunEast and create over 2,000 short-term and Development will build a 19.99-MW long-term jobs. The awards accelerate solar facility in Oswegatchie. progress towards Governor Cuomo’s Green New Deal goal to have 70% Southern Tier of the state’s electricity to be from • Cohocton Wind Project: TerraForm renewable sources by 2030 and 100% Power will repower an existing wind carbon-free by 2040. farm, leading to an increase in new “New York continues to be a leader renewable capacity of 35.8 MW in in developing large-scale renewable Cohocton. energy projects in a way that brings • Prattsburgh Wind Farm: Terra-Gen significant economic benefits and will build a 145-MW wind farm in jobs to the state,” Governor Cuomo Avoca, Cohocton, Prattsburgh, and said. “With these projects we will Wheeler. build on our aggressive strategy to • SunEast Valley Solar: SunEast combat climate change and lay a Development will build a 19.99-MW foundation for a more sustainable solar facility in Owego. future for all New Yorkers.” Western New York Expected to generate over 2.5 • Martin Rd Solar: Empire Renewables, million megawatt-hours (MWh) of LLC will build a 19.99-MW solar facility renewable energy annually, the proj- in Machias and Yorkshire. ects will provide enough electricity Bliss wind farm in New York. Photo: Windtech at English Wikipedia. https://bit.ly/2JgIrIZ for over 350,000 homes and reduce • South Ripley Solar and Storage: carbon emissions by more than 1.3 ConnectGen will build a 270-MW solar of NYSERDA’s solicitation, proposers 21 projects will be required to commit million metric tons annually, equiva- facility, accompanied by 20 MW of underwent a rigorous review process to to ensuring that workers associated with lent to taking nearly 300,000 cars off energy storage, in Ripley. ensure that they have effective commu- the construction of projects are paid a the road. Awards went to projects nity outreach programs and responsible prevailing wage, as required by the New • Steel Winds Wind Farm: TerraForm that offered bids 23% lower than siting practices. NYSERDA will continue York State Department of Labor. Power will repower an existing wind those received three years ago, high- to work with developers, State agencies, The weighted average award price for farm, leading to an increase in new lighting the continuing significant and stakeholders to ensure that the State this solicitation is $18.59 per MWh over renewable capacity of 4.8 MW in cost declines of renewable energy. can achieve its clean energy goals while the 20-year term of the contracts. It is Lackawanna. Today’s awards are the third in a protecting important agricultural land the lowest average award price resulting • Steel Winds Wind Farm 2: TerraForm series of annual land-based renew- and critical environmental resources. from a NYSERDA large-scale renewables Power will repower an existing wind able procurements by the New York As the state continues progress to- solicitation. farm, leading to an increase in new State Energy Research and Develop- wards the 2030 renewable energy target, The 21 large-scale renewable energy renewable capacity of 2.6 MW in ment Authority (NYSERDA). They it will emphasize engagement with the projects (listed by region) are: Lackawanna and Hamburg. are expected to enable dozens of communities where projects are being large-scale renewable energy proj- Capital Region NYSERDA will issue the next solicita- developed. In order to assist communi- tion for large-scale renewable energy ects over the coming decade. In three ties, NYSERDA will also continue to offer • Bald Mountain Solar: Boralex will build consecutive years, NYSERDA has a 19.99-MW solar facility in Greenwich. under the Clean Energy Standard by resources and no-cost technical as- Earth Day, 2020. Maintaining a predict- awarded over 67 projects since 2018, sistance to the state’s cities, towns, and • West River Solar: Boralex will build a demonstrating the most significant able pace of annual solicitations for villages. 19.99-MW solar facility in Moreau. renewable energy will support con- State commitment to renewables in Among the projects are 17 large-scale • SunEast Hilltop Solar: SunEast Devel- the nation. tinued development and investment solar projects. Four wind projects re- opment will build a 19.99-MW solar interest in New York State. All of the projects are expected to ceived awards, including three upgrades facility in Schaghticoke. be operational by 2024. NYSERDA In February, Governor Cuomo to existing projects and one new project. Central New York payments under these awards will proposed the Accelerated Renew- Two solar projects will include energy able Energy Growth and Community not commence until projects are storage to enhance grid integration, sup- • Garnet Energy Center: NextEra Energy permitted, locally approved, and Resources will build a 200-MW solar Benefit Act (the Act) to greatly speed porting the State’s nation-leading goal to up permitting and construction for in commercial operation. As part install 3,000 MW of storage by 2030. All facility, accompanied by 20 MW of energy storage, in Conquest. renewable energy project. Under the Finger Lakes Act, a new Office of Renewable Energy • Highview Solar Project: SunEast Permitting will be created to improve Development will build a 20-MW solar and streamline the process for environ- Energy ‘Target Fixation’– Cont’d from p.16 facility in Castile. mentally responsible and cost-effective Mohawk Valley siting of large-scale renewable energy only viable energy sources. We are ar are mad as hell. But that’s OK. We are projects in New York. Additionally, the not scanning the horizon and seeing almost at the tipping point of dramatic • SunEast Flat Hill Solar: SunEast Act would also create NYSERDA’s Clean the big picture on energy. change. I have been saddened by the Development will build a 19.99-MW solar Energy Resources Development and The conventional wisdom in persistence of the status quo, but I am facility in Manheim. Incentives Program to rapidly advance energy is the status quo, fossil fuels also heartened by the collective will of • SunEast Grassy Knoll Solar: SunEast development brownfields, landfills, and nuclear power, and we keep everyone who is becoming educated Development will build a 19.99-MW solar former industrial sites, and abandoned trying to make these sources work about energy issues and becoming facility in Manheim. or underutilized sites. NYSERDA, in because it’s all we see. We need to connected with a movement to change • SunEast Limestone Solar: SunEast consultation with the Empire State look away from what we’re familiar the way our world runs, and the type of Development will build a 19.99-MW solar Development Corporation and other with, scan for other seriously viable energy it runs on.” facility in Perth. agencies, will immediately begin pur- possibilities and then move towards David Blittersdorf is an entrepreneur • SunEast Tabletop Solar: SunEast suing site control and pre-construction them, innovating along the way. and engineer from Vermont with Development will build an 80-MW solar development activities for potential In my opinion, our situation calls nearly four decades of experience as an facility in Palatine. new renewable energy projects. Once for serious and immediate efforts sites are fully permitted and devel- innovative leader in the wind and solar North Country toward energy conservation, energy oped, NYSERDA will competitively energy industry. Blittersdorf founded NRG • ELP Ticonderoga Solar: East Light efficiency and renewables. It will not Systems in 1982 and AllEarth Renewables auction the developed sites, bundled always be comfortable. By insisting Partners will build a 19.99-MW solar with contracts for renewable energy in 2004. AllEarth Renewables is dedicated facility in Ticonderoga. on this need for serious change and to bringing clean, renewable energy to payments, for private developers to trying to implement it, I and many businesses, farms, municipalities and • North Side Energy Center: NextEra construct and operate projects. Under others are upsetting a lot of people. homeowners to help lessen our nation’s Energy Resources will build a 180-MW the Act, renewable energy project Opponents to wind and solar, and dependence on fossil fuels and reduce solar facility in Brasher, Massena, and applications will be acted upon within supporters of oil, gas, coal and nucle- greenhouse gas emissions. Norfolk. one year, with certain exceptions. Ecological Sustainability as the New Gold For Ecological Transformation

18 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 BUSINESS & ENERGY SOLUTIONS THE HIGH COST OF ICICLES Lori Barg with an extra sweater energy and using some of those Decades ago my or a hat, it’s “hat, slip- savings to pay for the work that friend Dana Mead- pers and a scarf” for was done. PAYS is a functional ows wrote: “Imag- your house: cellulose program that has been adopted in ine the whole in attics, air-sealing, eight states and 18 utility districts. world with no one insulating band joists. Rural, low-income communities living in dire need. I hear people say have tripled weatherization rates Think how it would “we don’t have the using PAYS and 100% of low-income feel to be part workforce to do multi-family units use PAYS. of a society that 70,000 houses in the Two steps to reduce icicles and had taken on and next four years.” The save the planet: solved, perma- answer is training the Step 1: Contact your utility and nently, the prob- workforce through a ask them to open a docket in front lem of hunger”. professional certifica- of the PUC to adopt a PAYS tar- need a This can relate to tion program. iff which would set up a program other issues such The technical that could apply to all utilities and word?>> as climate change, schools can certify ensure quality control. PAYS is affordable housing; and professionally recommended on page 47 of Ver- helping students train students with mont’s report, “To the Vermont State learn marketable programs approved Legislature Act 62– Preliminary Re- job skills through by the National Center port on All-Fuels Energy Efficiency” professional certi- for Construction Edu- which states we need $350 million fication programs, cation and Research to weatherize 50,000 of Vermont’s saving energy and (NCCER) or Building Image: Flickr/The B’s 250,000 homes. No legislationMilford is money and get- Performance Institute needed.Did The not money pass comes from ting to know your (BPI) or similar cer- wastingDid less not energy. pass No newNewbury taxes! neighbors. money and the earth. Then, imagine tificate of proficiency. After four years Step 2: Contact the technical Imagine over the next four years the thirty-five million people living in of being paid to help their neighbors, schoolsDid notand pass ask 28-32for programsRumney for we certify, train and hire one out New England and New York and the 14 offer students certification and op- certification and training in weath- of twelve students (tenth grade to million houses that they live in. Ver- portunities for additional career paths erization.Did not Vermontpass 538-749 is alreadyRindge work- seniors in college, about 3,000 stu- monters spend about a billion dollars a in sustainable building performance, ing to develop a certificate program dents in Vermont) to work in teams year on fossil fuels for heating. Imagine HVAC, windows and doors, building Did not pass 645-787 New Boston NASA imageto address climate change (see page part-time, 750 hours a year, with a filling your gas tank on your car with construction, wiring, plumbing, and 22 in this issue). Bow four-year commitment. Each team 20% spilled on the ground. Crazy, right? welding. Did not pass 85-88 Source links available on the G.E.T. would insulate fifteen houses a year But that is what we are doing with our Where does the money come from? Passed Exeter for a total of sixty houses per team buildings today! Luckily, there is a proven system website. over four years. This results in a grand Is this idea for an initiative perfect? called Pay as You Save (PAYS) in which Lori BargPassed is a builder, geologistWilton total of 15,000 houses a year. Each Nope. every renter and homeowner can and hydroelectric developer. Her house in Vermont burns an average Is it realistic, affordable and proven? participate without needing a loan or new patentPassed for a modular, enviPlymouth- of 650 gallons of fossil fuel a year and ronmentally- friendly hydroelectric Yes. Weatherization brings a return of taking on debt. To learn more watch Bartlett could save about 130 gallons each $1.83 for every $1 spent and a com- “How your electric utility can improve system couldPassed power some of the year! bined return of $2.69 including non- your home’s energy efficiency” at www. 80,000 existingPassed unpowered damsAndover in Each gallon not burned keeps energy related benefits. youtube.com/home-efficiency.be. the U.S. (The U.S. has only ~2,000 about twenty pounds of carbon out Basic weatherization is proven. In- PAYS works because every month hydroelectricPassed sites, about theMeredith same as of the atmosphere and saves energy, stead of walking around in your house participants are saving money and tiny Sweden). Passed New London

Passed Cornish A Climate Pollution Resolution Passed Sutton tists, and politicians from both parties. Cont’d from p.3 Milford This solution has three-parts: Did not pass Passed Bridgewater pricing to help inform the public and 1. Charge producers and importers of Newbury Mont Vernon enable legislators to use the most Did not pass Passed Cont’d from p.9 coal, oil, and natural gas a steadily powerful lever available to reduce increasing fee based on their climate Did not pass 28-32 Rumney Passed (until today, 3/12, climate pollution. State Representa- we did not know we had a pollution. The fee starts at $15/tCO2e Rindge tive Robert Backus, chairman of the emitted and increases by $10 each year; Did not pass 538-749 C3 town champion here!) Barrington NH House Science, Technology, and 2. Give all the money collected (net) New Boston Did not pass 645-787 Passed 100-3 Jackson Energy Committee, commended this back to all households on an equal basis Bow grassroots effort: each month by direct deposit, benefits Did not pass 85-88 Passed 1294-1185 Windham We are strongly encouraged by card, or a check; and Passed Exeter Passed 1592-1187 Londonderry efforts to bring the climate issue 3. Use border carbon adjustments in trade with other countries to protect US Wilton before town meeting voters this Passed Passed 200+ to 4 Holderness jobs and push our carbon price around spring through petitioned warrant the world. Passed Plymouth Madbury articles. As the public becomes more Passed 39-33 Independent studies identify many engaged in the climate crisis and Passed Bartlett co-benefits of returning all the money Passed 60-20 Marlborough more informed on the issue of car- collected back to households. This is not Passed Andover Eaton bon pricing, we are confident that Passed 60% yes an income redistribution scheme–there approach will be recognized as the Passed Meredith is no means-testing. Everyone pays for Passed 70% yes Hillsborough most effective way to reduce carbon their own pollution, and everyone is Passed New London pollution. Passed, amended compensated equally for the costs and Campton Passed Cornish warrant The energy market currently fails harm done to them from all the pol- to account for the costs of using lution. This has a highly progressive Passed Sutton fossil fuels in their price. Economists effect: everyone with a smaller than legislation to address the costs and envi- Passed Bridgewater favor leveling the playing field by average carbon footprint receives more piece by giving voters an easy way to ronmental risks of climate pollution. Economists say cash-back carbon pric- putting the price of pollution into money in their cash-back dividend than ask their electedPassed representativesMont Vernon to the cost of producing and import- they pay in higher prices due to the address the main cause of the problem ing is an effective, fair, and beneficial ing fossil fuels to let efficient market fee, which includes most low-income withPassed an approach(until today, that 3/12, benefits them. way to reduce climate pollution. New we did not know we had a forces reduce that pollution. households. Hampshire voters agree. C3The town select champion boards here!) of towns Barrington that vote A bipartisan cash-back carbon The delay in passing effective climate “yes” are directed to notify their State John Gage is the New Hampshire State pricing policy called Carbon Fee and change legislation is due to a lack of Legislators,Passed Governor, 100-3 CongressionalJackson Coordinator for Citizens’ Climate Lobby Dividend was created ten years ago political will. The New Hampshire reso- Delegation,Passed 1294-1185 and the PresidentWindham that their and a member of the Steering Committee by leading economists, climate scien- lution directly addresses that missing town wants Carbon Fee and Dividend for the Carbon Cash-Back Coalition. Passed 1592-1187 Londonderry

Passed 200+ to 4 Holderness

Passed 39-33 Madbury

Passed 60-20 Marlborough

Passed 60% yes Eaton

Passed 70% yes Hillsborough

Passed, amended warrant Campton 2019 Vermont Clean Energy Report Identifies a Maturing Clean Energy Cluster

BUSINESS & ENERGY SOLUTIONS WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 March 2020 19 SUSTAINABILITY-ORIENTED INVESTING Informing mainstream investment strategies, or a do-gooder niche? EarthTalk® From the Editors of E – The Environmental Magazine It wasn’t long ago that Rock recently announced a so-called “triple bottom sweeping new set of policies line” investing—factor- aimed at making sustainability ing in not just financial the “new standard for invest- returns but also social and ing.” The firm plans to launch environmental impacts— new active and passively- was purely the domain of managed SRI-based funds in a small set of outliers will- the short term and will look ing to forego profits for into other ways to align the the sake of proving that rest of its investments accord- investing could be used ing to its investors’ increasingly as a tool to drive change. pro-environment values. Just two decades ago, the Environmental advocates only real way to have an are glad to hear about Black- eco-friendly investment Rock’s plans, especially given portfolio would be to put the need for the private sector your money with one to step in and take an active of a handful of mutual role in carbon drawdown in funds focused on “socially absence of federal action. Ben Community Power New Hampshire responsible investing” Al Gore’s Generation Investment Management is one of the firms that has revolutionized Cushing of the non-profit Si- Cont’d from p.11 (SRI)—or research and investing by showing what good returns sustainability-oriented investments can yield. erra Club considers BlackRock’s invest in often speculative Credit: Katja Timm (VCU CNS), FlickrCC. shift“ a major step in the right to the most effective operating model, and individual “green” compa- direction and a testament to how CPNH may expand in-house expertise nies directly. ing. The lesson is that those companies the power of public pressure calling for and operational functionality overtime. But in intervening years, many inves- prepared for and even poised to profit climate action.” Community Engagement tors’ perspectives have changed. It from a warmer future are most likely to But he would like to see BlackRock— turns out that “green” investments are succeed. still the world’s largest investor in coal, New Hampshire is home to roughly 70 not only safer than their conventional A 2019 report by BlackRock, the world’s oil, and gas—go a giant step further and local energy committees. Many of those counterparts given the actuarial risks largest investment firm with more than disinvest entirely from fossil fuels. “Black- communities, and many more still, are look- of rampant climate change, but they $7 trillion under management, confirms Rock should expand on its commitments ing for a pathway to make use of Commu- also tend to perform better. Genera- what GIM’s founders claimed all along: and other financial institutions should nity Power. Through partners such as the tion Investment Management (GIM), Going green pays. Not only has funding follow suit.” NH Municipal Association and Clean Energy founded in 2004 by former Vice Presi- and investment in the environmental, Contacts: GIM, generationim.com; NH, we hope to maintain active commu- dent Al Gore and ex-Goldman Sachs social and governance (ESG) space almost BlackRock report, blackrock.com/corporate/ nication with our counterparts across the exec David Blood, was one of the first doubled over the last five years, but these insights/blackrock-investment-institute/ well-heeled firms devoted exclusively investments outperformed non-ESG bets publications/sustainability-the-future-of- state who may wish to stay informed and to sustainable investing—and shocked overall. ESG-focused equity benchmarks investing. supportive of our efforts. Working with analysts 10 years in by how profitable in the U.S. yielded an annual return of 14.5 EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer regional planning commissions, we will they were. GIM’s 12.1 percent annual percent, compared with 14.4 percent for & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit develop toolkits and templates to enable average increase over its first decade non-ESG investments. Meanwhile, glob- EarthTalk. See more at https://emagazine. speedy adoption of Community Power ranked it second in profitability of over ally ESG-based investments also bested com. Send questions to: question@ programs across the state. 200 competitors, including many of the non-ESG antes 8.1 percent to 7.7 percent. earthtalk.org. biggest names in conventional invest- Perhaps this new reality is why Black- We will maintain information about progress of the CPNH on nhenergy.org, and will host a Community Power Summit on Friday, June 5, 2020 to prepare municipali- ties for implementation (save the date!). The aspirational timeline we have set for THE UNITED STATES’ BIGGEST BANK, JPMORGAN CHASE, ourselves envisions a launch of initial Com- munity Power programs through CPNH WILL NOT FUND ARCTIC REFUGE DRILLING later in 2020 or early in 2021. JPMorgan Chase, The Community Power law presents America’s biggest bank, energy for all of its needs an enormous opportunity for our lo- has committed to not by the end of this year. cal governments to take control of our fund drilling in the Arctic It also plans to phase National Wildlife Refuge! out all existing and future energy futures. We believe that CPNH is the The bank’s updated loans to companies that pathway to seizing that opportunity, and energy policy rules out get the majority of their we invite other communities to join us and financing for new oil and revenue from coal mining strengthen our efforts. gas drilling in the Arctic, by 2024.” including the refuge. Some reviews have Community Power NH Members: “The Trump adminis- commented that this Town of Bristol: Paul Bemis, Bristol Energy tration is pulling out all commitment does not Committee; Town of Harrisville: Mary Day the stops to sell off our restrict oil and gas financ- Mordecai and Ned Hulbert, Planning Board homelands for drilling, ing outside the Arctic. The Town of Hanover: Julia Griffin, Town Manager so big banks have a criti- Hill article authors noted and April Salas, Sustainability Director cal role to play in either that, ”Three of the top ten supporting the destruc- coal mines in the world, by City of Lebanon: Clifton Below, Assistant tion of this sacred place annual production, could Mayor and Tad Montgomery, Energy and Polar bear in the Arctic. Image: oceantoday.noaa.gov. or keeping it protected,” still be financed under this Facilities Manager; City of Nashua: Doria said Bernadette Demien- policy”. Brown, Energy Manager; Cheshire County: tieff, Executive Director of the Gwich’in December, as well as more than a dozen When the world’s worst fossil-fuel Rod Bouchard, Assistant County Administra- Steering Committee. “We’re glad to see global banks. Sadly, other major banks banker will not fund the toxic Arctic Ref- tor/ Special Projects and Strategic Initiatives. America’s largest bank recognize that have yet to make a commitment to the uge drilling, it certainly puts pressure on the Arctic Refuge is no place for drilling, Gwich’in and the Arctic Refuge. Let’s get other big banks and financial institutions Supporting Partners: and we hope that soon other banks and Citi Bank of America, Wells Fargo and like Wells Fargo, Citi, Morgan Stanley and Monadnock Sustainability Hub: Dori Bank of America. the oil companies they fund will follow Morgan Stanley to drop Arctic drilling, Drachmann, Co-founder; Dartmouth College along.” too! Read more and take action to keep the Thayer School of Engineering: Dr. Amro M. This is just the latest major institution On February 24, 2020, an article in The pressure up on other big banks to follow walking away from the bad business of Hill, by John Bowden and Rachel Frazin suit. Sign the petition, send a tweet, Farid; Community Choice Partners: Samuel drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife stated, “This follows the bank’s 2017 com- and refer your friends to get involved at Golding; Rockingham Planning Commis- Refuge. Chase’s announcement follows mitments to facilitate $200 billion in clean https://thehill.com/jp-morgan-chase- sion: Jill Longval; Clean Energy NH: Henry a similar move by Goldman Sachs in energy financing and source renewable stops-fossil-fuel-loans. Herndon

Trouble Ahead for Natural Gas? Cont’d from p.3 20 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG Earth Day is Every Day with ‘Green Energy Times’!

The first Earth Day came less than four Many thanks to our sponsor: months later, on April 22, 1970. It was Celebrating Earth Day! originally conceived as a teach-in event for from laundro- schools and colleges. With Hayes’ organiza- “We have met mat wastewa- tional skills, it was observed at about two ter floating on thousand colleges and universities, and the enemy and a river. What possibly ten thousand other schools, in was out of this country. However Earth Day was not exclusively After the first Earth Day, Denis Hayes he is us.” sight could be continued to spend time organizing much worse. tied to schools. In fact, Richard and Pat – From a Pogo cartoon Nixon celebrated the first Earth Day by it. He founded the Earth Day Network A few years to coordinate activities internation- that appeared earlier, the planting a tree on the White House lawn. While the Nixons’ yard work was reported ally, and under his guidance, the event on the first Earth Day. waterways had expanded to be observed in well been sources of by media, it was very much overshadowed George Harvey in the news by large demonstrations over a hundred countries. Since 1992, drinking water Hayes has been president of the Bullitt The first Earth Day hap- and food. Air pressing for action to protect the environ- ment. In New York, Mayor Lindsay closed Foundation in Seattle, Washington. pened on April 22, 1970. pollution was He sponsored and oversaw the design It was originally viewed even worse down Fifth Avenue. There were other large events in Philadelphia and elsewhere. and construction of The Bullitt Center, as a teach-in about en- than that. the world’s first solar-powered, energy- vironmental issues that The idea of Work on both sides of the aisle in congress to protect the environment did positive, multi-story office building. The would happen across a day devoted International Living Futures Institute college campuses in the to issues of not end after the first Earth Day. Presi- dent Nixon proposed the establishment certified it as a “Living Building.” As we United States. It quickly clean air and approach the fiftieth Earth Day, Hayes became much more than water was be- of the Environmental Protection Agency, Senator Gaylord Nelson. Photo: Fritz Albert and then created it by executive order in continues to be active in environmental that. ing floated by and energy policy worldwide. To understand the history of the several people. Leaders in congress and December of 1970. It was later ratified by event, it is important to take context in states looked into ways to protect the congress. Earth Day is now celebrated in 193 into account. This was not an issue of environment and human health and life. Turning of the Tide countries each April 22. You can learn Right versus Left or Republican versus Among them was a long-time conserva- Richard Nixon continued to support more at www.earthday.org. Democrat. It was an issue that appealed tionist and United States Senator from Wis- environmental measures while he was in Be sure to send in videos and pic- to people of all values and persuasions. consin, Gaylord Nelson, who first proposed office. He signed the Occupational Safety tures of how you are celebrating the Up until that time, there was little the idea of Earth Day in 1969. To organize and Health Act in December 1970, creating earth with your local media outlets control on pollution. Industry used the the day’s events on college campuses, he OSHA. While he vetoed the Clean Water and the Earth Day organizers! environment as their own dumping hired a young law student and budding Act in 1972, he did so because he Cont’d on p.21 >> ground and effluents of all sorts were environmentalist, Denis Hayes. objected to the amount of money simply dumped into rivers and streams. When Richard Nixon gave the State of allocated; his veto was overridden It was not uncommon to see soap suds the Union Address in January of 1970, he by both chambers of congress devoted about a third of the in October, 1972. He signed the speech to environmental Marine Mammal Protection Act in issues. One thing he said 1972 and the Endangered Species was this: “Restoring nature Act signed in 1973. to its natural state is a cause Senator Gaylord Nelson beyond party and beyond continued his environmental factions. It has become a activities after the first Earth Day. common cause of all the He summed up his position on the people of this country. environment, “The economy is a It is a cause of particular wholly owned subsidiary of the concern to young Ameri- environment, not the other way cans, because they more around.” After leaving the senate, than we will reap the grim he became counselor for The Wil- consequences of our failure derness Society. In 1995, he was to act on programs which awarded the Presidential Medal of Denis are needed now if we are to Freedom by President Clinton. He Planting a tree on the first Earth Day. White House photo office.

Hayes crosscut.com Photo: prevent disaster later.” died in 2005. Green Up Day Celebrates 50 Years of Success - and More to Come! Always the first Saturday Green Up will be adding new tive and achievable.” in May, Green Up Vermont ways to get involved includ- Green Up Vermont is a rallies thousands of vol- ing having a Green Up Scuba private non-profit 501(c)(3), unteers across the state Team in Lake Champlain and whose mission is to raise of Vermont to get outside by introducing the Swedish public awareness about a and clean up roadsides and activity of plogging (pick- litter-free environment, cul- waterways. It is a statewide ing up litter while jogging) minating with a statewide spring-cleaning of our beau- to Vermont. There is also a clean up event called Green tiful environment. Green Up Vermont app to track teams, Up Day. Green Up Vermont Vermont produces Green Up coverage, and events. relies on the generous sup- Day by providing 66,000 bright green Building on the success that the Green port of businesses, grants, trash bags that designate this civic day- Up Vermont brand has developed, the and individuals to fund the of-service. Contests and promotions are future of Green Up is strong. “We will be organization. Individuals also run in the months leading up to the implementing additional educational can choose to donate to Saturday event to remind people how programs to keep our youth engaged by Green Up Vermont on line important it is to take care of our envi- instilling a reinvigorated sense of pride 23, Charitable Tax Contribu- ronment and to participate on Green in not littering and taking care of our tion, on the Vermont State Up Day. state. We will also be getting out into the income tax return or donate Vermont is believed to have the old- community to raise awareness about the online. To learn how to stay est statewide yearly clean-up event in various good environmental practices involved and connected with the country. This year, Green Up Day people can do year-round to really make Green Up Vermont go to is on Saturday, May 30, 2020 and will an impact,” stated Kate Alberghini, Execu- www.greenupvermont.org be Green Up’s 50th anniversary. Over tive Director of Green Up Vermont. She and follow us on Facebook the years, Vermonters have picked up continued, “With a hyper-focus on climate and Instagram. thousands of tons of trash and saved change, Vermonters have really been Mark your calendars for taxpayers millions of dollars that would grassroots leaders for environmental the 50th Green Up Day! have otherwise been spent on clean-up health. With 50 years of committed effort Please note that the date crews. It is an activity that all residents, and more to come, I believe continuing has changed to Saturday, School activity of Greening Up in Chester, VT. Courtesy photo; bottom: businesses, and visitors can participate to shift the mindset of our youth to make May 30, 2020. in as well as benefit from. This year, further environmental impacts is impera- Clean-up efforts in Springfield, VT. Photo by Caitlin Christiana. Earth Day is Every Day with ‘Green Energy Times’! WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG March 2020 21 Fighting Climate Change with Trees in Bennington, VT Evan Lawrence EARTH DAY Miller said it could take “maybe 500.” As nature-based solu- Volunteers will plant “a carefully chosen tions to address climate ECO-CHALLENGE mix of hard and softwoods,” guided by change gain more and the succession of how the tree species se- April 1 - April 30, 2020 more attention, Climate quester carbon, she said. Softwoods grow earthday.ecochallenge.org Advocates Bennington and fix carbon faster but have relatively 350VT has set itself With our rapidly changing climate, short lives. Hardwoods grow more slowly the goal of planting at we will be facing more, not fewer dis- but live longer and take up much more least 1,000 trees in and ruptions of all kinds. Individual and carbon over their lifetimes. around the southwest- community resilience is the best de- The Vermont Veterans Home in Ben- ern Vermont town this fense. Let’s do both together in April. nington has expressed interest in being year. a site and is discussing details with the To celebrate the 50th anniversary of “The plan was group, Miller said. They’ve heard from Earth Day and to take action togeth- inspired by a report other landowners who are eager to par- er, even though we are apart, join the last July that found ticipate. Upper Valley team and make your ac- planting 2 billion trees Image: Wikimedia Commons/Todd Hatch (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) Corps (U.S. Army Hatch Commons/Todd Image: Wikimedia Climate Advocates is working with the tions count. could prevent the Bennington County Conservation District This year, there a number of actions worst effects of climate and the Vermont State Lands forester - that are specifically related to our cur- change,” said Climate Advocates mem on how much money the group raises, to determine which trees will grow best ber Naomi Miller. Reforestation groups rent crisis. There are also actions tai- Miller said. The first planting of six trees where, Miller said. The seedling trees have proposed planting 2 billion trees lored to our region, with more being will be a ceremonial Earth Day kick-off at will come from a local nursery, so that world-wide. Spurred by massive fires in - added soon. 2pm on Sunday April 19th at the Shafts carbon emissions from transportation are the Brazilian rain forest and Australia, bury homestead of Jonas Galusha, the fifth minimized. Miller inserted, “Our family is going the World Economic Forum in Davos in governor of Vermont. The project is not only about reforesta- to focus on eating lower on the food Other sites will probably be planted in January set a new goal of 1 trillion trees tion but also about building community chain and paying attention to our the fall. A privately owned farm in North (1t.org), or 128 trees for every person on and community resilience, Miller said. food waste and meal planning. What Bennington has committed one or two Earth. “You need no tree planting experience to might your family focus on?” acres, Miller said. The site is being reviewed How many trees go in the ground volunteer,” she said. around Bennington this year will depend for how many trees it can support, but Join the Upper Valley Climate Action To raise funds, Climate Advocates; 2020 team at earthday.ecochallenge. Bennington College; Queer Connect Inc., org and create community as we a local LGBTQ advocacy group; and Ver- practice habits that are good for the << Cont’d from p20 mont Arts Exchange planned to sponsor climate and for our health. a concert by folk singer and activist Holly Here are some interesting quotes from Let’s Take Action Together! the roots of the Earth Day fathers: Near on March 21 at Bennington College. Proceeds after expenses were to support Sign in and sign up at: “The fate of the living planet is the the tree planting project, but the concert earthday.ecochallenge.org. most important issue facing mankind” was canceled due to concerns about the — Gaylord Nelson. (www.azquotes.com/ coronavirus epidemic. Organizers hope to Submitted by Lyn Swett Miller. Evelyn is author/23810) reschedule for some time next year. a member of the Hanover Climate Action “I feel more confident than ever that For more information and to offer sup- Group. Contact : [email protected]. the power to save the planet rests with port, visit climateadvocatesbennington. the individual consumer” — Denis Hayes. org, Climate Advocates Bennington 350VT (www.azquotes.com/author/27085) on Facebook, or contact project coordina- “We shouldn’t fuel the future with the tor Barbara True-Weber at (802) 681-7236 polluting methods of the past, ... We have or [email protected]. Many the technology to power our future in ways The Bullitt Center in Seattle, Washington certified as thanks a “Living Building.” It was the world’s first solar-pow- Evan Lawrence is a free-lance writer in to our that don’t threaten our health or poison Cambridge, NY specializing in sustainability, AUTOMOBILE COMPANY ered, energy-positive, multi-story office building in sponsor: our planet. Let’s choose to use it” — Denis environmental, and health topics. Hayes. (www.azquotes.com/quote/718867) the world.

Time to Go Fishin’ children, so extra care should be taken precipitation, including its impacts.” trout to survive. But with a decline in the Cont’d from p.1 by those who are six or younger and by While higher precipitation can produce health of forests and a changing climate, pollution problems have been around women of child-bearing age. devastating impacts, especially for such there will be effects that will be harder a long time. We can think back to the The states have advisories, and it is good fish as brook trout, so can drought. These to predict on fishing. nineteenth century, when there was a to review these for your state. NH: http:// fish need cool water, where the levels of As for the future of fresh water fishing thriving commercial fishing fleet in Lake bit.ly/eat-fish-safely-nh, NY: http://bit.ly/ oxygen are high and their metabolisms in the Northeast, the changes brought Champlain. Overfishing and pollution eat-fish-safely-ny, and VT: http://bit.ly/eat- are not unduly increased. With heavy rain, about by a warming climate are far more did their work on that. But even here, fish-safely-vt. they can be washed down to water too obvious for land-dwelling animals, such the pollution is not as bad as it could be. Other pollutants are also of high con- warm for them. But in a drought situation, as moose, than for fish. Climate change PFAs are found in our food and water, cern today. One is PFAs, which seem to be they may not be able to get to cool water is here, and it is getting worse. but have not been shown to be bioaccu- everywhere. Another is from agricultural at all. “Being able to move is one factor of In the broader picture, salt water mulating in our fish, as yet. Microplastics runoff, which often contains phosphates climate change,” Palmer said. fishing is definitely changing as the seas have also appeared in the news. But which can lead to algae blooms and large When we asked about dams, he said warm. While declines in global catches they have not appeared in any alarming amounts of cyanobacteria in the water. they are only part of the problem. “In of salmon may suffer from habitat way in our fresh water fish, as yet. And there are such toxins as glyphosate Vermont, one of the main barriers to fish destruction and cod may suffer from There are some contaminants anglers (the active ingredient in products like movement is road crossings and culverts. overfishing, there are definitely changes should be aware of. Historically, our Roundup). They have to be built correctly, with the relating to carbon emissions and chang- waters were polluted by mercury emit- Having said all that, fishing is definitely right slope, orientation, and width, to ing climate. Ocean acidification due to ted by coal fires, largely in the Midwest, alive and well in the region. And locally accommodate sediment. Too steep or too dissolved carbon dioxide is reducing the and the methylmercury it produced is caught fish can be an important part of a shallow and they block fish movement ability of shellfish to produce shells. Lob- still in our waters. More modern pollut- healthy diet. entirely. Size, slope, and orientation are the ster harvests are reduced in southern ants include PCBs and others. Levels of Eric Palmer, Vermont’s Director of Fisher- issues.” areas as the location of densest popu- these contaminants vary widely among ies, told us a few things we did not know He also put focus on an issue most peo- lation is moving farther north. Some species of fish and different bodies of about fish in Vermont waters, including ple might not think about. A lot of the food ocean fish are also on the move, creating water. Some pollutants tend to ac- Lake Champlain. “When folks think of fish eat actually comes from the forest. He another set of environmental problems. cumulate in fish that are higher on the climate change, they think of warming said there is a saying, “Fish grow on trees.” But fresh-water fishing is still a great food chain, and bigger fish are likely to and the effects of warmer water on fish. It The trees are habitat-forming features, opportunity to get outdoors, spend have more contaminants than smaller is true that warmer winters produce less especially when they die and fall into the some time in nature – and maybe have a ones. Also, effects of methylmercury are ice cover and earlier ice-outs. But when I river. Having good habitat and especially good meal. much worse problems for the youngest think of climate change, I think of higher good vegetative buffers make it easier for 22 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 RENEWABLE HEATING & COOLING

REDUCE, ADAPT, DRAWDOWN! GO RAD NOW! Help make a difference with real world solutions! Contact: www.goradnow.com. Lori Barg safely for rural but since they predict four times more Links available on G.E.T.’s website. Are you a student, communities or plastic will be used in 2050 than are used Lori Barg is a builder, geologist and teacher, or mentor with check out wheeli. today, we have to do something with the hydroelectric developer. Her new patent skills to share? Do you com or carpools amount of plastic we have created over for a modular, environmentally- friendly want to solve real-world for kids. the last decades. hydroelectric system could power some problems while working 3. Weatherizing. CMF is looking for funding to develop of the 80,000 existing unpowered dams together in teams using a Does your team Certificates of Proficiency in RAD projects in the U.S. (The U.S. has only about 2,000 lot of common sense and want to build a for whatever you can do or dream you can hydroelectric sites, about the same as a little money? The Cham- DIY blower door? do. We need students, teachers, mentors. Sweden). plain Maker Faire (CMF) is Does your team developing two programs want to develop to help solve real-world a high-R sheet- climate problems, RAD rock or develop and Scrounge-a-thon. a zero-carbon Are You A Teacher? Student? Or Mentor? Image: lifelonglearningteachers.blogspot.com What is RAD? Reduce, concrete? Apply Adapt, Drawdown. CMF has small grants and complete Certificates of Proficiency Grants Available available to help teams of Vermont to weatherize tens of thousands of houses students to solve the five problems that need weatherization. We have some Participate in the outlined below. money for your team of students to pro- 1. Bio Launcher. Maybe your team pose good solutions. (see article on page RAD Program wants to design an affordable (under 18 of this issue) $500) method to move wood pellets. 4. Water quality. “It would take a single (Reduce, Adapt, CMF, with help from Bourne’s Energy tree 53.46 days – or almost two months – and Pellergy, will provide your team to offset the carbon emissions of a single Drawdown) with a piece of flexible auger and a six pack of beer”. Another option is algae, Champlain Maker Faire has when used in conjunction with artificial piece of grounded tubing if you want small grants for teams of to vacuum the pellets. While $10,000 intelligence-powered bioreactors, is up to systems exist to move wood pellets, 400 times more efficient than a tree at re- Vermont students to solve we need one that costs around $500 moving CO2 from the atmosphere. Algae real-world problems using and that anyone with a pellet stove can in lakes and seawater can be used to make a lot of common sense and afford. organic, bio-degradable plastics, flip-flops, a little money. The program 2. Ride-share. Are you alone in your surfboards, food and other cool stuff. CMF includes subjects such as: car driving from here to there and know is looking for water-quality funding for • Bio launcher • Ride share teams, but if your team wants to clean a neighbor’s kid is going in the same • Weatherization direction? Have you ever wondered why up lakes and get plastic out of the world, we all drive separately to team sports or think about entering this RAD challenge! • Water quality conferences? There has got to be a bet- 5. Dirty Plastic into fuel. Take dirty, float- • Waste plastic to fuel ter way. If your team wants to improve able plastic, melt it down in the absence See ways to go RAD at Apply at our existing transportation system, CMF of air and (depending on the tempera- http://bit.ly/RAD-Apply has grants for your team to use open ture) pour the resulting diesel, kerosene https://goradnow.com/ source software like libretaxi.org and or gasoline into your favorite internal others to solve the ride-share problem combustion engine. This is not perfect, HEAT CLEAN, HEAT LOCAL Now you can have the same auto-delivery, hands-off convenience of oil with Wood Pellet Central Heating.

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When the QuietCool© whole house fan is turned on, the fan pulls in the cooler nighttime air into your home, through your windows, across your living space, into the attic, and out the attic vents replacing the hot stale air. Helping cool the home and attic by up to 30 degrees, and sometimes more, allowing the home and attic to stay much cooler the following day. www.naturallycoolvt.com Save 802-355-7148 electricity! RENEWABLE HEATING & COOLING WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORGWWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 JUNE March 15, 20202014 23 HEAT PUMP INCENTIVES Cool You, Cool Planet! New Hampshire/New York Jessie Haas NEW HAMPSHIRE: Cooling will become a greater neces- NHEC’s ENERGY STAR Heat Pump incen- sity and create a greater environmental tive structure for 2020 is as follows: burden as our planet heats. As we swing Heating and Cooling (Must meet or exceed the into the season when cooling, rather minimum efficiency requirements -SEER 18/EER 12.5/ than warming, is the issue, it’s time to HSPF 10) $500/ton. consider the great two-for-one deal of Geothermal (Must meet or exceed the minimum a mini-split heat pump or geo-thermal efficiency requirements - EER 16/3 COP) $500/ton. system. Both can be used to chill as well Cooling only (Must meet or exceed the minimum as warm your home and are as clean efficiency requirements - SEER 15/EER 12.5/) $70/ as the grid from which you draw your ton. electricity. Wi-Fi thermostats (Must be installed with a heat There are federal, state and utility pump also receiving an incentive) $100 rebate/T- incentives for installing them. Check stat. them out in the Incentives section on Weatherization Bonus (Available for members pages 14 and 15. participating in the Home Performance with ENERGY Perhaps heat pumps are a little too STAR Program) $250/ton. expensive for you, or you’re off-grid; or Whole House Bonus (Available for qualified you don’t own the heat pump applications that offset 80% or more of the home you live in. Trees provide free natural shading to keep your home cool. Image: livingrootless.blogspot.com. Heat pump. Image: Wikipedia. total heat load. Two years of fuel use history required) You can still stay cool $250/ton. this summer, and ENERGY STAR Heat Pump Water Heater using a hand-held misting fan can keep summers to come, in doors as much as (Must meet or exceed 2.3 energy factor) $750 rebate an environmentally possible. Use fans. A me comfortable. Sport clothing featuring on 50 gallon or greater. cooling fabric can wick away moisture and sound way. You can fan blowing across a Load Buy down – NHEC provides interest cool the body by several degrees. use these techniques bowl of ice acts like an subsides through participating banks and and save your air air-conditioner. You Some herbs, particularly hibiscus, help credit unions for the installation of qualified conditioner for true can also hang a wet the body cool itself. You can make herbal heat pump installations. Must get pre-qual- emergencies. sheet over an open sodas by steeping a tea bag or loose- ified. Loans up to $15,000 after rebate. For homeowners, window or in front of a leaf tea in a jar of sparkling water in the Learn more at: www.nhec.com. think trees. Trees in fan. The moving air will refrigerator. Make ice-cubes of herbal teas the right places both act as a swamp cooler. as well, so the melting doesn’t weaken the NEW YORK: shade your house and Damp-mopping a floor drink. Staying hydrated is an important NYSERDA currently has a $1,500/ton incen- cool the ambient air can also contribute to element of healthy self-cooling. So is a tive on geothermal for residential systems through transpira- evaporative cooling. little extra salt. Sweating is how the body (<10 tons) and $1,200/ton for commercial tion. According to the If that isn’t cutting cools itself, but the salts you lose need to (>10 ton) systems. Wilcox Tree Nursery, it, consider creating a be replaced. Here’s a case where potato Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) info for evapotranspiration ‘cooling shelter’ in your chips and popcorn are arguably a health- New York State: https://bit.ly/3425wc4. can reduce summer temperatures near own home. Install an Energy-Star win- ful snack! Please note: Incentives can be modified a large tree by two to nine degrees. dow-mounted air-conditioner in a room Hot nights can be made more comfort- as utilities will take over the incentive Shaded walls are cooler by between with a door you can close. Cool that room able by freezing a hot water bottle to cool programs in the near future. nine and 36 degrees. Shade on a roof only, and only when you need to. You can the bed down, using a buckwheat-filled can cool a house eight to ten degrees. retreat to it when the rest of the house is pillow, which doesn’t absorb body heat, To accomplish these goals, plant uncomfortably warm. A bedroom on the putting your sheets in the freezer before deciduous trees on the south and west north side of the house is a good choice, bedtime, or even using a damp sheet. sides of the house. Shading the lawn especially if you can shift some office and Sleep in a hammock for better air circula- and driveway also help cool the ambi- entertainment functions into that room tion. Sleep in the basement, or outdoors ent air. for a while. Create a ‘grotto’ there, or in on a deck or porch. And just before bed, It’s also helpful to shade an outside your cellar, like the Italians, with snacks, read a story of arctic exploration or sailing air-conditioner or heat pump unit by chilled drinks, good books and music. on the North Sea, to chill you mind and planting low native shrubs or using Finally, focus on cooling yourself, and help you appreciate the warmth. Automatic Biomass trellised vines. The DOE estimates this you won’t have to burn fuel and spend Links available on G.E.T.’s website. Boilers for Schools can reduce energy use by 10%. It’s also money trying to get your house cool. Liv- Jessie Haas has written 40 books, mainly helpful to place the air conditioner on ing off-grid, I’ve found that frequent cold for children, and has lived in an off-grid the north side of the house. showers, wearing a damp bathing suit cabin in Vermont. While cooling the air, trees perform for much of the day, wetting my hair, and many other environmental services; cycling nutrients, building carbon into the soil, and sending up microscopic particles that seed clouds to produce rain. But a large tree starts as a small Are you ready to make comfort a priority? tree, and a small tree will take awhile to grow into its job. Plant trees now, Install ENERGY STAR Certified heat pumps! Green Street School, Brattleboro and while you wait for them to mature, Take control of your comfort and stop worrying about your winter energy bills. take other steps to stay cool while not overheating the planet. Our PDCs Save Money! If you have a dark-colored roof, paint Warm the rooms you live Screened Semi-Dry Wood Chips it white to reflect heat. Shade south and in or the whole house! west-facing windows with awnings or shade cloth to keep the sun out. Draw interior shades on sunny days. Window Key benefits: Quilts and other insulating shades that • Heat & cool with one unit keep the heat in during the winter can • Highly efficient keep heat out during the summer. • Easy to install Even if you are a renter, there are • Quiet to operate plenty of other approaches to staying cool without contributing to climate • Easy to maintain change. For instance, create a natural • NHEC members realize an breeze through your home. Open a average rebate of $1000 lower window at one end of the house per installation. and one that is higher at the other end. Warm air will exit through the upper Putting the power in your hands.® window and cool air will flow in the lower one. The movement of air will also Call 1.800.698.2007 to find out help you feel cooler. if a heat pump works for you! CALL US TODAY! 6039241001 Change lightbulbs to LEDs, which generate much less heat. Cook out- FrolingEnergy.com

High-efficiency Air Conditioners ACEEE Program administrators can stay ahead of the curve with high-efficiency air conditioners 24 24 March JUNE 2020 15, 2014 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 802.439.6675 Building & Energy Efficiency CHOOSING INSULATION FOR CARBON VALUE – Why More is Not Always Better (Part 1) Catherine Paplin, Buildings R.A. AIA, Steven Winter Associates, Inc. carbon, the more effective its operational efficiency really Insulation is the single most impor- is. The two values are insepa- + Beyond tant material choice to maximize an rable. When design seeks to enclosure’s thermal resistance. Com- minimize both types of emis- bined with a good continuous air seal, sions, the resulting building the highest insulation value makes the can radically reduce carbon greenest enclosure – reducing a struc- emissions. ture’s carbon footprint. It may come as a surprise, then, that some of the most Thermal Value of Insulation commonly used insulation materials are The primary purpose so carbon-heavy to manufacture and of thermal insulation is to install that they wipe away the carbon provide resistance to heat s! savings they are supposed to provide. de transfer through the build- iso Embodied Carbon, Operational ing enclosure, typically Ep quantified as R-value. The ew Carbon, and Climate Change higher the R-value, the bet- N Almost 40% of the total carbon ter the insulating property. HFC blown-in SPF insulation. Courtesy images: SWA. dumped into the planet’s atmosphere With respect to commercial each year is attributed to buildings. We construction in the NYC area, have overwhelmingly focused on op- the three most common materials are: resistant and is an even better air barrier. Available now on iTunes, Google Play, erational carbon – the carbon that 1. Plastic foam (highest R-value) – When installed at a minimum 1.5” thick- Sitcher, or your favorite podcast platform. buildings emit as they are being used, sprayed or board, expanded or extruded; ness, it is also a Class I vapor retarder. www.swinter.com/podcast but embodied carbon – the carbon that Sprayed on SPF can provide structural 2. Mineral fiber – board, batt or sprayed; goes into constructing buildings - is rigidity in some wall systems. It is also typically far greater than the energy 3. Organic fiber – batt or sprayed. dimensionally and thermally stable. saved in the first decades of opera- Embodied Carbon Value of Insulation None of the other insulations, even tion. However, if a building stands for the non-HFC blown plastics, completely decades or centuries, its operational Unfortunately, two of the plastic replicates all the characteristics of HFC carbon will eclipse its embodied carbon foams that provide the highest R-value – blown SPF and XPS. Furthermore, plastic over its lifetime. Therefore, when the closed-cell polyurethane spray (SPF-HFC foams generally are highly flammable building’s carbon Life Cycle Assessment type) and extruded polystyrene board and are not the best fit for every ap- (LCA) is calculated, operational carbon (XPS) – also have the highest embodied plication. So, how can we make up for savings will be more important than carbon (by a lot). This is because they’re the loss of the combination of helpful embodied carbon saved and spent in both made with a hydrofluorocarbon qualities that has made us so broadly the long run. (HFC) blowing agent that has over 1000 dependent on them? Why does embodied carbon deserve times the global warming potential Stay tuned for Part 2 to find out. equal weight with operational carbon? (GWP) of CO2. Because 28% of global carbon emissions Considering this, it’s easy to conclude XPS Insulation Boards >> from buildings is pegged to embodied that HFC blown plastics should be carbon--50% in the first 30 years of a phased out and taken off the market, building’s life. In effect, every new build- but we’ve become so dependent upon ing is in “carbon debt” upon comple- SPF and XPS, because they do so many tion due to the huge amount of carbon things in addition to providing high TIMELESS CRAFTSMANSHIP. emitted in order to construct it. So, for R-value. the climate to benefit from the energy Insulation’s Other Values savings provided by a well-insulated and THE LATEST IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY. sealed enclosure and a high efficiency XPS board is waterproof, serves as a energy system, the building needs to be vapor barrier, and if taped and sealed, is PASSIVE HOUSE DESIGN/BUILD. CUSTOM CABINETRY & TILE. durable and last for a very long time. The an air barrier. Therefore, this insulation problem is, we cannot afford to make type can take the place of a vapor bar- choices that have us paying off a carbon rier or an air barrier in a wall assembly. debt decades into the future. And, with various levels of compressive All this is not to suggest shifting focus strength, it has real structural value as away from reducing operational carbon well. Moreover, XPS board is often used and primarily (or exclusively) to embod- as a protection board for membranes ied carbon. On the contrary, the lower and is the go-to insulation for founda- the operational carbon emissions, the tion waterproofing due to its long-term quicker the carbon debt is paid off. Ther- ability to stand up to hydrostatic pres- mal insulation is therefore critical. Con- sure. And, it is dimensionally stable with versely, the lower a building’s embodied good R-value retention over time. Closed-cell SPF is also highly water

Just like your house. Only more affordable. • More comfortable than Passive Solar • Uses 60-90% less energy than code homes • More sustainable than LEED • Greener than Energy Star • For new buildings and remodels • Easy to Net Zero • Supported by Efficiency VT • US and Internationally certified MONTPELIER CONSTRUCTION BUILDERS AND FINE WOODWORKERS www.phausvt.org 802-223-2416 [email protected] MONTPELIERCONSTRUCTION.COM *A non-profit organization 802-229-6575 Come to a meeting. Speak with architects and builders. Get references and information. Building & Energy Efficiency WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 March 2020 25 AeroBarrier™ Case Study: MULTI-FAMILY RENOVATION w/o MECHANICAL VENTILATION Nate Gusakov to be sealed to an airtightness sealing, we had brought the three units to This is the fifth article in this measurement of 2.0 ACH50 airtightness measurements of 1.95, 1.91, and series highlighting our experi- – no more, no less. Because 1.96 ACH50 respectively. Our ability to moni- ences installing AeroBarrier™ we are monitoring air leakage tor leakage in real-time as we install enabled around New England. Here’s a in real-time as we install, we us to stop installation right at the target, quick refresher on the technol- were able to guarantee that we ensuring maximum possible air-tightness for ogy. could bring the units to that the units without over-sealing them. AeroBarrier® is a patented target, without surpassing it building envelope sealing Nate Gusakov is a lead installer for Zone 6 and over-tightening the build- Energy. Zone 6 Energy is a home-grown Vermont technology that simultaneously ing envelopes. measures and seals building company specializing in air leakage diagnostics When installation time and consulting. They offer commercial and envelope air leaks. In a nutshell, came for AeroBarrier™, another the system involves pressur- residential blower-door testing, home energy challenge presented to us audits, and AeroBarrier™ installations through- izing the building (to +100 was that the units had been Pascals) with a blower door, out New England and upstate New York. www. finished and carpeted ahead zone6energy.com. setting up a series of tripods of schedule; this meant we with spray nozzles on them would have to do an exacting (similar to mini snowmaking and thorough job of covering guns) and introducing a fine horizontal finished surfaces to mist of aerosolized water-based protect them from accumulat- acrylic sealant. From there, the ing a thin film of AeroBarrier™ pressure drives the sealant to all sealant. (The sealant leaves no Preparation of living room for AeroBarrier® installation showing the application set-up. the small cracks in the build- lasting damage, but if that thin ing and seals them up. During film cures on finished surfaces, installation, we monitor the air leakage on scope of the project included weatherization it takes a fair amount of elbow grease to our computer and watch as the various holes to maximize comfort and minimize heating get them clean again.) Our crew took care and cracks throughout the house are sealed. and cooling utility bills. An interesting chal- to protect each unit thoroughly; wrapping When we reach our leakage target, we turn lenge for the project team was that because appliances, laying adhesive carpet protection off the machine, clear the air with a few mechanical ventilation had not been speci- or rosin paper on finished floors, and covering fans and open windows and clean up. The fied for the renovations to the units, there was Zone 6 onsite at Hunt Farm for AeroBarrier installa- fixtures. Once preparation was done, we set tion. Courtesy photos. space can be worked in again within about a risk of sealing them too tight—this would up and began our install. After one day of thirty minutes, and once cured, the sealant potentially have left the occupants without is a non-toxic, low-VOC substance that is adequate fresh air, and also might have risked GreenGuard Gold certified for use in schools excessive humidity buildup during winter and hospitals. months when all the windows would be New England’s Air Sealing Specialists In this article we share our experiences air- shut tight for the season. After performing sealing three connected units in Bristol, VT. ASHRAE calculations for required fresh air and (802) 458-2386 The units were being completely renovated factoring in some passive air inlets that were to serve as low-income housing, and the being installed, the team called for the units [email protected]

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BuildingAlternatives.com E-mail [email protected] Phone (603) 823-5100 603.359.1912 // geobarns.com CERTIFIED B THE WAY 26 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 CLIMATE NEWS BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE, RESPONSIB A TRILLION TREES “It was the Africa I dreamed of when I was ten and fell in love with Tarzan,” said primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall in a recent interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson. “I left Gombe, my chimpanzee study, in 1986, having realized that chimpanzees and forests were vanishing across Africa and realizing I needed to do something. And part of that was going around the planet, talking about those problems and learning more at the same time about what we’ve done to harm this planet. The crazy thing,” Goodall said, “is the biggest difference be- tween us, chimps and other creatures is the explosive development of the intellect. So how come the most intellectual creature ever to walk the planet is destroying its only home?”

There’s a re- decade. onto the tril- of the land, newed sense of U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) lion trees act ocean, and urgency to her introduced the Trillion Trees Act, legisla- would look atmosphere activism at age tion that would plant one trillion trees like. for decades 86. Her days are globally by 2050 and incentivize the use The trillion now, and their packed with meet- of wood products as carbon sequestra- trees proposal new climate ings with world tion devices. “Trees are the ultimate does have proposals leaders, visiting carbon sequestration device,” Wester- many merits, are simply a conservation proj- man said. “Every day, countless billions but only if smokescreen ects, supporting of plant cells are pulling carbon from the implemented crafted to John Bos her Roots & Shoots atmosphere and permanently storing it in concert allow pollu- movement and sharing her message with in wood. That’s why this legislation is so with the tion profiteers anyone who will listen. important. We’re taking proven science immediate re- to continue “We’re going through very dark times,” and turning it into practical solutions. duction of our burning down Goodall said, “socially, politically and Not only are we setting an ambitious dependence the planet. especially environmentally. And lots of goal of planting one trillion new trees by on fossil fuels. “I challenge people are kind of losing hope, because 2050, but we’re also reinvesting resources Jane Goodall’s anyone to you get this message, think globally, into managing forests and using wood observation find a bet- act locally. But if you think globally, you products.” that by acting ter climate get really depressed. So, the message is Conservatives are slowly being boxed locally each solution than about acting locally. And the main mes- into a corner by the unbending physics one of us can taking care of sage is that each one of us makes some of carbon dioxide heating our planet and make some our forests.” impact on the planet every single day.” the daily increasing news about climate- Young climate activist Greta Thunberg and eighty-four-year-old pri- impact on the matologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall at Davos, Switzerland Representa- Which brings me to the number one related weather, flooding and drought planet every in January 2019. Image: pinterest.com. tive Wester- trillion. Do you have any idea how big a events that can no longer be denied. single day man said in trillion is? One trillion is a thousand bil- The Trillion Trees Act is based on a comes into announcing lions, or a million millions. July 2019 Swiss report featured by the play here. There are a fast-growing num- his trillion-tree bill. American Academy for the ber of organizations and agencies that For Jane Goodall, one solution is always Advancement of Science have mounted tree-growing campaigns the same. “I’ll try and leave as light a foot- that concluded planting one demonstrating that individuals as well print as I can each day. I know I fly a lot. trillion trees across the world as governments can plant trees. Google I actually said to Greta [Thunberg], “You could sequester 205 gigatons “tree-planting organizations” for a long know, I have to fly.” And she said, “Yes of carbon. That’s roughly the list of these efforts. you do. It’s OK.” And last year our Roots & equivalent of two-thirds of all That said, the amount of suitable land Shoots groups around the world planted manmade carbon since the area for reforestation diminishes as global 5½ million trees and saved forests and Industrial Revolution. temperatures rise. Even if global warming woodlands. So, that doesn’t make me So, what, you may ask, is is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius (which totally satisfied, but at least it’s more than so bad about planting a vast will not be achieved), the area available absorbing my bit of carbon. But what I number of trees over the next for forest restoration could be reduced by hope people will do is to think about the 30 years? The answer is that a fifth by 2050, because it would be too consequences of the small choices they “proven science” demands that warm for some tropical forests. make each day. What do you buy? Where we need to cut emissions by It could take more than a hundred was it made? Did it harm the environ- nearly 80 percent this decade years to add enough mature forest to ment? Did it result in cruelty to animals In an effort to wriggle out of the cli- if we want to preserve a habitable planet. get sufficient levels of carbon reduction. like eating meat? Is it cheap because of mate denial conundrum they’re finding Achieving partial emission reductions by Meanwhile, 40 billion tons of carbon child slave labor? So, if everybody makes themselves in, Republican leaders in Con- 2050 won’t do it. To achieve an 80% re- dioxide (CO2) from burning fossil fuels these ethical choices, we start moving gress and their climate-denying presi- duction in ten years would upend the for- are being added to the atmosphere every towards a better world. dent that they have sworn fealty to, have tunes of Republican donors and require year, said Glen Peters, research director at John Bos is a contributing writer to found their way (drum roll) to a “climate government intervention on a scale that’s Norway’s Center for International Climate Green Energy Times and CitizenTruth.org. plan.” A central plank of the plan is the anathema to a Republican Party hell-bent Research. He has written about his growing concerns planting of one trillion trees. Sound like a on privatization. Witness the Republi- In the hands of adults crafting respon- about our endangered environment for step in the right direction? No. This may cans who announced the trillion-tree bill sible climate policy, trees absolutely have the past ten years. Your comments and be an even more dangerous pro-fossil saying they don’t support a carbon tax, a an important role to play. But congres- questions are invited at john01370@gmail. fuel strategy than the outright denial that timeline for emissions reductions, or even sional Republicans are not responsible com. has pervaded the party for more than a a realistic vision for what their jumping adults. They’ve been terrible stewards

Book Review - On Fire:The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal by Naomi Klein, published by Simon & Schuster (2019), 322 pages Review by Roger Lohr to undergo should include teaching, care-giving, Naomi Klein’s newest book, On Fire: extractive mind-set of capitalism contrac- and leisure activities, along with many The Burning Case for a Green New Deal, has brought civilization to a point tion. At the others. This is a profound transforma- makes a persuasive case for the world to where we need to be grounded same time, tion of social and ecological propor- come together on climate change. in respect for natural cycles of a managed tions. Regulation can no longer be a Klein ties together the notion that renewal. This will require strong transition dirty word. The collective sphere would climate action is one of a list of worthy government action. The unbi- to another become paramount. A longer-term causes vying for progressive attention at ased truth is that the free-mar- economic perspective is very different from the the same time. The Green New Deal pro- ket ideology cannot continue. system based immediate gratification that is currently vides direction for transformation as an Individual action is no longer on non-profits, ruling our actions. Reparation to those alternative to the perils of unrestrained an adequate response to the cooperatives, who have been harmed (domestically greed. climate crisis. It is a collec- and local busi- and internationally) by capitalism is a Klein calls for uniting “silos” of move- tive problem that demands a nesses could significant aspect of the Green New Deal ments and organizations engaged on collective action. We are in a increase avail- according to Klein. apparently separate causes. They can crisis with its roots in over-con- ability of goods In simple terms Klein suggests a trans- stand together to put an end to a waste- sumption of natural resources, for those who formation from the “gig and dig” world ful style of living. They can put public and this can only be addressed need to rise out to a “care and repair” collective with a funds and efforts into such public good by reducing the amount of of poverty. common purpose. Fundamental changes as environmental protection, health, and stuff we consume. That part The benefits are needed in transportation, housing, education. of the corporate sector that of such an eco- energy, agriculture, Klein states that the expansionist and demands growth of sales and profits has nomic system forestry and more. Cont’d on p.33 CLIMATE NEWS WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG March 2020 27 Resolve to Save the Earth Dr. Alan K. Betts OK, it is time to the powerful interests, corporations and human control. All we can do, unless we indigenous world, and one of his core resolve to step away politicians? choose to be utterly stupid, is slam on the teachings was “Come with me into my from our consumer Creating a viable future will not be brakes. world, the world of the Creator, where stupor and save the easy, as the shift we need is a threat to Every year I give many talks to schools, you will see the truth of the living web Earth. Think of this so many deeply held beliefs. Many came citizen and business groups and church- of the Creation; and that truth will set as the last decade to from a century of cheap energy from es. For many years I half understood why you free to act on behalf of the Creator.” wake up and stop de- burning the fossil fuels which has driven science and religion had been kept apart This truth is one more key to the deep stroying our planet and our children’s rapid climate change and the extinction for centuries. I could see this was com- global issues we face, hiding in plain future. First stop and listen to the inner of species. In fact, all the waste streams fortable for institutional power. Scientists sight. How did Christianity lose its way? hubbub of familiar rationalizations for from nearly eight were also taught When the Roman emperor Con- business as usual, our inalienable hu- billion people must not to challenge stantine converted to Christianity, he man rights, and our treasured freedom be brought under political authority, realized this religion could benefit the to exploit everything for profit. careful manage- but I challenged imperial Roman Empire. He summoned Then take a deep breath, put on a ment. this forty years the bishops to the Council of Nicea coat and step outside into the splendor But there are ago. However, the in 325 AD and offered a deal. Define of the natural world that embraces and deeper issues of clash between Christianity in clear doctrinal form and cherishes us. Listen and look around, our concepts of the scientific choose the Greek gospels with their and up and down, as if you were an in- human power and indigenous dualism and understanding of human digenous person whose ancestors had and authority that worldviews raised power; and suppress the holistic and been living on this land for a thousand are more than a deeper issues. I mystical Aramaic gospels. So, Christi- years. Oral tradition has taught you thousand years was troubled for anity became an institutional religion about every plant and creature. As you old. You may have years why the with a dualistic framework that later listen, you can see into everything in glimpsed this Christian churches influenced both the rise of science and the entire living world of the creation. when you stepped collaborated with the separation of science and religion; You are simply part of the web of the outside into the the colonial pow- but it lost its indigenous roots. Sadly, living biosphere. You know where your mindset of the ers to crush in- many Aramaic speaking Jewish and As- food comes from, you know the call indigenous people digenous people syrian Christians, who understood what sounds of danger, and you are both of your land, where on a global scale. Yeshua had actually taught, became alert and at peace. the concept of empowermentmomentsblog.com Yes, indigenous the heretics who perished over the next Stay as long as you can and resolve human power over traditions were a century or two. to return to this living world every nature did not exist. In our world, the rise threat to church authority and doctrine. To save the Earth, we now face the day. Promise to teach your children of science and the industrial revolution Yet the founder of Christianity was clearly beautiful but challenging task of recon- the knowledge they need to face the has given humanity immense knowledge deeply connected to the natural world. ciling our scientific worldview with the future. But before you step back into and power on the mechanistic level, but So being a scientist, I started looking for indigenous understanding of Jesus. So, the warmth and comfort of your home, a rather limited grasp of the web of life. I the truth. What I found was revolutionary step outside into the real natural world hold close to your heart the fact that know this well as I trained as a scientist. to me but obvious in retrospect. for a second time: it is closer than you our society intends to destroy this But without direction from Earth-cen- The Aramaic name of Jesus was Ye- think. interconnected living world rather tered moral values, the unguided use of shua. He spoke Aramaic, an indigenous Dr. Alan Betts of Atmospheric Research than create a sustainable future. Is this our science and technology has led to the language where every story has several in Pittsford, VT is a climate scientist. your choice also, or will you join with disaster of climate change. To our horror, levels of meaning (The Hidden Gospel by Browse alanbetts.com. friends and colleagues and confront we find the Earth system is clearly out of Douglas-Klotz). Yeshua’s world was the

warm, which is a good thing. But Earth Carbon Dioxide (CO2), the Greenhouse Gas is getting too warm (as we are learning) Let’s get down to the basics: what is CO2 and why should we even care? simply because greenhouse gas con- centrations are much higher now than Worth Gretter pounds of carbon (This is where the in recent history. Humans are causing We all know, unless we are in climate- dioxide – almost environmental it by burning fossil fuels and creating change denial, that the Earth is warm- three times as group 350.org carbon dioxide. ing, and it won’t be good for us. We also much. (If you are gets its name, So, we see that there are two factors know that burning fossil fuels produces wondering what from the desire to at work here: 1) we are all putting more carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a green- happens to the hy- keep CO2 below CO2 in the atmosphere than we realize; house gas that traps heat. But how does drogen, it combines that level.) But and 2) most of the atmosphere is not that all work, anyway? with oxygen to form how can 0.04% of greenhouse gases, so a small change in When you read that your car pro- H2O – water.) the atmosphere CO2 makes a big difference. duces several tons of CO2 each year, The gasoline even matter? And why does this even matter? Be- that sounds quite unreasonable. After you put in your car When sunlight cause there are now almost eight billion all, CO2 is a gas, and gases are light in weighs about 6 strikes the earth it people releasing CO2. That is a problem! weight, so “tons of CO2” does not seem pounds per gallon. Ball-and-stick model of the carbon dioxide molecule, one of warms all surfaces, Earth’s climate is very complicated, and to make sense. Let’s look at the chem- If you fill up with the most important chemical compounds in the world. It is and some of that no one can predict exactly what chang- istry. 10 gallons, or 60 vital for life as we know it but catastrophic at excess levels. warmth is re-radi- es will occur. But we have already had Gasoline is a mixture of hydro- pounds, that will Color code: carbon, C is black; oxygen, O is red. ated outward as a taste of the future with intensifying carbons. If we look at a very simple turn into about Image from Creative Commons. infrared light, i.e. tropical storms, floods, and wildfires. I hydrocarbon, ethane, it has a formula 150 pounds of CO2 heat energy. Some think even some of the climate- change of C2H6, i.e. two carbon atoms and six when burned. If you use 10 gallons a of the heat is lost to space, but some is deniers are starting to agree that we hydrogen atoms. This would seem like week, then every week you are putting captured by molecules in the atmosphere need to make some changes if we want mostly hydrogen, but it’s not. Hydrogen 150 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. and re-radiated back to Earth again. to survive. only has an atomic weight of one and (You may notice that 150 pounds of CO2 It turns out that most molecules in Worth carbon has an atomic weight of 12. So, is only 2-1/2 times the 60 pounds of gaso- the atmosphere can’t re-radiate energy. Gretter is a ethane weighs in at 30, but only 6 of line, not 3 times, because gasoline is not Nitrogen and oxygen are diatomic gases retired electri- that is hydrogen and the other 24 is ethane but rather a mix of hydrocarbons.) (N2 and O2) made of two identical atoms. cal engineer carbon. But we know that the atmosphere is Argon is monatomic, a single atom. These for Knolls Things get worse when we burn enormous. Even if every human adds forms can’t store infrared energy and re- Atomic Power the ethane. One atom of carbon, with 150 pounds of CO2 each week, how can radiate it. CO2, however, is made of two Laboratory. a weight of 12, combines with two that affect the climate? This gets even different kinds of atoms and can store He lives in oxygen atoms, each weighing 16. This more perplexing when you consider that energy temporarily within its molecular Menands, yields CO2, weighing 44. And ethane the atmosphere is (approximately) 78% structure. That energy is re-radiated, some New York and has two carbon atoms, so we get two nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% argon. That to space and some back to Earth. Meth- volunteers at times 44, or 88. This example can be adds up to 100%, so where is the CO2? ane and water vapor are also involved in Ten Broeck scaled up from atomic weight to any It turns out there are trace gases, and re-radiating energy, making them green- Mansion, a units you like, such as pounds. So, burn- CO2 is one. It is present in the atmosphere house gases as well. historic house ing 30 pounds of ethane produces 88 at 0.04%, which is 400 parts per million. Greenhouse gases help keep the earth museum. 28 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 Building & Energy Efficiency

LEDdynamics’ New Home: Above and Beyond Efficiency George Harvey Green Energy Times has run a num- ber of articles on light emitting diodes (LEDs). Their cost keeps declining, and their efficiency keeps improving. Unquestionably, in our minds, they are the best investment in general lighting around. Over the years, one company has dominated our stories on LEDs. That company is LEDdynamics, of Randolph, Vermont. Now, it is back on our pages, with a story we find rather exciting. LEDdynamics has moved to a new building, and what a building it is! It was specially designed to meet the needs of LEDdynamics, a company with an acute LEDdynamics’ new super-efficient facility on Beanville Road in Randolph, Vermont. All photos are courtesy of LEDdynamics. interest in things that are good for the environment. We talked to Bill McGrath, chief technology officer, about their The building was put up for an orga- about 150 kilowatts of solar photovolta- a few things he could tell us about. One new home. nization that is on the leading edge of ics at the site. Since the building is 27,000 of these was an experimental device The old LEDdynamics building had manufacturing for a better environment, square feet and the site has seven acres, it that looks like a tanning bed, which previously been a furniture factory. It so unsurprisingly, the building has really is easy to imagine this being done. provides infrared light to the user. Such was not really suited for the environ- superior insulation. The slab is insulated, There are four level-two charging ports a device does not tan people, but NASA mental controls needed for the tech- so heat is not lost into the ground be- for electric vehicles, and two more of level had suggested that light in that part nology used in LED lighting. In fact, neath it. one. Employees are encouraged to use of the spectrum might have health sawdust from a neighboring enterprise Heating is done primarily with heat these, and a number of them already do. benefits, which might be good to use was still getting into the building. pumps. There are five Daikin heat pumps McGrath said, “We have an aggressive in spacecraft. Now, LEDdynamics em- on the roof, installed by Peak recycling policy for shipping materials. ployees are allowed to test the device, Mechanical of Waterbury, Whatever comes in, we reuse.” and at this early stage in development, Vermont. The heating sys- One of the exciting things we were able some report possible benefits. tem is unusual in some ways, to learn about is LEDdynamics research. LEDdynamics’s web site is leddynam- one of which is that heat When we asked, McGrath said there were ics.com. can be moved from warmer areas of the building, which can overheat even in cold weather, into cooler areas. Another unusual feature is that tubes for radiant heat- ing were installed into the floor of the shipping area, in anticipation of a need that could develop later on. A machine called the “pizza oven” is used to for solder- ing, allowing components to cool down slowly to avoid stresses. When manufacture goes into multiple shifts, a point is very likely to come when it will be cost-effective to trap the waste heat and distribute it through the heating tubes. A transformer was placed in the utility room. Its heat is pumped to the water heater. Rooms used by the com- pany’s IT systems also are a source of waste heat, and this can also be delivered to the shipping area as needed. Some of LEDdynamics’ com- puters are of significant size. They are used for engineer- ing calculations, and these can produce a fair amount of heat. Interestingly, McGrath LEDdynamics’ server room and (above) mini-split heat pump that re- claims heat from the servers and distributes it to the loading dock area. told us control systems for products were provided by Raspberry Pi computers Better environmental control was and Arduino microcontrolers. These little 2020? needed, and the old building made that machines are unbelievably powerful, practically unachievable. This informed compared to what was around not that a decision for LEDdynamics to have a long ago, but they are inexpensive and building designed specifically for its add very little to the power needs of the needs. The company built just such a devices they control. plant, a bit less than two miles away. Phones are powered over the internet. Naturally, there was attention put to This a very efficient way to keep them go- the building’s lighting. LEDs are the only ing and reduces electricity demand. source of electric lighting. Interestingly, The building was especially designed the sun is given every opportunity to and oriented to have a solar system. It was reduce the electricity load through a built on a site where there were no trees combination of well-placed windows that would get in the way of sunshine. and smart controllers. McGrath told us that the plan was to have EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit EarthTalk. Visit www.earthtalk.org or [email protected].

Building & Energy Efficiency WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 March 2020 29

Do-It-Yourself Energy Upgrades: Attics David Keefe #5 in our new DIY Series, Attics are Image: U.S. EPA without often miserable air sealing kindly brought to you through places. They’re is prob- cramped and ably doing Efficiency Vermont. dark, dusty and more harm dirty. They’re than good. tion too close to the chimney. Masonry hard to get into It makes chimneys should have three inches of and hard to get any further clearance. out of. Most of attempt at If you have older recessed lights, the time they air sealing it may be unsafe to seal and insulate Retrofit Existing are either too harder, more them. If they are not Insulation Contact hot or too cold. expensive, (IC)-rated, you should replace them with There’s usu- and less LEDs. Windows ally nothing likely to The area at the bottom edge of the to stand on, even if there is room to happen. If anyone wants to add insula- roof where the roof comes down close to for stand, which there often isn’t. Often tion to your attic without doing the air the exterior wall (the eave) is hard to get there isn’t even room to sit, even if sealing, you shouldn’t let them, whether to. This is often done badly. It’s best to • Maximum Energy there is something to sit on, which they are pros, well-meaning friends, or provide a thin vertical barrier above the there isn’t. If you step in the wrong you yourself. OUTSIDE EDGE of the wall to get good Efficiency place you fall through. The air quality When warm air rises into the attic, it coverage over the top plate. You should • Affordability and is awful. There’s a bunch of old nasty takes household moisture with it. This air-seal the top plate of the wall also. This insulation in the way. There are hornets is the main reason for moisture prob- is a pain to do. Comfort up there. And mice and bats. And the lems in cold-climate attics. The moisture We have lots of houses that could use feces thereof. comes from the house. The best way to an attic upgrade, but it’s harder to do • High Performance This series of articles is about doing prevent your roof from rotting is to keep correctly than most people think. And it yourself. As energy upgrades go, the house air in the house. it’s better to not do it (yet) than to do it • Quality and tackling your attic is a challenge to do If you have bathroom exhaust fans in badly. If you’ve read this far and haven’t Lasting Beauty right. Mind you, it’s not as challenging the attic floor, make sure the ducting been scared off, maybe you have enough to do it badly, and lots of people, both is good (smooth-walled pipe, airtight, determination to do it. You’ll need more Old windows and sashes made better homeowners and pros, do that. But minimum angles, insulated). If the fan is info than I can provide here, so do your than new with our innovative system you shouldn’t. old or noisy it’s a good idea to replace it homework. Or you can work with a Insulating your attic isn’t really about before you do the attic work, since it will contractor who knows what he or she is insulation. It’s about air sealing. Your be harder and more expensive after ev- doing, use your sweat equity for set-up, typical attic floor has lots of air leaks in erything is buried in the new insulation. clean-up, and the parts you might be it. Tops of the walls, electrical penetra- Chimneys need clearance to com- good at, and let the pros get down and tions, around the chimney, plumbing bust materials. They often have big air dirty for the rest. vent stack, ceiling light fixtures, ex- leaks around them, so they first need a Dave Keefe is a fifth-generation Ver- haust fan, hatch, etc. Warm air migrates horizontal layer of metal sealed to the monter who has worked for over 35 years to your attic all winter long through chimney and to the surrounding framing as a contractor, consultant and teacher these leaks. Sealing them is more im- so that the chase around the chimney is to improve the performance of existing portant and more cost-effective than closed off at the level of the attic floor. homes. installing insulation. Adding insulation Don’t install any combustible insula-

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No Heating Costs! LoriA Barg DIY BLOWER DOORIf you TEST want to do the The first time I saw math, then the simple, a blower door test affordable way to measure your progress Net-Zero Affordable & I thought a freight Call Today! Mon-Fri: 9-5pm train was running is with free barometric Custom Modular Homes (802)295-0042 Sat 10-2pm through my house pressure phone apps. See sources below for from the basement Photography Hartz | David Architects Nastasi and out the attic. Un- some links on how to fortunately, this train DIY air-seal your house. Photography Hartz | David Architects Nastasi was running after I When you are done tried hard to insulate with a DIY blower door, this 200-year-old consider donating it to farmhouse. the local library and let The furnace blower mounted in a window. others caulk and foam I searched online Four speeds and a meter read the differing WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT for videos of blower and seal the air leaks pressures. Image: https://bit.ly/3dKZKA1. www.loewenvtnh.com door tests that used in their homes. With a WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT theatrical smoke bunch more air-sealing, www.loewenvtnh.com machines. It looks like Halloween gone maybe, one day, my bathroom will be crazy. The smoke doesn’t just sneak out warm. of the house, it pours out of the house Wouldn’t it be great if everyone did and shows you just where you need to this? How about this? If each of the seal. fifteen technical schools in Vermont built Unfortunately, equipment for a twelve DIY blower doors and donated blower door test costs around $3,500. A them to the 180 libraries, then for only blower door is basically a ½ to 1 horse- $18,000, every library in Vermont could power fan (it should move 300 to 5,000 have a blower door to lend to any resident cfm) placed in a tarp and sealed into a in the state. Maybe the utilities could door frame. subsidize the cost of spray foam and caulk LOEWEN.COM I set out to do my own testing. I ($300 per house). scrounged a couple adjustable poles DIY blower door links: bit.ly/Project_Blow- LOEWEN.COM and taped a carpet drying fan (bought erDoor and bit.ly/Project_BuildingBlowerDoor. for under $100, an old furnace blower Free Pressure Apps: bit.ly/BarometricPres- works, too) into an old tarp to seal the sureApps and bit.ly/BarometricPressure- LOEWEN WINDOW CENTER Phone: 802.295.6555 fan in the doorway. Face the fan to blow Apps_iphone of Vermont & New Hampshire the air out of the house. Turn off pilot Lori Barg is a builder, geologist and LOEWEN WINDOW CENTER PhonePhone:: 802.295.6555800.505.1892 lights and don’t have your woodstove hydroelectric developer. Learn more at of Vermont & New Hampshire burning when you do this! www.communityhydro.biz. Phone:[email protected] 800.505.1892 [email protected] 30 AugustMarch 2020 15, 2014 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 802.439.6675 Building & Energy Efficiency

the cooling season. The outgoing air and Indoor Air Quality: Some Things to Know incoming air are blown through separate Michael Canavan ed products into the air of you home. This is recovery ventilators. The air exchanger is a air channels to allow this exchange to This article is a follow-up to “Understand- why you should have an exhaust hood over fan unit that filters and mixes indoor air and take place. There are two types of ex- ing the Blower Door Test” published in the your stove that vents to the exterior of the outdoor air, and then expels some of the changers: flat-panel (vertical or horizon- January 2020 issue of Green Energy Times. home. indoor air out of the house. This system runs tal) with 50% and up to 80% efficiency, Now that you have sealed your house Moisture levels in the home come from slowly, at 60 cubic feet per minute (cfm), respectively, and cellular which can be up as recommended from your blower door washing, cooking, breathing and ground and though less efficient at removing stale to 80% efficient, with cost increasing with test results and verified that your house conditions. The relative humidity of a air, it is the least expensive system. efficiency. has an air changes per hour (ACH) rating home should be between 30% and 50%, so ERVs are recommended for climates These systems can be installed in of three or less, you are feeling warm in moisture does not create breeding grounds where the main concern is cooling, such as a home with or without a central air your draft- free home. But the indoor air for mold. When you buy new materials the Gulf coast region of the country. They furnace system, as long as there is space quality of your home may not be as good and bring them into your home, they have are a moisture and heat recovery unit. ERVs to install small duct runs. With the instal- as it was in your drafty house. You can different chemicals on them that you can have a moisture-permeable membrane to lation of a ventilator system you will take the next step to improve the indoor smell. This process of releasing chemicals allow moisture to be removed from the air breathe easier knowing that the air in air quality by installing a controlled venti- in the home is called “off-gassing” and can stream. your home is cleaner and you are saving lation system. lead to health issues. The plywood used HRVs are used in heat-requiring climates on your energy costs. Indoor air quality is influenced by in building your home and some furniture like ours. The unit works by passing air Michael Canavan is the owner of through an air exchanger which allows for Eagle Home Inspection Solutions of the warm indoor air to give up its heat as it Norwich, Vermont. Learn more at www. exits to the cooler incoming air in the heat- EagleHomeInspectionSolutions.com, or ing season and does the opposite during (802)526-2642.

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IMPROVE INDOOR AIR QUALITY WITH SL SERIES ERVs Diagram explaining how a heat recovery ventilator works. Image: Greentek RenewAire ERVs provide enhanced indoor air quality through increased/balanced ventilation for all applications including Passive House. environmental and mechanical factors. can take two years to outgas the formal- Indoor air is 2–5x Environmental factors in the home in- dehyde in it. Some paint products have and may be 100x more polluted than outdoor air* clude trapped moisture levels, off-gassing volatile organic compounds (VOC) in them; of building materials, paints, furnishings, look for low or zero VOC painting products COMFORT EFFICIENT cleaning products, smoke, and human whenever possible. Cleaning products have Enhanced IAQ High-efficiency core bodily functions. Mechanical factors can ammonia, chlorine bleach, vinegar and Balanced ventilation EC fans include combustion byproducts and fuel petroleum products, as the basic cleaning storage. materials with added aromas to make them Combustion byproducts are generated more pleasant smelling. These materials, EASE CONTROL inside your home from heating equip- in enclosed unvented spaces, can become Easy installation Continuous operation ment and cooking. Your heating equip- overwhelming to the point of making you Easy maintenance with boost mode ment should be serviced and inspected sick quickly. Smoking indoors puts tar and Fits in drop ceilings On-board controls on a yearly basis for proper combustion, carbon monoxide into the air along with & bulkheads ventilation, and overall condition. The other pollutants. heat exchanger in the furnace may begin The way you control the moisture and to deteriorate and develop a hole. When pollutants in the air of your sealed home is you are cooking food on your stove or in to install proper ventilation, local exhaust * “Why Indoor Air Quality is Important to Schools,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, epa.gov/iaq-schools/why-indoor-air-quality-important-schools. your oven, you may be burning gas which fans, and a whole-house ventilator system. has carbon monoxide as a byproduct and, The three basic whole house ventilator RSTThermal.com on the rare occasion that you burn the system types are air exchangers, ERVs - 781.320.9910 food, you may be releasing other unwant- energy recovery ventilators, and HRVs heat

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Building & Energy Efficiency WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 March 2020 31 Efficiency Vermont’s EEN Contractor Spotlight: Solar Harvester Interview with Bill Chidsey, Clean Energy Navigator ficiency Vermont – at any step in a project, Green Energy Times Staff Simply open a member can reach out and get support the Efficiency What is your area of expertise? from us to assure project success. Vermont The interesting thing about buildings What is it in your field of specialty that is website. The in Vermont is that there isn’t a one-size- most valuable (related to energy efficiency) financing, fits-all solution. I recommend taking that our readers ought to know about? services and re- bates menu are the time to look at a home holistically. My familiarity with design-built, bal- At an appointment, I usually spend a found at the anced, whole-house heat recovery ventila- top. Call customer service at 888-921- whole day analyzing my client’s entire tion integrated with central air ducted energy consumption. I merge several 5990 or any EEN member for a friendly cold climate heat pump systems provides referral. My customers usually qualify areas of expertise: directly measured BPI exceptional indoor air quality and value. analysis, blower door cfm 50, CAZ safety for $2000 to $8000 rebates and 100% Air to Water heat pump installations fit project financing. standards, inch-by-inch HVAC / ACCA perfectly with high performance homes. heat loss calculations, building science, My business is growing not in volume, What are some questions you and decades of practical construction but in depth. Leadership. I’m ready to add recommend customers ask when experience. I create an integrated, clear an educational component for the next selecting someone to do work to meet path towards their unique clean-energy generation. I want to reach out to engage energy efficiency goals? future, creating a specific cost-benefit young people. Beginning with 4-H / UVM action plan. We then center our focus Bill Childsey - Solar Harvester Request a written work scope and Extension and Randolph Technical High itemized materials and installation bud- on tangible opportunities while ac- School. I believe we need a qualified “en- energy action has a specific cost and ben- get. Discuss how you can be available to knowledging existing safety hazards, ergy master” embedded in every neigh- efit. Knowledge first provides confidence, communicate daily during the project. pollution and fuel waste challenges in borhood and every farm. a non-judgmental manner. I also have a clarity, and getting it right the first time. Contractors need to know communica- unique hands-on insight into how fossil Hire a professional who can produce a no- Why should people use an Efficiency tion is welcome, easy and OK to stay fuels are used. I’ve worked on thou- nonsense, practical plan. There are likely Excellence Network (EEN) contractor over current with challenges and accom- sands of dirty fuel guzzlers since the several DIY projects that fit perfectly help- another contractor? plishments. mid 1960’s. ing a homeowner save installation costs. I like that Efficiency Vermont has the -Ef Schedule and make time for hands- What projects do people try to do If you could only choose one type of project ficiency Excellence Network, that there’s a on system training during commission- bar to meet, where people are well vetted. ing. Review and document life safety themselves that really should be done to reduce your carbon footprint, what and control settings. Schedule a follow- professionally? would it be and why? Being part of the Efficiency Excellence Net- work means that I have access to educa- up site visit within the first four weeks. Energy consumption accounting Many of our members have special ac- tional opportunities that others in my field Schedule and post annual and seasonal is time-consuming and very tedious. cess to exclusive Efficiency Vermont incen- don’t have, and exposure to how leaders in preventive maintenance appointments. Learning the numerous energy units, tives and low or no interest financing on my field are tackling these big issues. Keep all system documentation in a calculations, and terminology can feel your projects. They are plugged in to our binder handy for reference. overwhelming. Too often this most programs and offers and can guide you to What are the best ways to finance projects Celebrate your clean energy future important first step is by-passed for a the right solutions and rebates. They also (or what incentives are available) for with friends, neighbors, and energy quick, satisfying purchase. Every clean have access to exclusive support from Ef- residential or commercial projects? committee members. 32 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 Sustainable Agriculture Cow Power: Renewable Energy from Manure Anna Chaffee As a society, maintaining (GMP), which is used by our current standard of liv- nearly three-quarters of ing necessitates large-scale Vermonters for electric- farming. This comes at a cost ity, offers a Cow Power however, as the industrial program using anaerobic agriculture system is a major digesters that provides contributor to global warming renewable energy while largely through greenhouse- supporting local farmers. gas (GHG) emissions, such The profits earned from as methane. As a result, the Cow Power are given back current agricultural system has to farmers as incentives much progress to be made in to be involved with the terms of sustainability. program. Biogas holder and flare. Image: Wikipedia The United States Environ- Cow Power currently mental Protection Agency powers more than 3,000 (EPA) found that livestock homes and businesses, including Killing- could be opened up to any Vermonter, represents nine percent of all ton Resort and other large companies. The not just those using GMP. Additionally, other states around the country could GHG emissions in the United Image: en.permaculturescience.org residents using Cow Power have reduced States1. The world’s 1.3 billion cattle the amount of GHG emissions equivalent take Vermont’s lead and start similar population is responsible for one fourth around the world3. By converting this to taking 9,000 cars off of the road each programs for their residents. Let’s work of the world’s methane levels, which methane into electricity through anaero- year, which would have burned 5.3 million together to save our planet! have doubled over the past three centu- bic digesters, the amount of methane gallons of gas. Links available on G.E.T.’s website. ries2. With the amount of food required emissions to the atmosphere would Farmers coupling with the GMP Cow Anna Chaffee is a Vermont native, to sustain the world’s population, it’s decrease drastically. Power program also help reduce agricul- currently living in Burlington. She is a inevitable that the cattle population Anaerobic digesters consist of a large tural runoff going into Lake Champlain. senior at the University of Vermont and will continue increasing. Therefore, covered concrete tank that is installed in On hot days in the summer, blue-green will be graduating in the spring of 2020 mitigation efforts to decrease methane the ground with heating pipes to heat algae blooms take over our beautiful lake, with a Bachelor of Science degree in emissions from livestock should move the manure inside the digester. The heat mainly due to the excess nutrients in the Environmental Science. Protecting our towards managing the manure pro- promotes the bacterial decomposition of water from run off. If more manure is go- environment duced from cattle. manure, creating methane. An engine- ing to anaerobic digesters, it will prevent is Chaffee’s Thinking about using manure as an generator will also be installed that is harmful run off from dirtying our waters. passion and energy source may cause some people fueled by the methane captured from the Overall, I believe that reducing the why she hopes to shudder. However, I think the idea of digester. The digested liquid waste left methane emissions produced from ag- more people capturing methane from manure and over in the concrete tank can be used as riculture will help mitigate the effects of will learn using it as electricity is brilliant. Meth- natural fertilizer on crop fields. climate change while benefiting farmers. about methane ane losses from manure are responsible Vermont has been leading the way in Any Vermonter using GMP has the pos- digesters for 41 percent of total agricultural using manure as an electricity source for sibility of using renewable energy sources. and consider methane emissions for most countries over a decade. Green Mountain Power In the future, the Cow Power program implementing them on their farms.

‘Drawdown’ ‘To reach dozens of solutions Drawdown. “The impacts of these tech- the most up-to-date research in a Cont’d from p.1 Drawdown, and in different sectors, nologies and practices occur only as part constantly evolving field. In the coming shows that we must thereby bring us working in parallel. of an interconnected, integrated system. months, Project Drawdown will also replace our fossil fuel and to a climate-safe Only then does [sic] the It is the implementation of this system offer a variety of programs includ- industrial food and agri- physics and econom- of solutions that is the real solution to ing Drawdown Learn™ and Drawdown world, the research Labs™ to equip educators and business cultural systems with new shows that we ics work. All that is climate change.” solutions. The top solutions lacking is the political The breadth of solutions indicates that leaders, respectively, with practicable span many sectors and must replace our will and leadership to individuals and institutions at all levels information about climate solutions for include: fossil fuel and make it happen. While have agency and influence when it comes implementation in their classrooms, • Greatly improving energy industrial food climate change can to implementing and scaling up the businesses, and communities. efficiency and rapidly and agricultural often feel hopeless, this necessary climate solutions. Notably, The About Project Drawdown: Since deploying renewable systems with work shows us a better Drawdown Review finds that beyond the the 2017 publication of the New York electricity generation new solutions.’ world is truly possible, need to shift away from fossil Times best-seller, Draw- (especially onshore wind with solutions we have fuels, some of the most powerful down, the and utility-scale solar photovoltaics). in hand today. But we climate solutions receive com- organization need to get started as parably little attention on the has emerged • Reducing food waste and shifting to more plant-rich diets. soon as possible, and dramatically step up global stage. These include: as a leading our efforts.” • Food waste reduction and resource for • Reducing deforestation and restoring plant-rich diets, which together healthy forests and other ecosystems. “Synthesis and translation are hallmarks information of Project Drawdown’s work. Our hope is curb demand, deforestation, and insight • Improving management of refriger- and associated emissions; ants and shifting to alternatives. that The Drawdown Review provides a re- about climate source for anyone looking to understand • Preventing leaks and solutions. We • Dramatically improving the energy and act on solutions for the climate crisis,” improving disposal of chemical continue to performance of our buildings and cities. refrigerants, which are potent • Shifting our transportation system said Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, Vice Presi- greenhouse gases, the use of develop that to highly efficient, low-carbon alterna- dent for Communication and Engage- which is projected to grow resource by tives. ment at Project Drawdown. “By making significantly; conducting • Improving access to education and this work freely available, we hope that it • Restoration of temperate rigorous review health care for women and girls in inspires more discussion and more deter- and tropical forests, which are and assessment developing nations. mined action by policymakers, business powerful, vast carbon sinks; of climate solu- “Together, these solutions show us leaders, investors, philanthropists, and all • Access to high-quality, voluntary tions, creating that we can address a seemingly impos- the people stepping up to the challenge reproductive healthcare and high-quality, compelling and human communication sible challenge,” Dr. Jonathan Foley, the of climate change around the world.” inclusive education, the many ripple effects across mediums, and partnering with Executive Director of Project Draw- “What these results show is the utmost of which include climate benefits. efforts to accelerate climate solutions down, said. “The tools we need are here, importance of all solutions implemented Project Drawdown intends to pub- globally. today, and can be deployed at scale. But in parallel,” said Chad Frischmann, Vice lish The Drawdown Review on a regular Read the review at www.drawdown. we need to use them all – dozens and President and Research Director at Project basis going forward, in order to supply org/review-2020 Sustainable Agriculture WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 March 2020 33

Book Review: ON FIRE -- Cont’d from p.26 Klein states that we have to move 6. Klein argues that taking on the socio- PUBLIC EVENT SERIES FOCUSES ON from a fear-stricken society with obses- economic issues at the same time as sive technologies to a place where real climate change is not too much change. A CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND SOIL HEALTH grounds for hope can be cultivated. mass movement must be mobilized. Events Open to All Who Want to Build a More Livable, Resilient Region & Planet Klein suggests a good place to start is 7. Progressive goals will polarize conser- What is good for the soil is good for our • Sunday, March 22, 3:30 to 6 p.m.: Earth’s with the arts, to bring joy and beauty, vatives - there are lessons from the New communities. That’s the theory behind a Cycles: Foundations of Energy and Matter and optimism. Deal that suggest that downtrodden six-event discussion series, Climate and The closing of On Fire highlights key • Sunday, April 5, 3:30 to 6 p.m.: Historical communities could help to heal ideologi- Community Resilience: Lessons from the Landscape: Learning from the Past areas associated with the Green New cal divides. Soil. The events will be held on six dates • Monday, April 13, 5:30-8 p.m.: Here and Deal including: from late March through mid-May. Details 8. Hoplessness – Klein cites a new vision Now: Human Impacts 1. Job Creation – the investment of humanity that could willingly dissolve are available at vitalcommunities.org/soil. statistics involved with the free-market economy. Attendees will collaborate with • Sunday, April 26, 3:30 to 6 p.m.: Systems such a transformation Can her examples of presenters and facilitators to explore in- Collapse: Climate and Ecological Crisis will yield millions of organizations and move- formation about the land and inhabitants • Monday, May 4 5:30 to 8 p.m.: Revolution- jobs beyond what ments take hold with of the Upper Valley at different periods ary Resilience: Creating a Different Future currently exists. millions more people? throughout time—the past, present and • Sunday, May 17, 2 to 6 p.m.: Fertile 2. Fair Economy – An overriding ques- future. Ideas about soil health and how to Ground: Reclaiming Power and Possibility. Where does the funding tion was raised in Thomas take action in a time of climate, ecologi- This culminating event will bring us together for the transformation More’s Utopia, published in cal, social and economic transformation at Sunrise Farm to reflect on the power of come from? The 1516. Is it legitimate to con- will be shared. This six-event series will natural systems and community collabora- “Carbon Majors” are 100 quer neighbors who would unpack the science of whole systems tion. It is the hope that this event can be corporate and state not voluntarily join your landscape function, explore how land and held in person. giants that represent regime? The progressive society change together and offer practi- The Climate and Community Resilience: responsibility for 71% and related movements are cal ways to engage with the landscape for Lessons from the Soil event series is a col- of Greenhouse gas such a small contingent of community resilience and social justice. laboration of Vital Communities, Vermont emissions since 1988. society and the powers- “Our soil, and the web of life within our Healthy Soils Coalition, Hanover Co-op 3. Emergency – the that-be are so substantial, soils, keeps our landscapes whole, letting Food Stores, Upper Valley Food Co-op, Naomi Klein, author of On Fire. life thrive,” said Cat Buxton, co-founder warming of the climate Image: bookpeople.com that it does not seem that BALE, XRVT and Grow More Waste Less. is already on a path to the Green New Deal can of Vermont Healthy Soils Coalition. “If More information is available at vitalcom- the point-of-no-return happen as proposed, and humans can mimic this brilliance, we may munities.org/soil. meaning that the current emissions those who are assertively hopeful about be able to build upon the social mycelium are approaching the danger level. it might consider preparing for battle. Is it that holds our communities together.” Many thanks to our sponsor: Due to the unfolding public health con- 4. According to Klein, a ten-year realistic to think that those so bonded to cerns regarding coronavirus disease 2019 deadline is needed and achievable, capitalism and the totalitarian states will (COVID-19), the Climate and Community but the 2050 goal dates are way too voluntarily agree to join? Resilience series will be modified to a late and not helpful to stop the Earth Roger Lohr of Lebanon, NH, who owns webinar format using Zoom until such warming at dangerous levels. and edits XCSkiResorts.com, has published time as it becomes safe to gather in pub- 5. Recession-worry is off base and the articles and promotional topics on snow sports, sustainability, and trails in regional lic again. All of the events are free, open opposite analytical reality is that the to all and offer childcare for any events Green New Deal would be a stimulus and national media. He is also the Recre- ational Editor for Green Energy Times. able to be held in person. Registration is for new jobs. encouraged at https://bit.ly/38ktks6.

A Community REFiLL not LAnDFiLL initiAtivE

HuskeeCup Swap Program

A REusAbLE tAkEAwAy CoFFEE Cup pRoGRAm

1. Swap Your HuskeeCup

2. Receive a Fresh HuskeeCup Ap .Coop/huskEE-sw moRE At CoopFooDstoRE 3. Order or Pour Your Coffee as Usual LEARn

LoCAL pARtiCipAtinG CAFEs: LuCky’s CoFFEE GARAGE | JAkE’s CoFFEE Co.—mEChAniC stREEt | hAnovER Co-op | LEbAnon Co-op | Co-op mARkEt 34 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE Elmore Roots’ Permaculture Know-How Elmore Roots Fruit Tree Nursery GREAT VIEWS, GREAT SELECTION Come into the Garden A berry saved is a berry earned, [email protected] David Fried make sure your berry bed is well turned. bird jumps off the Toss those berries right into your mouth, end of a branch that’s what we do in the great old south. seeing if it still Grow some for Grandma, grow some for Pete, remembers how make sure you, too, get enough to eat. to do it. We are more Try some new ones, plant some old, connected to make sure they can take the cold. Come into the garden. It’s good the fruit trees, Vermont’s the place where they taste best, here. Step away from what you need birds and berries to be doing. Give in to the lushness cold nights, blue skies give them their zest. and colors and smells of the berry than we know. Freeze ‘em, jam ‘em, get ‘em picked, They evolved patch and fruit grove. Eat deeply from along the edges before the chipmunks have each one licked. the bounty where everything exists of forests and Come to the garden, friend and foe, together and all are one. streams and so you’ll see why it’s such a great place to go. What really nourishes us? Fresh did we. Like us, water flowing to us and through us. We won’t make you dig or rake or weed, Things that grow in the earth that are they inhabit the we promise to let you plant a seed Original painting by Gabriel Tempesta. middle range of so fresh and good that when we taste life on earth. Not Spring is coming over the hill, them, they melt in our mouth and fill This time of year brings out the so tall and not so small, It’s been a while but I can see it still. us with simple joy. dreamer in all of us who have a con- they have been planted Drip drap plunk in the bucket or on my hat, Springtime is coming. Wildflow- nection to the land. Let’s face it, we and cared for by us ers are blooming. There is plenty maple syrup sure makes up for that. to eat, extra to share. As our world have not seen or walked on anything people and the animals So, grow some berries, grapes and nuts, green for about six months. Under that live among us. They turns slowly but with a lot of weight, the snow, under the mud, under are around our height. We notice the bunnies in their little earth huts. remember. There is always time for everything there are grasses waiting can reach their fruit, and Healthy lives are made each day, the garden. Birds can fly, because they to sprout. Under the grasses are the they can survive because we find ourselves the time to play. take themselves lightly. roots of berry plants and fruit trees. their fruit tastes good David Fried started Elmore Roots Fruit

They are so patient all winter and to us. We mow around – David Fried Tree Nursery forty years ago. He also now they are getting fidgety. The them. We plant their plays guitar and writes songs, including buds that have escaped the deer’s seeds and propagate our an elderberry rap song. nibbling are swelling with promise. A favorites.

The Oasis Effect starts with each person making the best and most sus- tainable choices that can reasonably be made in that moment. One drop at a time creating a mighty river of change. An Oasis of Change in a desert March’s Ingredient of of greedy habits programmed into us by nonstop media onslaught. Larry Plesent the Month is Hope! If you live your life as an oasis of Here’s to the resilience and inge- increasingly natural and sustainable nuity of Sapiens! We are not extinct Maybe you’re decisions, the best possible outcomes yet. And where there is life, there is like me and your will inevitably follow. Do it for yourself, always hope. head is exploding and do it for the generations to come Larry Plesent is a writer, philosopher from the onslaught after. But also, do it because it is fun and natural products formulator living of relentless and delicious to feel a part of nature and working in the Green Mountains of negative media and the enormity of creation rather central Vermont. Read more at www. bombardment. The than an isolated bubble-being. vermontsoap.com/category/blog/. world is warming! Species are dying off! Atmospheric CO2 is the highest it’s been in three million years! Isn’t there anything good happening in the world any- more? You bet there is, and, yes, there is something you can do to help Ubari Oasis in Libya. Image: Wikipedia/Sfivat turn this civiliza- tion of ours around. Each of us, all us can be part of this growing move- 7 billion blessed humans, creates a ment to bring humanity into a more sphere of influence around our lives natural and sustainable civilization, just by burning calories and being one that meets our needs without aware that we are in the world. The eating up what is left of the natural question of course is, what type of resources of the planet that begat and influence do YOU want to be in the sustains us. world? If you were a metaphor, what Just as enough individual drops of would you want your life to stand rain can burst a dam, the Oasis Effect for? starts out as drops on the ocean of The truth is that you and your fam- our petroleum fueled and extraction- ily, your friends and neighbors, all built economy. The Oasis Effect is like of us can do what the politicos and a raging current sweeping away the CEOs apparently cannot or will not damming limits of our ecologically do. You can be part of the solution. disastrous ways of conducting the daily I call it the Oasis Effect and each of business of being human. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG March 2020 35 Compost, Corn and Deep Caring Regenerative Evelyn R. Swett Agriculture: There’s No Tilling How My fingertips turn black as I sift. Three times a year, Much CO₂ We Can Save I manage the compost. It Doug Moss and Roddy Scheer is a messy, smelly job, but as I gently put the worms Regenerative Agriculture (RA) de- back into the middle bin scribes farming and grazing practices and sort the grit from their that help reverse climate change by castings, I think, I love this. rebuilding the organic matter in soil and There are three square restoring degraded soil biodiversity. compartments in our “Specifically, Regenerative Agriculture compost system separated is a holistic land-management practice - by heavy wire mesh. In that leverages the power of photosyn thesis in plants to close the carbon cycle April, July and November, and build soil health, crop resilience and I harvest the fully ‘cook’ nutrient density,” reports California State batch in the left compart- University’s Regenerative Agriculture ment, blending it into our Initiative (RAI). “Regenerative agricul- raised beds or using it to ture improves soil health, primarily nourish a struggling shrub through the practices that increase or tree. The middle “in soil organic matter. This not only aids process” batch gets sifted in increasing soil biota diversity and and turned into the ‘ready health, but increases biodiversity both to use’ pile. And finally, the above and below the soil surface, while third compartment, filled increasing both water holding capac- with the heaviest mass of Compost system divided into three compartments. Below: Corn cobs being composted with other green and brown waste. Cour- ity and sequestering carbon at greater recently discarded veg- tesy photos. depths.” The net result is a drawdown etable matter, gets aerated of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and the and turned into the middle improvement of soil structure to reverse compartment. I made this provides needed nutrients for the toma- and mingled with others. I dump what human-caused soil loss. bin ten years ago from scratch, milling toes and cucumbers that will surge from is left on the screen back into the final According to Terra Genesis Interna- the lumber from old cedar logs and the soil in a few months. bin and grab another pile. A few more tional, which helps businesses integrate using a power drill for the first time to When I turn these piles of worms and sifts and my black gold is ready for the sustainable farming practices into assemble it. rotting orange peels, a pungent odor garden. their everyday operations, key prin- A pile of soil slowly accumulates in emerges. No matter how many leaves Evelyn R. Swett is a photographer, ciples guiding the implementation of the gray plastic wheelbarrow beneath and other materials I add, this smell speaker and longtime climate activist RA include: progressively improving the wire screen that I use to sift and lingers. My children and husband can’t who celebrates how creativity and whole agroecosystems (soil, water and separate the almost completed com- stand it and say it lasts for days. They climate action converge to inspire biodiversity); creating context-specific post. Where did all those corn cobs, understand, though, that for me it is transformation and joy. She is happiest designs and making holistic decisions pepper seeds and pomegranate skins here with the worms and this scent that when mucking around with compost and expressing the essence of each farm; go? They can’t just disappear, and I feel connected to life. Each bucket of photographing the beauty she sees. ensuring and developing fair and recip- yet they do, every time. If I just put processed compost that emerges pro- rocal relationships among all stakehold- a bunch of discarded corn in a pile vides nutrients for the beans, kale and ers; and continually growing and evolv- in the sun, that wouldn’t do much, peas we will eat during the summer. ing individuals, farms and communities except perhaps feed some squirrels. My children and husband also know to express their innate potential. Here though, among the slimy that I grow beans, kale and peas be- How these lofty goals are achieved cucumbers, onion peels, and paper cause I love them and want them to be also involves the implementation of towel rolls, they become something well. This whole process occurs from a many of the practices that are now entirely new. It all works, this mess, place of deep caring for people and the commonplace in organic agriculture, this mix of green and brown stuff. planet. There’s a dynamic give and take including permaculture design (utilizing The worms eat it all and transform that fills my heart and brings peace. the patterns and features observed in everything, decomposing the carbon, My fingers continue to work the soil natural ecosystems), agroforestry (incor- oxygen and nitrogen into “black gold.” through the wire screen, bumping into porating the cultivation and conserva- No longer garbage, it is a source of an avocado peel. I think compost is tion of trees), keyline sub-soiling (to energy. When spread among the like people and ideas, needing to be loosen compacted soils), no- or low-till garden beds, the decomposed matter turned over once in a while, mixed up farming (leaving it alone Cont’d on p.36 36 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 Regenerative Agriculture RESOURCES Cont’d from p. 35 GUIDE TO ADVERTISERS to do its thing), pasture cropping (growing AllEarth Renewables 9 350-Vermont: General group that coordinates a variety of statewide actions. annual crops in dormant perennial pastures), AWEB Supply 40 To join this group go to: http://350vermont.org multi-species cover cropping and crop rota- tions (to introduce genetic diversity), the use Ayer Electric 11 American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy: Consumer guide to home energy savings - of animal manure (to build up the resilience aceee.org/consumer of the soil biota), encouragement of bees Ben and Jerry’s 20 American Solar Energy Society (ASES): www.ases.org and other beneficial insects (for fertilization), Bourne’s Energy 22 Backwoods Solar: Specialty: solar, off-grid - www.backwoodssolar.com the use of organic soil amendments such as biochar or terra preta (to enhance yield Building Alternatives 25 Buildings Energy Data Book: buildingsdatabook.eren.doe.gov while sequestering carbon dioxide), ecologi- Catamount Solar 8 Carbon Tax: carbontax.org cal aquaculture (using water not land to Clean Power Estimator: www.consumerenergycenter.org/renewables/estimator grow food), perennial crops (they live on be- Cite Ecologique 35 CO2.Earth: See emissions harms, scientific advice, and pathways to follow. www.co2.earth yond one growing season) and silvopasture Eagle Home Inspection Solutions 30 (integrating trees with forage and livestock Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings, Heating, Appliances, Refrigerator Guide, Building production). Eastman Electric, LLC 12 Envelope, Driving: http://aceee.org/consumer “Over the centuries, agriculture has Efficiency Vermont 31 Dept. Public Svc. (CEDF): publicservice.VT.gov/energy/ee_cleanenergyfund.html caused the loss and degradation of fertile soil, leading to the downfall of civilizations Elmore Roots 34 Dsireusa.com: www.dsireusa.com Renewables & Efficiency. Find state, local, utility, & federal incen- worldwide,” points out John Roulac, founder EZ Bikes & Scooters 4 tives for renewable energy & energy efficiency. and CEO of the organic superfoods brand Efficiency VT: This is a must-go-to site for immeasurable amounts of info. www.efficiencyVT.com Nutiva, and an outspoken advocate for RA. Fortress Power 13 Energy Efficiency & R/E Clearinghouse (EREC): eetd.lbl.gov/newsletter/CBS_NL/nl6/Sources.html “Modern industrial agriculture is doing it even faster.” Froling Energy 23 Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Clearinghouse (EREC): eetd.lbl.gov More and more farmers are starting to Geobarns 25 Energy Guide: Unbiased advice about today’s energy choices. Find ways to save, lower your bills & help realize that their survival may well depend Grappone Auto Group 6 the earth’s environment - www.energyguide.com on whether they can pivot toward RA as the Energy Star Federal Tax Credits: www.energystar.gov/tax credits. world warms. “Regenerative agriculture is an Green Bee Lawn and Garden 39 approach to food and farming systems that Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC): www.ferc.gov works with nature’s rhythms and technology Green Energy Options 12 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission(FERC): www.ferc.gov to feed our growing population, regenerate Green-E-Mowers 39 Find Solar: www.findsolar.com topsoil and enhance biodiversity now and long into the future,” concludes RAI, caution- Hanover Consumer Coop 33 Fossil Fuel Freedom: Group working to make Vermont’s energy plan 100% free of fossil fuels: ing that it’s critical to change synthetic Heritage Natural Finishes 38 To join this group go to: groups.google.com/group/fossil-fuel-freedom- nutrient-dependent monocultures, low- Greywater Info: www.oasisdesign.net/greywater biodiversity and soil degrading practices. High Peaks Solar 13 Indeed, our very existence may depend on it. Home Energy Saver: Interactive site to help you identify & calculate energy savings opportunities in your home. Integrity Energy 9 EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer & A lot of great information! - hes.lbl.gov Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit EarthTalk. LEDdynamics 28 Home Power Magazine: www.homepower.com https://emagazine.com. Loewen Window Center 29 IREC/ Interstate Renewable Energy Council: RE educational info. www.irecusa.org Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op 37 NABCEP/ North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners: This organization that tests & CLASSIFIEDS certifies PV system installers. Individuals are Certified, companies are not. www.nabcep.org Monadnock Food Co-op 37 ADVERTISE IN GREEN ENERGY TIMES NESEA/ Northeast Sustainable Energy Assoc.: www.nesea.org Montpelier Construction 24 Call us with your ad info or e-mail ad copy National Association of Energy Service Co. 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Please send check to 1749 Vermont Passive House 24 Wright’s Mountain Road, Bradford, Vermont 05033 Vermont Soap Organics 38 new & existing homes. 800-639-6069 - www.veic.org 802.439.6675 Weatherization, Energy Star & Refrigerator Guide: www.waptac.org [email protected] Wright Construction Co., Inc. 28 www.susdesign.com Online info for solar benefit with house design: overhangs, sun angle & path… www.greenenergytimes.org Zone 6 Energy 25 IT’S A GREEN LIFE - AFTER ALL WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG March 2020 37 Don’t Flush That! How to Keep Toxics Out of the Water Supply Cassandra Hemenway of water is needed.2 and may have a devastating a negative impact the environment, We don’t think of our homes as part • Purchase environmentally‐ effect on marine life. Typical animals, and humans. of a water cycle. Water goes in. Water preferable products certified sun screens and hand sanitiz- Links available on G.E.T.’s website. comes out. We wash dishes, shampoo, by EPA Safer Choice or Green ers contain endocrine disrup- Cassandra Hemenway is the Outreach flush the toilet, and without really Seal. tors, which, even in imper- Manager at the Central Vermont Solid thinking about it, contribute chemicals ceptible amounts, kill coral • Read labels! Follow Waste Management District. that directly affect water quality in our and adversely impact fish. instructions on amount and neighborhoods. Recipes abound for easy concentration. Everything from the pills we take, to DIY body care products, such the cleaners we choose has an impact • Download the Safer as these ten recipes from No on water quality. Here are a few strate- Cleaning Guide by the Central Fuss Naturals: https://nofuss- gies to help minimize negative impacts Vermont Solid Waste natural.com/10-easy-body- on the water systems in your area. Management District for care-products-anyone-can- Cleaning agents: Cleaners with more information and DIY make/. labels containing the word “Danger,” cleaner recipes. (http://www. Prescription Pills: Never “Poison” or “Caution/Warning” are cvswmd.org/reducing-toxics. flush pills down the toilet. considered household hazardous html) Pharmaceuticals end up in waste at disposal. These are dangerous If replacing a cleaner, the water supply through substances -- the chemists who work at store harmful unused prod- human excretion, flushing, household hazardous waste collections ucts in a safe, dry area until and even landfilling old show up in hazmat suits and gas masks the next household hazard- pills, where they contribute to handle them. Keep that in mind the ous waste collection day. to toxic leachate. Phar- next time you make a choice about a Never pour these down the drain or throw maceuticals pass through waste water new cleaner. in the trash. Vermont, Massachusetts and treatment and go directly back into the Additionally, overuse of sanitizers New York all have regular collections, and, water supply. and disinfectants can kill “good” micro- in some cases, permanent drop- off sites. According to the United States Geo- organisms in municipal water supplies Go to your state’s Department of Environ- logical Survey, prescription medications and residential septic systems, disrupt- mental Conservation for details. “… pollute directly from pharmaceutical ing the water treatment Body Care Products: manufacturing plants or from humans process. Follow these Many self-care and cos- and animals. As these chemicals make guidelines to reduce your metic products contain their way into terrestrial and aquatic envi- impact: toxins and are harmful ronments, they can affect the health and • Clean only to the level to environmental and behavior of wildlife, including insects, fish, required. Typically wiping personal health. The Cam- birds, and more.” off surfaces is enough. paign for Safe Cosmet- If you have unused prescription pills, • Much household ics and Skin Deep (En- bring them to a Permanent Collection cleaning does not require vironmental Working Location, or Drug Take Back Day location disinfection or sanitization Group), and Think Dirty near you. Contact the FDA to find a site (except in special circum- all work to help you make near you, or go to https://www.getsmart- stances of illness, diaper safer and more informed aboutdrugs.gov/content/national-take- changing, or compromised choices. Look for their back-day for details about National Drug immune systems). third-party certifications Take Back Day on April 25. on body care products. To summarize: choose carefully what • Less is more: to destroy Swimming and shower- you purchase and minimize toxic prod- common foodborne ing can cause traces of ucts going down your drain or into your germs, only one table- body care products to trash. If toxic products get into the water spoon of bleach per gallon enter the water system or solid waste systems, they can have 193 North Main St White River Jct, VT

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uppervalleyfood.coop Is COVID-19 a Precursor to Climate Change? Cont’d from p. 1 uppervalleyfood.coop your habits. apparent collapse of the fossil fuel industry or city. So, climb back in the SUV and waste On both COVID-19 and climate would typically lead to increased emis- hours of your life on the road, or dress change, there’s been an alarming lack sions. But momentum toward electric cars formally from the waist up and activate of action on a crisis that’s killing people. is already baked into regulations in China, your computer, refreshed from that extra Europe experienced many extra deaths California, and the EU, and battery prices hour of sleep you got? Do you really want Shop Co-ops last summer due to heat: 892 in Britain are way down. The rebound may not go to go back? Co-operatives are businesses that are member- and 1,435 in France in a two-month the way they usually do. The planet is taking a deep breath, just owned collectively managed by paid staff and in time for Earth Day. We, who are part of a member-elected board of directors. Values period. By 2100, climate change will Another big change may come in tele- include democracy, self-help and a concern for kill as many people as die of cancer presence, identified by Project Drawdown the earth, are in some distress right now families and the community. and infectious diseases, according to a as Global Warming Solution #63: estimated and big gatherings are unlikely to be part study by the University of Chicago. And emission reductions by 2050 could be two of the celebration. But we are experienc- yet we do practically nothing. (Case in gigatons, with a savings to businesses and ing unprecedented solidarity as a society, point; the excellent climate change ar- organizations of $1.3 trillion and to indi- curtailing activity to help the most vulner- ticles put out by The New York Times are viduals, 82 billion fewer travel hours. able among us. Among the oldest of our pockmarked with SUV ads, including Society is taking a crash course in these loved-ones is this earth itself, and we can one reading, “These small 2020 SUVs technologies right now, and the idea of act to help her too. Michael OsterHolm, di- rector of the Center for Infectious Disease Open 7 Days 8am-7pm will take your breath away.” Ya think?) spending two hellish hours a day (or more) Open 7 Days 8am-7pm 9 Washington St 388-7276 middlebury.coop But could this crisis show us a way on the freeway may be dying a natural Research and Prevention at the University 9 Washington St 388-7276 middlebury.coop of Minnesota, hopes the COVID-19 crisis

forward? death. That could be huge in the U.S. : :

FESTIVAL 2020 EARTH 2020 “It’s really up to us,” says Brad Plumer, where transportation accounts for 29% can teach important lessons about “what writing in the New York Times. If we of our emissions. Cities that shut down we do, how we do it, and where we do surge the old, dirty industries in the for big events like the Olympics typically it.” That applies equally to COVID-19 and old, dirty way to bring about economic enjoy three weeks of blue skies and cooler climate. As Osterholm says, “Never waste recovery, the improvements in air qual- temperatures. That is now being experi- even a tragic crisis.” ity will be only temporary. But what if enced worldwide. Are we going to want to Sources are available on G.E.T.’s website. we don’t do the same old things we’ve give that up, now that we’ve had a glimpse Jessie Haas has written 40 books, mainly always done? There’s some reason for of how things could be? Now we know for children, and has lived in an off-grid SATURDAY, APRIL 25 hope. that all those business meetings don’t cabin in Vermont. NOON - 4PM, KEENE, NH Low gas prices brought about by the require everyone to be in the same room monadnockfood.coop/earthfestival 38 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 IT’S A GREEN LIFE - AFTER ALL The Plastics Production Surge George Harvey wind farms. Today, Ørsted is Looking through the one of the most successful news on energy recently, offshore wind developers I came across an ar- in the world and has made ticle at CNN with the title, itself pretty much impervi- “Exxon’s Market Value Has ous to fossil fuel downturns, Crumbled By $184 Billion.” because it has no petroleum (https://cnn.it/37JUisS) It assets at all. said ExxonMobil stock was Many companies, however, down 41% from its high in lack that kind of foresight. A 2014. completely changed business This was interesting, but plan is beyond their capaci- focusing on one company ties, so they try to find the never tells a complete next best out. In many cases, story. With that in mind, they have decided that the ® I took a look at the Dow best approach to a contract- Jones Oil & Gas Index to ing market is to create a new All natural, high quality, see whether Exxon was market. If they cannot sell really all that much worse oil or natural gas, they will penetrating oil finishes and than the rest of the com- sell chemicals made from beeswax-based waxes for panies in the sector. I was a Refinery in Anancortes, Washington. Mt Baker is in the background. Photo: Walter oil or natural gas. The most preserving and enhancing all little surprised to find that Siegmund, Wikimedia Commons http://bit.ly/2uhVLJu. obvious large market for a 41% decline was actually those chemicals is probably types of woodwork. Fine a little better than average. plastics. finishes for every part of your Regardless of what many people may more complicated because of climate An article on an expected increase think, most petroleum producers change. Whole major corporations in plastics production, “The Plastics home. seem to be in trouble. and whole countries are committing Pipeline: A Surge of New Production Is The situation is partly a product to ending use of fossil fuels. And as a on the Way,” was published by Yale En- Beautiful. Simple. Natural. of their success with fracking and result, in the midst of a supply glut and vironment 360. (http://bit.ly/2HAvFUY) mining oil shale. Operations in those low prices, ExxonMobil and its com- It explains why the world will soon be two areas have been so successful, petitors are operating in a market that “awash in plastic.” Contact us for free samples: in terms of volume, that oil and gas is being reduced in size intentionally. Your reaction to this might be some- prices are at very low levels. Unfor- There are a number of ways for them thing like, “Wait a minute! The world is info@heritagenaturalfinishes.com tunately for the oil and gas people, to deal with this. A company called already awash in plastics!” If so, then I (541) 844-8748 neither fracking nor shale mining is Danish Oil and Natural Gas, once com- would say your feelings on the subject all that cheap, and the low prices are monly called “DONG,” provided us with may be healthy. But please understand P.O. Box 97 often below production costs. The one example of a solution. DONG re- that while things are getting really bad, Philomath, OR 97370 more oil and gas they produce, the branded itself as Ørsted, sold off its as- they could get much, much worse. And faster they lose money. sets relating to fossil fuels, and started while the fossil fuel giants might not www.HeritageNaturalFinishes.com This situation is getting even specializing in developing offshore actually wish the world to be a worse place, they are acting as though hav- ing too much plastic junk in the world might be an acceptable price to pay for maintaining their own profits. The Yale Environment 360 article cause they can sell ethylene for mak- makes a point that is worth passing ing plastics in addition to the fuels on. It is clearly stated in a quote from they have traditionally pushed. They Judith Enck of Beyond Plastics, com- are, I believe, taking a far greater menting on the fact that many plastics chance than Ørsted took in leaving facilities are still in early development. the industry altogether. “That’s why 2020 is so crucial,” she said. The plastics solution to the fossil “There are a lot of these facilities that fuels problem has some likelihood of are in the permitting process. We’re complete failure. Furthermore, it is pretty close to it all being too late.” important that it fail completely for It is also worth noting that the large the good of the planet. And interest- oil and gas companies are trying to ingly, we actually can make that hap- build a market in a world that already pen by refusing to buy or use plastics has resistance, and the resistance is wherever we can. growing rapidly. These companies may have a lot of money to spend, but it is not as extensive as it might appear. They are in trouble for a reason, and the reason will not just go away be-

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Ten-year old Boy’s Recycling Business Cont’d from p.33 OOho Pods Cont’d from p. 1

IT’S A GREEN LIFE - AFTER ALL WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 March 2020 39

Let’sGeorge Harvey Get Serious About Electric Lawnmowers from the owner’s mercial mowers. (Call 802-342-3808 If you mow your lawn, or even if own 9.72kW solar or email Emily.eckert@greenmoun- you hire someone, you probably array. Need we add tainpower.com) don’t think of a gas-powered mower that lawn products The Burlington Electric Depart- as your best friend. But let’s face it, are organic? Green ment offers $100 for residential it’s a task that most of us spend a lot Bee Lawn & Garden mowers and $3,500 for commercial of time and money on to keep our can be contacted at mowers. (Contact Mike Kanarick at yards mown all spring and summer. 802-289-1968. Their [email protected]) But the noise, vibration, and fumes of Facebook page is The Vermont Electric Co-op also a small internal combustion machine http://bit.ly/Green- has a $100 incentive for residential are not among the great attractions Bee-on-FB. mowers and $1,000 for commercial of yard work. With most gas-powered Chris Cook of mowers. (Contact Lisa Morris at 802- engines, exhaust emissions are much Top Notch Property 635-4222 or lmorris@vermontelec- worse than those of a car. And then Maintenance uses tric.coop.) there is the time and cost for mainte- Mean Green electric The Washington Electric Co-op also nance and trips to the gas station. mowers. These mow- has a residential incentive of $100 Fortunately, there is a better way. ers save him $3000 and $1,000 for commercial mowers. It eliminates a lot of noise and all a year in fuel. Chris The Vermont Public Power Supply the fumes of an internal combustion also commented on Association offers $25 for residential engine. It reduces maintenance and how electric mowers e-mowers and more for commercial. operating costs, and can reduce the are a great time- (Contact Julia Leopold jleopold@ operator’s carbon footprint by over saver, as they require vppsa.com) 95%. For some people, it can turn less maintenance. All together, these Vermont utili- mowing a lawn from a chore into It happens that as ties offer e-mower incentives to 95% something enjoyable. Neighbors the season for lawn of the state’s residents. appreciate the relative quiet. And care is just starting, The news on e-mowers keeps get- in a best case, it turns maintaining there is some good ting better. Some time ago, Green a perfect lawn into something you news about electric Energy Times started looking into don’t even have to think about. That lawn mowers for robotic mowers. These impressive better way is, of course, an electric anyone who might little machines never have any desire lawn mower (e-mower). want to buy one. to play hooky or go to the zoo, all As it turns out, more and more First off, walk-behind they want to do is keep the grass people and institutions are making electric mowers down. And since they work every the switch to e-mowers. In Charlotte, for homeowners chance they get, they keep a lawn Vermont, The Ten Stones Village are comparable in that is about as close to perfect as Association replaced a 21 hp diesel price to traditional you can get. Our latest article on zero-turn mower to maintain its six models, and given these machines was “Get a Robotic acres with a Mean Green CRX-52, reductions in operat- Mower and Take Back Your Time,” avoiding 125 hours of diesel racket ing costs, they can which appeared in May, 2019 (http:// each year. Zero-turn electric lawn be less expensive bit.ly/it-mows-you-dont). mowers have also recently been pur- over their lifetimes. Our publisher, N.R. Mallery, was chased by the Burlington Electric and And second, there so impressed by robotic mowers Parks and Rec Departments, the NW are incentives and that she purchased two Robomow® Region of the Vermont Department rebates available for brand mowers herself. She was so of Parks, and Dartmouth College. those who want to impressed by her Robomow® that Lawn care customers usually prefer switch to electric. A she decided to sell them and make e-mowers when they are available, number of munici- sure they were available locally. You because of reduced noise and pol- palities offer them. can learn all about it by calling her at lution. In response, some lawn care Also, a number of 802-439-6675. businesses are now offering electric local electric utilities mowing services. There are at least provide incentives four e-mowing services in Vermont, for them. If you want Many thanks to our Sponsors: and a few in New Hampshire and to find the incen- Maine. One example is Green Bee tives for the area Lawn & Garden, in Chester, Vermont. where you live, the Taking the transition away from oil best thing to do is Top: Mean Green Mower at Dartmouth College. Photo: Steve Wisbaum, Eco- and gas as part of its business plan, to contact both your Equipment Supply. Center: Mean Green electric mower used by Green Bee Lawn not only are the mowers electric but municipal govern- & Garden. Courtesy photo. Bottom: Robowmow® robotic mower keeps two so is just about everything else. That ment and your local country acres pristinely mowed all by itself. Photo courtesy of Green-E-Mowers. includes the blowers, the chain saws, utility to see what and even the truck will be in the they offer. electric mowers: near future. Even the electricity that For example, in Vermont there are Green Mountain Power offers $50 for powers all this is green, as it comes sixteen utilities that offer incentives for residential mowers and $700 for com- 40 March 2020 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 TAR Innovative Leaders in Sustainable Heating Solutions 1 800STAY WARM M central heatfrom ourregion’s forests. Visit our showroom: 19Archertown Road,Orford, NH

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