ISSUE 53 • January - March 2019 – WINTER SUSTAINABILITY – COP 24 SOLUTIONS – FREE! SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR VT, NH, MA, NY, ME and Beyond R S! EA Y 10

Energy Independence, Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Living and MORE! www.greenenergytimes.org | 802.439.6675 HAPPY NEW YEAR: Sustainable Practices at Local Ski Areas By Lillian Eden While ski areas may PLANET EARTH have a reputation as high – Getting Green Done – Jessie Haas energy users, employing Are you feeling resolute? The Intergov- more sustainable options ernmental Panel on Climate Change and make both financial and the National Climate Assessment have social sense. That was the laid out one view of our future on the blue message at the inaugu- planet, a deeply unattractive one. Now we ral Northeast Weather have a choice: curl up in a fetal position, Summit in a session sucking our thumbs, or resolve to go down on efforts to promote another path: the one where we reverse sustainability at ski areas. global warming while enriching our soil, The summit was put our culture, and our health. Also, while hav- on by North American ing fun and creating beauty, feasting and Snowsports Journalists festivating—because let’s aim high, if we’re Association (NASJA) and going to aim at all. Stratton Mountain with These new reports land a few weeks other sponsors at Stratton before Resolution season. So, if you’re feel- Mountain, VT, in Decem- ing resolute, or just wish you were, if you’re ber. inspired by the 15-year-old girl who’s been More ski areas are de- picketing the Swedish parliament every ploying sustainable tech- Friday, or the thousands of Australian kids nology based on financial who walked out of school to pressure their concerns or environ- government to take action on climate, one mental ones, and there is thing’s certain. Action feels better than evidence of established despair and has a better chance of getting successes in ski resorts us what we want. throughout New England. During the session for Fan gun undergoing performance testing by Efficiency Vermont during NSAA’s 2015 annual Winter Conference at Killington. “Ski Area Sustainable Practices” sponsored by the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), first to generate power from its own wind by appointing a sustainability officer to there were five presenters who reviewed turbine. It followed with the building of a oversee its efforts. measures they were taking to reduce their solar facility, owned and operated by NEX- Other initiatives include “cow power,” carbon footprint. AMP, on 12 acres of its property. using methane from cow excrement. The Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts switched Killington/Pico Ski Resort Partners, LLC Cow Power program is a unique form of to sustainable power (wind, solar, cogen- in VT is also making great strides toward producing energy from “farm to peak” actionenvironmentalgroup.com eration) both from a monetary and social sustainability. Killington’s 50% decrease in whereby about a dozen Vermont farms What to do? Where to start? Luckily standpoint. In 2007, the ski area was the its carbon footprint was enabled in part use cow manure at their Cont’d on p.39 there’s a list, laid out in Paul Hawken’s 2017 book, Drawdown: The Most Comprehen- sive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. His team offers eighty ranked We wish you all a solutions for reducing emissions and se- 2018: A SUSTAINABLE YEAR IN REVIEW George Harvey questering carbon, all current, happening, to an article at happy, hopeful scalable, and urgent, with an additional 20 Last year, some OilPrice.com, it New Year! promising coming attractions. G.E.T. also impressive devel- showed that the published a book review on this in the June opments started LCOE of onshore 2017 issue. to become clear. wind and solar What’s on the list? Reduce food waste In some ways the power had fallen IN THIS ISSUE: (#3). Electric vehicles (#26). Managed graz- most impres- well below the Yellow Vests/Green New Deal p.3 ing (#19). Wind turbines onshore (#2) and sive of these cost of electricity offshore (#22). Heat pumps (#42). LED light- has been the from any form Drive Electric - VT & NH pp.4 & 7 ing (#33 household, #44 commercial). Solar: continued de- of fossil fuels in Farms, (#8); Rooftop, (#10); Hot Water (#41); cline in the costs all major world Solar for Low-Income families p.8 Concentrated (#25). Likely, you already of electricity economies Solar -2018 Year in Review p.12 participate in several solutions. Going from renewable except Japan (bit. through the list, I found that my husband resources. Two ly/GET-2018-1). Climate Change in a Nutshell p.24 and I engage with sixteen. reports on the The second of Still, I feel far more enthusiastic and “levelized” cost Moonrise over the Cranston Fire. CAL FIRE photo. the reports was Carpeting & Indoor Air Quality p.29 determined knowing that reducing food of energy (LCOE) Lazard’s LCOE Grazing For Change p.32 waste is the third-most powerful solution. that came out in November both indicate Analysis, Version 12.0 (bit.ly/GET-2018-2). With that in mind, I made it my mission that electricity from renewables is becom- Lazard’s analysis might be the most refer- DIY Re-usable Bags pp.37,38 to eat everything in my garden that the ing less expensive than the least expensive enced publication on the subject. This year woodchucks and chipmunks missed. That fossil fuel competition, nearly everywhere it had the exciting news that the unsubsi- Climate Effects on Skiing p.38 intersected with solution #4, plant-rich on Earth. The LCOE has the cost of subsidies dized cost of electricity from onshore wind diet, and turned me into a squash fanatic. I included, so the different sources of energy and solar had fallen below the marginal cost now have a bushel (not grown by me, but can be compared directly. of coal-burning power plants. This means they traveled only six miles by Prius), and I The first of these reports came from that for a company that plan to eat every single one of them before Bloomberg New Energy Finance. According owns a coal-burning plant, Cont’d on p.3 A SolAr they spoil. At thirty cents a pound on the Powered G.E.T. IT! day Pete’s stand closed, this is also a frugal ComPAny choice. The list is like that. Some solutions Bringing G.E.T. Please recycle or cost money, but many save money, and to New York State share this publication there’s a way for everyone www.nyses.org REEN ENERGY T MES to contribute. Cont’d on p.19 when finished G ... be energy independent! ™ As Vermont’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Continue to Rise, ACTION ON CLIMATE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

GREEN ENERGY TIMES (G.E.T.) Green Energy Times Regional Year in Review 1749 Wright’s Mountain Road • Bradford, VT 05033 By George Harvey TABLE OF CONTENTS t/f: 802.439.6675 • [email protected] While individual states G.E.T.’s COMMUNICATIONS TEAM: have done a lot of work NEWS, CLUES, VIEWS ...... 3 on reducing carbon Publisher/Editor/Production ...... Nancy Rae Mallery emissions, one multi- YELLOW VESTS & GREEN NEW DEAL ...... 3 General Factotum ...... George Harvey state effort is very much Coordinating Director...... Michelle Harrison worth mentioning. After TRANSPORTATION ...... 4-7 Copy Editor ...... Ray Brewster a year of assessing the SAVE MONEY: DRIVE ELECTRIC...... 4 Recreational Editor ...... Roger Lohr scientific evidence and data, nine of the twelve RAIL COMMUTING IN VT ...... 5 A huge special thank you to all of our contributing writers! states in the Transporta- Dr. Alan K. Betts, Randy Bryan, EarthTalk®(Roddy Scheer and tion and Climate Initia- NH DRIVE EV: 2018 RECAP ...... 7 Doug Moss), Lillian Eden, David Fried, Arash Ghalehgolab- tive (TCI), along with ENERGY NEWS ...... 7 behbahani, Jessie Haas, Dr. James Hansen, Laura Hildebrand, the District of Columbia, Karl Kemnitzer, Roger Lohr, Nancy Rae Mallery, Grace Olsen, formed a group to de- Bruce Parker, Larry Plesent, Carl Pope, Joe Rankin, Grace Relf, KEENE, NH: 100% RENEWABLE?...... 7 David Roberts, Deb Sachs, Margaret Skinner, Kate Tanabe. sign a regional approach to transportation. The RENEWABLE ENERGY ...... 8-19 Ad Design/Layout ...... Nancy Rae Mallery, PJ Fischer nine states are Connecti- LOW INCOME SOLAR - IN VT ...... 8 Printing...... Valley News Lebanon, NH Using 100% Recycled News- cut, Delaware, Maryland, Offshore wind farm. Image: Kallerna, Wikimedia Commons. print & Smudge-Free Environmentally Safe Inks* Massachusetts, New THREE CHURCHES IN NORWICH, VT ...... 9 Advertising Team: Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Ver- with the goal for 2030 being double that WORLD’S LARGEST BATTERY SYSTEM ...... 10 ...... Nancy Rae Mallery, Bradford, VT 802.439.6675 mont, and Virginia. The TCI operates along amount. [email protected] the same lines as the Regional Greenhouse In December, Governor Cuomo called for BACKING UP THE WHOLE GRID ...... 11 ...... Michelle Harrison, Londonderry, NH 603.437.0167 Gas Initiative but with a special focus on 100% carbon-neutral electricity through [email protected] transportation emissions. The next step in the Green New Deal. This may be the most THE 2018 SOLAR INDUSTRY ...... 12 ...... Don Smallwood, So. Hero, VT 802.373.3309 the initiative is to take public comment for ambitious goal for any eastern state. Some EAST-WEST FACING SOLAR ...... 13 [email protected] a year. analysts reviewing the call observed that Distribution: Sally Bellew, Larry Chase, Johnny Hinrichs, Hippo MASSACHUSETTS he seemed to want to put the state of New SUPPORT VT’S RENEWABLES PLAN ...... 14 Distribution, Manchester, NH, Daniel Hoviss, George Lawton, York firmly into the lead on renewable Rosalyn Moore, our New York Team: Joanne Coons, Steve Ells- Massachusetts has seen a lot of work PAIRING SOLAR WITH HEAT PUMPS ...... 15 worth, Wyldon Fishman, Bob Freeston, Peter Hudiburg, David developing new climate and energy initia- energy, pushing it ahead of California. Kupras, Joan Rech; Russ Lanoie, Jodi Ovens, Alan Phenix, Marty tives. One effort that is particularly impres- VERMONT INCENTIVES & REBATES ...... 16-17 Philbrick, Larry Plesant, George Plumb, Sustainable Hanover, sive is the continuing development of an Jeff Skelskie & Wenda Luff, Don Smallwood, Eric Stevens, David Like New Hampshire, Vermont has been HOLIDAY HILL COMMUNITY WIND ...... 18 Van Houten, Jim VanValkenburg, Barb & Greg Whitchurch... off-shore wind farm consisting of three going through a period in which the legisla- Hopefully we have not forgotten to mention anyone. It is your parts. As we go to press, three companies ture and the governor were not in agree- PARKING LOT SOLAR ...... 19 help that paves the way to a sustainable future. have won rights to develop areas off the ment about renewable energy and climate Please support our advertisers. They make G.E.T. happen! Massachusetts coast for development. They change. The result has been a slowdown CARBON PRICING UPDATE...... 19 ABOUT G.E.T. are paying a total of just over $405 million in work on renewable energy and a rise in FEATURE: UNDERSTANDING COP 24 ..... 20-21 Green Energy Times is produced by 100% solar power, off-grid for their areas, which could have a total carbon emissions. with a 3.8 kW PV system. We live and know that Energy Inde- capacity of just over 4.1 gigawatts (GW). We Andrew Perchlik, director of Vermont’s WHEN TO TALK TO A CHILD ...... 21 pendence is indeed possible – with clean, sustainable renew- can compare this to the Walney Extension, Clean Energy Development Fund said the able energy along with reducing your needs. We walk the talk! the world’s largest offshore wind farm, story of the past year has been one in which HEATING & COOLING ...... 22-23 Our mission is to create Energy Awareness, Understanding which has a capacity of 700 megawatts small utilities have been working to make HEAT WITH WOOD: PAST AND PRESENT...... 22 and Independence – Socially Responsible Living. (MW). Solar Power works! … anywhere under the sun! the changes they need to complete by Onshore, the development of renewable 2019, under the state’s Renewable Energy COMMUNITY-SCALE HEATING...... 22 G.E.T. is published bi-monthly, mid-Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct. energy in Massachusetts is a bit less clear. & Dec., by NRM Advertising Company. It is free and available Standard. THERMOELECTRIC WOOD STOVES ...... 23 throughout 90% of VT & 80% of NH: the Upper Valley-St J. down While great efforts were made to set rules Perchlik emphasized that we really need to Brattleboro, Windsor-Ludlow, Barre-Montpelier-Burlington, enabling development of solar power, and to address emissions from transportation CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS...... 24-25 Stowe, Mooretown-Waitsfield, Morrisville, Hardwick, Danville, some progress appears to have been made, NEK, Grand Isle, Woodstock-Rutland-Bennington; NH: Woods- and heating. Noting that the abundance ville-Hanover-W. Leb.-Plainfield, Enfield-Claremont, Keene- the outcome is complex, to say the least. of oil that we currently have in this coun- DR. BETTS: LOOKING BACK & AHEAD...... 24 Concord-Plymouth-Laconia, Littleton, & towns in between, One bright note is that a new initiative was try cannot last forever, he said, “We have CLIMATE CHANGE IN A NUTSHELL ...... 24 Greenfield Center, MA... and throughout NY in the Hudson Val- launched to help farmers put solar systems to be prepared for a shortage.” He added, ley from NYC to L. George, the I-88 corridor ... on agricultural land that will remain in “The better we are prepared, the better off DROP IN U.S. CO2 ? ...... 25 If you would like to have G.E.T. available somewhere you have agricultural use, such as for grazing or rais- Vermont will be.” not seen it, let us know! GLOBAL WARMING ACCELERATION ...... 25 G.E.T. is also online at www.greenenergytimes.org. ing shade-tolerant crops (see article in this Perchlik has been elected to the Vermont We encourage you to patronize our advertisers. We strive to issue on page 18 for more information). Senate, and it may have been from that CITIES CLIMATE CHALLENGE ...... 25 selectively include trustworthy services & products. G.E.T. can- NEW HAMPSHIRE perspective that he said, “The overall story not be held responsible for advertising claims. is about what’s next.” BUILDING & ENERGY EFFICIENCY....26-31 Please support our advertisers. Keep it Local! Progress in New Hampshire has been To advertise in G.E.T. contact Account Executives listed above. slow. Governor Sununu vetoed important A NET-ZERO HOME IN HANOVER, NH ...... 27 By advertising in Green Energy Times or sponsoring us, you not legislation, including one bill that would only help to create energy awareness, understanding and inde- have raised the maximum array size for 10 TIPS FOR A HEALTHIER INDOORS ...... 28 pendence for a sustainable future, but also help to support our net metering from one MW to five and efforts to make it all happen! Please call one our Advertising CARPETING & INDOOR AIR QUALITY ...... 29 Representatives today! attempts to override the vetoes were only Editorial Policy: Green Energy Times works with a variety of occasionally successful. Some progress was UTILITIES INCORPORATE RENEWABLES ...... 30 writers and also publishes community submissions on vari- made in individual communities, especially ous topics. We aim to publish content that is independently Concord, which is committed to 100% ENERGY EFFICIENCY TRAININGS ...... 31 researched, unbiased and relevant to our audience. Submissions renewable energy. In November, the state are subject to our guidelines. Publication is subject to our edito- 3RD WEATHERIZE UPPER VALLEY...... 31 rial judgment & schedule. elected legislators who favor renewable Subscriptions: $30/yr. See form on page 34 or contact us. energy. Now, with both chambers in the SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE ...... 32-37 Green Energy Times would like to thank everyone who has hands of Democrats, renewable energy ad- Wind turbines in New York. Image: Sgt. Bender at Eng- submitted articles or helped in any way to make this all a real- vocates expect that more progress might lish Wikipedia. GRAZING CHANGE/STONEWALL FARM ...... 32 ity. We want to also thank our advertisers & ask that you sup- be made. port them. Say that you saw them in Green Energy Times. Now PINE BEETLES MARCH NORTH...... 32 let’s all G.E.T. moving ahead towards a dean, renewable future – NEW YORK PRINTRELEAF HELPS LOCALLY ...... 33 one where our children & grandchildren will be able to breathe The picture for climate change and & grow, live & love on this beautiful planet where we live. renewable energy in New York has been Researchers Say Solar RESOURCES ...... 34 Thank you for reading G.E.T. Please send your comments & sug- dominated in the last year by Governor gestions to: [email protected] GREEN LIFE ...... 35-39 Disclaimer: G.E.T. allows space to, but does not endorse, con- Andrew Cuomo and such state agencies as and Wind Energy tributed content from professionals or vendors. the New York State Energy Research and INGRED OF MOS:PHILOSOPHER BRAIN ...... 35 *G.E.T.’s Carbon Footprint Disclosure: Green Energy Times is Development Authority. Fortunately, these Could Be the End of printed locally on recycled paper. The printing process uses eco- have been operating together to make FEDERAL EXEMPTIONS OF MERCURY ...... 35 friendly water-based inks. There are not any totally green print- some progress. Coal in Texas ers in the area that we are aware of, so it would mean trucking ELMORE ROOTS: LIGHT / SILVOPASTURE ..... 36 them MUCH farther to have G.E.T. published in a totally green New York, like Massachusetts, is looking Texas is a renowned producer of manner, thus increasing carbon emissions, as a consequence. to install offshore wind farms. The state fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, but SAFFRON AND SOLAR FARMS ...... 36 We chose to move from printing that used soy based inks launched a solicitation for 800 MW, with researchers at Houston’s Rice Univer- because the soy is only used for the colors - not black, which is bids due in February of 2019. The plan is sity claim that increased solar and MONADNOCK COOP FARM FUND ...... 37 the most prominent color.... G.E.T:s distribution emissions are also kept to a minimum, as well. With the wonderful help that for New York to have 2.4 GW of offshore wind energy adoption could be all DIY RE-USABLE FEED BAGS ...... 38 we g.e.t. within many communities, it keeps our carbon foot- wind power by 2030. Texas needs to quit coal for good. print a lower. Hopefully our footprint is offset because we are New York also started moving on energy Texas does not even need batteries CLIMATE EFFECTS ON SKIING ...... 38 100% solar powered! Because all of our employees work from storage in batteries. The New York Public for such a transformation. More at home, our carbon footprint is kept to a minimum. We grow SUSTAINABLE SKIING IN NE ...... 39 most of our food organically and live as sustainably as possible. Service Commission has approved a goal http://bit.ly/EndTexasCoal. We DO walk our talk! Peace! of installing 1.5 GW of batteries by 2025, As Vermont’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Continue to Rise, ACTION ON CLIMATE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

Important News, Clues and Views WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 January 2019 3 YELLOW VESTS AND GREEN NEW DEALERS Carl Pope is raising the fundamental question of mands. Indeed, how to structure the party’s energy investments in California. But there’s The fiery street pro- whether, as France modernizes and reforms climate strategy has become the focus of a a reason for that. California has been care- tests challenging French – Macron’s platform – it will leave the “other generational clash within the newly-elected ful to ensure that the economic stimulus President Emmanuel France,” the marginal middle class and Democratic House majority. Exactly what benefits of green energy preceded the Macron over his pro- working poor, behind with lagging incomes, this means in policy terms remains to play austerity part of the package – so that when, posed higher taxes on rising taxes and ever-higher cost of living. out. for example, the oil industry tried to roll gasoline, and the young Upon his return from the G20 summit in But all framings of the “Green New Deal” back the state’s long-term carbon cap, vot- climate activists of the Argentina, Macron was forced to back down concept, beginning with New York Times ers were already benefiting from a surge of Sunrise Movement who sat in at prospective on the fuel tax, at least for now. It would columnist Tom Friedman’s launch of the idea green energy jobs. Then, as revenues began House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office might have been a small increase - about 12¢/ as a response to the economic slowdown of to flow in from the carbon auctions, the seem like antagonists – one resisting and gal. for regular gasoline and 28¢ on diesel the Great Recession, conspicuously frame state set aside 25% of those revenues for the the other seeking faster and more ambitious fuel. But it’s symbolic. As an anti-tax protest climate action as the 21st-century ver- benefit of low-income communities, a figure movement away from fossil fuels. I’m not coming from the “forgotten” France, the sion of economic stimulus -- investment in raised four years later to 35%. so sure about that, though. Some deep cur- yellow-vest moment has a somewhat similar innovation. The rest of the package varies. When the state raised the gas tax in rents connect the two movements, currents feel to the “economic anxiety” that drove Friedman’s version was centrist, with a focus 2017, those revenues were dedicated to that raise a fundamental challenge for the some blue-collar Americans to support on infrastructure investment, while the 2018 repairing and improving the state’s exist- climate movement – how to shed the issue’s Donald Trump. This entire episode speaks version promoted by Representative-elect ing transportation systems, including roads historic framing as a question of austerity of the cost of “austerity,” meaning that when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others tilts and highways that are of critical importance and sacrifice. society is perceived as living beyond its left of center, with a stronger emphasis on to low-income and rural Californians, and The Paris protesters’ uniform is the means, it is the aver- equity, employ- whose repair generates blue-collar jobs not brightly colored outer garment that French age person, not the ment and wage just in cities, but in small towns and agri- motorists are required to carry for roadside privileged insider, issues. But at its cultural areas. Green stimulus has been an emergencies – so they are known as les who must scale heart, the Green experience, not just a slogan, in California. gilets jaunes, or the “yellow vests.” Their back. New Deal is first So “Green New Deal” strategies – not just movement rejects any right-left political The protest- and foremost messages – have proven politically effective label; they identify simply as drivers! The ers sum up their about the end of at turning back “carbon populism” in Califor- triggering issue was that Macron proposed attitude with the month as well nia. Equally important, they have enabled a (modest) increase in gasoline taxes, to this slogan: “The as the end of the California to continually increase both the finance France’s transition to clean energy government talks world. breadth and the ambition of its climate pro- and to encourage purchase of more efficient about the end of Is this just a grams, so that at this moment the world’s cars. It sounds sensible. But like all sales the world. We are slogan or will it fifth-largest economy is also moving the taxes, this one is regressive by definition and worried about the work in practice? fastest towards the deep decarbonization would have hit rural and small-town France end of the month.” justworldeducational.org The American evi- called for by the Paris Climate Agreement. disproportionately hard. The immediate dence is that as a The climate movement, because of its Gas is already famously expensive in response to Macron’s attempt to address standalone concept, it may not be enough. roots in environmentalism, with its skepti- France, more than $6/gallon, and most peo- the grievances was that Macron had failed Midterm referendum on carbon taxes in cism about “growthmania,” has had a hard ple in rural areas have no realistic alternative to confront the real issue – salaries and Washington State and renewable energy time consistently embracing and imple- to driving. Low-income citizens aren’t buy- purchasing power. mandates in Arizona, even though framed menting climate solutions as steps towards ing new cars of any sort, let alone the most There lies the potential bridge to the as pro-growth and pro-jobs, were cut down equity and prosperity. But the fires around fuel-efficient models. Macron was already friendly sit-in by young climate campaigners by a deluge of corporate spending. But the Arc de Triomphe should remind us that perceived as favoring the Parisian elite, who in Nancy Pelosi’s office. Carrying signs prais- in California, the Republican Party bet its if we want entire societies to decarbonize, typically don’t drive their own cars to work ing clean energy and calling for a “Green future on trying to repeal a gas tax increase we have to bring entire societies into the every day, enjoy access to mass transit and New Deal,” they posed a sharp contrast to put in place by outgoing Governor Jerry economic future as well. can afford the modest cost increases in their the yellow-vested protesters in Paris. Mem- Brown – and fell humiliatingly short, losing To learn more about Pope’s views on the leisure travel. bers of the new Democratic majority quickly all of seven of its “at risk” seats in Congress environment, energy and climate, read Climate of The protests quickly morphed into some- rallied to their demands. While health care and yielding a super-majority to Democrats Hope How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save thing broader and hence harder for Macron was the Democrats’ dominant issue in the in the state legislature. the Planet, which he has co-authored with former to respond to. Eighty percent of the public midterm elections, clean energy and climate This was only the latest failure of “carbon NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg and which can be support the yellow vest movement, which were the first post-election progressive de- populism” to roll back the tide of clean purchased online or at a local book store.

2018: A SUSTAINABLE YEAR IN REVIEW that the fires were mostly not in forests, and Cont’d from p.1 management of the land that was burned it is now getting less expensive to shut the was mostly the responsibility of the federal plant down and buy the electricity from government, which he heads himself. renewable sources than to keep the plant Hurricanes were behaving more aggres- going. I explain this in an article written for sively this year, also. This was for reasons CleanTechnica.com (bit.ly/GET-2018-3). that we can observe easily, as they are The reports that renewable electricity matters of simple measurement. Hurricane sources are out-competing fossil fuels re- Michael, for example, hit the Florida pan- flect conditions that have already appeared Solar array in Maynard, MA. Electricity from solar is now cheaper than coal. Photo: Swampyank, Wikimedia Commons. handle far more powerfully than it would in the real world. This means that people have if the temperature of the water in the who are aware of what is going on, such article published by Reuters explained include anyone who burns oil, natural gas, Gulf of Mexico had been normal. But it was as the managers of utility companies, had that the gas industry is not growing much or propane to keep warm; anyone who not. It was 3°F to 5°F warmer than normal, already been seeing the developments and faster than 1% per year, and orders for gas drives a car that burns gasoline or diesel oil; and since it is the temperature of the water acting on them. And this means other ef- turbines are off by well over 50% since 2010 any company that flies airplanes or operates that fuels a hurricane, Michael was stronger fects have already appeared in the market- (bit.ly/GET-2018-5). It seems that the man- ships. In short, it includes just about all of than it would have been (bit.ly/GET-2018-9). place. These effects include a switch away agers of utilities have seen the time coming us, because we live in a society that is ad- Of course, the pressures of the real world from plans for future natural gas plants and when making money on a gas-fired power dicted to fossil fuels. have played out in politics. The Democratic announcements that coal-burning plants plant will not be easy. Perhaps, it will not The fossil fuels industry has more prob- Party took control of the House of Repre- are being closed down. even be possible. lems than competition and lack of prepara- sentatives in the midterm election. But the According to Bloomberg NEF, this year is The problems of the fossil fuels compa- tion, however. The Intergovernmental Panel greatest changes have been at the state very close to setting a record for the great- nies are at least partly the result of a near on Climate Change issued a report saying level. For example, California has a unique est amount of coal-burning capacity taken collapse of activity in exploration. Accord- that we have to get busy, right now, ad- right to set stricter auto emissions standards offline. What used to be called “Obama’s war ing to the International Energy Agency, dressing the issue of climate change, if we than those of the federal government, but on coal” has continued, despite President things are looking pretty dreadful not only are to keep global warming to 1.5°C (bit.ly/ other states can adopt California’s stan- Trump’s promises to put coal plants back for the oil and gas companies, but for any- GET-2018-7). It said that goal is achievable, dards, if they choose. After the midterms, to work, and his attempts to fulfill those one dependent on them (bit.ly/GET-2018-6). but not if we delay any longer. Colorado will be the thirteenth state to do promises. So far in 2018, 16 gigawatts (GW) Because there is little exploration, there Meanwhile, President Trump, touring so (bit.ly/GET-2018-10). of coal-burning capacity have been closed will soon be insufficient oil or gas to cover damage from wildfires in California, said, “I One more thing worth noting is that down, and 37 GW are expected to be closed demand. want great climate, and we’re going to have in October, Scotland generated enough down by 2025. That is nearly a quarter of the I want to emphasize the bit that said, “for that, and we’re going to have forests that electricity from renewable resources, mostly U.S. coal-burning fleet (bit.ly/GET-2018-4). anyone dependent on them.” That means are very safe” (bit.ly/GET-2018-8). He ap- wind power, to cover 98% of its demand News for natural gas, which is credited not just the utilities, but everyone else peared to blame the wildfires on California’s (bit.ly/GET-2018-11). with coal’s demise, is not much better. An dependent on fossil fuels. These people mismanagement of forests, not realizing 4 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 Transportation Solutions Save Money: Drive Electric David Roberts Six Year Vehicle Cost of Ownership Comparison

Happy Holidays, from

The energy costs are based on $2.75 per gallon of gasoline, $0.17/kWh of electricity, average efficiency values for new vehicle purchases or the specific model highlighted, and 12,000 vehicle miles traveled annually. Maintenance costs based on 2017 AAA Costs of Driving. Resale value based on current mar- ket conditions. Costs do not include insurance, registration or licensing fees which are generally similar across vehicle types.

Driving a plug-in electric vehicle (EV) is energy costs in half or getting easier with the arrival of new longer more. range and more affordable options, includ- All told, choosing an ing several offerings with all-wheel drive. EV over a gasoline car Plug-in hybrids like the Mitsubishi Outlander the next time you are PHEV can run 20-plus miles on the battery shopping for a new vehicle could save you and then continue running on gasoline for 30% or more annually. There are excel- 800.528.8993 longer trips. lent calculators available online that offer Grappone.com Plugging your ride brings many benefits, customized vehicle comparisons based on including reducing fossil fuel use and associ- your specific travel patterns, charging avail- ated harmful emissions, fun-to-drive per- ability and vehicle efficiency. Some calcula- formance with the great torque of electric tors can also help estimate costs for leasing motors, and significant cost savings potential an EV. Leasing is a popular option for many due to reduced maintenance and fueling EV owners as the leasing company claims costs. This article focuses on the savings EV the federal tax credit and passes it through ownership can bring. in the form of lower monthly payments or According to the U.S. Department of En- down payment costs. Leases typically run ergy’s eGallon tool, driving an EV is equiva- about 3 years, so you can be assured there lent to about $1.20 per gallon of gasoline will many more EVs available the next time nationally. In Vermont, it is closer to $1.60 / you are in the market. gallon cost equivalent due to electric rates a Used EVs are not eligible for the federal bit higher than the national average. This is a tax credit, but they can be an even better great bargain, as gasoline prices are around deal with much lower purchase prices $2.75 per gallon in late 2018. Several electric compared to new vehicles. Just do some utilities offer off-peak charging rates or other research and have the vehicle checked out EV charging discounts that bring the cost of before buying to make sure it will work for driving an EV down even further. your needs. Electric utilities are regulated, so prices No wonder EV ownership is soaring in are relatively stable over time. This means the Northeast! you don’t need to worry about breaking David Roberts is the Drive Electric Vermont your household budget due to the whims coordinator. He has driven an all-electric of OPEC, climate-change related flooding of Nissan LEAF for the past six years and says, “If refineries, or other issues that can drive up you have to drive, drive electric.” http://www. gasoline prices in your area. driveelectricvt.com EVs also have fewer maintenance require- ments than traditional internal combustion References and Notes: engine vehicles. Regenerative braking sys- eGallon: https://www.energy.gov/eere/ tems reduce wear on brake pads and other electricvehicles/saving-fuel-and-vehicle-costs systems. All-electric vehicles don’t have an U.S. DOE Vehicle Cost Calculator: https:// internal combustion engine, so eliminate the afdc.energy.gov/calc/ need for oil changes and many other poten- tial maintenance headaches. Owning any vehicle is an expensive en- deavor, but there are many EV options that can significantly reduce costs of ownership. Hydrogen May The table below presents a simplified look at several factors that affect the total cost of Have a Future on owning a vehicle for a typical new gasoline car, the all-electric Nissan LEAF with about the Rails 150 miles of range, and the Prius Prime Perhaps, finally, hydrogen’s mo- plug-in hybrid vehicle with about 25 miles ment has arrived. Electricity from of electric range and the ability to run on renewable sources can be used gasoline. to split water into oxygen and hy- The EV options qualify for the federal EV drogen through electrolysis. That tax credit, and the LEAF is also often eligible “green hydrogen” can then be used for a further $5,000 price reduction through in fuel cells to generate electricity. Nissan “fleet-tail” discounts offered in It can also be used to power rail partnership with electric utilities and others. transportation. Even with our relatively low gasoline costs at the end of 2018, EVs can cut your vehicle http://bit.ly/HydrogenOnRails. Transportation Solutions WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 January 2019 5 AllEarth Rail Commuting Rolling Down the Tracks of Vermont Soon George Harvey Blittersdorf knew about the 1996 re- There was a time when railroads provid- furbished Budd RDC’s. He knew that they ed most of the passenger transportation were built so well they could easily last an- in the United States. The Great Depression other 50 years. He also knows its possible dealt them a blow, followed quickly by a to start a new rail organization, providing second blow, as automobiles took their commuting service, based on the existing place after the Second World War. With track. And in Vermont, almost all of the developing financial troubles, railroads had railroad tracks have been upgraded for to raise fares, thus reducing total revenues Amtrak trains. And so he went to work. even more. Adding to the troubles was a He found the Budd RDC trains he folk mythology that said railroads were not wanted in Dallas, Texas. As RDC production economically feasible in modern America. stopped in 1962, all the cars are over 55 But this is not really the end of the story. years old. They were refurbished in 1996, In 1949, just as Detroit’s road vehicles and served Dallas until 2012 when they began to dominate our transportation were replaced by modern double decker system, the Budd Company designed and locomotive trains due to popular demand. developed the Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC). Blittersdorf made a successful bid to pur- Budd had invented a way to weld stain- chase the 12 cars in 2017. less steel to the structural steel of the RDC The first of the cars are ready and were without compromising the stainless alloy. displayed in Montpelier in late November. The result was a rail car that simply would AllEarth Rail car. Photo: AllEarth Renewables. Legislators and decision-makers and the not rust under normal conditions. Nearly public were invited to climb aboard for the four hundred of these cars were built, and day. People have loved the short rides they several are still in use today. compared to other locomotive engines. It widely known is that he is a bit of a railroad got at previous demonstrations in the rail With the purchase of twelve, refurbished requires a crew of one engineer, though buff. yard in Barre Town. AllEarth Rail is hopeful Budd RDC’s by AllEarth Rail, a Vermont a conductor could be on board too. One He has been considering ways to bring to encourage short run service in 2019. holding company, interest is growing RDC can carry up to 96 people, and gets 2.8 Vermont’s railroads back into common use My suggestion to commuters driving by Vermont decision-makers, NGO’s and miles per gallon (MPG) of diesel fuel compa- for some time, because he could see that cars with internal combustion engines private business to reverse the trends in rable to many City buses. The maximum 268 rail transportation has the advantage of is that you calculate all the money you transportation (Vermont’s biggest green- passenger-miles per gallon is even more lower emissions than passenger cars and is spend on operating your car. According to house gas sector). For years, Vermont has impressive as buses, like cars cannot avoid a viable alternative. Most commuters drive AAA, in 2017, to own and operate a car is invested heavily in public transportation, congested roadways. Moreover, passenger solo, getting less than 25 MPG. The 2.8 MPG $8,469, or $706/month). Keep that figure to reduce the cost and environmental automobiles, average 24.7 MPG, and usually of a rail car means that fuel is being saved in mind when you think about the fare to impact of transportation. One-person car are 1-person car trips. when the train has only nine passengers. ride a bus, use carshare, or ride an AllEarth trips, and corresponding vehicle miles trav- Vermont’s rail system serves both freight The estimates he saw for the costs for rail Rail community train. The difference is elled (VMT) and greenhouse gas emissions, and passengers. Vermont has invested transportation provided him with a chal- significant, especially of year’s of commut- challenges the concept of shared mobility heavily in its rail system with federal Tiger lenge. One study said the price for restoring ing, you might over convenience and independence. grants and other funds. Transit riders have passenger service in Vermont could run decide there is a The literature indicates that in areas with noted in surveys that they love their com- over $300 million. He knows that Vermont railroad in your more public transportation options (i.e., mute, relieved of city traffic congestion and can do better than that. future. buses and trains), there is a 7:1 benefit in parking problems. Trains have relatively economic transit-oriented development low pollution, even being diesel powered around train stations. This means for every as they can hold 96+ people per RDC trip. dollar invested in public transportation, Sometime in the future, modern trains there is a $7 dollar return in economic de- could run on renewably powered electricity. velopment (i.e., housing, retail, restaurants It is less expensive for passengers to ride a and services). The multiplier effect of pub- train versus driving alone, not to mention lic transportation is even more dramatic, convenience and leaving the driving to three times in fuel savings and 5.3 times in others. NISSAN reduced greenhouse gas emissions over David Blittersdorf is well known in Ver- 1-person car trips. mont because of his work in energy. As the The RDC passenger cars are self-pro- CEO of AllEarth Renewables, he is actively TAKE CONTROL OF THE pelled, equipped with two diesel engines installing both solar PV trackers and wind per car. The engine is comparable to that turbines. He designed and manufactures of a tractor trailer and is rather quiet, the AllEarth solar tracker. What has not been NEXT AUTOMOTIVE REVOLUTION VISIT PORT CITY NISSAN TO TEST DRIVE THE 2019 NISSAN LEAF TODAY!

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120 SPAULDING TURNPIKE, PORTSMOUTH, NH 03801 877.659.7701 • PortCityNissan.com 6 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 Transportation Solutions A Path to a Green Transportation System SMART COMMUTING IN NH & VT Deb Sachs and George Harvey Transportation emissions are among the worst offenders that add to the rising CO2 This is a series of stories, back into our local levels in our atmosphere. In recent months we have learned that our efforts have begun “On the Path to a Green Vermonters drive 7+ economy. to reduce the detrimental air quality counts (NHDES), but as you may have learned from Transportation System”; the billion miles annually The path to a green numerous other reports such as the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), http:// intent is to inspire action by transportation system climatechange2013.org/, global warming is still advancing faster than expected. everyone to choose more to jobs, school, is to invest in modern- How do we get our emissions down now? By making new commuting choices! efficient ways to travel and izing Vermont’s shared Lots of choices. Smart Commuting is all about knowing your options and planning to invest in a shared mobility errands and leisure. transportation system. ahead. There are many choices to get around in New Hampshire and Vermont, The first system. Transportation is the Let’s make 2019 the place to start in Vermont is “Go Vermont” for statewide choices to travel more efficiently. It’s astonishing that year that we do better Vermonters drive 7+ bil- than to export 78¢ of Whether getting around town, commuting to work or school, or planning a day trip, lion miles annually to jobs, single largest CO2 every fuel dollar. share the driving or ride with someone else to help save our planet and to save approx. school, errands and leisure. sector in Vermont We are heartened $2,000 annually. The statewide VT site also lists services for commuters, tourist, and shop- Not surprising, transporta- by the many partners pers. tion is the single largest CO2 (43%). advancing efficiency, In New Hampshire you’ll find a similar site at “NH Rideshare” where you can find car- sector in Vermont (43%). Our fuel switching, tech- pools, transit routes and schedules, bike and walk trails and links to statewide transporta- auto-dependent lifestyles come at a big nology and behavior change. Becoming tion information. price. In fuel alone, Vermonters spent more mindful of all travel options is the first step When carpooling, remember to use the local Park n Ride lots to meet your connec- than a billion dollars in 2017. About 78¢ of to reversing one-person car trips. While tions. Start your trip planning at connectingcommuters.org or nh.gov/dot/programs/ every dollar is exported from Vermont. In it might feel complicated, daunting, or rideshare/ for statewide choices. spite of our collective efforts, greenhouse inconvenient, it’s really a lifestyle change. gas emissions are on the rise. Thus, we MacDonald gave an overview of the Go! IN NEW HAMPSHIRE examine the path to a greener transporta- Vermont program; a statewide clearing- UPPER VALLEY RIDESHARE (UVRS) - Carpool matching, benefits and support for com- tion future? house of resources, incentives and techni- muters in/out of Upper Valley. 802-295-1824 x208. uppervalleyrideshare.com. cal assistance to travel more efficiently. The Path to a Greener Transportation Future? New features include a “Trip Planner” and a ADVANCE TRANSIT (AT) – Free weekday bus for Lebanon, Hanover, Enfield, Canaan, NH, I’m heartened by how passionate people newly released carpool matching applica- and Norwich and Hartford, VT. Dartmouth and DHMC Shuttles. ADA & Travel Training tion (APP) and earns incentive rewards. In Services. 802-295-1824. advancetransit.com are about reversing the trends from com- munity volunteers and energy committees, addition, Go! Vermont supports hundreds CARROLL COUNTY TRANSIT - Services and connections to Belknap County. to business leaders, professional associa- of volunteer drivers offering “demand 888-997-2020 tccap.org/nct.htm tions, and nongovernmental organizations response” service to those in need. CITY EXPRESS - Serves Keene. 603-352-8494 hcsservices.org/services/transportation/cityExpress.php (NGO’s). Go! Vermont’s website guides travelers and commuters to various options to save SCS TRANSPORTATION - Services for Sullivan County.. 603-542-9609. SCSHELPS.ORG Ross MacDonald of Go! Vermont and Dave Roberts of Drive Electric Vermont money and reduce pollution. Visit Con- CONCORD AREA TRANSIT (CAT) - Serves Concord 603-225-1989 concordareatransit.org recently presented nectingcommuters. CONTOOCOOK VALLEY TRANSPORTATION (CVTC) - Monadnock Rideshare for the to a room full of org for all the op- southwest region 877-428-2882 cvtc-nh.org enthusiastic energy tions. The new Go! COOPERATIVE ALLIANCE FOR REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION (CART) - Serving committee mem- Rewards (carpool) the Chester, Derry, Hampstead, Londonderry, Salem and Windham, limited service to bers and volunteers program not only Plaistow. 603-434-3569 cart-rides.org at the 2018 VECAN matches drivers and DARTMOUTH COACH - Services to Boston, Logan Airport and NYC 800-637-0123 dart- conference in riders going the mouthcoach.com Fairlee, Vermont. Go! same way but has a trip calendar to track MANCHESTER TRANSIT AUTHORITY (MTA) - Manchester, with links to Nashua and Vermont encourages Concord. 603-623-8801 mtabus.org/services/local-buses use of more efficient green trips and earn transportation (i.e., incentive reward MID-STATE REGIONAL RIDE RESOURCE DIRECTORY - Services elknap-Merrimack - points to discounts Counties, excluding Hooksett and the towns of Deering, Hillsborough and Windsor of carpooling, vanpool Hillsborough County. 603.225.3295 x1201. midstatercc.org ing, walking, biking and monthly draw- and telecommuting), ings of $100 gift NASHUA TRANSIT SYSTEM (NTS) - Buses and trolleys with bike racks. 603-888-0100 and Drive Electric cards. RideBigBlue.com encourages electric Roberts presented NH RIDESHARE – Your Source for Transportation Alternatives. nh.gov/dot/programs/ride- vehicles when pur- the latest at Drive share/ chasing a new car. Electric Vermont; a IN VERMONT Obviously, the clean- program focused on est greenest option electric vehicles (EV) UPPER VALLEY TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (Vital Communi- is to choose to travel technologies. It is ties) - Works with UV employers and communities to promote and improve commuting more efficiently. coordinated by VEIC, options. 802-291-9100 vitalcommunities.org/transport/index.htm If we want to move with information on VERMONT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC TRANSIT - Lists transit, ferries and more the needle and drive all aspects of owner- at aot.state.vt.us/PublicTransit/providers.htm down the vehicle ship and use of EV’s. miles we drive each It is a good source AMTRAK - Long distance train service. Discounts for AAA members and student advan- of guidance on the year, we must choose GreenRide Bikes, Burlington, VT. Courtesy CATMA/GoVT. tage card. (800) 872-7245 amtrak.com a shared mobility op- environmental and CHITTENDEN COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY - Burlington bus service with tion (walking, biking, economic reasons to links to Montpelier, Middlebury and commuter route to Milton. cctaride.org bus, carpool and vanpool). drive EVs, including incentives and financ- In future stories in Green Energy Times, ing. It provides a map showing locations of CONNECTICUT RIVER TRANSIT - Services in Bellows Falls and Springfield. crtransit.org we’ll take a deeper look at the broader charging stations. connection between public transportation, He made the point early in his talk that GO VERMONT - Offers carpool matching and commuter connections in VT 800-685- we cannot deal with reducing carbon 7433 connectingcommuters.org energy conservation and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. First, lets explore ef- emissions effectively unless we reduce GREEN MOUNTAIN RAILROAD - Day trips from White River, Champlain Valley, Bellows ficiency and technology. emissions from transportation dramatical- Falls and Rutland. rails-vt.com The literature indicates that when public ly. Public transportation is a good solution transportation is available, people drive less. in urban areas, however many people who GREEN MOUNTAIN TRANSIT AGENCY - Local service in Barre, Montpelier, Grand Isle, live in less built-up areas are unlikely to Stowe and Lamoille. 802-223-7287 gmtaride.org And shorter commutes occur when transit oriented development (a good mix of land have access to bus service. Replacing the GREY HOUND/VERMONT TRANSIT - Long distance bus services. 1-800-231-2222 grey- uses), enables people to access convenient number of cars to EVs is part of the solu- hound.com/ and affordable options. This is the key to re- tion. To meet our emissions reduction goal, ducing energy use and corresponding CO2, we will need at least 45,000 EVs in Vermont LAKE CHAMPLAIN FERRIES - Transport between New York and Vermont via Lake Cham- by 2025. The latest report is that we have plain. 802-864-9804 ferries.com making public transportation three to five times more of a carbon benefit compared to fewer than 3,000, so we have a long way MARBLE VALLEY REGIONAL TRANSIT- For Rutland, Killington, rural Manchester, Poult- one-person car trips. More details on this in to go. ney and Rutland to Bellows Falls. City routes Free on Saturday. 802-773-3244 thebus.com/ a future story. There is some resistance to buying EVs. Combine efficiency and electric vehicles One quarter of people polled object to the RURAL COMMUNITY TRANSPORTATION (RCT) - Buses, vans, and volunteer drivers. cost, though prices are declining rapidly, Routes via The Jay-Lyn, The Highlander (Newport - Derby Line); The US RT2 Commuter (including electric buses), then Vermont (St. J. to Montpelier) and Free routes to rural areas. 802-748-8170 riderct.org has the opportunity to supply this demand and there are still incentives available. with local renewable power. Rather than Many people worry about range and STAGE COACH - Commuter buses from Randolph and Fairlee to Dartmouth, Local village purchase gasoline, let’s supply clean power charging. Some people feel compelled buses. 800-427-3553 stagecoach-rides.org to have all-wheel drive, instead, and circulate millions of dollars Cont’d on p.7 Transportation Solutions -- Energy News WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 January 2019 7

Transportation Path Cont’d from p.6 which is not available on many EVs. Drive Electric New Hampshire Where do we go from here? The simple He presented several ideas on how to get nd of the ear ecap and roposals answer for 2019 is MORE. people into EVs. Vermont is committed to E Y R P The Senate Commission will likely accel- Randy Bryan, Drive Electric NH installing charging stations, including fast erate its work, and I hope the first dollop of chargers, which are being installed widely. 2. A second area Volkswagen funds will be spent wisely. Major funding resulted from the Volkswa- of progress is in More EV events should make more gen (VW) settlement on its diesel emissions public education people aware of the pleasures of owning lawsuit. Vermont is putting some of its on electric an EV. NH’s city and town energy commit- settlement share into building up EV sup- vehicles (EVs). This tees have shown an interest to organize port infrastructure and electric buses. comes in the form and stage EV events. Sierra Club’s Ready for Roberts also provided tips to people on of ride-drive 100 campaign is gathering more support- how to get EVs adopted on the local level. events which have ing cities and towns and embracing clean He cited several communities hosting EV proven to be the transportation. demonstration events, giving people the most effective way What needs new initiatives? opportunity to see, sit in, and even drive to educate and • Corporate, municipal and fleet participa- EVs. Vermonters helping Vermonters are motivate people tion needs a push. The Volkswagen money encouraged to learn more and talk to their to go electric. will help for fleet-heavy truck purchases, but select boards, and other officials about DE-NH has grown the car and light truck areas need their own electrification of municipal vehicles. from four public push. Similarly, workplace charging needs Electric buses are important to improv- ride-drive events attention. Corporations might encourage ing air quality in urban areas, in addition with approxi- and sponsor EV events, too. to reducing noise. Testing has been done mately 400 visitors in Vermont, and buses are being adopted. in 2017 to twelve • Public education and awareness for EVs. They cost at least 60% more than diesel events and about For example, Maine has sponsored a series powered buses, but their reduced fuel costs 1200 visitors in of upbeat generic EV advertisements on the and maintenance allows for a quick payback New Hampshire’s 2018 National Drive Electric Week events. The biggest ever! Image: 2018. radio that everybody hears. Public EV on the difference. Jon Gundersen. charging signage on the streets and 3. A third area of Learn more about efficiency and EV resources highways might make more people aware progress for NH, and the VECAN presentations at: And while we are at year’s end, it is a of the growing EV presence. There are independent of DE-NH, is the availability of Go! Vermont is connectingcommuters.org; good time to reflect on what we’ve ac- charging stations around NH, but no Volkswagen Settlement funds for invest- Drive Electric Vermont’s website is driveelec- complished and make plans for where we signage like there is for gas stations. tricvt.com. should go. Drive Electric NH (DE-NH) has ment into cleaner trucks and better charging infrastructure. The NH govern- • EV supply and focus at the dealership and An archive of the 2018 VECAN addresses can be had a busy year in our roles as expert on manufacturer level. Very few NH dealerships found at bit.ly/VECAN-11-archive. and as promoter of electric transportation. ment’s Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI) is responsible to spend the money wisely, per have adequate supply of EVs to sell or Debra Sachs is the Executive Director of Net 1. Drive Electric NH is a named participant in the fund requirements. NH Division of knowledge of how to sell them. MA, VT and Zero Vermont. the NH Senate SB 517 Commission to guide Environmental Services (DES) and DOT are ME (zero-emission vehicle mandate states) the legislature on the issues and best heavily involved in crafting and implement- all have great supply, but not NH. Buying practices for the mushrooming presence of ing the spending plan. Various DE-NH EVs from out of state has become common. electric cars, especially the smartest way to member organizations are involved. This The predictions are for the EV sales to nearly use the funds allocated to NH from the should result in the beginnings of a double each year for the next few years. We Volkswagen Settlement Funds. What competent fast-charger network around need to get ready. expertise there is in NH on electric vehicles NH. The presence of this fast-charging Want to Help? Contact Drive Electric NH at meets periodically as the Senate Commis- network should eliminate the range anxiety 603-26-4732 or www.drivelelectricnh.org.. sion. Many of the organizations on the issue from NH EV buyers and EV tourists. Randy Bryan is one of the co-founders of Senate Commission are also members of Drive Electric NH. Randy’s company, ConVerdant Drive Electric NH. The result is a network of 4. A fourth area of progress for NH is in the Vehicles, has converted vehicles to plug-in organizations and experts that have growth of EV sales. For those who recognize hybrids and sold inverters that turn a Prius into an multiple forums to discuss issues, ideas, and EVs on the road, driving has been a lot more emergency generator. Ethan Allen 5-year old vanpool saved riders $88K in settle on common solutions and goals. rewarding. 2018 will see a doubling of EVs fuels savings alone, vanpooling in VT is part of the While the Commission’s work proceeds sold in NH vs 2017(>1500 plug-in EVs vs solution. Courtesy GoVT. slowly, it seems to be well guided. 788). Share a RiDE. WaLK. BiKe. TaKe a BuS... CITY OF KEENE DELIBERATES 100% RENEWABLE ENERGY GOAL Reduce Emissions the Monadnock Energy Hub (MEH) in at- tendance. Steering Committee members Dori Drachman, John Kondos, Ann Shedd, and Peter Wotowiec all stepped up to make their voices heard on this important resolution. Shedd, leader of the Keene En- ergy & Climate Committee began with an example of a resiliency program from Ster- ling, MA that Keene could model. Kondos followed with an impassioned plea that we must act now. Drachman stated that surrounding towns such as her hometown of Peterborough look to Keene on such actions. Finally, Wotowiec ended by read- ing a letter of support from his employer, Bensonwood, for this resolution. Mary Ewell, program coordinator for MEH, did not want the council to forget the power of future generations to problem-solve and apply as-yet unimagined technologi- The city of Keene, New Hampshire: Wikipedia.org. cal advances, considering that the goals are 10 and 30 years in the future. Many more citizens and members of local energy On November 28th, the Keene Munici- goals set are for all electricity to come committees spoke during the evening, and pal Services, Facilities, and Infrastructure from renewable sources by 2030 for the the MEH steering committee and program Committee voted 4 to 1 to send the 100% entire city and its residents. Then, by 2050, coordinator were proud to have added Renewable Energy resolution to city staff the goal is to have all energy used in the their voices to such company. MEH plans to draft revised language. Once rewritten, city to come from renewable sources. to attend the next MSFI committee hearing the resolution will make a return visit to This night was special because of the when the revised language resolution is the committee for passage before being number of Keene residents and nearby discussed, and the hope is to celebrate the sent to the full City Council for a vote. The townspeople and representatives from final passage in the near future. 8 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 Solar Photovoltaics - Vermont

income communities have equal access to the benefits of solar energy and equal op- Making Solar Accessible to Vermonters with Low Incomes portunity to participate in the clean energy George Harvey economy.” At the VECAN Conference, one Edens’ presentation at the workshop was workshop topic was “Making immediately followed by a talk by Steve Solar Accessible to Low Income Geller. SEVCA, the organization of which Vermonters.” It was presented by Geller is executive director, has had signifi- Jason Edens of the Rural Renew- cant experience with addressing the prob- able Energy Alliance (RREAL) lems of energy for a number of decades. and Steve Geller of Southeastern Geller’s presentation provided details of Vermont Community Action a project being built under a SEVCA–RREAL (SEVCA). partnership, “Community Solar for Commu- Edens started the presenta- nity Action.” The project is going ahead with tion with a discussion of “energy a 110-kilowatt array being built at SEVCA’s poverty.” He explained, “When headquarters in Westminster, Vermont. The families have to choose between talk dealt with the vision, opportunities, home energy and other basic challenges, and progress of the project, needs, families are living in which was designed to fulfill the goals what we typically call energy detailed by Edens. poverty.” He said that roughly SEVCA (Southeastern Vermont Community Action) staff and legislative and community representatives gather in Westminster, VT This VECAN workshop can be viewed at bit. 15% of all Americans live in this to celebrate the completion of Phase 1 of the Community Solar for Community Action project. Courtesy photo. ly/VECAN-solar-accessible. situation. Many of these people literally have to choose between heating and eating, at a time when the low caused by burning fossil fuels. So giving fuel climate change without addressing fossil Many thanks to our sponsor: temperatures make it important to increase assistance contributes to climate change and fuel dependence among the poorest people caloric intake. the havoc it is creating. among us. This is a serious problem. People die of Edens addressed this problem head on. He Edens observed, “If we actually want to cold in Vermont, because they cannot afford asked, “Do we want a carbon-intensive energy make a transition to a renewable economy, heat. People who are most endangered by assistance program?” He then continued, a clean energy economy, it’s absolutely es- energy poverty are the least likely to be able “The International Monetary Fund and the sential that we intentionally create pathways to insulate and weatherproof their homes, World Bank have both identified the energy to ensure that our low-income neighbors, because they usually do not own them. assistance program as yet another fossil fuels friends, and community members also par- MN-VT Partnership Will Offer There are programs to help with assis- subsidy.” ticipate in the benefits of clean energy and of Solar to Low-Income Families tance on fuel bills. While such help is impor- That is worth thinking about. Helping solar energy in particular.” A Minnesota nonprofit has a com- tant to people depending on it and clearly low-income households with fuel assistance This raises the matter of how to deal with munity solar model they think could go can be a life-saver, it is a short-term solution can be seen as a subsidy for the fossil fuels energy poverty. “Solar is a hedge against national. The Rural Renewable Energy that does not address the underlying causes industry. Edens has a solution, however, which uncertainty,” Edens said. It provides not only Alliance and Southeastern Vermont of poverty at all, but simply enables people he introduced by asking, “So the question is, local control and resilience, but a capacity to Community Action are partnering to cope with its hardships. do we want [fuel] assistance, or do we want serve at least some of the low-income families to get solar power to 50 low-income That, however, is not the worst part of solar assistance?” within an area. households in Windham and Windsor addressing energy poverty with assistance The problem of energy poverty can also “We are all very committed to making this counties. to buy fuel. Arguably, the worst problem be seen from another perspective, one of ad- transition to a clean energy economy,” Edens To learn more go to http://bit.ly/MN- we have in this world is climate change dressing climate change. We cannot address said. “We cannot do so unless we ensure low- VT-partnership.

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SolarGeorge Harvey Blesses Three Churches in Norwich, VT one of the three his company worked Congregants of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Upper with. St. Barnabas Episcopal Church was Valley bless the rooftop solar array on December 23, 2018. an early adopter celebrating over 10 years Courtesy photo. of solar power usage, installed in 2008. The three churches with new systems are the Norwich Congregational Church, St. Francis Catholic Church, and the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Upper Valley (UUCUV) in Norwich. Norwich Congregational Church The Norwich Congregational Church has a new, roof-mounted system, consist- ing of 34 Suniva 325-watt modules, for 11.1 kilowatts (kW). The system includes 34 SolarEdge Optimizers and a SolarEdge inverter. It was commissioned in Novem- ber of 2016. Funding for this system was partly covered by a grant from Green Mountain Power. Grant proposals can be daunting, so NST provided the church with help. The Unitarian Universalist Church of the Upper Valley has a rooftop array consisting of 45 panels providing a total Over a 25-year service lifetime, the value power of 15.75kW DC. of net metering for the system is esti- Norwich Solar Technology’s EZ-PV MetaModule™ system mated to be $54,000. The estimated rate of in action at the Norwich Congregational Church. St. Francis of Assisi Church The project at St. Francis of Assisi is return on the solar investment is 10.4%. expected to save the church $30,000 over All photos courtesy of Norwich Solar Technologies. The Catholic Church in Norwich also got a NST used its EZ-PV MetaModule™ its lifetime. solar system in 2018. This turned out largely system to mount the solar panels. The St. Francis of Assisi’s web site is upper- to be the result of activities of Dominic Norwich, Vermont, is not a particularly advantage of this system is partly that the valleyparishes.org/st_francis.html. Scanlan, a high school student who took on large town. It has a population of fewer installation can be done quickly and with All of these systems, built by Norwich the work of pushing for a solar system as than 3,500 people. That being the case, minimal disruption. Solar Technologies, represent savings and part of a confirmation service project. it came as a bit of a surprise when we Norwich Congregational Church’s website price stability for the churches that own Scanlan understood that the church was discovered that three churches in the town is norwichcongregational.org them. Importantly, they point a way for spending $1,000 per year on electricity, and all got solar systems over the short span reducing carbon emissions, as well. of just two years. Perhaps each of these The Unitarian Universalist Church looked for a way to offset systems deserves separate treatment, but The Unitarian Universalist Church of the that. He managed to get we feel it might be good to show what a Upper Valley in Norwich already had solar a donation of $8,000 from community can do when its people think credits donated from an offsite solar system the Jack and Dorothy Byrne along similar lines. when it decided to mount another on the Foundation of Hanover, The Norwich Energy Committee runs rooftop. One of the factors in the decision New Hampshire, and he an annual Solarize Norwich program that was that its new building had beautiful quickly set about finding the helped push the churches to consider south-facing roofs, and people thought remainder of the approxi- solar power. The installations have rather it would be a shame to let it go to waste. mately $13,000 needed to dissimilar histories, the members of the The new system is a community solar array, build the system. In that also, congregations had somewhat different with church members participating in net he succeeded. specific goals, and the financing was dif- metering. The St. Francis of As- ferent from one project to the next. Apart This system has 45 solar panels, each of sisi solar system has twelve from the fact that they were all in the same 350 watts, providing a total power of 15.75 Solaria 330-watt solar panels, community, the most important shared kW DC. It includes 45 SolarEdge P400 Opti- for a capacity of 3.96kW. feature was that all three systems were mizers and a SolarEdge HD Wave SE11400H- Like the other systems at the installed by Norwich Solar Technologies US inverter. The racking is IronRidge XR-100, Norwich churches, it uses (NST). using EcoFasten QuikFoot attachments. SolarEdge Optimizers and Troy McBride, the Chief Technology Of- The UUCUV system was completed in a SolarEdge inverter. The ficer and Co-founder of NST, wanted to be 2018. Its members blessed the panels near mounting system is based The St. Francis of Assisi rooftop solar array has twelve solar panels, for a sure to mention the first church in Norwich the winter solstice on Sunday, December on IronRidge Flush mounts. capacity of 3.96kW. to have a solar system installed was not 23rd. UUCUV’s website is uucuv.org. Largest Solar in VT

1010 January JUNE 15, 2019 2014 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 802.439.6675 Solar Photovoltaics (PV) - Vermont Solar for Churches The World’s Largest Battery System & Nonprofits in NH George Harvey The least costly power from com- bustion of fossil fuels comes from combined-cycle natural gas plants. These plants have produced power so inexpensively that they have been driving coal-burning plants out of business. The situation, however, is changing rapidly. Combined-cycle natural gas plants are themselves in Dan Weeks of Revision Energy presents at the Solar danger of being shut down by renew- Saints kickoff meeting to educate churches and able energy backed up by batteries of nonprofits on installing solar. Courtesy photo. sufficient size to keep up with chang- ing conditions and demand. A power plant in California provides A kickoff meeting of a program a good example. It is a combined-cycle called “Solar Saints” was held Saturday afternoon, December 1st at All Saints plant, of the type that produces the Tesla battery system in Australia. Images via Hornsdale Power Reserve and Tesla on YouTube. least expensive fossil fuel power. It was Episcopal Church in Wolfeboro, NH. first put online in 2005, so it is not old Twenty-six participants attended the and should have at least another 25 tion has been that an energy glut has Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) to seek meeting representing five churches and or 30 years of productive life ahead of been created in the California market. This alternative sources of power to save four community nonprofits. it. According to Wikipedia, the Metcalf glut has come to a point where com- customers money. In the early summer of Solar Saints is a program sponsored Energy Center (MEC) has a capacity of bined-cycle natural gas plants, including this year, PG&E requested approval of the by All Saints Church and the NH Episco- 605 megawatts (MW), which is roughly MEC, are having trouble making money. plan it had developed from CPUC, and pal Diocese to help Episcopal churches the capacity of the old Vermont Yan- In 2017, when MEC was about twelve that approval was granted in November. in NH and community nonprofits install kee nuclear plant. (bit.ly/GET-MEC) years old, Calpine requested that it be The plan is stunning. Because power solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays on their Given that description, we might ex- given a license to run on a “reliability- from wind and solar systems is so inex- property with the joint benefits of pect MEC to be a valuable asset. That, must-run” (RMR) basis, which would give pensive, and battery storage costs have reducing their carbon footprint and di- however, is not the situation. MEC’s it sufficient extra income for it to keep dropped greatly, PG&E decided to replace recting more of their financial resources owner, Calpine Corporation, wants running when it would otherwise lose the MEC plant with batteries. Energy from towards their mission. They have been to close the plant down, because it is money. As the term suggests, RMR is only the combination of renewable energy working on bringing the program into losing money. given to plants that are absolutely neces- generation with batteries is expected being for two years. To understand what is going on, sary for grid reliability. The extra revenue to cost less than that produced by the The two hour meeting included an we should consider a combination of for such operation is charged to ratepay- combined-cycle natural gas plant. But us- overview by Solar Saints members of two trends. One is the continuously ers, and a plant must have approval from ing batteries to replace a 605 MW natural the various financial options available declining cost of electric power from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commis- gas plant, roughly equal in size to the old to nonprofits to help them fund a solar wind and solar power plants. The other sion for it. Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, requires array on their property. Solar Saints’ is the buildup of renewable power in However, the California Public Utilities storage capacity that is a multiple of vision is to aggregate many nonprofits California, which has been going on Commission (CPUC) had its own ideas those of the Hornsdale Power Reserve in a community to “go solar” together for years. The result of this combina- about MEC. Late last year, it ordered (HPR), the largest battery on Earth. and jointly benefit from the economy The capacity of HPR is 100 MW / 127 of scale. MWh. That is dwarfed by the second larg- Dan Weeks of Revision Energy pre- est of the four batteries to replace MEC, sented one financial option called “third an 182.5 MW / 730 MWh system to be party finance” that helps nonprofits built by Tesla. And the largest of the four, take advantage of the 30% federal tax which is to be built and owned by Vistra credit and depreciation on their PV ar- Energy Systems, is much larger than that, ray which is otherwise not available to at 300 MW / 1,200 MWh. The four batter- nonprofit organizations. In this option, EMBRACE THE ies will have combined capacities that the third party purchases and owns the total about 580 MW / 2,270 MWh, and array for the first six years while the tax POWER OF SUN GHT they are expected to be fully installed in credits are taken. After this initial pe- less than two years. riod, the nonprofit will have the option Maximize the potential of renewable energy with a What this means is that a combination to purchase the array, typically at 50% of solar photovoltaics, wind power, and less than the initial installation cost. The battery as eco-friendly as you are. batteries is expected to produce power, nonprofit will also receive its electricity both baseload and backup, at costs below from the PV array at below market rates those of the least expensive fossil fuels. resulting in savings to the nonprofit And this is starting to put the natural gas from the first day of installation. New Lithium Solar Batteries industry at risk. We have a lot of natural The two members of All Saints Now Available – Including a gas power plants coming online right Church leading the Solar Saints pro- new Low-Temperature Series now. They may already be doomed to be gram are Douglas Smithwood and Su- that safely charge in below stranded assets. san Fuller. For more information, please freezing conditions! contact Susan Fuller at sfuller5277@ yahoo.com.

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© 2018 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 Solar Photovoltaics (PV) - New Hampshire & Vermont WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 January 2019 11 Backing up the Grid – All of It! George Harvey grid. They also can pro- are huge, by the way. Their total area It is important to un- duce the least expensive is about half that of the 48 contiguous derstand that thermal power available to us. states of the U.S.) Power went down in baseload power plants, Recently, the cost of New South Wales and Victoria. South powered by producing power from batteries Australia only had momentary flick- steam, are generally has been reduced to the ers because of the Hornsdale Power very inflexible and can- point that it is practi- Reserve, which performed exactly as not change their out- cal for them to take up intended. put to match demand. excess power from solar Interestingly, Queensland also had Since producing excess and wind plants, making only a flicker, despite its lack of a big power would overload curtailment unnecessary. battery. That was because of widespread the system and create Then they can provide use of renewable power. About a third problems, they are it to the grid as needed. of the homes in that state have rooftop designed only to meet In this way, they can re- solar power. the minimum amount place existing baseload What we can see here is that both normally needed, the power plants. renewable energy with some battery “baseload.” They can The Hornsdale Power backup and grid-scale battery systems run flat out all the Reserve (HPR), in South can provide for unusual demands for time, and any demand Australia, has shown its electricity that baseload plants cannot. greater than what they value backing up all grid This should probably be no surprise. can provide has to generators, not just wind Baseload power plants were never come from some other Pumped storage systems are used to enable baseload power systems to match grid demand. Now and solar power. When intended to provide for unusual situa- generating type. they can be used to enable renewable power systems to do the same job. The Raccoon Mountain coal plants suddenly go tions. At the same time that Pumped-Storage Plant is shown. Tennessee Valley Authority image. offline, the wholesale the old Vermont Yankee price of electricity in that (VY) nuclear plant was Clearly, baseload power plants need country can legally go to being built, to provide a maximum of over $10 (U.S.) per kilowatt- an output of about 500 megawatts backup because of their inflexibility. That backup has to be available every day on a hour, a price that gets hit occasionally. (MW), the Northfield Mountain Station With the HPR in business providing for (NMS) pumped storage system, with massive scale. Some renewable energy generators can unexpected demand spikes, peak prices a maximum capacity of 1080 MW was have dropped over 90%, the state has paid also under construction just down the power around the clock. Unlike thermal baseload plants, hydropower and geother- down a third of the battery’s cost in only river. NMS was to take up power when one year, and the customers have saved demand was low and deliver power to mal plants can be ramped up and down rather quickly, but like pumped storage, a fair amount of money. (See “The World’s cover demand peaks. Largest Battery System” on page 10.) There are not many good sites for they cannot be built just anywhere. While it is true that the sun does not A set of recent events in Australia show pumped storage, so usually peak de- the value of renewable energy and battery mand has been covered by special gen- always shine, and the wind does not al- ways blow, solar and wind plants have the backup for providing energy security. In erators that are flexible enough to cover August, a set of storms took transmis- peak loads. They provide a service for advantage that they can be “curtailed” to avoid having too much electricity on the sion lines down connecting grids in four which they charge quite a lot of money. states, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. (These states

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Albert Ducharme, NABCEP Certified ALBERT DUCHARME PV Installation Professional #PV-041616-013792 Snow Dragon Solar OFF-GRID BATTERY BACK-UP HYBRID • GRID-TIED DESIGN & INSTALLATION

Snow Dragon Solar, LLC (603) 630-3003 | snowdragonsolar.com • SERVING THE UPPER VALLEY AND NORTH & CENTRAL NH • 12 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 Solar Photovoltaics (PV) – New Hampshire 1 The Solar Industry in 2018 Solar in Maine is Looking Good for the New Year Progress in spite of all the troubles Solar to Go on the Blaine House in 2019 We at Green Energy Times often get 2017). quite a ‘charge’ out of news releases from • Solar finance is taking off, with roughly ReVision Energy. It is truly inspiring to double the number of solar arrays learn what they have done recently. financed in 2018 vs. 2017. The popularity But their most recent news included is due to solar financing being a better how the country and New England ‘s deal (better interest rates and fees) and solar progressed in 2018 was so exciting demographics (more young homeowners to read that we felt a need to include it in going solar). G.E.T. and share it with all of our readers. • We had a boom in larger-scale solar Check out these encouraging statistics. projects in Maine and New Hampshire, with a record number of projects over The Solar Industry in 2018 50 kilowatts. In the face of tariffs and policy • Battery systems took off! In 2018, shake-ups across the country, the around 10% of our residential solar arrays Note that this image is only a mock-up of what solar on the Blaine House might look like. While it has been solar industry was undeterred in 2018. came with battery storage attached, up announced that the Governor’s house in Maine will be going solar in 2019, the design remains to be decided. Driven by the best product prices ever from roughly 5% in 2017. Courtesy image from Revision Energy. (even with tariffs in place), and states 2019 Shaping Up to be a Record Solar Year that are pushing forward on carbon- Back in 2015, ReVision Energy made an April Fool’s joke about solar panels going up neutrality goals despite inaction on the 2019 is shaping up to be a record- on the Blaine House, the official residence of the Governor of Maine. Well, it’s a joke federal level, solar nation- busting year for solar, no more! Maine Governor Janet Mills, in her inaugural address, said that solar panels ally recorded among its driven by a combination will be installed on the Blaine House, a practical benefit (saving money) and powerful strongest years, and FERC 150,000 solar of factors: signal that a new era has come in terms of Maine’s approach to energy policy. data suggests five times as arrays in New • Solar is the cheapest it A rendering we made in 2015 showing how the historic Blaine House might look much solar as exists today has ever been. Like the with solar panels on it. 74 panels would fit, for a roughly 21 kilowatts system, and off- will come online by 2021. England already microprocessor industry, set about 50% of the electricity needed for the heat pumps installed there. In 2018, TWICE the have a mean- solar panels continue to ISO-New England grid get better and cheaper. experienced daytime low ingful, positive Trumps tariffs produced a peaks as a result of solar impact on the small bump in the road, Two Impressive Solar Projects of 2018 by Revision Energy (once in April, and again on but already solar panels Thanksgiving day) -- results energy grid and cost less than they did Below: Pepperell Mills in Biddeford, Maine. that demonstrate that show that, with pre-tariff. the 150,000 solar arrays greater adoption, It is Maine’s largest privately-owned solar in New England already • The 30% federal tax array consisting of 1,192 panels over 1.5 have a meaningful positive we can erase our credit for solar PV drops by acres of rooftop and producing 437,320 impact on the energy grid, reliance on fossil 4% at the end of 2019, kilowatt hours of electricity annually. and show that with greater creating an extra incentive adoption we can erase our fuels. to get your system built in reliance on fossil fuels. this calendar year. Here are some of the most interest- • The cost for conventional energy keeps ing trends pulled from our data of over going up and faster than the historical 1,000 installations in the calendar year average. CMP in Maine announced a 14% 2018: increase, and Eversource announced a • People are tending to install slightly 4% increase in Massachusetts. Above: Mascoma Meadows, larger solar PV systems (8.2 kW in 2018 • The availability of zero-down solar the first manufactured-home vs. 7.8 kW in 2017). loans such as Revision Energy offers, with cooperative in NH to be pow- the other facts listed above, means that ered by solar. This 132kW • The increase is largely due to people ground mount will save all converting more fuel loads (water we can anticipate that 2019 is going to be a great year for solar. of the 50 low-income fami- heating, space heating, and vehicles) to lies around $300 in electric- electric alternatives, and powering Make your 2019 the year where you ity costs per year. Installed by those alternatives with solar. Nearly save money and do something about the Revision Energy. All photos HALF of all solar arrays now come climate crisis by going solar! courtesy of Revision Energy. paired with a heat pump (vs. 25% in

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While some bi-facial panels can be Non-Traditional Solar Orientations installed vertically, with one side facing George Harvey er can sell electricity east and the other west, they are espe- Usually, the from the afternoon cially valuable for applications in northern choice for solar sun at a premium. On areas, because they can be mounted in photovoltaic (PV) most days, peak grid a couple of ways that ordinary panels systems is to have demand is in the late cannot. They can be set up toward the them face due afternoon to early noon position of the sun, much like other south or mount evening. It has his- PVs. If that is done, and if their backs are them on trackers. torically been taken unobstructed so as to receive light com- There are other so- up by power plants ing from the side facing away from the lutions for solar in- that charge very high noonday sun, they can generate electric- stallations, however, prices. West-facing ity from light reflected by snow, so they and some are worth arrays can cover high can produce added power from the less knowing about. afternoon demand powerful winter sun. A building with Integrity Energy, LLC installed the solar system on the east and west-facing roofs to provide 100% of the energy when the sun is Another mounting system for bi-facial a north-south roof needed for the EyeCare For You office in Bethel, VT. Photo: NR Mallery. shining, and if they panels is to install them above decks, ridge axis is not a are associated with car-ports and similar locations, where the readily workable batteries, they can floor or ground below them is of a color place to mount a conventional south- well. provide power at other times also. that can reflect a good deal of light. The facing rooftop system. In such circum- Katrina Wilson, of Integrated Solar Appli- Another non-traditional type of instal- panels have glass on both sides, allowing stances, however, it is possible to install cations Corp. of Brattleboro, Vermont, said, lation uses bi-directional solar panels. light to pass through them, producing a some panels facing east and some facing “We started installing on the east and west Bi-facial solar panels collect light from both mottled pattern on the ground below. If west. Power production is somewhat less roof as well as the south when we were surfaces to convert it into electricity. the ground is reflective enough to send than what it might be with a conventional introduced to SolarEdge Inverters back Panels of this type have been tested at light back up to the panels, they generate system of the same size, but for some in 2015.” She also gave us some technical the United States Department of Energy’s light from both sides. buildings, it may be ideal. PV panels have details. “The average home in Vermont Regional Test Center (RTC) in Williston, Clair Chang of the Solar Store of Green- become inexpensive enough that east- without conventional electric heat or cold Vermont, one of five such centers in the field, MA told us her business installs bi-fa- west solar systems can be practical. climate heat pumps is sized at 24 modules country. The RTC is doing research on the cial panels made by Prism Solar for places A good example of such a system or 6.96kW with a south-facing array,” she panels to see how they could best be used. that are demanding. “They are not for a said. She compared this The data it gathers will be useful for making roof or a similar situation, but they have a with an orientation of ei- engineering decisions in the future, both unique niche,” she said. The dappled shad- ther east or west, saying, for manufacture and use. The bidirectional ing they produce is very much appreciat- “With the same system, solar panels they are testing were made by ed in some places. The light reflected from with the same factors Prism Solar, in Highland, New York, Solar- the white gravel driveway of a carport, for facing directly east or World USA, in Hillsboro, Oregon, and Tesla, example, can produce significant amounts west is estimated to of Palo Alto, California. of power. produce 7,270 kilowatt- hours per year. This is just slightly less than if it were facing south.” Kim Frase of Frase Electric & Solar in South Tamworth, New Hamp- shire, has also had some experience installing east-west solar. He told Integrated Solar Apllications installed this east-west and south solar array on us, “Depending on the roof The Marina restaurant in Brattleboro, VT. . Photo: Integrated Solar Applications. pitch and how far west or east it is, it can be a appeared in the October, 2018 edition of 15-20% reduction from optimal orientation. Green Energy Times, in the article, “Solar But with limited shade, it can be as good is a Family Affair” (bit.ly/solar-family). as a true south installation if the true south That article describes a 27-kilowatt (kW) installation has 20% shade.” system that was installed by Integrity There has also been an increase of west- Energy, llc, one of numerous systems they facing solar arrays, or more commonly ar- have done for EyeCare for You in Bethel, rays facing south-west, in some parts of the Vermont, and on the owners homes, as country. This happens when the array own- Bi-facial panels in an east-west solar array. Wikimedia Commons.

Follow the Sun HARVEST THE SUN FROM THE into the Future SOUTH, EAST AND /OR WEST

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Quality and reliability you can count on. Your Local Renewable Energy Provider AllEarth Trackers are engineered and made in VT. Since 1975 2 Fiske Avenue Specializing in Net Zero Homes A system that’s effective and efficient every day. Greenfield, MA Photovoltaic Solar - Cold Climate Heat Pumps Not effected by tariffs. 413.772.3122 Geothermal - SHW - Heat Pump Hot Water Heaters Artist: Christine Pellerin solarstoreofgreenfield.com 802.257.7493 www.isasolar.com 14 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 Solar Photovoltaics (PV) – Vermont Outreach and Community Engagement 90% by 2050 goal. As Vermont transi- tions towards this goal, it is projected that more distributed and locally gen- Support Vermont’s Renewable Energy Plan erated grids will become prominent Grace Olsen throughout the state. These “microgrids” Vermont has an ambi- can choose to implement other countries. Denmark’s growing wind will be powered by renewables that will tious goal to power the lesson plans within their development has created a lot of jobs have to be constructed in the com- state with 90% renew- curricula. There are nu- within the country. More than 40% of the munities. Communities will benefit able energy sources merous online resources energy supply in Denmark comes from from clean energy jobs, and the cleaner by the year 2050 in all for educators of grades wind power. Their goal is to reach 50% energy there is, the more jobs there will sectors: thermal, electric, kindergarten through by 2020 and 100% free of fossil fuels by be, especially if microgrid designs that and transportation. As high school such as the 2050. There are 29,000 people employed require ongoing maintenance and atten- the state continues to U.S. Department of Ener- in the industry by 2014 (Denmark). tion are embraced. Through community pursue this goal, job gy Efficiency and Renew- Germany’s renewable engagement with an training within the able Energy (http://bit. energy department energy literate public, renewable energy sector ly/EERE_EnergyLiteracy), has grown over time Vermonters will be will need to develop, the National Education and so has its net em- able to implement there will need to be a Association (http://bit.ly/ ployment. They have the most beneficial baseline educational sys- NEA_CleanEnergyEduca- predicted that the and appropriate tem established within tion) and the National gross employment in technologies where the school systems, and Grace Olsen at the REV Conference on Renewable Energy the renewable energy they live. the Vermont public must October 18, 2018. Courtesy image. Laboratory (http://bit. industry may increase Grace Olsen is a understand this goal ly/NREL_EducationRe- to around 500 to 600 sophomore at Green to support the efforts being made to sources). These sites have lesson plans for thousand people Mountain College achieve it. By utilizing means of public each grade level catering to the learning compared to more where she is pursuing outreach and job training to create abilities and relatable topics within their than 370 thousand a degree in Renewable awareness of the goal and to increase respective grades. These sites are also today. In Germany, Energy and Eco- Vermont’s overall “energy literacy,” the available to anyone who has access to the renewable energy logical Design. She is a Vermont public is more likely to support the internet. industry doubled its resident of mid-coast renewable efforts going forward. While Interactive visual representations of employment between 2004 and 2009 Maine who has long been involved in energy literacy can mean a vast knowl- individuals’ energy usage help consumers (Lehr, et al.). The Office of Energy Efficien- community service, especially through trail edge of energy, policy, and industry, the see how their actions can affect the local cy and Renewable Energy has a website clean ups and nature conservation. focus of energy literacy for Vermont- grid. National Grid, a large utility serving dedicated to finding job training within This article is based on a presentation ers should be on personal energy use, customers in Massachusetts, New York, the green energy industry in the United Grace Olsen delivered at the annual allowing them to take control of their and Rhode Island, provides a comparison States (www.energy.gov/eere/education/ conference of Renewable Energy Vermont usage and efficiency, and to benefit of each customer’s monthly usage in find-trainings). They have connections in October, 2018. References for further from incentives. The foundational un- comparison with their neighbors, as well and links to training and education for reading will be posted for this article when derstanding of energy allows Vermont as comparisons to efficient neighbors, places all over the country (www.energy. it appears at www.greenenergytimes.org. residents to be able to represent their which displays potential cost savings in gov/eere/education/teach-and-learn). communities in the process of infra- terms that don’t require in-depth un- Creating jobs and initiating educational Links and resources available with the structure development. derstanding of energy literacy (Building systems within the state boils down to posting of this article at the greenener- There is currently no requirement for Performance Institute Inc.). integrating the plan with the public, and gytimes.org website. See articles for the primary school students to learn about There are many examples of growing the communities to engage in harmoni- January 2019 edition where the full edition

energy, but school districts and teachers employment in the clean energy fields in ous efforts of completing the ambitious is also available. ?? and is the right ad? right the is and ?? Solar Photovoltaics – Maine & New Hampshire WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 January 2019 15 Pairing a Solar System with Heat Pumps George Harvey solar system, if possible. But when the Things are changing owner of Main Solar Solutions, combination of solar and heat pumps is almost everywhere energy compared with other options, the results is used. Increasing num- what experience he had in combin- are so clear that one observer called them bers of people are switch- a “killer combination.” ing to solar photovolta- ing PVs and heat pumps. He told Zuckerman told us, “It seems to be very ics (PV) to power their compelling for folks who are retired or homes. And increasing us the two are increasingly being looking to retire who want to have stable numbers are switching to costs. In the past, there wasn’t any practi- heat pumps to keep their used together. Zuckerman said, cal way to do this, for either electricity or homes warm. It is natural heat, but now there is.” A lot of people to consider whether it is “We size systems to cover 100% of are choosing to invest in solar and heat wise to power the heat pumps because when they are used pumps with PV systems. electric usage. Right now, a good together, they allow the homeowner to There are a few loca- control costs in a way that is impossible tions where heat pumps 50% already have heat pumps or for people depending on fossil fuels or will not work because grid electricity. of geology. Assuming a get them installed with the solar. The We asked whether heat pumps make house is a candidate for sense for a home with an off-grid system. heat pumps, however, benefit of install- ing a heat pump Zuckerman told us that he had some there is no technical rea- experience there also, but it is harder to son not to combine it with and offsetting the electricity with justify because heat pumps draw a lot of solar power, which might electricity. Not only does the system need be generated at or away solar power is that you can cover the a large solar PV capacity, it also needs a from the home site. There lot of battery capacity. One system he in- are, however, questions cost of heating your home.” stalled was for three homes on an island, about whether it is practi- two of which were summer residences. cal to use heat pumps at Most custom- ers who get heat The large solar and battery system re- homes that are off-grid. quired for the three homes in the summer We should bear in mind A 6.3kW grid-tied solar electric system paired with two single zone Mitsubishi heat pumps in Bath, Maine. pumps keep their Image: Maine Solar Solutions. old oil- or gas- was enough to supply a heat pump in the that a net-metered solar winter for the home that was occupied system does not have to fueled systems in place. Once the through the year. provide all the power a Zuckerman would remind anyone con- home uses. The fact that a grid-tied house heat pumps are installed, they rely on metering would increase the amount of heat pumps most of the time to keep sidering heat pumps about the impor- has a solar system will not argue against purchased electricity and a decrease in tance of insulating and sealing a house. its having a heat pump. In fact, the solar costs down. Many install separate smaller costs of fuel for heating. Normally, the heat pumps for hot water as well. The He also said he believes we are moving system would not necessarily have to be increase is considerably less than the into an era when houses using net-zero changed at all, though it might be worth solar power allows customers to leverage decrease. their energy bills. Having a heat pump energy are becoming the most cost-effec- considering upgrading it for the addi- While that is fine in theory, it is always tive option. tional electricity load. The simple instal- means somewhat more electricity is best to talk with someone with experi- used, so it makes sense to install a larger lation of a heat pump at a home with net ence. We asked Sam Zuckerman, the

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Cont’d from p.14 16 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 UP-TO-DATE INCENTIVE INFO: WWW.DSIREUSA.ORG INCENTIVES full time paid staff or equiv. LEDs at Vermont retailers. incentive payment otherwise calculated, • have an annual budget up to $100,000 Home Efficiency Improvements whichever is less. The Program is available to FEDERAL • Comprehensive air sealing and insula- non-residential structures with a commercial • “Seed” grants of $250-$1,000 and “Grow” tion projects and heating system upgrades electric meter located in New Hampshire. FEDERAL INVESTMENT grants of $1,000-$3,500 - up to $2,000 in incentives with a partici- Incentive levels for PV systems are as follows: • Go to www.grassrootsfund.org/grants/ pating contractor • $0.40/watt (lower of AC and DC) for new TAX CREDIT or call 802-223-4622 for more info. solar electric facilities (Step 1 application The federal investment tax credit (ITC) for • DIY – up to $100 back for select window, door, air sealing and insulation upgrades received on or after March 19, 2018); and most technologies, including solar, wind, • Expansions to existing solar systems are not heat pumps, and fuel cells, is 30% of VERMONT Appliances (must be ENERGY STAR) eligible. expenditures. For commercial geothermal • Dehumidifiers $25 - $40 rebate • Incentive levels for solar thermal systems are generating systems, microturbines, and CLEAN ENERGY • Clothes Washers - $40 - $75 rebate as follows: combined heat and power the ITC is 10% • Clothes Dryers - $50 to $400 rebate • $0.12/rated or modeled kBtu/year for new of expenditures. DEVELOPMENT FUND • Refrigerators - $40 - $75 rebate solar thermal facilities fifteen collectors in size • Residential Renewable Energy Tax The Small Scale RE Incentive Program, or fewer; Credit: http://bit.ly/energy-gov-R-E-tax- administered by Renewable Energy Heating/Cooling/Water Heating • $0.07/rated or modeled kBtu/year for new credit Resource Center (RERC), provides funds to • Central wood pellet boilers and furnaces: solar thermal facilities greater than fifteen help defray the costs of new solar thermal • Electric Vehicles - Tax credit for qualified $6,000 rebate (in partnership with CEDF) collectors in size; and and advanced wood pellet heating systems. plug-in electric drive vehicles including • Cord wood and pellet stoves: up to • Expansions to existing solar systems are not passenger vehicles and light trucks. For Advanced Wood Advanced wood pellet $1,000 off purchase at participating eligible. vehicles acquired after December 31, 2009, heating systems -- $6,000 per pellet boiler/ retailers (in partnership with CEDF) Contact [email protected] or at (603) the credit starts at $2,500 and goes up to furnace. CEDF and EVT each provide a • Heat pump heating and cooling 271-2431. $7,500 based on the battery specs. $3,000 incentive. Details at www.rerc-vt. systems: discounts up to $400 at partici- For C&I solar program details, go to: http:// org or call (877) 888-7372. pating distributors www.puc.nh.gov/Sustainable%20Energy/ USDA RURAL RenewableEnergyRebates-CI.html • Starting July 1st retails sales of • Heat pump water heaters: discounts up DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM “Advanced Wood Boilers” are exempt from to $500 at participating distributors PACE USDA Rural Development Program - Rural Vermont’s 6% sales tax. http://tax.vt.gov/ • Smart thermostats: up to $100 back for The state also has passed PACE (property- Energy for America (REAP) exemptions, select ENERGY STAR models. assessed clean energy) enabling legisla- • Finance the purchase of renewable • Details at www.RERC-vt.org Heating Wood Stove Change-Out tion which will allow towns to use the PACE energy systems, and make energy mechanism to finance clean energy proj- or call (877)888-7372 CEDF Change-Out (customer must have improvements; energy audits. Funding is • Windham County ects through property taxes. awarded on a competitive basis; grant an existing/installed non-EPA certified Visit http://cpace-nh.com/index.html for • For residential low- and moderate- funding cannot exceed 25% of eligible stove to change-out): more information. income residents there is a pellet stove project costs and combined loan guaran- • Pellet stoves: $1,000 incentive program. Contact the Windham and tees and grants cannot exceed 75% of Residential Solar and Wind Rebate Windsor Housing Trust for more informa- • Cord wood stoves: $800 incentive eligible project costs. Program tion: Tara Brown at 802-246-2119 • A $100 incentive is also available to • Applicants include Feasibility studies/ - Waitlist only until funding available; no • For wood heating (pellet or chip boilers/ replace the catalyst in an existing EPA-cer- regular REAPs: agricultural producers and new applications being added to waitlist furnaces) in municipal buildings, schools, tified woodstove. rural small businesses. Energy audits and Check for updates at http://bit.ly/NHResi- and non-profits contact the Windham renewable energy development assis- Efficiency VT offers a $650 rebate for a new dentalRebate Regional Commission: Marion Major at tance: local governments, tribes, land grant pellet or cord wood stove w/o the need 802-257-4547 ext. 109 or windhamre- Residential Solar Water Heating colleges, rural electric coops, public power to do a change-out. If the customer does gional.org/energy/wwh entities. Grant must be used for Construc- have a EPA certified stove S/he wants to get Rebate Program tion or improvements, purchase and In Rutland County (and towns in neigh- rid of they can get another $100 for that. • $1500 - $1900 per system based on installation of equipment, energy audits, boring counties that boarder Rutland Co.) Residential New Construction annual system output permit fees, professional service fees, contact Melanie Paskevich mpaskevich@ nwwvt.org at NeighborWorks of Western • Enroll to receive a home energy rating, Commercial Bulk Fuel-Fed Wood business plans, and/or feasibility studies. expert technical assistance, and incentives Find more at www.rurdev.usda.gov/ Vermont, (802) 797-8610. C&I Pellet Central Heating Systems – Efficiency Vermont Certified™ projects – waitlist and closed to new applicants. NH-VTHome.html or call 802-828-6080 in Pellet Sap Evaporators: receive up to $3,000 cash back VT or 603-223-6035 in NH Incentives are available for new, high-effi- • 40% of the heating appliance(s) and ciency wood pellet- or chip-fired evapora- • Washington Electric Coop and Vermont installation cost, up to a maximum of BIOREFINERY ASSISTANCE tors utilized as primary evaporators Gas Systems customers may also receive $65,000. An additional 30% up to a maxi- PROGRAM completely replacing oil or cord wood- additional incentives mum $5,000 is available for thermal storage. USDA Rural Development offers oppor- fired units. $200/sq-ft of evaporator pan. Other Opportunities To Save Systems must be 2.5 million BTU or less tunities to producers to develop biofuels Info at RERC-vt.org • Advanced Power Strips – special pricing through the Biorefinery Assistance Program. starting at $6.95* Residential Wood Pellet Boiler/Furnace Other Utilites Heating Offers - waitlist and closed to new applicants. The program provides loan guarantees for • Members of Washington Electric Co-op • Pool Pumps – up to $500 back on select the development, construction, and retrofit- ENERGY STAR models • 40% of installed system up to $10k (WEC) can get a $1,000 rebate on approved • Must meet thermal efficiency and ting of commercial-scale biorefineries. pellet boilers/furnaces. This can be added to • Heat Saver Loan – low-interest loans of The Biorefinery Assistance Program was particulate emissions standards the CEDF and EVT incentives for a total of up to $35,000 for home weatherization www.puc.nh.gov – Sustainable Energy or established to assist in the development $7,000. Call WEC for details: 802-223-5245. and heating improvements of new and emerging technologies for the tel. 603-271-2431 for more information and • Members of the Vermont Electric Co-op 1. *All rebates/incentives subject to availability, lim- current program status development of advanced biofuels and can get a $150 credit on the purchase of an its, and may change at any time. For complete details aims to accomplish the following: approved pellet stove: www.vec/energy- and requirements, and participating retailers/contrac- LOCAL INCENTIVES • Increase the energy independence of tors, visit efficiencyvermont.com/rebates or call 888- Some towns provide property tax exemp- programs. 921-5990. the United States tions for renewables – visit www.bit.ly/ • Promote resource conservation, public VT TAX CREDITS NHtownRenewablesTaxBreaks health, and the environment • Vermont offers an investment tax credit • These are offered on a town-by-town basis. for installations of renewable energy equip- NEW HAMPSHIRE • Diversify markets for agricultural and • The state also has passed PACE (property- ment on business properties. The credit is forestry products and agricultural waste assessed clean energy) enabling legislation equal to 24% of the “Vermont property por- Renewable Energy Incentives materials which will allow towns to use the PACE tion” of the federal business energy tax Offered Through the NH Public mechanism to finance clean energy projects • Create jobs and enhance economic credit from 2011 to 2016. For solar, small Utilities Commission through property taxes development in rural America wind, and fuel cells this constitutes a 7.2% NH PUC: Get up-to-date information at • Visit https://www.nh.gov/osi/energy • For more information go to state-level credit for systems and for geo- http://bit.ly/puc-nh-RE-rebates for more information. www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_Biorefinery thermal electric, microturbines, and com- Commercial Solar Rebate Program bined heat and power systems, this – waitlist; closed to new applicants NH Electric Cooperative Incentives constitutes a 2.4% state-level tax credit. This Program has been modified by Com- for Electric Vehicles and Electric Car REGIONAL Tier III programs mission Order to consolidate the two eli- Charging Stations NEW ENGLAND GRASSROOTS • Additional incentive offers may be avail- gible project categories: • NHEC offers a $1,000 incentive on a able through your local utility provider, con- Category 1 was previously for solar electric and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), $600 on a ENVIRONMENTAL FUND tact your utility for more information. thermal systems rated less than or equal to 100 Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV), and MODEST GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR kW (AC) or thermal equivalent and Category 2 $300 on Electric Motorcycles. COMMUNITY-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL EFFICIENCY VERMONT was previously for solar electric systems greater NHEC offers incentives for Level 2 WORK IN CT,MA,RI,NH,VT,ME Lighting (must be ENERGY STAR®) than 100 kW (AC) but less than or equal to 500 kW (AC). Incentives are limited to 25% of the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations. • Must be volunteer driven or have up to 2 • Special pricing on select ENERGY STAR® total project cost or $50,000 if less than the AC • For Commercial and Municipal Members 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 January 2019 17 NH Home Performance with electricity installed in the Commonwealth the high efficiency measures must be ENERGY STAR Business Programs to power more than 100,000 homes. completed between 4/1/2018-12/31/2018. Includes programs for: small and large busi- • Mass Solar Loan will continue to grow this *Mini-split heat pump units that only Sponsored by all NH electric and natural ness, new equipment and construction, gas utilities in partnership by the U.S. Dept. sector, while allowing more homeowners the provide cooling are not eligible: http://bit.ly/ seminars, lighting incentives, and catalog, ability to achieve the cost savings and Heat-pumps. of Energy. Fuel-blind eligibility using the and low and no interest financing programs. Home Heating Index (BTUs of heating fuel environmental benefits of this clean, renew- • Visit www.NHSaves.com/ for informa- able energy source. www.masssolarloan.com. Home Energy Waste / conditioned square feet / heating degree Getting a home energy assessment can tion about NH business incentives for The most updated loan principal buy down days). Must provide at least 12 months of help you take control of your energy costs, electricity efficiency. rate based on household income can be found heating fuel history. Once qualified, eligi- identify where your house is using the most at http://www.masssolarloan.com/. ble homes get a $450 value comprensive NH Weatherization Assistance energy and which improvements would energy audit for $100 (rebated if improve- Income-Eligible Programs DEPT OF ENERGY RESOURCES have the biggest impact on your bottom ments installed), and 50% instant rebate Home Energy Assistance and NH commu- • MA State Income tax credit for residen- line. Heating and cooling costs frequently for eligible weatherization improvements nity action Weatherization Assistance Pro- tial solar hot water or PV systems are account for 50% of residential energy bills. up to a $4,000. gram. Financial assistance paying fuel bills, eligible for a one-time 15% off system cost, Identifying your energy waste can lead to • Visit www.NHSaves.com/HPWES for and free weatherization improvements capped at $1000 max tax credit. big savings. Visit: http://bit.ly/ny-nrg-waste. more information and an online Home for qualified applicants. Funding from U.S. Heating Index calculator • No sales tax on residential solar hot RENEWABLE ENERGY/NY-SUN Dept. of Energy, NH utilities. water or PV system. http://ny-sun.ny.gov/ NH ENERGY STAR Homes Visit www.nh.gov/oep/programs weath- • There is no increase in property tax NY-Sun is structured around custom- • Incentives for new homes which meet erization/index.htm for application criteria, assessment for residential solar hot water ized Megawatt (MW) Blocks targeted ENERGY STAR guidelines. Incentives include FAQs and local program contacts or PV systems for 20 yrs. to specific regions of the state. To learn • HERS rating fees paid by the utility, rebates more, see the Megawatt Block Incentive for ENERGY STAR lighting, appliances –up to MA SREC II Policy Structure. $4,000 based on the HERS score. MASSACHUSETTS Massachusetts’ Solar Renewable Energy • Visit www.NHSaves.com/newhome for Credits Program. SRECs are no longer avail- The Megawatt (MW) Block Dashboard more details. Commonwealth Solar Hot Water able. SMART program is available. Details at provides real time infor on the status of (SHW) Programs http://masmartsolar.com and https://www. block and current incentive levels by sec- NHSaves Residential ENERGY STAR ® tor and region. Block status is updated as • Applicants must be served by National mass.gov/solar-massachusetts-renewable- certified Products Program applications are submitted, so check for Grid, Unitil (Fitchburg Gas and Electric), target-smart. • Mail-in/online rebates are available current status. http://bit.ly/MW-block toward the purchase of the following Eversource or a participating Municipal Light Plant community MA STATE INCENTIVE Residential and Small Business ENERGY STAR® certified products: Clothes MA State Incentives can be found at: www. Washers, Clothes Dryers, Room Air Condition- • Homeowners are eligible for a base • http://bit.ly/ny-sun-Solar-Res-sm-bus rebate amount of the lesser of $4,500 or masscec.com/get-clean-energy ers, Room Air Purifiers, Refrigerators, Commercial and Industrial 40% of the installed cost. The system may • Incentive updates for air-sourced heat Dehumidifiers, and Pool Pumps. For current • http://ny-sun.ny.gov/Get-Solar/Com- also be eligible to receive additional pumps: https://www.masscec.com/ rebate information and forms go to www. air-source-heat-pumps mercial-and-Industrial NHSaves.com/appliances. funding (“adders”) which increase the amount of the rebate. Adders are detailed • Wood stove Change-out program: Commercial Energy Storage • Refrigerator/freezer recycling is available in the program manual at http://files. https://www.masscec.com/common- NYSERDA is providing $350/kWh of – unit must be in working condition (10 – 30 masscec.com/get-clean-energy/residential/ wealth-woodstove-change-out energy storage capacity in addition to the cubic feet in size), program includes free commonwealth-solar-hot-water/SHW_Pro- current NY-Sun solar incentive. https:// pickup and $30 rebate. For program gram_Manual_Small_Scale.pdf Heating Programs on.ny.gov/2FvS6L1 requirements and scheduling information go • Visit http://www.masscec.com/programs/ • The Commonwealth Woodstove Community Solar to www.NHSaves.com/recycle. commonwealth-solar-hot-water Change-Out program, a partnership • http://bit.ly/NY-sun-Community • Instant rebates available on certain between MassCEC, the Massachusetts ENERGY STAR® certified LED light bulbs MassSave Heat Loan SHW Department of Environmental Protection Commercial/Industrial PV Installer purchased through participating NH retailers, Through this loan program, customers may and the Department of Energy Resources, • http://ny-sun.ny.gov/For-Local-Govern- and instant or mail-in rebates available on borrow at 0% interest the costs of a Solar offers rebates to assist Massachusetts ment/Local-Government ENERGY STAR® certified light fixtures (varies Domestic Hot Water and/or Thermal Heat- residents in replacing non-EPA-certified ing system. Apply through receiving the Residential/Small Commercial by retailer, see store associate or rebate form wood stoves with cleaner, more efficient Solar PV Installer for details). Infor: NHSaves.com/lighting. MassSave Energy Audit. You can borrow up EPA-certified wood or pellet stoves. • http://ny-sun.ny.gov/Get-Solar/Find-A- • Rebates are available to residential electric to $25,000 at 0% interest for a 7-yr term. • Woodstove Program Info: http://bit.ly/ Solar-Electric-Installer customers of the four NHSaves utilities. Energy Efficiency mass-cec-woodstoves NHSAVES Online Store • After conducting a free residential Energy • Heat Loan info: http://bit.ly/mass-save-heat-loan Financing Options Audit, residential customers are eligible for • Our extensive online store offers • Insulation Incentives: http://bit.ly/mass- • http://bit.ly/NY-Sun-Financing up to $25,000, commercial loan up to $100k discounted pricing for residential electric saves-home-insulation customers of the four NHSaves utilities on a at 0% interest heat loan with terms up to 7 Clean Power Estimator large variety of LED light bulbs and fixtures, years to cover the following energy Electric Vehicles • http://bit.ly/NYSUN-power-estim as well as offering additional products to efficiency improvements: atticwall-base- • After January 1, the maximum rebate for Geothermal make your home more efficient, such as ment insulation, high efficiency heating EVs in Massachusetts will be reduced to $1,500 • rebate of $1500 per ton of installed ca- lighting controls, advanced power strips, systems, high efficiency domestic hot water and only fully battery electric or hydrogen fuel pacity for residential/small-scale systems, thermostats, water saving devices, and systems, solar hot water systems, 7-day cell cars will be eligible. Hybrids will not be $1,200 per ton for commercial/large-scale various weatherization products. Orders digital programmable thermostats, Energy given rebates. In addition, the sticker price of systems up to $5000 Star replacement windows and product fulfillment are handled by our the car must be under $50,000 to qualify for the Electric car vendor, EFI. • Available only to utility customers of W. program. Visit: https://mor-ev.org/ • Visit www.NHSaves.com/lighting-catalog. Mass Electric, National Grid, Berkshire Gas, • buyers in New York State can now get Nstar, Unitil and Cape Light Compact a rebate of up to $2,000 on qualifying EV PAREI • Visit www.masssave.com/residential/ models from participating dealers. See • To explore the possibility of a solar heating-and-cooling/offers/heat-loan-pro- NEW YORK https://on.ny.gov/2Rd14zL installation. Plymouth Area Renewable gram Please call 866-527-7283 to schedule • Charge Ready NY: $4,000/installed Energy Initiative. www.plymouthenergy.org a free home energy assessment. RENEWABLE ENERGY INCENTIVES Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) charging • NH Solar Shares: www.nhsolarshares.org Mass. Solar loan Program stations for public, workplace, and multi- • www.nhsaves.com OFFERED THROUGH NYSERDA unit dwelling stations. http://bit.ly/Char- Energy Star® Residential Heating, Mass Solar Loan focuses on connecting Welcome to the 2017 New York solar geReadyNY. homeowners who install solar PV systems incentive and rebate information: 169 Cooling, & Water Heating with low-interest loans to help finance the Utility sponsored incentives & tips: programs and incentives at: http://dsireusa. http://bit.ly/utility_sponsored_incentives Equipment Rebate projects. org (enter your zipcode) Programs and • Rebates of up to $500/ton on Air Source • The $30 million program, a partnership Services from NYSERDA: Clean Energy on Farms and Geothermal Heat Pumps. Rebates of between the Massachusetts Department of https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs. Energy Resources (DOER) and MassCEC, will • $19 Million Available to Accelerate $500 - $600 on Heat Pump Water Heaters. the Use of Clean Energy Technologies On Rebates of $100 on WiFi Thermostats work with local banks and credit unions to EV Incentive from National Grid provide financing to homeowners inter- Farms. Learn more at: http://bit.ly/NYSER- • Program details and application at www. National Grid, in partnership with BMW, is ested in solar electricity. DOER’s program DA-Farm-Clean-Energy. NHSaves.com/heating cooling bringing eligible customers an incentive on works with banks and credit unions to a BMW i3 or BMW i3s EV. Form is at https:// National Grid Other NH Electric Utility Programs expand borrowing options through lower www.NG-BMWi3. • National Grid savings for customers, See also individual utilities for additional interest rate loans and encourage loans for • Energy Rebates: https://NG-energy- http://bit.ly/Thanks-For-Saving-Energy programs and variations. NH electric util- homeowners with lower income or lower rebates ities may offer low or no interest on-bill credit scores. financing for energy efficiency projects. • Since 2008, the solar electric industry in National Grid: Heat Pumps UP-TO-DATE INCENTIVE INFO • Visit www.NHSaves.com/resource/ for Massachusetts has grown into a robust Total incentive amount not to exceed CAN BE FOUND AT: individual utility contact information. economic sector with over 1,400 businesses $1,100 for ASHP or $1,500 for GSHP and 12,000 workers, with enough solar (installations per project). Installation of WWW.DSIREUSA.ORG 18 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 RENEWABLE ENERGY Holiday Hill Community Wind RENEWABLE ENERGY PROGRAM Russell, Massachusetts For Massachusetts Farmers David Blittersdorf, CO2 emissions crisis. In the past seven George Harvey CEO of AllEarth Re- years, Blittersdorf has led three separate newables, based in partnerships in building two 2.2 MW com- Williston, Vermont, munity scale solar farms in South Burling- announced the ton, as well as Georgia Mountain Com- groundbreaking munity Wind, a 10 MW wind farm whose for the Holiday Hill power is purchased by the Vermont utility Community Wind Burlington Electric Department. Project in Russell, Russell Municipal Light Department Massachusetts. (RMLD) was founded in 1920 by citizens The two turbine, who had the foresight to believe locally 5 MW project has broad local support owned and controlled electric service and will be generating power for the would benefit the Town of Russell. “Russell surrounding Massachusetts communi- continues to be an innovative, progres- ties by the summer of 2019. The project sive organization dedicated to providing is being developed with resources that quality service, low rates and bringing were originally intended to build the affordable, environmentally friendly Kidder Hill Community Wind Project in renewable energy to the community,” Farms in the Pioneer Valley. Wikipedia. Lowell, VT. On February 28, 2018 Kidder said Alan Robinson, General Manager of Hill Community Wind announced that it RMLD. “We are pleased that we are able to On April 11, 2016, Massachusetts some traditional strains of grazing grass was stopping project planning activities, partner with David Blittersdorf to move Governor Charlie Baker signed the Solar grow just as well in the partial shade citing a hostile environment for wind this project forward and provide clean and Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) of solar panels as they do in full sun, so energy in Vermont. renewable energy to our customers.” into law. It will provide incentives for there is nothing lost to a farmer using “The communities of Chicopee, Russell Blittersdorf is also a project partner for 1,600 megawatts (MW) of solar photovol- such grains. and Westfield should be commended for Dairy Air Wind, a single turbine project taic installations under a rather compli- Other crops can also be grown below taking charge of their energy future,” said proposed in a cornfield on a 450-acre cated scheme. It was much awaited and the panels. Bees, which can be kept Blittersdorf. “While we are thrilled that dairy farm in Holland, VT. Dairy Air Wind finally went into effect on November 26, below the panels, provide an income to we have broken ground on this impor- was awarded a state Standard Offer 2018. the farmer who keeps them, but they tant project, the sentiment is bittersweet contract to sell electricity in Vermont but One of the complexities of the SMART are valuable pollinators for farms and for me. The turbines being used for this has been stalled in permitting for almost program is that incentives are awarded for gardens for miles around. Various types project were originally intended to be two years. As detailed in a recent article systems in blocks of 400MW. The individ- of fowl, herbs, and shade-tolerant veg- used here in my home state of Vermont. in the Energy News Network (http://bit.ly/ ual projects within the blocks can range etables are other potential crops. In Ger- Sadly, Vermont continues to make the DairyAirFarmWind), Dairy Air Wind is the up to five MW. Incentives range from many, hay has been grown successfully unfortunate decision to rely on our last remaining wind project under devel- 15.6 cents to 39.1 cents per kilowatt-hour under panels mounted high enough neighbors for energy solutions, and, as opment in Vermont. (kWh). The incentives are reduced from for ordinary farm equipment to operate a result, we are forced to focus our ef- AllEarth Renewables’ website is one block to the next, as they fill up and below them. Other crops we have seen forts on developing renewables in other www.allearthrenewables.com. vary according to the utility in the area. range from fish, under floating systems, states where the Clearly, anyone developing a solar system to mushrooms. Just about every farm political climate has to plan carefully. has someplace where solar panels can is more ami- Recognizing the importance of local ag- be mounted. cable toward re- riculture and the special needs of farmers, There are other state programs that newable energy there is a special incentive for them. In ad- can benefit Massachusetts farmers. projects.” dition to the basic incentive, farmers can One has special incentives for energy Lifelong get a bonus of 6 cents per kWh for elec- efficiency. Standard awards going to Vermonter, tricity from a solar system that is mounted $30,000 are there to help with projects. Blittersdorf, is in such a way that agriculture can still be We have been told that in special cases, a passionate practiced below the panels. such as for net-zero buildings, awards renewable en- Farming beneath solar panels is not can go as high as $75,000. ergy advocate, new. A very nice picture of sheep grazing Another initiative for Massachusetts and Holiday in a solar system appeared in the article, farmers is the Organics-to-Energy pro- Hill Community “Upper Valley Aquatic Center is Swimming gram of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Wind is part of in Solar,” which appeared in Green Energy Center. This has a special focus on using his vision for Vermont’s Georgia Mountain Wind System. Image: wamc.org Times in October of 2017 (bit.ly/GET- waste from farms and combatting our aquatic-center). We have been told that sewage treatment plants Cont’d on p.19

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www.citeecologiquenh.org , RENEWABLE ENERGY WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 January 2019 19 Parking Lot Solar - a great solution for our region George Harvey Sometimes a solution to one problem reduction in the town’s parking produces opportunities to solve others. income. While the lease Green Parking lots and garages provide a case Lantern is suggesting would be in point. modest, at $1,200 per year, it One problem, we know, is that we would be a cost-free addition to have to switch away from fossil fuels to the town’s budget. stop climate change. A part of the prob- The fact that the micro-grid lem of how to do that is where to site would be at a parking garage renewable energy resources. Some great would make it possible to charge types of sites have already been tried electric vehicles there, even dur- and tested. Among the most promising ing a grid outage. It could also be of these is old landfills, which really can- used in an emergency to provide not be used for much else, but we need power for Dottie’s, a thrift food more sites than those provide. store associated with the Brattle- A different problem is that we need boro Food Coop. It could also to achieve energy security to provide be a place where people could for communities during extended charge cell phones, computers, grid-power outages. Hurricanes Irene emergency radios, and other and Sandy gave the people of New York equipment. and New England their lessons, but Of course, Green Lantern they were only minor inconveniences hopes to make some profit out compared to what would happen in a of the PV system it is proposing. worst case. The Federal Energy Regula- The solar array would be net- tory Commission has warned us that metered. More profit could come our electric grids are so vulnerable to from arbitrage, buying power terrorist attacks that a well-coordinated when there is little demand for it and executed operation could bring and the price is low, and selling it major grids in this country down for when the demand and price are eighteen months. The National Aeronau- high. An interesting aspect of this tics and Space Administration (NASA) system is that the effect on the warned that a severe coronal ejection market is to increase price stabil- Vermont’s largest parking lot solar canopy , a 156kW system, at the ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain. This is just part could bring grids down for 42 months. ity, and this tends to stabilize, of what promises to be impressive work we will report on soon. Image courtesy of Encore Renewable Energy. Whether we are talking about an ice and possibly reduce, the price of storm shutting off the power for a few power for all customers. days, or something worse, we should be There are other benefits of putting solar G.E.T. will have more about parking areas and solar power. Another PV system that better prepared than we now are. Com- PVs at parking lots. One is that solar pan- has been installed at a parking area is on our list of upcoming stories. It is part of a munity micro-grids, even if they only els can be installed so as to shade cars, large set of projects being done at the ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, that we provide power to a food store and the keeping them cool. will cover together when they are completed. Since the ECHO Center had the first LEED fire department, are a good step in the Green Lantern is in early development certified building in Vermont, its energy upgrades are sure to be interesting. right direction. stages for the system for the parking ga- Recently, Green Lantern, a solar devel- rage. The engineering has begun, but it is oper based in Waterbury, Vermont, ap- far from complete. We really do not even proached the Town of Brattleboro with know much about the capacity of the More States & Provinces the idea of putting a solar array on the array. We cannot be sure that if the array roof of a town-owned parking garage in is installed a battery system would come Adopt Carbon Pricing between Flat Street and Elliot Street, a with it, though there are good arguments Steven Nadel downtown area. to do so. What we do have is an engineer- Across North America, efforts to put a The photovoltaic (PV) array would go ing development underway before us price on greenhouse gas emissions are on the top level of the garage and could that will be interesting to follow, and all growing, creating a market-based incen- be accompanied by a battery system the more so because, if it is successful, tive to reduce emissions and energy use. that would provide power during out- it could be duplicated elsewhere. Green Currently 14 US states and Canadian prov- ages, producing a small micro-grid. Lantern’s idea to put PVs on the roof of a inces plus one US city have done so, with The solar photovoltaic panels would parking garage is hardly original, but that seven additional states and provinces in not occupy any areas where cars could as part of a downtown micro-grid could active pursuit, according to the American park, so the facility would not cause any be an innovative solution worthy of note. Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) new white paper. We at ACEEE profile these Cont’d on p.34 RENEWABLES FOR MA FARMERS HAPPY NEW YEAR: PLANET EARTH Cont’d from p.18 Cont’d from p.1 to fuel anaerobic digesters (AD), reac- So, look the list over and pick one or a starting in 2019 for high-income countries, individual can lead to people feeling so tors that generate gas similar to natural few solutions to add to your daily life. For 2024 or 2028 for poorer countries. Then- personally responsible that they become gas for fuel. In some cases, heat from instance, I’m going to look for a feed laced secretary of state, John Kerry, called it “the overwhelmed by the enormity of the task the reactors can be captured for use in with a tiny amount of seaweed for my par- biggest thing we can do (on climate) in one at hand....(But)What individuals can do neighboring buildings. ents’ elderly cows, to reduce their methane giant swoop.” is become a movement. As (Bill) McKib- Using AD as a potential source of emissions. You might be planning to put in The trouble is (and you might have ben writes: ‘Movements are what take five power is important for a number of air conditioning after last year’s hot sum- guessed this), the United States has not or ten percent of people and make them reasons. The waste has to be treated for mer. Look into a heat pump (#42) instead. yet ratified it, although, according to the decisive—because in a world where apathy the sake of public safety. The electric- You could also take a solution you al- (refrigerant) association, very much sup- rules, five or ten percent is an enormous ity generated can cover the cost of ready practice, learn more about it, and do ports it. number.’ . . . The United States was founded treating the waste, and a side product better at it. I plan to be smarter at manag- Having informed myself, I plan to call my on the premise that there are truths that is compost. Because of its importance, ing my animals’ grazing next summer. I representatives in Washington and hope are self-evident, and one of the unmen- the Organics-to-Energy program offers also resolve to be the person who buys the you will too. Mention the Kigali Amend- tioned truths is that we only have one technical assistance and various types ugly fruits and veggies. Like shelter dogs, ment and ask what’s being done to get it home. If we are to remain here, we must of help for funding. One recent grant they can be very sweet, and if nobody buys ratified. Meanwhile, as usual, California has together take great care. To do that means from the program put $500,000 into an them, they become food waste. come out with refrigerant-management we must become a “we,” a movement that AD that is expected to generate 7,000 In that same spirit, I’m also taking on legislation. Other states could adopt those is unstoppable and fearless. Movements MWh per year. refrigerant management. The Drawdown standards, as many of us already do on are dreams with feet and hands, hearts You can learn about the SMART folks seem almost apologetic about mak- auto emissions. So, a call to your state and voices.” program at bit.ly/MA-smart. Search ing it their number one solution. Who’s go- representative would also be appropriate Jessie Haas has written 40 books, the page for “agriculture” for relevant ing to care about such an unsexy topic? But or a petition. mainly for children, and has lived in an information. Another good site to visit that’s what the math shows, and progress What piece can you take on? It should be off-grid cabin in Westminster West, VT is Massachusetts Farm Energy Program, has already been made. An amendment fun, or beautiful, or otherwise make your since 1984, www.jessiehaas.com. at massfarmenergy.com. The state’s An- to the Montreal Protecol, called the Kigali life better. It should also involve joining Links available with the posting of this aerobic Digestion & Organics Diversion Amendment, will phase out the use of hy- with others. Paul Hawken writes, article on the GET website. can be found at bit.ly/MA-AD. drofluorocarbons (HFCs) for rich countries, “...placing too high an enphasis on the 20 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG Feature: COP24 Understanding COP24 - From the Context to the Aftermath finance denial, and some people are will- THE CONTEXT OF COP24 ing to earn money in that service, but the COP24 – THE CONFERENCE George Harvey simple truth is that denialist funding activ- The Conference of the Parties to the agreement. Noting the report implies ity does not change our climate. And even United Nations Framework Convention on that the country doing so can ignore if the weather and climate data from NOAA Climate Change (COP24) was scheduled it. Under the official guidelines of the is blocked by the Trump administration, the for December 2, 2018 to December 14, conference, the issue was dropped (bit. damage can be readily observable in our 2018. The purpose of the conference was ly/nations-balk). environment. to create a set of rules for determining That, however, was just a start. Things are getting worse. Weather re- that countries were adhering to the Paris Unfortunately a few other nations lated insurance claims increased from 1978 Climate Accord of 2015. It was held in were non-supportive of climate action. through 2016 by a factor of 47. The wildfires Katowice, Poland, in the middle of an old Poland, the host country, set up displays in California, costing billions in damage, coal-mining area. It opened on schedule, of coal. Bins of coal were built into the were worsened by climate change, accord- though delegates had to be held over to floor of one area, with glass tops people ing to scientific analysis. In 2017, some ar- finish business for an extra day. could walk on. Bins of coal held in metal eas of Texas that were flooded by Hurricane The meeting featured speeches by a mesh-work frames decorated a hallway. Harvey were not even in 500-year flood António Guterres, Secretary General of the United number of important people and at least There were displays of jewelry made Nations. Photo: Kuhlmann / MSC. zones. 2017 was the first year in history that one most of us had never heard of but from coal (bit.ly/coal-on-display). more than one hurricane of category 4 or who seems to have become important. The Trump Administration hosted a higher hit the United States – there were Sir David Attenborough, the well-known sideshow, “U.S. Innovative Technolo- Climate change denial is well-funded three of them. The hurricane season in 2018 naturalist, called climate change the gies Spur Economic Dynamism.” The and pervasive. The Wikipedia article was a little better, but Michael was the third greatest threat to humanity in thousands U.S. Department of Energy’s Principal “Climate change denial” says, “Climate most powerful storm ever to make landfall. of years. He said that we could see our Deputy Assistant Secretary for Inter- change denial has been associated with Some events of 2018 were frightening civilization collapse, with many of the spe- national Affairs, Preston Wells Griffith, the fossil fuels lobby, the Koch brothers, in their implications. One of these came cies in nature becoming extinct, unless was at the event along with other U.S. industry advocates and conservative before the public in August, when ice north we act on the matter effectively. His short officials and one from Australia, whose think tanks, often in the United States. of Greenland broke up for the first time in but pointed speech can be found at bit.ly/ nameplate bore an American flag (bit. More than 90% of papers skeptical on history (http://bit.ly/arctic-ice-breaks-up). attenborough-cop24. ly/australian-at-sideshow). The event climate change originate from right-wing The damage that has been done so Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old Swed- drew derision and boos from protest- think tanks. The total annual income of far, including many billions of dollars in ish climate activist also gave a widely ers, but it made the point that the U.S. these climate change counter-move- economic loss, have come about because reported speech. Her message is that the views the threat of climate change as ment-organizations is roughly $900 of the chaos created by climatic change threat of climate change is existential. less important than the financial returns million” (bit.ly/cc-denial). The article has of only 1°C. Denial, however, continues, Among the points she made that are of its own fossil fuels industry. The U.S. a large number of references, and I will and the Trump administration, which an- worth remembering is, “I’ve learned you delegates told the audience that the point out that conservatives are as free nounced gloatingly last year that it would are never too small to make a difference.” U.S. would mine more coal and build to edit its contents as liberals are, though withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement Not all that big herself, she has neverthe- more coal-burning power plants (bit.ly/ changes by either without adequate of 2015, now brags on about rolling back less moved people all over the world (bit. US-COP24-sideshow). source citations may be removed. climate protections. ly/thunberg-cop24). Surprisingly, given the obstructive at- On October 8, Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of titude of what was once the undisputed 2018, the Inter- the United Nations, said, “We are running leader of the free world, the confer- governmental out of time.” He added, “To waste this ence went on. Though it was not nearly Panel on Climate opportunity … would be suicidal” (bit.ly/ as productive as it might have been, Change issued the guterres-cop24). agenda items were pushed forward and Special Report on The sense of urgency for effective ways agreements were made. Global Warming to deal with climate change pervaded A last-minute hitch on one of the of 1.5ºC. It was nearly the entire conference. Neverthe- agenda items threatened to bring the frightening. Writ- less, there were a few places where it was whole conference to a halt, just before ten by ninety-one not regarded as quite so urgent. it ended. The meeting was extended for scientists from From the beginning of the event, del- one more day, as delegates worked on forty countries, egates from the United States obstructed a disagreement. Brazil wanted wording with over 6,000 progress. Joining Russia, Saudi Arabia, that reflected its position on accounting scientific citations, and Kuwait, the U.S. refused to endorse for carbon trapped in rain forests, but it warned that we a statement welcoming the Intergovern- other nations’ representatives objected had only twelve mental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) that the system Brazil advocated would years to stop Special Report on Global Warming of allow for double counting of its assets. global warming at 1.5 °C. Instead, it wanted the conference In the end, an agreement came, and the 1.5° C, and that we simply to note the report officially. The dif- conference ended with many delegates Demonstration at a coal mining tower in Chorzów, Poland. Photo: Akcja Demokracja. could only achieve ference between the words has profound somewhat unhappy with the results that goal through implications. Welcoming the report but, nevertheless, delighted that a com- What some people do not realize is strenuous exertion (bit.ly/global-warming- implies understanding and a degree of promise could be reached at all. that despite the denialist rhetoric, there report). Cont’d on p.21 >> really is no question among scientists While a 1.0°C increase has already that we are experiencing unprecedented brought damage in the billions of dollars, and dangerous changes in our weather we can be assured that 1.5°C will be far patterns. Furthermore, there is no realistic worse. The Paris Climate Agreement tried doubt that human beings are causing the to keep warming to no more than 2.0°C. problem. In 2015, MSNBC ran an article, But according to the special report, the “How Climate Change Deniers Got It trajectory we are on will take us to 3.0°C, a Right – but Very Wrong,” which reported super-destructive number. that James L. Powell, a member of the The special report says that a reduction in National Science Board under Presidents carbon emissions needed to limit warming Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, to 1.5°C are 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 did a survey of scientists who published and 100% by 2050. Avoiding doing that will in scientific journals on weather or keep money flowing into the fossil fuels climate science. Of the nearly 70,000 sci- industry, but we must do it to avoid heavy entists he surveyed, only four were ready losses for most people alive today. It is to challenge the idea of climate change probable that we will only achieve that goal (http://bit.ly/deniers-got-it-wrong). by implementing technology to draw down The data is not yet official, but 2018 carbon from the atmosphere that is as yet was almost certainly one of the five hot- undeveloped. test years in history. The other four were In November 2018, the World Meteoro- 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Of the ten logical Organization reported that atmo- hottest years, one was 1998, three were spheric carbon dioxide levels had reached in the 2000s, and six were in the 2010s. 405 parts per million. This is a level not seen The data came from NOAA, but the page in the last three million years, and there is conveying it has been removed from the no question that it has happened because internet (see http://bit.ly/warmest-years). of human activity. The fossil fuels industry is willing to Going into COP24, things looked grim. Demonstration in Paris. Photo: VVVCFFrance. Feature: COP24 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG January 2019 21 << Cont’d from p20 The Aftermath of COP24 Efficiency Vermont ••• EfficiencyVermont BBD February 6 & 7, 2019 BETTER DoubleTree by Hilton BUILDINGS Burlington Hotel �DESIGN South Burlington, VT Join us for the region's premier design and construction conference, which features interactive learning about building durability, efficiency, and value for both residential and commercial projects. 1,000+ ATTENDEES I 40+ WORKSHOPS I 60+ EXHIBITORS Demonstration in Luxembourg. Photo: GilPe. R� bf Jan. 31, 2019, amtThe Guardian ran an analysis of cated its position of world leadership. How and When to Talk to a Child COP24 in the article, “What Was Agreed The reaction is not limited to the at COP24 in Poland and Why Did It Take international scene, however. There is a about Climate Change So Long?” Simply stated, the article reaction from the business world that The Climate Reality Project kids about the climate tells us that we are not at all where we is growing and profound. An article in Even as an adult, climate crisis by: should be for us to continue living in CleanTechnica begins by saying, “A total change is a lot to wrap your Providing tips on reasonable comfortable surroundings of 415 global investors with $32 trillion in head around. And talking when and how to start into the future (bit.ly/guardian-COP24- assets under management have this week about the issue with kids? the conversation. analysis). called on leaders at the United Nation’s That can feel impossible. Suggesting what in- We are woefully behind schedule, COP24 global climate change conference But kids today will face formation to share with and some countries are acting to hold currently underway in Katowice, Poland, the challenges of a warm- children of different ages us back. As we have already mentioned, to address the climate change ‘ambition ing world head-on. They and interests. the U.S. joined Russia, Kuwait, and Saudi gap’ by strengthening their Nationally have a right to understand Giving you an interac- Arabia in refusing to endorse wording Determined Contributions to meet the the realities of the climate tive quiz (from NatGeo saying the Intergovernmental Panel on goals of the Paris Agreement” (bit.ly/ crisis and what it means for Kids!) to help engage Climate Change (IPCC) special report COP24-investors). them. As parents, guard- your little ones. was “welcomed.” Australia disappointed The intent of the fossil fuels industry ians, and caregivers, we Offering suggestions most other countries by being silent, is to continue to make money. As we have a responsibility to for moving the conversa- and Brazil signaled a lack of support by deal with climate change, however, provide that knowledge as tion from the dangers of withdrawing an offer to host upcoming we are eliminating the market for its best we can. climate change to things meetings. carbon-based fuel products. That is why it That’s why, for Universal Children’s Day, they can do to help make a difference. The British Broadcasting Corpora- promotes coal at a conference seeking to the folks at The Climate Reality Project Download the free guide at http://bit. tion (BBC) was also critical, stressing address climate change. And the Trump released a free new e-book that offers ly/Free-Kids-Climte-guide to get science- the meeting’s failures. According to the administration, which seems to owe a lot some background and tips on where to supported tools, tips and tricks on how BBC, the IPCC special report was the to the fossil fuels companies, has commit- start: Beginning the Climate Conversation: to talk about climate change with your “final call to halt climate catastrophe.” ted itself to benefiting them. A Family’s Guide. children — it’s never too early or too late to A BBC article focused on the fact that The chaos created by climate change Beginning the Climate Conversation: A start! You can also contact info@climatere- there could not even be compromise on is already taking a toll on a number of Family’s Guide will help you talk to your ality.com. the wording about that report (bit.ly/ industries. Agriculture is certainly one COP24-falures). of them. Financial companies are also The news from COP24, however, is affected, because property values are not just analysis and thoughts. Some threatened and insurance claims are of what came out of it has been in the increasing at alarming rates. Energy and form of real action. The Bulletin of the transportation infrastructure is threat- Atomic Scientists ran an interesting ened by storms and wildfires. The list article, “EU, Canada, New Zealand, and goes on and on. Even coal-burning power Developing Countries Vow to Keep Up plants are threatened; plants in parts of the Fight,” reporting pledges that many the world have already had to shut down countries are making to increase their because droughts left them with no water commitments to fight climate change for their cooling systems. (bit.ly/countries-on-course). We are beginning to see other move- It is really interesting to see in that ments come up to deal with climate article that the U.N. is considering China change, as well. According to an article in as a potential leader. This is largely Quartz, 1.7 million citizens of France have because the U.S. has announced its signed a petition in favor of suing the intention to withdraw from the Paris French government because of the inac- Climate Accord and is making it clear tion they see it engaging in over climate that it is interested in helping the fossil change (bit.ly/French-want-to-sue). fuels industry continue pushing carbon- Many Americans are unhappy about intense fuels. The article says, “The U.N. our government’s lack of leadership on believes China could play a stronger climate change and its obstructionism. role in the absence of leadership from One article representing this appeared at Demonstration in Berlin translates to ‘Sun instead of Coal’. Photo: Leonard Lenz the U.S. Sources said Guterres would CNN in November. Its title describes its make a telephone call to Xi to ask for his sentiment, “Trump’s Failure to Fight Cli- help in nudging talks forward.” mate Change is a Crime Against Human- While it is heartbreaking to see the breaking to consider the path our gov- The Trump administration and those ity.” The shameful performance from his United States reduced to the level of a ernment would take to push the world who support it seem unwilling to administration at COP24 underscores this rogue nation, as the only nation not in the down. We wish we had better news. understand something that any real idea (bit.ly/Trumps-crime). Paris Climate Accord, it is more heart- 22 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 SUSTAINABLE HEATING & COOLING Heating with Wood: Past to Present George Harvey and N.R. Mallery ide, a pollutant you peratures so their fuel burns cannot smell. Also, completely and cleanly in air-tight stoves can a pyrolyzing chamber or produce a lot of creo- firebox. Most of these stoves sote, which can clog have fuel fed by an augur, a chimney and fuel a and their air flow is regulated chimney fire, not to automatically, so they can mention asthma and operate with minimal human other health issues. supervision. Fortunately, we have Another option is central new, modern wood heating fueled by wood or stove technology that wood pellets. Modern wood does not have these and wood pellet boilers and problems. furnaces often use precise It was common combustion controls that during the 19th cen- measure the temperature tury for farmhouses and residual oxygen content in New England to of exhaust to fine tune air or Great Kitchen, Rochlitz Castle. Photo: Norbert Kaiser, bit.ly/Wikimedia-Rochlitz-kitchen fuel mixes. Special combus- operate sustain- Froling S3 Turbo wood boiler, courtesy of Tarm Biomass. ably, using forest tion chambers with advanced We hope no one minds if we ramble products from their own wood lots. But with computer modeling are down memory lane. The history of heating a growing population, and the increased designed to provide precise air and fuel 1990) wood-burning stoves in use in the can be instructive. availability of fossil fuels, many chose to use mixes and high temperatures for clean com- Northeast, and environmentally conscious One of the holiday season’s many first coal, and then oil and gas for heating, bustion. Boilers and furnaces are not made people might want to upgrade them. For- customs is to sing about a Yule log. The which appeared to make lives easier. You with decoration and fire viewing as major tunately, states sometimes run incentive songs refer to a way of life many may not might say there actually were some benefits design considerations, and they achieve and change-out programs to make this be aware of, before chimneys existed. from the switch to fossil fuels. They have the excellent efficiency and produce very few affordable. In those days, a fire in a home was on a advantage over old wood-burning technol- emissions. Chipped wood and wood pellets New Hampshire has a Residential raised hearth or in a fire pit, in the middle ogy, which is that they can produce fewer enable automation that makes modern Bulk-Fed Wood-Pellet Central Boilers and of the main room. It was used for heat, as particulates, both in the home and in the boilers excellent renewable heating sources Furnace Rebate Program (http://bit.ly/ well as cooking. environment. The biggest problems are for everything from passive houses to large wood-in-nh). That was the reason why the great hall that fossil fuels are unsustainable and are industrial or municipal buildings. New York has a Residential Pellet Stove of an old castle had such a high ceiling. destroying our climate. With forestry practices that provide wood Program (http://bit.ly/pellet-ny). The smoke was vented in a hole above the Fortunately, now we have better alterna- fuel sustainably, modern wood stoves can Massachusetts has a wood stove fire in the roof or as high as possible on a tives. The modern wood stoves built today be about as environmentally sound as com- change-out program that runs through wall. The great hall was where everyone are engineered to reduce emissions consid- bustion heating can get, using the newest 2019 (http://bit.ly/mass-changeout). slept during the winter, because it was the erably. A wood-burning system that is well technology. (See “Advanced Wood Heating,” Various incentives in Vermont, includ- only place that had any heat. Of course, designed and maintained can actually be in the December, 2017 edition of G.E.T. (bit. ing for heating with wood, are found with the wind blowing through the open much cleaner than many heating systems ly/GET-advanced-wood). There are a lot of online (http://bit.ly/vt-incentives). vents, it was often not very warm. using fossil fuels. Clearly cleaner than coal old (pre-EPA regulation stoves sold prior to The great hall also had a problem some or oil, in terms of pollutants, modern wood people still have today, though this is a stoves do not add to atmospheric carbon medieval problem that has been dealt the way all fossil fuels do, including gas. A with. The indoor well-managed Grant Opportunity for Community-scale air was polluted woodlot is a Modern Wood Heating because of all the carbon sink and The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced its 2019 Wood Innovations smoke. can actually be Grant Program. This year grant funds can be used for design engineering as well as Chimneys seem part of the solu- construction of community-scale (e.g. schools, municipal buildings, public works to have been tion. The low facilities, hospitals) modern wood-fired heating plants. Grants of up to $250,000 invented a bit less amounts of car- are available, and require matching funding. A total of $8 million is available for the than a thousand bon dioxide that national competitive grant opportunity. Application deadline is January 23, 2019. years ago. It seems are still released More information can be found at http://bit.ly/Community-Wood-Heat. In the past, odd to think come indirectly several wood chip boiler installations in New Hampshire have successfully competed that the ancient from the atmo- for funds through this program. Romans, consum- sphere, so the mate engineers, net addition to did not develop the atmosphere them, but such can be very low. is apparently the (Note: can be.) Today’s wood case. With the ® invention of the stoves produce chimney, people low emissions Putting the power in your hands. could have fire- and release low Take control of your comfort and stop worrying about your winter energy bills. places. By the time particulates via of King Henry VIII, different tech- wealthy people of- nologies. One is Warm the rooms you live ten had fireplaces to have a cata- in versus the whole house! in their bedrooms. lytic converter The vented fires A Discovery series Quadra-Fire wood stove. Image: quadrature.com in the stove. This were a little safer causes more Key benefits: with somewhat improved indoor air. Sadly, complete combustion of the fuel, making • Heat & cool with one unit they were also less efficient and more the exhaust gases much cleaner, with far • Highly efficient used, leading to both outdoor pollution lower particulates. • Easy to install and loss of forests. However since the catalyst needs to be • Quiet to operate replaced after a period of time, at rather Wood stoves were the next improve- • Easy to maintain ment. They were far more efficient for high cost, some modern stoves have a • NHEC offers rebates delivering heat to the home, and air non-catalytic design that does not need it. quality in homes improved even more. Modern stoves with non-catalytic designs The old wood-burning systems were still produce relatively particulate-free exhaust by having a secondary burn after a hot ini- not perfect, however. The old cannon Are you ready to make comfort a priority? or box stove could release smoke, and tial burn via chambers built into the design that smoke is a form of pollution. Their with lower emissions. The higher initial burn Call 1.800.698.2007 to find out replacement, the now-outdated so-called temperatures must be maintained to keep if a heat pump works for you! air-tight stoves, are arguably worse pollut- the system relatively clean, but the stove ers, partly because they starve the fire for does this automatically in normal practice. oxygen, and that produces carbon monox- Pellet stoves operate at very high tem- SUSTAINABLE HEATING & COOLING WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORGWWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 JUNEJanuary 15, 20192014 23 Thermoelectric Wood Stoves, Solar Power, and the 2018 Wood Stove Design Challenge George Harvey The thermoelectric challenge). The article effect, discovered almost gives some details on the two hundred years ago, is stoves and how well they Biomass Heat for Biomass Heat for one of those mysteries that did. Five different wood science is full of. It produces stoves were compared. Business & Schools Business & Schools an electric current out of First prize went to differences in temperature. E-Stove by Wittus and HE For a long time, its tiny Energy (bit.ly/e-stove- currents have been used to winner). The E-stove had give temperature readings. an average output of 161 With the introduction of watts over the three- semiconductors, new uses hour test. That might not for it have been developed, sound like much, but and soon, it may become in winter temperatures important for the lives of or- when the stove will be on almost all the time, it can dinary people who happen Stevens High School, Claremont, NH Stevens High School, Claremont, NH to heat their homes with be significant, approach- wood, especially if they get ing four kilowatt-hours High Efficiency Dry Chip High Efficiency Dry Chip per day. The E-stove also electricity from solar panels. & Wood Pellet Boiler Systems & Wood Pellet Boiler Systems We get much more sun- heats water that can be used to heat other rooms shine in the summer than Solar, battery, and wood stove, working together. Image: Alliance for Green Heat Best Quality Boilers Best Quality Boilers during the winter. The dif- in the house. The hope ference is greater the farther is that this stove will be Top Workmanship Top Workmanship available commercially this year. It outputs from the equator one lives. In the Green on thermoelectric wood stoves in a large HEAT LOCAL! HEAT LOCAL! tent on the National Mall in Washington, 110-volt AC power. Energy Times region, we can expect to get Serving NH, VT & MA Serving NH, VT & MA about two or three times as much energy D.C. Funding was provided by the U.S. from solar panels during the summer as Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Energy Whelen Engineering, Charlestown, NH Whelen Engineering, Charlestown, NH during the winter. During the winter, we Technology Office, which has a goal of THE FUTURE OF FIREWOOD Design Design have our wood stoves going, and if we having homes get 50% of their wintertime EZfirelogs.com. 1 unit of 50 bags could use the thermoelectric effect to electricity from wood heating systems. of 800 logs create as much heat as Install Install good advantage we could get electricity The 2018 Wood Stove Design Challenge a full cord of wood. Made from all from our wood burning appliances. demonstrated that we are getting close to It happens that a number of organiza- achieving that goal. Hardwood wood chips. No Bugs or Service Service tions have been conducting research into The Alliance for Green Heat published Bark. 50 bags stack in 15 minutes, exactly that. And now, we can report that a web article about the tests and their inside. Easy, Right!? Try this local Fuel Fuel that they have made enough progress that results, “Thermoelectric Wood Stoves, Solar made in the USA product. 200% people can actually use thermoelectric Power, and the 2018 Wood Stove Design more High Heat, 100 % Easy. wood stoves in home settings. Challenge,” by Ken Adler, Program Director EZfirelogs.com. Call 603-234-7239 Last November, tests were conducted for Thermoelectrics (bit.ly/wood-stove-

High-efficiency Air Conditioners ACEEE Program administrators can stay ahead of the curve with high-efficiency air conditioners 2424 January JUNE 15, 2019 2014 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 802.439.6675 CLIMATE NEWS coastal city flooding from a four-foot rise his Irish golf course from rising sea level in relative sea level, and a cascade of dead- cites the dangers of climate change. Looking Back – Looking Ahead ly events from hurricanes to forest fires to Back in 2012, North Carolina legislators Dr. Alan K. Betts drought. The chapter for the Northeast passed an astonishing bill that barred This is the time five typhoons. The most powerful storm of will be useful to readers (https://nca2018. policymakers and developers from using to look back on the year, super-Typhoon Yutu, devastated globalchange.gov/chapter/18/). up-to-date climate science to plan for ris- 2018 and reflect the U.S. territory of the Northern Marianas ing sea levels on what we have Islands in late October, but little news on the state’s seen, and what reached the mainland. coast. This we have learned. For readers in the Northeast, these trop- was because At the same ical storms are far away. Closer to home, it updated flood time, the climate has been a year of different extremes. As zones would endgame is the Arctic warms faster than the tropical restrict devel- getting closer, regions, mid-latitude weather patterns are opment and so we must face reality. As greenhouse generally slowing down with larger am- reduce prop- gases reduce the cooling of the earth to plitude waves in the jet-stream. This gives erty values. space, more and more heat is stored in the alternating extremes around the globe. In The climate oceans, and warming oceans make tropi- April, there was record cold in north-cen- system paid cal storms, hurricanes and typhoons more tral U.S., which stretched up into Canada. no attention. powerful and dangerous. This was followed by the six months, May The storm In 2017, hurricanes Harvey, Irma and to October, which set high temperature surge and Maria struck Texas, Florida, the Caribbean records in the east with record precipita- Rising sea levels. Image: the conversation.com twenty-five and Puerto Rico. Harvey stayed over the tion from Virginia to Pennsylvania. High inches of rain Houston region for four days and dumped temperatures and drought in the western from hurricane over three feet of rain, giving catastrophic U.S. led to severe fires in November in In earlier days, government reports like Florence simply drowned the stupidity flooding, because very little rain can soak California that set new records for loss of this would be a wake-up call, since we of the North Carolina legislators, causing into the ground in an urban area. In 2018, life and property – beating the staggering can see what is happening both here and immense damage. tropical storms Lane and Olivia brought losses in 2017. around the globe. But today, the U.S. fed- Readers need no reminder that living very heavy rain to Hawaii. Then hurricane The most recent IPCC report is very eral government is simply ignoring reality in fantasies is rarely good for business, so Florence stalled for three days in mid-Sep- blunt and very thorough, saying we have and denying climate change is happening. keep seeking the best technical guidance. tember on the North Carolina coast giving just twelve years to drastically reduce The president recently blamed California’s As the oceans warm and the melting severe flooding from both the storm surge fossil fuel emissions, or the damage to tragic fires on forest management (“they Arctic tundra releases methane, the Earth and twenty-five inches of rain. On October life on Earth will be increasingly severe as should rake the forest floor”). Asked about system is moving towards instability, 10th, hurricane Michael intensified very decades pass. Over Thanksgiving, the U.S. the National Climate Assessment, he said which makes planning for the future a rapidly just before it made landfall on Global Change Research Program released he didn’t “believe” the scientists that wrote challenge. We must speak up in our local the Florida panhandle as a category four the 2018 National Climate Assessment: a it. His falsehoods (https://www.factcheck. communities and invest in local resilience storm, creating immense damage that lengthy synthesis by three hundred scien- org/person/donald-trump/ ) are presum- for the long-term. stretched inland into Georgia. Rebuild- tists. This forecasts a century of increasing ably to protect the interests of his fossil Dr. Alan Betts of Atmospheric Research ing costs will be massive. In the western devastation from climate change to the fuel sponsors. Yet in a parallel universe, his in Pittsford, Vermont is a leading climate Pacific this year, there were six category U.S. economy, agriculture, infrastructure; application to raise the sea-wall to protect scientist. Browse alanbetts.com.

Climate Change in a Nutshell: The Gathering Storm Dr. James Hansen , 18 December 2018 revision to the 06 Decem- ber ‘Nutshell’, as it was Young AtmosphericAtmospheric COCO22 andand GlobalGlobal Surface Temperature Temperature people needed for a specific court today con- case. I will revise it further, 4 front an so suggestions are still 400 imminent welcome. However, bear in Temperature gathering mind that this is aimed at 2 CO2 storm. the highly-educated open- 300 (ppm)

They have minded Chief Justice and 0 2 at their fossil fuel industry CEOs. I CO command begin with an ‘Outline of −2 consid- Opinions,’ but the aim here 200 erable is not an ‘elevator speech’ Temperature ( ° C) determi- or a summary for relatives −4 nation, a and neighbors. 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0/1880 1950 2020 dog-eared The overwhelming copy of (well-deserved) criticism of Time (ky Before Present) Date (year) our beleaguered Constitution, and rigor- the 06 December ‘Nutshell’ Note how closely the temperatures follow carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. ously developed science. The Court must was of the 2-page cover decide if that is enough. memo in which I seemed That is the final paragraph of my (thick) to let prior governments, and specifically ergy, but rather to develop unconventional The United States government has pos- Expert Report written more than a year ago George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama, off fossil fuels! They anticipated finite reserves sessed extensive knowledge about the for Juliana v. United States. We are fortu- the hook. In fact,they deserve censure for of conventional fossil fuels. Via enormous threat posed by fossil-fuel driven climate nate to have such a brilliant and dedicated failure to protect the rights and future of investments, the fossil fuel industry suc- change for several decades, as delineated group of attorneys who have assembled a young people. cessfully developed ‘fracking’. This choice in my Expert Report for the Juliana v. score of experts and are working to ensure Regarding the end-game strategy,for forced E.E. David to become a climate United States case. Yet, as described in that young people receive their day in how we can move off our fossil fuel ad- ‘denier’, which he remained throughout the the ‘Nutshell’ summary, the United States court. diction, we need legal pressure on both rest of his life. government allows, permits and subsidizes In the meantime, there are reasons why governments and the fossil fuel industry. Why do I think some CEOs today may be fossil fuel reserves, so that the fossil fuels it may be useful to summarize the climate ‘Nutshell’ is written for use in lawsuits different? David’s talk was almost four de- are processed, transported and burned science story. against governments and the fossil fuel cades ago! His own scientists were telling with little or no control on emissions. The Albert Einstein once said that a theory industry. However, my long-term aim is not him there were many uncertainties about government allows the atmosphere to be or explanation should be as simple as pos- to punish the fossil fuel industry, but rather climate change. The situation is different treated as a free dumping ground for waste sible, but not simpler. And it depends on to bring it to understand the situation and now. First, human-made climate change CO2. The government does this even while who the audience is. My target is the level become part of the solution. has emerged far enough from weather knowing the consequences thereof. of a Chief Justice or a fossil fuel industry CEOs do not get to their positions ‘noise’ that even the public notices it. Sec- In ‘Nutshell,’ I note that the deference to CEO. without being smart people. The example ond, the science has become clearer and the fossil fuel industry, violating rights of This is a draft, because I want to be sure I used, E.E. David, Jr., is illustrative. David exposes an urgency for action that is not young people, is not a problem that can be that there are no inconsistencies in my tes- brilliantly summarized the nature of the convenient for political operatives but is solved at the ballot box. Both political par- timonies against the government, against climate system, its delayed response and understandable to the well-informed. This ties in the U.S. receive large sums of money the fossil fuel industry, and in support of amplifying feedbacks, and the fact that conclusion must be made clear to policy- from the fossil fuel industry and have a brave people who have taken risks in fight- this implied the need for “anticipation.” The makers and judges, and, as useful as a good sycophantic relationship with the industry, ing for young people. anticipation that the fossil fuel industry elevator summary is, two minute summa- albeit differing in degree. This 18 December version is only a slight chose was not to develop carbon-free en- ries are not sufficient for that purpose. The Obama Admin- Cont’d on p.25 CLIMATE NEWS WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG January 2019 25 EIA Publicizes Drop in U.S. CO2 Emissions Global Warming Acceleration James Hansen, 19 October, 2018 – But Is This Right? Climate models indicate that an El infers that global warming is accelerat- George Harvey Nino, probably a weak one, will begin this ing. La Nina minima probably provide a natural gas is at an all-time high in the U.S. (Northern Hemisphere) winter and obser- better estimate, and they provide a more A recent article from the Sun Day It is true that it is up 12% from 2017, but vations show that warming in the tropical recent rate. As the figure shows, the most Campaign (SDC), which was posted at the first eight months of 2017 showed a Pacific has begun. Current global tem- recent two La Ninas imply a warming rate the Green Energy Times website (bit.ly/ remarkable decline of 4.55% from levels in perature (12-month running-mean) has of 0.38°C per decade, at least double the SUN-DAY-CO2-rise), asked some serious the first eight months of 2016. Overall, the thus reached its minimum and will begin longer term rate! Acceleration is predicted questions about data coming from the level of emissions associated with burning to rise during the next few months. The by climate models for continued high U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Infor- gas was up in the first eight months of global temperature minima associated fossil fuel emissions as a result of amplify- mation Administration (EIA). Specifically, 2018 by only a little less than 7% from with La Ninas are more uniform in depth ing climate feedbacks and is a cause for it looked at possible contradictions, not in the first eight months of 2016, two years than El Nino maxima. This provides an concern. We expect global temperature to terms of numbers per se, but in terms of ago. This is not good, and is in fact a bit excellent opportunity to check whether rise in the next few months and confirm the impressions the EIA gave readers. alarming, but it is still only 3.5% per year, the global warming rate is accelerating. that the global warming rate has acceler- In September, an EIA press release and not as bad as the increase of 12% in a Global temperature appears to in- ated. said U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide single year would appear to indicate. crease almost linearly over the past fifty emissions had decreased by almost 1% Other factors should be taken into Read more at http://www.columbia. years (green line on graph); the 1970-to- edu/~jeh1/. in 2017. About a month later, in October, account in addition to natural gas. One present rate of change is 0.17°C per another EIA press release told us that CO2 is that the use of coal is still declining, decade. Investment strategist, Jeremy James Hansen, former director of the emissions had dropped 28% since 2005. despite efforts by the current federal Grantham, pointed out that the rate of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is Also in October, however, the “Monthly administration to revive it. Comparing the warming inferred by connecting the director of the Climate Science, Awareness Energy Review” made it clear that carbon first eight months of 2016 and 2017, as peak temperatures of the last two El Nino and Solutions program at the Columbia emissions were very much on the rise in natural gas emissions dropped, we see a maxima (0.21°C per decade, see graph) University Earth Institute. the first seven months of this year. The drop in emissions of 0.56% for coal. Now, exceeds this longer term rate, and he SDC article observed that the increase in with natural gas emissions rising, what we natural gas was up 12% in the first seven see for coal is that emissions dropped by Connecting El Nino Maximum and La Nina Minimum Temperatures months of 2018, compared with the first over 5% from 2017 to 2018, for the first seven months of 2017. It also said that eight months of each year. overall, U.S. carbon emissions from energy Another factor in overall emissions is were up 2.90% so far in 2018, compared that we are burning more petroleum, to the same months last year. The obser- largely for vehicles and heating. Where vation was that these figures “paint a very it had risen a little more than 0.5% from different picture and suggest reasonable 2016 to 2017, the increase is over 2% from cause for alarm.” 2017 to 2018. Making sense of this takes a little study. The overall picture is not good. For the We could start with the note that the first eight months in 2018, compared to figures showing declines in overall U.S. those of 2017, it is actually slightly worse emissions relate to periods ending in than the SDC article indicated. The extra 2017. But within the data for this year are month of data past what the SDC men- other details worth considering. tioned shows that the overall rise in U.S. Having looked at the data with some CO2 emissions at 3.0%. care to details, we agree that there is With relaxing attitudes on emissions, some cause for alarm. Nevertheless, we relaxed rules, and relaxed enforcement, should be careful to portray things in the levels of emissions are certainly on the Global warming acceleration becomes evident by connecting global temperatures at La Nina minima. a broader context. We also have eight rise. Clearly, the situation is not as desper- months of data for comparison now, and ate as it might have appeared to be at first the latest data are slightly different from glance, but we need to do better if we are what the SDC had. to keep the climate from being chaotically The current level of consumption of destructive. ACEEE Partners with Bloomberg’s Climate Change in a Nutshell Cont’d from p.24 American Cities Climate Challenge Kate Tanabe, ACEEE Research Assistant, Local Policy istration, e.g., in 2011 opened up hundreds That is the background, about why I of millions of tons of coal on public lands to believe that we must make the climate Michael R. with the Climate new lease sales. Moreover, the sales were at story as clear as possible to an industry CEO Bloomberg re- Challenge by prices far below market value, continuing as well as a Chief Justice. Surely, there will cently announced expanding our a practice of federal subsidy of coal titans be lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry Charlotte as the efforts to moni- amounting, through those sales alone, to as well as against governments. I am not nineteenth win- tor and evaluate tens of billions of dollars. so much interested in ‘reparations,’ the idea ning city of Bloom- city actions. Our The Trump Administration’s astound- of extracting money from the industry for berg’s American independent City ing recent efforts to accelerate fossil fuel its past sins, as in getting the industry’s Cities Climate Chal- Clean Energy use are pressing the world rapidly toward cooperation on moving as rapidly as practi- lenge, of which Scorecard (for- the climate precipice. The Administration cal toward clean carbon-free energy of the ACEEE is an official merly City Energy blatantly misrepresents the facts about future. However, at this juncture, the threat partner. Efficiency Score- climate change and specifically the U.S. of lawsuits is probably necessary to get “With Washing- card), the premier contribution to climate change. We must them there. ton asleep at the Image: Charlotte, NC skyline. Image: Flickr tool for assessing expose the facts rigorously, so that the Despite the recent turn toward increased wheel, cities like local energy ef- courts can protect the rights and future of global authoritarianism and denial of scien- Charlotte are leading the way in the fight ficiency policies and programs, will now young people. tific facts, we have also recently witnessed against climate change,” said Bloomberg, include a focus on renewable energy The 06 December ‘Nutshell’ draft was also the heart-warming sight of marching the UN Secretary-General’s Special En- and increased emphasis on policy per- criticized for failing to mention the poten- Australian children, defying their Prime voy for Climate Action. His foundation’s formance and social equity outcomes. tial of advanced nuclear technology to con- Minister’s instruction to stay in school. $70 million program, launched in June, The 2019 City Scorecard will expand tribute to phase down of carbon emissions It may not be long until there is another will help 20 winning cities accelerate from scoring 51 of the largest US cities power. The reasons for this omission were: chance at a day of reckoning. This time it their ambitious climate efforts. to 75, with the goal of assessing 100 in (1) discussion of the full range of promising must be clearer what young people and Over the next two years, the Climate future editions... carbon-free energy sources is not essential other life on our planet need to assure their Challenge will provide these cities with To read more, visit: http://bit.ly/ here, because a court cannot tell a govern- future. We must be sure that thoughtful significant resources, including techni- ACEEE_AmericanCitiesClimateChallenge. ment how to reduce fossil fuel emissions –it people at high government and industry cal assistance and staff capacity, to help About ACEEE: The American Council can only demand that there be a plan that levels have a good understanding of the them reduce carbon emissions by saving for an Energy-Efficient Economy acts as stops violation of young people’s rights, (2) climate change situation. energy and using clean energy sources. a catalyst to advance energy efficiency discussion of the varieties of nuclear power, James Hansen, former director of the The selected cities will target energy sav- policies, programs, technologies, invest- including advanced nuclear technology, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is ings in the buildings and transportation ments, and behaviors. For would make this document even much director of the Climate Science, Awareness sectors, the sectors most information about ACEEE longer. and Solutions program at the Columbia responsible for energy use and its programs, publica- To see the ‘Nutshell’ online, visit http://bit. University Earth Institute. and carbon emissions. tions, and conferences, ly/climate-nutshell. ACEEE will partner visit aceee.org. CERTIFIED B THE WAY 2626 AugustJanuary 15, 2019 2014 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 802.439.6675 Business & Financial BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE, RESPONSIB

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131 Yankee Barn Road, Grantham, NH www.YankeeBarnHomes.com 603.945.8055 | [email protected] Photography by: Martin Paul Building & Energy Efficiency WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 January 2019 27 not be effective enough to include. All of the It’s now possible to build a net-zero lighting is LED, with most of the fixtures using home using readily available materials, or A Net-Zero Home in Hanover, NH standard Edison base bulbs for easy replace- as project architect Andrew Garthwaite Karl Kemnitzer ment, and only a few custom fixtures using of Haynes and Garthwaite Architects said, a flat LED element. Appliances are selected “Leading edge but not bleeding edge.” The EPA Energy Star rated commonly available Kaiser Gish house is showing us that clean, appliances. efficient, and exciting buildings are here. An 8kW solar array is installed on the Karl Kemnitzer serves on the Sierra Club garage roof by Apparent brings the build- Upper Valley group, and likes building electric ing’s energy use to net zero. Each of the cargo bikes. He hasn’t had a car for over a year panels has an Apparent Smart Grid Utility and looks forward to VTrans spending more Interactive microinverter on it. This system of their budget on bicycles, pedestrians, and not only maximizes each panel’s output to transit, and less on cars. compensate for shading effects and tracks each panel’s output to help diagnose prob- lems, but it is California Rule 21-compliant and offers grid support such as voltage ride through, surge withstanding, anti-islanding capabilities, and voltage-ampere reactive correction. This is more functionality than Liberty Utilities is capable of handling at this moment, however the Apparent master The Kaiser Gish house in Hanover, NH is retrofitted to achieve net-zero status. It includes three all-climate air- controller also offers load tracking using a source heat pumps and an 8-kW rooftop solar array. Photos by Karl Kemnitzer. built-in learning algorithm and can calculate the best times for heating water and charg- With the recent release of reports from with the existing structure and decided to re- ing or discharging an electric vehicle (EV) or three main climate organizations (UN IPCC, place the walls and roof with a pre-fabricated battery storage. The battery storage will be U.S. National Climate Assessment, and panel construction shell with preinstalled either a modular system from Apparent that World Meteorological Organization) say- foil-faced foam insulation (rated at R36 for is built with BYD lithium cells or a Sonnen bat- ing that we need to drastically reduce our the walls and R55 for the ceiling) from Yankee tery system. Robin and Peter currently drive a greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the Barn Homes. A blower door was used by standard internal combustion engine car and energy efficiency of our homes has never contractor G. R. Porter and Sons during instal- a hybrid but have plans to move to electric been more important. In our region, build- lation of the panels to find and seal any leaks vehicles as part of this overall project. They ings are second in energy consumption and in the seams, because air infiltration is often are installing bidirectional level 2 chargers emissions only to transportation. a significant heat loss in a building. The shell that allow the car batteries to become part Many homeowners in the Upper Valley was designed to fit onto the old foundation of the household energy storage system and have weatherized their homes, which to save the embodied energy in the concrete. have prewired the main roof for additional often yields a 10% to 30% savings on fuel Both operational energy and embodied solar panels for the cars. bills. Other homeowners set the goal even energy were considered during the design, higher. Robin Kaiser and Peter Gish have a and parts of the old building (such as the long history of caring for their community, foundation and exterior cedar trim) were and when they decided to move back to reused. Around 80% of the building is locally Hanover, they wanted to live in a net-zero- sourced or fabricated in New Hampshire or energy house. After working with UPC Wind Vermont. The Marvin Integrity windows were Partners during the 1990’s, Peter co-found- selected over triple-glazed units because ed First Wind in 2001 and has worked on of their predicted ability to seal better than wind and solar renewable energy projects other choices many years from now, saving in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. on air infiltration losses instead of adding to However, both Robin and Peter have embodied energy from repair or replacement. strong family ties to Dartmouth, and when With a shell this tight, no fossil fuel furnace it came time to choose a location to settle, is necessary. The heating system, installed they decided to renovate their family home and designed by ARC Mechanical Contrac- here. Robin’s parents, Bob and Evelyn tors, includes three Mitsubishi Electric MXZ Kaiser, were integrally involved with the all-climate air-source heat pumps connected Dartmouth community for nearly fifty years, to a ducted heating system that pulls in and their home was often a gathering place fresh air through a Broan HE series Heat The heating system, installed and designed by ARC for students and alumni. Robin and Peter Recovery Ventilator. While this system can Mechanical Contractors, includes three Mitsubishi Electric would like to continue this tradition, be- supply both heating and cooling, the house MXZ all-climate air-source heat pumps. cause they feel the pressing issue of climate was designed to use natural convection for change is only solvable with community cooling to minimize the use of AC. Domestic action and giving people a chance to meet hot water is supplied by a Rheem Prestige in a net-zero home will help them envision Professional series heat pump water that has what is possible. a room temperature sensor and will switch to From the beginning of the project, Robin standard resistance heating elements if the and Peter prioritized efficiency. After analyz- room temperature becomes too cold. Waste ing their old house, they realized that it water heat recovery was considered, however would be very difficult to achieve net zero based on frequency of use, it was decided to

Passive House Certifications LEED Certifications Construction Management Green Building Consulting Monitoring & Verification “Reputation is Everything” G.R. PORTER & SONS, Inc. Commissioning (603) 226-1009 Custom Homes • Renovations • Additions 802.649.5222 • www.GRPorterSons.com www.ResilientBuildingsGroup.com PO Box 409 Norwich, VT 05055 28 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 Building & Energy Efficiency Top 10 Tips for a Healthier Indoor Environment – Part 1 Lauren Hildebrand Look around the space you are in right now and take a pulse on your surround- ings. Are the lights too bright? Are you too cold? Too hot? Do you hear constant hum- Buildings ming from the HVAC Beyond equipment in the back- + ground? Are you having difficulty concentrat- ing? Are there plants in your view? Do you even have a view? Stōk’s report breaking down the cost savings associated with healthy work spaces. For many of us, the term “high performance building,” brings to mind energy efficiency. disease particles, such as influenza. Indoor known to cause asthma and respiratory Less discussed are the performance factors environments that are too warm and humid illness, infertility and other reproductive that contribute to human health. So the (above 60% RH) showed increased reports disorders, and certain types of cancers. Read question we ask is: How do we design for, of headaches, eye and throat irritation, the Health Materials Lab Red List and Green and maintain, efficient building perfor- respiratory symptoms, increased heart rate, Science Policy Institute’s Six Classes for infor- mance without compromising occupant negative mood, fatigue and mold growth on mation to help avoid using building materials health and well-being? surfaces. These not-so-fun side effects can that contain known hazardous chemicals. Over the past decade, the amount of impact performance and learning, as well as These are just some key reasons why we research being conducted in this area has cause sleep disturbances. Commission your need to expand our definition of high-per- Available now on iTunes, Google Play, or expanded significantly. Drawing from the space to meet ASHRAE 55 – 2017 levels; keep formance buildings to include human health. your favorite podcast platform. LEED, Enterprise Green Communities, and relative humidity between 40% and 60% and Stay tuned for part two of our top ten recom- www.swinter.com/podcast WELL Building Standards, as well as from maintain optimal seasonal temperatures; mendations for a healthier building. Presented by Steven Winter Associates, Inc. case studies (specifically Harvard’s T.H. conduct regular inspections of roofing, Lauren Hildebrand is the Sustainability Chan School of Public Health’s Healthy plumbing, ceilings, and HVAC equipment to Director at Steven Winter Associates. Buildings Program and Stōk’s report on identify sources of moisture and potential workspaces that promote health and well- condensation; and immediately address and ness), here are Steven Winter Associates’ replace materials where moisture or mildew top five (of ten) tips to effectively address is present. indoor air quality (IAQ): High Performance 1) Send in the O2 Fossil Fuel Free According to the Fossil Fuel Free COGfx study con- High Performance Homes ducted by Harvard, when occupants received double the Net-ZeroZero ReadyEnergy Homes Modulars or Site Built amount of fresh air, their cognitive func- • Complete tion also doubled. • Shell Only Doubling ventilation Deep Energy Retrofits was particularly • Deep Energy Retrofit effective when com- bined with energy High Performance Upgrades recovery ventilation (to reduce building BOB IRVING Owner/Builder • Servingfor Central existing New Hampshire homes operating costs) and low-emitting www.rhirvinghomebuilders.com • 603.648.2635 1st Place Winner of the 2017 finishes (further [email protected] •Owner/Builder Salisbury, New Hampshire ‘Drive To Net-Zero’ improving cognitive BOB IRVING Competition function). Increasing fresh air above code [email protected] (603) 648-2635 minimums is tied to a corresponding www.rhirvinghomebuilders.com Salisbury, NH increase in alert- ness, productivity, Healthy building materials as contributors to overall human health. Credit: Home- emergency response, Free at homefree.healthybuilding.net. Serving New Hampshire and Eastern Vermont problem-solving, and reported satisfaction and well-being. 4) Filter Me This 2) Turn on the (Kitchen) Fan According to the EPA, the air inside your Lawrence Berkeley National Lab research home can be up to five times more polluted estimated that sixty percent of homes in than the air outside. Use high-efficiency which residents cook with a gas stove at filters to remove detrimental fine particles in least once a week can reach unsafe levels the air. The higher the Minimum Efficiency of nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, and Reporting Value (MERV) rating on filter, the carbon monoxide. To help manage and fewer particles that can pass through. Aim for What do you have planned in 2019? mitigate these indoor pollutants, design MERV 13 or higher to capture atmospheric kitchen range hoods to meet ASHRAE 62.1 particulate matter (PM) with a diameter of 2013 levels; install fans over the entire less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5). MERV stove including all four burners; exhaust 14 removes 75+% of particles in the 0.3 – 1 directly to the outdoors; and use the fan micron range. every time you cook. 5) Free to Be…Toxic-Chemical Free 3) Take My (Room) Temperature 85% of the 82,000 chemicals in use are Thermal comfort is influenced by air lacking in available health data. Known Serving Southern Vermont and surrounding states since 1984 temperature, mean radiant temperature, chemicals of concern are prevalent in mod- air speed, humidity, personal metabolic ern building materials, finishes, and cleaning 31 Station Rd. Mt. Holly, VT 05758 (802) 259-2094 activity, and clothing-induced thermal products. Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), insulation. Low relative humidity (RH) – formaldehyde, heavy metals (benzene and Commerical | Municipal | Residential | Historic Preservation | Covered Bridges below 40% – and low temperatures can mercury, phthalates, microbials), and flame www.WrightConstruction.com spread airborne bacteria and infectious retardants are top offenders. Exposure is Building & Energy Efficiency WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 January 2019 29

Carpeting & Indoor Air Quality insult to injury, the waterproofing and One way to avoid all of these issues anti-microbial treatments now common entirely is to forego carpeting alto- in everyday carpeting have been linked to gether and go with tile, wood, cork or — WHAT CAN YOU DO? cancer, birth defects and hormone disrup- natural linoleum flooring with low- tion. Last but not least, carpet padding VOC sealant. They don’t off-gas VOCs EarthTalk®, From the Editors of E - The Environmental Magazine is typically made from scraps of polyure- or harbor allergens and pollutants, volatile organic thane recycled from older furniture and and they’re easy to clean while lasting compounds mattresses—and as such likely contains decades longer than carpeting any- (VOCs) into the air. carcinogenic chemical flame retardants way. Throw down a few wool area rugs Meanwhile, now banned in new furniture. (easily cleaned outside) and you’ll be carpet backing Well that’s all well and good, but what good—and green—to go. is typically made choices do we have? Actually, lots. Carpet- Now what to do with the old car- from synthetic ing labeled with the Carpet & Rug Insti- peting is another question entirely. rubber derived tute’s “Green Label Plus” or UL Environ- Carpeting is difficult to recycle as it’s from styrene ment’s “Greenguard” emit low amounts made from multiple components with and butadiene, of VOCs and as such are safer for you and different chemical makeups, so your lo- also respiratory your family. Wool is the most common cal curbside recycling hauler is unlikely irritants. And that eco-friendly choice, but jute and cotton to take it away for you. The non-profit new carpet smell varieties are coming on strong. Stay away Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) we know so well from stain fighting, waterproofing or anti- is working to develop the infrastructure comes from the microbial treatments. For carpet padding, needed to recycle carpet efficiently off-gassing of go with felt rather than synthetic rubber. across the U.S. In the meantime, you can 4-PCH, a potent And make sure to use low-emitting, non- search on Earth911 for a carpet recycler Greener carpet is made from wool, jute or cotton and emits little, if any, VOCs. VOC byproduct solvent adhesives and fasteners during near you. Credit: Dominika Gregušová, Pexels. of the synthetic installation. Contacts: EWG, www.ewg.org; Green rubber manufac- No matter what kind of carpeting you Label Plus, carpet-rug.org/testing/green- Carpeting is an oft-overlooked culprit turing process known to cause respira- end up with, make sure to vacuum it label-plus; Greenguard, greenguard. when it comes to compromised indoor tory problems, eye irritation and rashes. regularly—the American Lung Associa- org; CARE, carpetrecovery.org; Earth911, air quality, but the chemicals used to EWG adds that it can also react with other tion recommends at least 3x/week with a search.earth911.com. produce it are typically far from natural. chemicals to produce formaldehyde, a HEPA filter-equipped vacuum—to remove According to the non-profit Environ- known human carcinogen. dust, allergens and pollutants that you (or EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer mental Working Group (EWG), most Likewise, the glues and sealants used to your pets) might track in. “Carpets are ... & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit carpeting is made from synthetic fibers install most wall-to-wall carpeting come the perfect environment to harbor dust EarthTalk. Visit www.earthtalk.org or derived from non-renewable petro- chock full of more VOCs and in some cas- mites, mold and mildew, which are all [email protected]. leum-based sources and emits harmful es, toxic petroleum-based solvents. To add common allergens,” reports EWG.

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30 August January 15, 2019 2014 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 802.439.6675 Building & Energy Efficiency Can Utilities Incorporate Energy Efficiency into Their Core Business? with performance incentives, they can Grace Relf , The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) over a longer time period rather than recover them within the year they are Utility Performance Incentive Landscape incurred. This smooths out the customer bill impacts of large investments and ensures that customers pay for efficiency measures over the many years of receiv- ing their benefits. In 2016, Illinois set new efficiency targets for its investor-owned utilities. The legislation included performance-based rate of return incentives for meeting or exceeding the targets as well as penalties for not meeting them. The utilities can earn up to 200 basis points for exceeding their targets, or they can lose up to 200 basis points if they fail to meet them. Multifactor incentives Beyond energy savings, states are increasingly working to meet new policy goals. These goals include reducing peak demand (and system costs), reducing The national landscape for state energy efficiency performance incentives by mechanism type. Source: ACEEE greenhouse gas emissions, and creat- state policy database based on 2017 data with additional updates. ing savings particularly for low-income customers. To do so, states including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Hawaii, As the energy utility business model PIMs can be structured in different and Michigan are using multifactor PIMs, changes, more states are offering utili- ways. Some allow utilities to earn a share which reward utilities for meeting mul- ties incentives to increase energy ef- of the net benefits from efficiency invest- tiple policy goals. ficiency by making it as appealing as ments, and others provide a cash reward Massachusetts recently put forth a new traditional investments. ACEEE explores for meeting energy savings or other tar- and aggressive energy efficiency plan performance incentives for utilities in gets (called savings-based and multifactor that includes new PIM components. If ap- twenty-nine states, focusing on nine incentives). Another type of incentive proved by regulators, the state’s utilities innovative states in particular. allows utilities to earn a rate of return on Cont’d on p.35 New Jersey is one example. In their efficiency spending as they would September, the state’s largest utility, for investments in generation or transmis- Public Service Gas and Electric (PSE&G), sion and distribution infrastructure (and proposed a six-year energy efficiency these incentives can also be aligned with portfolio that would allow them to earn performance criteria). a return on their investment. The util- Since ACEEE’s last national review of ity’s proposed portfolio would increase performance incentives in 2015, we’ve utility investments in efficiency by 60% seen a notable upward trend in both mul- in its first year, ramping up to a 700% tifactor and rate of return incentives. The increase in 2024, compared to 2017 util- figure below shows the current landscape TIMELESS CRAFTSMANSHIP. ity investments. It would also more than of utility energy efficiency PIMs. quadruple the number of programs the utility offers, help New Jersey meet Rate of return incentives THE LATEST IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY. its energy efficiency targets, and save Four states have adopted rate of return customers an estimated $5.7 billion. The performance incentives, up from one PASSIVE HOUSE DESIGN/BUILD. CUSTOM CABINETRY & TILE. proposal is now being reviewed by the state in 2015. These mechanisms are state utility commission. growing in popularity, because they allow Even with such clear benefits, how- a rate of return for demand-side invest- ever, many utilities would be unable or ments in a manner similar to traditional unwilling to invest as much in energy ef- infrastructure investments, and this helps ficiency. Why? Without proper policies, to level the playing field for energy ef- efficiency reduces electricity sales and ficiency. Rewards are sometimes based profits. To counteract this, New Jersey purely on spending, but they can also re- and twenty-eight other states have per- quire performance criteria such as certain formance incentive mechanisms (PIMs) levels of energy savings. that allow utilities to earn rewards for For utilities that are rapidly ramping up their investments in energy efficiency, efficiency investments, like PSE&G, rate when they meet certain performance of return incentives can spread costs out criteria.

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Building & Energy Efficiency WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 January 2019 31 NHSaves Upcoming Commercial Vital Communities Energy Efficiency Trainings Reduce building operating expenses and solve energy problems with this Partners with Eight Towns 1-day intensive training sponsored by NHSaves. The same program will be in four locations around NH: in Keene on 2/1, for Third Round of Portsmouth 2/13, Manchester 3/1 and Plymouth 3/14. Topics range from LED lighting, heat pumps, air sealing, efficient motors … Weatherize Upper Valley By Lakes Region Community College for C&I customers of NHSaves utilities. Registration required and discounted $20 co-pay for advance reservations. More information: lrccwfd.eventbrite.com.

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Weatherize Orford-Piermont-Lyme Team at the kick-off event at the Rivendell School in January 2018. Proud participant of the NH Image: Molly Drummond. Weatherize campaigns in Mt. January 8, 2019 - An annual program home energy efficiency projects. Washington, Kearsarge, and hosted by nonprofit Vital Communities Communities beyond the Upper Val- is helping many homeowners keep out Canaan-Enfield. ley are taking note and building on the FREE technical assistance the cold this winter, with more than 200 region’s Weatherize success. In 2018, Vital Serving Northern New homes weatherized since 2016. Eight Communities helped Efficiency Ver- for qualified businesses more New Hampshire towns join the mont incorporate the Weatherize Upper Hampshire north of Concord, effort in 2019 (Canaan, Enfield, Andover, Valley model into its statewide Button including the White Mountains Newbury, New London, Sutton, Warner Up campaign, generating hundreds of and Wilmot) with kick-off events sched- participants throughout Vermont. In 2019, and Lakes Region www.lrcc.edu/nhrr uled in late January. energy committees in New Hampshire’s to get started Weatherize Upper Valley works by Mt.Washington Valley, Monadnock region, 603-279-3371 teaming up community volunteers with and North Country are working with Vital certified weatherization contractors Communities to launch Weatherize cam- to make it easier and more affordable paigns of their own. to reduce energy costs and improve “When we developed the Weatherize home comfort through air sealing and model in 2016, we knew we wanted to insulation upgrades. Residents in par- create something that could be shared ticipating towns can start the process beyond the Upper Valley,” explained with a $100 energy audit (often priced Sarah Brock of Vital Communities, whose over $400) available between now and idea for Weatherize was inspired by the March 15. Participants who commit to success of Solarize Upper Valley, which an energy efficiency project by May helped more than 300 homeowners 31st will be entered to win $500 toward go solar in 2014 and 2015. “It means so DO YOU HAVE... project costs. much to see our work go on to help more Throughout the program, volun- people than we could ever have helped Frosty Windows? Ice Dams? teers and Vital Communities staff offer on your own.” homeowners personal support and In the midst of Weatherize and Solar- Moldy Siding? Cold, Drafty Rooms? encouragement. “Without their help ize success, Vital Communities has also we never would have done this on our become an accidental yet enthusiastic lo- Let us perform an energy audit to determine where your house is own,” reflected one 2018 Orford partici- cal resource for all questions about home losing energy, and then develop a plan to reduce your heating bills pant. “I hope Vital Communities keeps energy. Brock and her staff frequently re- by 25–50%, and increase the comfort of your home in the SUMMER the program going to help others in the spond to calls from Upper Valley residents and WINTER. Upper Valley.” looking for friendly, unbiased energy ad- Vital Communities is answering that vice. “Sometimes people just don’t know call with 2019 Weatherize campaigns where to begin,” explains Brock. “That’s THE BENEFITS OF A HOME launching this month. Weatherize Ca- something we can help anyone with!” ENERGY AUDIT INCLUDE: naan and Enfield will host a public kick- Vital Communities, a nonprofit organiza- off event on Saturday, January 19, at tion based in White River Junction, Vt., • Potential savings of 25–50% Mascoma Valley Regional High School brings together citizens, organizations, and on your fuel bill from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. A Weatherize municipalities to take on issues where an • Prevent repainting the exterior of Kearsarge kick-off event is planned for independent voice and regional approach Saturday, January 26, at the Kearsarge are essential. Working together, we make your house year after year Community Presbyterian Church in New our region a better place to live, work, and • Eliminate cold, drafty rooms London from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Inter- play. Learn more at VitalCommunities.org. ested residents are encouraged to at- Certied Master Green Builder For more information, contact Paige • Claim your basement and attic as tend to learn more about home energy additional living space efficiency and the Weatherize process, Heverly, Energy and Transportation Project Bob has been in the meet their community’s certified weath- Coordinator for VitalCommunities.org, • Possible rebates from power ‘green’ business for erization contractors, and talk with 802.291.9100 x114. companies and/or the government 30+ years—let him neighbors who have already completed put his experience • No more frost on your windows to work for you! Many thanks to our sponsors:

BuildingAlternatives.com (603) 823-5100 Toll Free (877) 823-5101 [email protected] 32 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 Sustainable Agriculture Grazing for Change at Stonewall Farm Jessie Haas especially for Allen Savory. His method is his farm and incorporated it as a non-prof- Julie Davenson, called ‘holistic,’ and he is very clear that the it educational organization. While events executive direc- whole must include the farmer. such as weddings form an important part tor of Stonewall Stonewall will begin offering training and of Stonewall’s cash flow, farming remains Farm, a non-profit consulting services for New England farmers central. Stonewall offers programs for kids working dairy in 2019, starting with an Introduction to of all ages on gardening, wildlife ecology, farm in Keene, Holistic Management workshop in February. and farming. The dairy sells milk to Stony- NH, was research- As a Hub, Stonewall will offer training and field Organic. Thanks to holistic planned ing regenerative consultation for farmers who want to learn grazing, the dairy is on track to become ways to improve holistic land management and planned sustainable. Production is up, the herd is Stonewall’s grazing—including everything from creat- growing, milk quality remains exception- overgrazed pas- ing a grazing plan to financial management. ally high, and the pastures are improving tures when she In the future, they plan to offer Ecological rapidly, without added expense. happened upon Outcome Verification services to livestock Davenson says, “Given all the recent the book The Soil producers wishing to be certified through news about climate change, this work is Will Save Us, by the Land to Market program. Another proj- critically important and we don’t have any Kirsten Ohlsen. ect of Savory International, Land to Market time to waste . . . (w)e have an opportuni- There she learned is the world’s first regenerative sourced ty to teach both farmers and landowners about holistic, Stonewall Farm Hub Launch on September 21, 2018. Image: Karl Thidemann. supply chain, connecting manufacturers, how to manage their fields and pastures planned grazing, retailers, and consumers to food and fiber in a manner that increases the health of the method pio- grown in a way that regenerates soil. This their ecosystems, builds soil health while neered by Allan Savory for regenerating a certain period of time based on available allows consumers to vote with their dollars. sequestering carbon, and increases farm soil using large groups of livestock. Savory forage and stocking rates, then moved them By creating demand, consumers can encour- viability.” believes that widespread adoption of his on and did not come back until regrowth age farmers to adopt regenerative practices, Jessie Haas has written 40 books, mainly techniques is key to sequestering large was at the right stage. Sometimes that which benefit the climate, the land, and the for children, and has lived in an off-grid amounts of carbon in the soil and revers- meant keeping the cows on a dry lot and farmer’s bottom line. cabin in Westminster West, VT since 1984, ing climate change. feeding them hay for a few days. Stonewall Farm is already educating oth- www.jessiehaas.com. At around the same time, Stonewall Despite a difficult growing season, ers about holistic planned grazing through Farm began selling milk to Stonyfield overgrazing damage is starting to correct local schools. Students from Keene High Links Organic. A specialist there suggested that itself. Plant diversity has increased, without School’s Advanced Placement environmen- available with Many the farm become a Savory Hub. Hubs are fertilizing or reseeding, and without cost, tal science class conducted ecological land the posting of this article thanks Holistic Management training and demon- other than a few reels of electric fence. The monitoring in pastures this fall. to our stration sites. The fit was good. Stonewall pastures produced twice as much forage on People can get involved by enrolling on the GET Farm’s mission is to educate people of all the same amount of land, and the nutrition- in workshops, joining the citizen scientist website. sponsor: ages about farm ecology and promote al quality also improved. Analysis of the soil group to assist with ecological monitoring, economic justice for small farmers. to measure carbon sequestration has not or donating to the Farmer Scholarship Fund Stonewall Farm began using holistic yet been done, but increased fertility goes to help train more New England farmers and planned grazing this year and progress hand in hand with increased soil carbon. homesteaders. is encouraging. The farm had practiced Stonewall Farm held its first conference Stonewall Farm was founded when the rotational grazing for many years, but as as a Hub on September 21, 2018. Close to last private owner, Norman Chase, retired Davenson notes, rotational grazing is not 250 people attended, including farmers, without heirs. The Kidder family preserved planned grazing. Planned grazing focuses researchers, professors, policymakers and on recovery periods for paddocks, with business leaders. Presenters included Britt the goal of building root and soil health. Lundgren from Stonyfield Organic, Rebecca Rotational grazing simply involves shifting Hamilton from W.S. Badger Co., Ridge Shinn animals from paddock to paddock on a of Big Picture Beef, Seth Itzkhan and Karl fixed schedule. Over the years, the poorly Thideman, co-founders of the Vermont- managed rotational grazing resulted in based organization Soil4Climate, and Allen overgrazed pastures, extensive weed pres- Savory himself. The conference focused on sure, and poor forage quality. the benefits of regenerative agriculture and Using the plan they created, herd on expanding markets for farmers using re- managers at Stonewall divided paddocks generative practices. Attention to farm prof- into smaller units, determined appropriate its and farmers’ quality of life is an important cow stocking rates, allowed them to graze aspect of the healthy soils movement, Cows grazing in the paddock at Stonewall Farm in Keene, NH. Courtesy photo. The Outside Story: Southern Pine Beetles March North Joe Rankin As if the emerald ash borer’s incur- setts, according to Ayres. In New York, it’s the coldest night of winter has warmed sion into northern New England wasn’t on Long Island and has been trapped near by 7-8º,” said Ayres. In the enough, now there’s another potentially Albany. next 50 years, it could rise Cont’d on p.33 devastating forest pest marching this “There’s no doubt that northern forests way: the southern pine beetle. in New Hampshire and Vermont are going Dendroctonus frontalis – the first name to be challenged in the next few years – means “tree murderer,” we should note sooner rather than later – by southern pine At Badger, we make organic body care products with a vision to heal – is only a fraction of an inch long. But beetles,” said Ayres. the earth. The Extra Virgin Olive Oil used in all our products comes during outbreaks, they reproduce by the Writing in the journal Nature Climate millions and can kill trees in a matter of Change earlier this year, a team of research- from long-time partner Soler Romero, a six-generation olive oil weeks. ers predicted “a plausible new threat” from producer in Spain practicing regenerative agriculture for over 30 years. “They’re one of the most aggressive the beetle “to vast areas of pine forest in tree-killing insects in the world,” said eastern North America by 2050 and into Matthew Ayres, a biology professor at subarctic Canada after 2080 under contin- Learn how regenerative agriculture can help reverse climate change by visiting Dartmouth College who has studied the ued climate change.” species for 25 years. “It is a very big deal” for the northeastern climatecollaborative.com/agriculture A relative of the mountain pine beetle, US,” said Kevin Dodds, a forest entomolo- which periodically ravage the lodge- gist with the U.S. Forest Service and one of pole- and ponderosa-pine forests of the the authors of the article. “It’s definitely a intermountain West, the southern pine considerable forest pest.” beetle is native to the vast pine forests in Cold winters have traditionally limited the southeastern United States. southern pine beetle’s range. One night at But now, thanks to a warming climate, zero degrees Fahrenheit and most beetles W.S. BADGER COMPANY, INC. the beetle is moving north. It’s estab- are killed, said Ayres. At five degrees below Gilsum, NH 03448 • USA • badgerbalm.com lished itself in New Jersey, Rhode Island, zero, they’re pretty much all dead. The Connecticut, and probably Massachu- problem: “In the last 50 years [in our region], Sustainable Agriculture & Forestry WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 January 2019 33 PrintReleaf Helps Local Businesses It’s Time for To Think Local and Act Global New Hampshire’s George Harvey Greatest Winter Fair Forests are Experience! among the best Friday, Feb. 1st resources we 9AM - 8PM have for drawing down atmospheric Saturday, Feb. 2nd carbon dioxide. 9AM - 4PM And yet, despite their importance, Something Fun for Everyone in the Family! we cut them down • Trade Show • KidZone/FARMO for a wide variety • Free Workshops • Animals of purposes. Many • NH Products • Local Food • Agricultural and Forestry Experts of these put the Diagram showing the workflow of the PrintReleaf application. Courtesy photo. carbon dioxide the DoubleTree by Hilton, forest trees had 700 Elm Street, Manchester captured back into the air. And so we to make up for the environmental loss of whole process is certified by SGS Interna- (formally the Radisson) find ourselves destroying some of our those that are used. tional, a leading forestry auditor. best tools against climate change. PrintReleaf is a dedicated software Many environmental issues are some- Admission $7.00 Children 16 and under FREE For years, various organizations have package that notes the amount of paper times best addressed at the local level. Bring 2 non-perishable canned goods to the Expo engaged in ways to sustain or restore used by a company in real time, as the The saying, “Think globally, act locally,” and receive $1 off admission tickets. Benefits NH Food Bank. the forests. One interesting solution is paper is used. It then assesses the number is well known. But the matter of climate a sustainability application called Print- of trees that need to be planted to make change affects all people and all parts of For more information visit: Releaf, provided by Conway Office Solu- up for the paper. As the paper is used, the world in some way. While it might be www.nhfarmandforestexpo.org tions. PrintReleaf is an easily adopted, orders go out for the appropriate number preferred to replace trees with new ones Save on admission Friday from 5PM - 8PM yet sophisticated, means for many of trees to be planted. in the same forest, there are beneficial Just $5 per person over the age of 17! companies that care about the environ- The trees are planted in forests chosen effects of replacing them farther from ment to reduce their forest footprints by the customer from areas where Print- home. Doing so provides work and to zero. By using it, the people engaged Releaf is working around the world. The environmental well-being in the places in document management through a in a printing business, book publisher, trees are maintained, and the net number where forests are sustainably maintained. number of offices in New Hampshire, university, church, factory, or advertiser of trees required to cover the customer’s PrintReleaf is working in such places as Massachusetts, and Vermont is a partner. can know that for every job they do that activity is guaranteed to survive. Results Brazil, India, and Madagascar, in addition Xerox and Toshiba are also partners. requires paper, trees are being planted can be monitored at any time, and the to North America and others. Some well-known Vermont organiza- Many organizations use sustainable tions seeking to manage their forest operating practices, which are important footprints through PrintReleaf are Darn for reasons ranging from profitability Tough Vermont Socks, Vermont State Southern Pine Beetles to public recognition. Unsurprisingly, a Employees Credit Union, Vermont Col- lege of Fine Arts, and Vermont Federal Cont’d from p. 32 Kyle Lombard, the number of well-known companies are Credit Union. forest health program partners of PrintReleaf. Conway Office another 10 degrees. Solutions, a Xerox company specializing Kudos to each of them. Adult female coordinator for the New beetles are the ones Hampshire Division of who seek out new Forests and Lands, said host trees. When they his office is monitor- find a vulnerable pine, ing the bug’s progress. they burrow into But “We are not overly the bark and release concerned it will be a pheromones that real threat to our New alert other beetles, Hampshire forests. We which swarm to the just don’t have a lot tree. Scientists call of the preferred host, this a “mass attack.” and the winter temps The tree tries to fight in New England would back with resin, but severely knock it back or the sheer number of completely control it.” invaders overwhelms In their mass attacks, its defenses. Beetles southern pine beetles carve tunnels into tend to favor forests the inner bark and lay where the trees grow eggs. After hatching, close together. In New the larvae tunnel out England, white pine and fly off to another tree. They can fly up doesn’t usually grow in pure stands, but as to two miles and can produce multiple single trees throughout the woods. That generations in a year. may discourage the beetle. During periodic outbreaks, the beetle’s Unlike with emerald ash borer, where numbers swell. They spread rapidly and there’s virtually nothing humans can do kill pines in vast numbers. They then typi- but wring their hands, the thinning of cally crash. In the south, outbreaks occur uninfected pine stands can help control the roughly on a 6-10 year cycle, though southern pine beetle. patterns can vary widely. “The best management strategy to “The southern pine beetle has been discourage southern pine beetle outbreaks recorded attacking and killing every spe- is to maintain healthy pine stands, and that Recommended by cies of pine with which they come into is another advantage New Hampshire has – Green Energy Times! contact, and that’s more than a dozen,” we are not averse to managing forests,” said said Ayres. It favors the “hard” pines like Lombard. It Mows, YOU Don’t! loblolly pine and shortleaf pine. It will kill “We can manage it, and we should,” said • NO EMISSIONS Resolve to cut your pitch pines, and the pitch-pine barrens Ayres. “But we should also take this as a lawn mowing along the Atlantic coast from New Jersey harbinger of other changes and challenges NO GAS, OIL, Belts to Maine are very vulnerable. It’s likely to that could be facing northern woodlands. • emissions in 2019! go after jack pine and red pine, too. This won’t be the last.” • Reliable, Quiet, Efficient The big unanswered question is how it Joe Rankin lives in Maine. The illustration will treat white pines. for this column was drawn by Adelaide Tyrol. Ayres said the beetle has killed white The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Green E-Mowers — 802.439.6675 pines in Alabama, Kentucky, and New Northern Woodlands magazine: northern- Videos and more info at: usa.robomow.com Jersey. “We know they’re susceptible. woodlands.org, and sponsored by the Wellborn Serving Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Mass & Maine What we don’t know well is how well the Ecology Fund of New Hampshire Charitable beetles reproduce in white pines.” Foundation: [email protected]. See it in action. Call or email: [email protected] 34 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 More States & Provinces Adopt Carbon Pricing GUIDE TO ADVERTISERS RESOURCES ABC Energy Savings 31 350-Vermont: General group that coordinates a variety of statewide actions. Cont’d from p. 19 state and provincial efforts and explore ARC Mechanical 27 To join this group go to: http://350vermont.org lessons learned from them. 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aka Dr. Seuss to help us along. Who else …I had better be a ploughman than a talks directly to young people with far out philosopher; for the ploughman lives as statements? Ones such as: long as the philosopher, eats more, sleeps From there to here, from here to there, better, and rejoices in the wife of his bosom funny things are everywhere! with less misgiving. This is because the And: philosopher is in the The Making of a Philosopher Brain Think left and think right and think grip of the Life Force. Larry Plesent low and think high. Oh, the thinks you This Life Force says “Today you are You, that is truer than true. I am of the opinion that the inherent can think up if only you try! to him “I have done a There is no one alive who is You-er than You.” shallowness of mass culture, including He inspired us into seeing one’s life thousand wonderful – Dr. Seuss (aka Theodore Geisel) mass politics, is a direct result of the scarcity as a great adventure: things unconsciously Real philosopher brains are rarer than of philosopher brains. And a scarcity of You’re off to Great Places! by merely willing to live hen’s teeth these days, and I for one do not philosophizing can lead to a dangerous Today is your day! and following the line consider this to be a healthy state of af- condition known as “Stinkin’ Thinkin’,” often Your mountain is waiting, of least resistance: now fairs. There is little available in the educa- fatal if left untreated. (Hats off to Zig Ziglar So... get on your way! I want to know myself tional system or mass culture at large that for popularizing the term stinkin’ thinkin’). And pressed home that truth and my destination, nurtures and cultivates And all this scares me about the equality of all people: and choose my path; so an open-mind seeking because if we are ever A person’s a person, no matter I have made a special of truth without barrier going to turn this wagon how small. brain — a philosopher’s or predisposition. As a around, if we are ever And he taught us to accept our- brain — to grasp this society, we pay so little going to actually create selves, warts and all, with a statement like: knowledge for me as the husband- attention to philosophy a peaceful, sustain- Why fit in when you were born to stand out? man’s hand grasps the plough for me. And that we are in immedi- able, creative, equitable I would go so far as to say that his influ- this” says the Life Force to the philosopher ate danger of collectively worldwide culture of mu- ence on the free thinking seventies and “must thou strive to do for me until thou turning into mindless tual respect for all living the many cultural changes it engendered diest, when I will make another brain and consumers of culture and things, our planet and can only be contemplated. Good job Ted. another philosopher to carry on the work.” goods buffeted by the winds of fleeting each other; I will bet you that clear thinking Thanks for that. (From Man and Superman, 1903) style and fancy. will be required to pull it off. So what’s the big deal about philosopher Heady stuff. No wonder the job has so Yet if you think about it, all ACTION stems Fortunately a little exposure of the brain brains and why bother wasting valuable few takers. from THOUGHT. Thought stems from PER- at key moments of neural development is bandwidth thinking about it? For one pos- Dr. Seuss said it a bit more succinctly: CEPTION. And perception stems from one’s sometimes all it takes to turn a young mind sible answer to this I bring you GB Shaw, You have brains in your head. You have feet PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE; the context from IDLE to ON. And for help with that, we playwright and philosopher brain and one in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direc- through which we process experience. are fortunate to have Theodore Seuss Geisel, of the few to go ahead and write about it: tion you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go... And finally: Unless someone like you cares a whole aw- ful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not. Vermont Attorney General Continues to Challenge Thanks for listening folks. Keep thinking!? Larry Plesent is a writer, philosopher and Federal Exemptions of Mercury Products soap maker living and working in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Learn more at www. Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan backwards proposed by the EPA and the vermontsoap.com www.reactivebody.org and announced that the State of Vermont re- new mercury rule.” www.cancereraser.org. cently filed its brief to the Second Circuit The Vermont Agency of Natural Court of Appeals, continuing its chal- Resources’ (ANR) Secretary Julie Moore lenge of a decision by the United States said, “The Agency of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strongly supports the efforts of the Utilities & Energy Efficiency exempt several large categories of mer- Vermont Attorney General’s Office in their cury products from “inventory reporting.” challenge of EPA’s mercury rule. Mercury Cont’d from p.30 Inventory reporting is the practice of an is one of the most toxic pollutants, and will be able to earn rewards for achieving entity reporting to the EPA a complete in- we should not be weakening the mercury energy savings, pursuing demand ben- ventory of all mercury and mercury-con- reporting requirements. Without fully efits, and providing incentives to cus- taining products in its possession and put understanding how and where mercury is tomers who rent, rather than own, their in commerce. Mercury exposures at high being used, ANR’s core work of protecting homes or apartments. These new incen- levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, Vermonters and Vermont’s environment is tives encourage program administrators lungs and immune systems of people of unnecessarily made much more difficult.” to address multiple policy goals and to all ages, and mercury in the bloodstream The Vermont Attorney General’s Of- accomplish long-term climate goals. of developing babies and young children fice has been working closely with the Top: Compact fluores- may harm their nervous systems and abil- Vermont Agency of Natural Resources cent light bulbs save Incentives in power system ity to think and learn. and the Vermont Department of Environ- lots of energy, but they transformation Earlier this year, the EPA issued its final mental Conservation’s Mercury Education are manufactured Other states, utilities, and regulators rule (the so-called “mercury rule”) on and Reduction Campaign throughout this with small amounts of are also innovating to achieve their policy the reporting requirements for mercury litigation. mercury; center: Mer- objectives. The rise of utility proceedings products under federal law. The law In its brief, Vermont argues that the cury battery, Russian on utilities optimizing distributed energy requires a complete and accurate inven- mercury rule’s exemptions could impede manufactured in 1989; resources, including energy efficiency, tory of mercury supply, use, and trade in Vermont from enforcing laws enacted bottom: Mercury in offers an opportunity to expand utility the United States. The EPA’s mercury rule to prevent mercury contamination. For dish. All Images from business model reform options that can will exempt any product that contains a example, Vermont and a handful of other Wikipedia. support efficiency investment. The right mercury-added product as a component states have outright bans for certain prod- incentives, including PIMs, can lead to of the larger product. Examples of prod- ucts with mercury-added components. increased procurement of non-traditional ucts containing a mercury-added product These laws help eliminate non-essential resources to address emerging system include a mercury battery in a watch or uses of mercury in consumer, household, needs. toy, or a mercury switch or relay in a lamp and commercial products, and reduce Read the full topic brief to learn more or pump. Many of these products are mercury releases to the environment about PIMs and other innovative perfor- imported and are not manufactured in through production, use, and disposal of mance incentives that are driving deep the U.S. Under the mercury rule, manufac- such products. Under the EPA’s mercury energy savings and helping to achieve turers of these mercury-added products rule, some mercury-added products multiple policy outcomes. will not have to report important informa- might now be allowed to enter Vermont To download the topic brief, visit http:// tion on the uses and quantity of mercury unreported, unlabeled, and undetected, bit.ly/Energy-efficiency-Utilities. contained inside. potentially frustrating Vermont’s ability to All links available online at http://bit.ly/ “Eliminating reporting requirements enforce its own laws. ACEEE-utilities-energy.. for some of the largest uses of mercury The EPA will now have the opportunity The American Council for an Energy- places Vermonters at risk,” said Attorney to reply to Vermont’s brief. The EPA’s reply Efficient Economy acts as a catalyst General Donovan. “Vermonters deserve to brief is expected to be filed in the Second to advance energy efficiency policies, know what is inside the products we use. Circuit Court of Appeals on or before please visit the Vermont Department of programs, technologies, investments, and Our state can proudly say it has been a March 7, 2019. Environmental Conservation’s Mercury behaviors. leader in mercury regulation for decades. For more information on mercury and Education and Reduction Campaign web- Grace Relf is a Senior Research Analyst, Now, Vermont will continue to lead and Vermont’s mercury-added product manu- site: https://anrweb.vt.gov/DEC/mercury/ Energy Policy ACEEE. will continue to fight against the step facturer requirements, including labeling, merc.htm. 36 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 IT’S A GREEN LIFE - AFTER ALL… FARM AND GARDENS Elmore Roots’ Permaculture Know-How Elmore Roots Nursery Grass-fed Local Beef For Sale Scottish Highland Beef. Bringing Light Into the World 18 months old. Grass Fed. David Fried $575 hanging weight. When we plant in great anticipa- a seed, we are tion. I take out the Pickup at farm in leaning into the sunflower black oil Newbury, VT. future. Now that seeds and broadcast Order gift certi cates 802.236.8810 it’s winter, there them on top of the online now at elmoreroots.com are not a lot of earth in this tray, seeds being plant- so they are almost Now I start another tray. This time I ed. There is not a touching each other. broadcast buckwheat seed throughout Silvopasture lot of green. The I water again and the tray. These will have a softer, milder Can Mitigate light that has that often cover them flavor and are great in soups and in a soft light green- lightly with a piece salad. The sunflower greens are spicier Climate Change yellow glow as it of plastic, but not and crispier and an excellent topping in comes through Sprouted sunflower seeds. Image from David Fried. all the way. These a sandwich. A couple of weeks later, after Will U.S. Farmers Take it Seriously? leaves is not to seeds need to all the greens have been clipped and be seen. This is why a lot of people and breathe to sprout. eaten, the whole mat of roots can be add- birds head south. They are looking for A few days or a week later, in the dark ed to the garden bed or compost pile to more light and more life. or almost anywhere, I see a little poke-up become the springboard for other seeds This is around the time of year when of green light. Then another and an- to grow when it finally is spring again. we start planting seeds indoors in our other. There is a whole field of sunflower home. We know that fig trees will grow sprouts in my tray! First I dance around David Fried runs Elmore Roots Fruit Tree new leaves when the days start getting the room singing. Then, I water them and Berry Nursery in northern Vermont. longer, and we plant some narcissus again, so they are slightly bulbs to see life begin again. But what moist but not wet. In a few I look forward to is planting seeds that more days they are taller will grow into winter greens that we and have their first leaves. can eat. I am looking for that nourish- I show my friends my “field Cattle grazing in a silvopasture forest in Georgia. Image: USDA National Agroforestry Center. ment, that plant light, that rare ability of dreams,” and then I take of a life form to transform sunlight into a scissor and cut a few Trees absorb and sequester large energy! off and taste them. Ah, amounts of carbon over time. The seques- I need this energy for my being. So sunflower lettuce! They tering process is rendered even more I take two plastic trays. One with no are packed with vitamins powerful when they are used together holes goes on the bottom of another and nutrients, as they have with grazing and planted on “marginal” same-sized tray that has drainage been in a sunny window land that is not great for growing crops, slits. I have saved indoors some fluffy, since a few days after such as woodland edges. http://bit.ly/ garden earth mixed with a little peat sprouting and have been SilvopastureMitigateClimateChange. and compost, and I spread it out in the changing sunlight into Snail and seed painting by Gabriel Tempesta tray. I water it and wait for a day or two, leaves and nutrients.

Saffron and Solar Farms: Saffron Cookies Saffron is an ancient culinary spice, derived from the flower of a fall blooming A Win-Win for the Environment and Agriculture crocus (crocus sativus). It ranks as the most expensive spice in the world, often selling for over $20 per gram. It is commonly grown in western Asia, including Iran, but also Margaret Skinner, Bruce L. Parker and Arash Ghalehgolabbehbahani in Spain and Italy. It is now being successfully grown in Vermont, as an agricultural corms planted in Septem- benefit where solar is now producing clean electricity to the electric grid. ber are now flowering. In Saffron has a unique aroma, which imparts food with a special taste. It also gives the first year after planting, food a distinctive yellow color. It is widely used in Persian, Indian, European, Arab, corms produce only a few and Turkish cuisines. For example, it is flowers, but in future years commonly used in Milanese risotto of Italy, they bloom abundantly. the paella of Spain, the bouillabaisse of A Vermont grower who France, and the biryani with various meat planted 2,500 corms in 2017 accompaniments in South Asia. Candy and has harvested over 5,000 liquors also often include saffron. flowers this year, which Saffron can be purchased at most health produced over 30 grams of food stores and various co-ops. You may saffron. She sold her crop even find it in your local supermarket. for $25 per gram for use by While there are many ways to use saf- a New York City chef who fron, here is one for cookies that can be valued the high quality and eaten with a hot beverage during these Image: www.cakesandmore.in Vermont-grown brand. Peck winter months. Solar, a South Burlington, VT Saffron Cookies softened. Slowly add sugars and beat based company, is work- 2 tablespoons milk, slightly warmed well until mixture slightly increases in ing with farmers around volume. Vermont to help them 1⁄4 teaspoon of saffron threads, slightly crushed In a small bowl, mix together the saf- capitalize on the value of fron mixture, egg and vanilla. Add egg their land through construc- 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda mixture to butter mixture and beat, tion of solar arrays. Saffron scraping down bowl as needed. could add even more value 1⁄2 teaspoon salt 1⁄2 cup butter, softened (1 stick) Add flour mixture to butter mixture to farmers from the solar gradually, stirring until flour is incor- fields. This is just the first 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1⁄4 cup brown sugar, packed porated. Stir in chips or nuts if desired. year, and the cooperators Chill until firm (30-45 minutes up to expect an even more abun- 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 egg, slightly beaten overnight) or place in the freezer for 15 dant harvest next year. The minutes. best is yet to come! More 1 cup white chocolate chips, slivered Saffron crocuses blooming in a raised bed within a Peck Solar array in almonds or chopped cashews (optional) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. New Haven, VT. Image: A. Ghalehgolabbehbahani, UVM. information on UVM’s saf- Use two teaspoons to drop cookie fron research is at: https:// In a small bowl warm, pour the milk dough on a baking sheet covered www.uvm.edu/~saffron/ or and add the saffron strands, slightly with parchment paper and bake 12-14 Ghalehgolabbehbahani, who demon- contact Margaret Skinner at 802-656-5440 crushing them. Set aside and let steep, minutes. Let rest on baking sheet for a strated that saffron could be profitably or [email protected]. the longer the better. This can be done few minutes then transfer to wire racks grown in Vermont, have teamed up with Margaret Skinner, Bruce L. Parker several hours beforehand. The saffron to cool. Peck Solar to test the potential of grow- will turn the milk yellow. and Arash Ghalehgolabbehbahani are Recipe adapted from www.food.com; ing saffron in their Vermont solar fields. University of Vermont researchers. Sift or whisk flour, baking soda and Saffron is a fall-blooming crocus, and salt together; set aside. Beat butter until created by Jen T. IT’S A GREEN LIFE - AFTER ALL … FARM AND GARDENS WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG January 2019 37 Monadnock Food Co-op’s 3rd Annual Farm Fund: DIY Re-usable Bags from Feed Bags Supporting Sustainable Local Food Production Jessie Haas raised, and made foods — that means Applications due February 1, 2019 Tote bags are great. When you remem- more local food for you, your family, and The Monadnock Food Co-op Farm ber to bring them to the grocery store our community.” Fund program, a partnership with the you feel so virtuous—and in Brattleboro, Tax-deductible donations to this fund Cheshire County (NH) Conservation you’d better remember, because single- can be made to the Cheshire County Con- District, is now accepting applications use plastic bags are now illegal. servation District at https://monadnock- from local farmers. Currently, in its third But totes are also expensive, and cot- food.coop/farmfund/#donate. Additional year, the fund has supported seven farms ton ones aren’t such a good deal for the fundraising activities will occur at the Mo- in our region. environment. Counterintuitively, they nadnock Food Co-op, including a Round It This year, the Farm Fund will award have a big carbon footprint compared Up Donation Drive in early 2019. up to $18,000 to help farms in Cheshire to plastic grocery bags. You need to use The Monadnock Food Co-op Farm County and abutting New Hampshire your cotton tote 327 times to achieve the Fund’s mission is to support local farmers towns develop or expand their produc- same per-use carbon ratio. And cotton in increasing sustainable food produc- tion for wholesale markets, including is uniquely depleting to soil; that’s what tion and wholesale sales to contribute to selling to the Monadnock Food Co-op propelled slavery west in the 1830s-50s. A homemade tote bag made by the author. a thriving local farm economy. This grant and Food Connects. Funds can be used Cotton had driven soil fertility into the Courtesy photo. supports several of the co-op’s goals, to support a range of projects including ground, so to speak, all over the South; including building a healthy, sustainable the purchase of equipment and infra- many lands have still not recovered. ing duct tape ‘seams’. Colored duct tape food system, supporting local farmers and structure, packaging and labeling design There’s a solution, though. If you feed forms the trim at the top of the bag, and producers, and contributing to a strong, needs, and technical assistance. birds, pets, or livestock, you end up with strips of duct tape form the wide strap sustainable and improving local economy. The Request for Proposals and applica- a big pile of colorful, heavy-duty woven- handles. For complete instructions and a For more information on eligibility tion are available at https://monadnock- plastic bags just begging to be repur- video, go to https://www.youtube.com/ and to apply for a grant, visit https:// food.coop/farmfund. Applications are posed. You can keep them out of the watch?v=JepJM6lF2uc. monadnockfood.coop/farmfund or call due February 1, 2019. landfill and avoid ever needing a plastic Because of the broad, colorful trim, Amanda Littleton “The Farm Fund empowers local farm- bag or cotton tote again. the duct tape bags are especially hand- at the Conservation ers to grow their businesses to help them There are two ways to go with con- some. (One tip: use black for any part District at 603-756- become more financially sustainable,” structing them, sewing machine or duct that’s not going to be seen, like the 2988 ext. 116. said Michael Faber, Monadnock Food Co- tape. Sewing is probably better environ- bottom, or for bags where that is the op General Manager. “It also helps the co- mentally. The only new material needed handsomest choice. Black tape is a lot op broaden its offerings of locally grown, Sustainability Example is a little thread. Basically, you cut the top less expensive than colors and comes Monadnock Food Co-op Adds Com- and bottom off the bag, create a square in bigger rolls.) A bag can be made in postable Bag Option in Produce Depart- bottom so the bag will stand up, fold about half an hour, barring any taping ment over and stitch the top edge and make accidents. The Monadnock Food Co-op of Keene, handles out of the pieces you’ve cut off. Feed bag totes, whether sewn or Shop Co-ops NH replaced its plastic produce bags with There are good instructions online. Go to taped, are durable and able to carry a lot a more sustainable option made from Ma- https://www.instructables.com/id/Feed- of weight. They are excellent for grocer- Co-operatives are businesses that are member- ter-Bi, a biodegradable and compostable Bag-Tote-Bag/. ies, library books, gathering vegetables owned collectively managed by paid staff and bioplastic. Instead of offering bags made Sewed totes are great, but not ev- and herbs from the garden—anything a member-elected board of directors. Values from petroleum products, the co-op now you’d use a bag or basket for. They’re also include democracy, self-help and a concern for eryone has a sewing machine. Luckily, families and the community. offers produce bags made from starch, there’s duct tape. You cut as for a sewn lightweight and water- cellulose, and vegetable oils. bag but create your square bottom us- proof. Cont’d on p.38 Customers can compost these bags at the co-op (in the co-op cafe compost bin) or sign up for commercial composting pick-up from Elm City Compost Initiative (https://www.elmcitycompost.com/). Elm City Compost Initiative also plans to add a compost collection service for community members through the Monadnock Food Co-op later in 2019. “We reduce waste by offering reusable bowls, plates and utensils for in-house din- ing and promoting alternatives to disposal bag use through our re-use box initiative and community bag tree,” said Michael Faber, Monadnock Food Co-op General Manager. “Switching our produce bags to a compostable option is another important step for our triple bottom line business.” Open 7 Days 8am-7pm The Monadnock Food Co-op is a Open 7 Days 8am-7pm 9 Washington St 388-7276 middlebury.coop community-owned food store located 9 Washington St 388-7276 middlebury.coop at 34 Cypress Street in Keene, NH. www. monadnockfood.coop.

five years strong

good.local.food. go co-op!

Buffalo Mountain Food Co-op • M-F 8am-7pm • • Sa 9am-6pm • 193 North Main St • Su 10am-6pm • White River Jct, VT

buffalomountaincoop.org (802) 295 5804

39 S. Main St. Hardwick, Vt • 802-472-6020 uppervalleyfood.coop 38 January 2019 WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 IT’S A GREEN LIFE - AFTER ALL DIY Re-usable Bags from Feed Bags Cont’d from p.37 You can use any size. It’s possible to sweet feed bags. For a tote to carry flakes The Climate Crisis’ Effects get two totes out of a single large bird of hay, open a grain bag along the bot- seed bag, especially if you decide that tom and up one side. You’ll end up with a on the Future of Skiing it’s okay to leave the original, sewn bot- broad flat piece of material. Add duct-tape tom on the bag. Cover it with a couple of handles to each long edge, and you’re With the onset of a warming climate, how likely is it that ski resorts strips of duct tape, just for looks. The bag done. For logs, open one long edge and close the open, top end of the bag by sew- and skiing itself might soon become things of the past? won’t stand up when you set it down, EarthTalk®, from the Editors of E - The Environmental Magazine but not every tote has to do that, and it’s ing or with duct tape. Add handles to the worth it sometimes if the decoration is long edges. Now you have a log tote, one in the right place. Cat food bags make from which the firewood won’t spill out nice smaller totes, as do five pound bird the ends. It won’t look like you bought it seed bags. at L.L. Bean, but it will bring in a nice load Once you of wood without getting it all over you or start making the floor. totes, you may Some of us are old enough to remem- change your ber getting grain in sacks made of natural feed-buying fiber. We would empty the grain into a bin habits. Some at home and take the sack back to the mill when we needed more. That was more environmentally sound, but in this age of dozens of brands and mixes of feed, it’s probably not something we’re going back to anytime soon. Hemp has been legal- ized in the new farm bill, and in time, that may start showing up as grain bags, Before and after pictures of but in the meantime, we can a DIY Re-usable bag made get all the value possible from feed bags. Image: out of those pretty bags Zaaberry.blogspot.com we buy. Give your gifts for all occasions wrapped in a feed bags are gor- lovely new shopping tote— geous, others not so you may find the recipient is most thrilled about the This map from a 2017 study shows projected climate change impacts on natural snow accumulations and much. Unfortunately, potential snowmaking conditions across the U.S., with pink colors representing losses of 80%+ of the ski season livestock feeds sweet- wrapper. and bluer colors representing less severe losses. Credit: “Projected climate change impacts on skiing and snow- ened with molasses Jessie Haas has written mobiling” stick to the inside of 40 books, mainly for children, and has lived in an off-grid cabin the bags, so you won’t want to use those Last winter’s low-snow year and unsea- renewables (e.g., Berkshire East, Jiminy in Westminster West, VT since 1984, www. to make a grocery tote. sonably warm temperatures across much Peak, Squaw Valley, Wolf Peak, Arapahoe jessiehaas.com. However, there are good uses even for of the American West meant a bad year Basin, Breckenridge) is growing every for business for ski resorts, and also left year. many of us wondering whether skiing Coordinating and facilitating much Tax free Footwear and clothing Plenty of free parking would even be possible in the warmer of this activity is the National Ski Areas world we’re getting as we continue to Association (NSAA), a trade group rep- pump out greenhouse gases. resenting over 300 U.S-based ski area “Our recent modeling suggests that owners and operators. NSAA’s Sustain- under a high emissions scenario, skiing able Slopes initiative, launched in 2000, could be very limited to non-existent in provides an overarching framework for parts of the country by the end of this ski areas on sustainability and enhanced century, particularly in lower elevations— environmental performance. Its Envi- such as the northeast, Midwest and ronmental Charter serves as a blueprint lower mountains around the West,” said and inspiration for ski resorts looking to Cameron Wobus, lead author on a 2017 green their operations. 100% study projecting climate change impacts Another influential player is Protect on skiing across the U.S. “Things look Our Winters (POW), a non-profit organi- Solar better mid-century, so this dire future for zation founded in 2007 by professional Powered skiing isn’t imminent—and things also snowboarder Jeremy Jones to mobilize look much better under a more aggres- the outdoor sports community against sive greenhouse gas mitigation scenario, climate change. Its “Hot Planet/Cool Gear up for so this future also isn’t inevitable.” Athletes” program, in which a profes- According to Wobus’ research, ski sional skier or snowboarder leads an all- Winter resorts in the Pacific Northwest have the school assembly through a 45-minute most to fear, with predicted losses of 80% multimedia presentation detailing the We can fit your feet or more of the ski season. Ski resorts in science behind climate change, how it’s the Northeast also won’t fare well as the affecting snow levels and what we can and your lifestyle climate warms. The relatively good news each do to become part of the solution, is that the ski resorts in the intermountain has been an especially effective way to Over 20,000 pairs of west should face “less severe losses” due get young people fired up about solv- boot and shoes in to their higher elevations. ing the climate crisis. The program has The ski resorts themselves are doing reached some 60,000 students since its stock and on sale what they can to try to reduce and offset inception in 2011. their own emissions. To wit, Vail Resorts Contacts “Projected climate change will power its 15 U.S.-based ski resorts impacts on skiing and snowmobiling: with 100% wind energy beginning in A case study of the United States,” bit. 2020 and is well on its way to achiev- ly/Projected-Climate-Impacts; Protect ing its ambitious 2030 goal of “zero net Our Winters, protectourwinters.org; emissions, zero waste to landfill and zero NSAA Sustainable Slopes, bit.ly/NASA- operating impact on forests and habitat.” Sustainable-Slopes. Nearby, Aspen Skiing Company is big on solar, donates six figures annually to local EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer non-profits working on climate mitigation and Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit and related issues, and lately has focused EarthTalk. They are the editors of E – The on firing up its customer base to encour- Environmental Magazine. Read more 286 Waits River Road Bradford, Vermont 802-222-9316 age climate-friendly voting in Congress. at earthtalk.org or send questions to Meanwhile, the list of ski resorts now [email protected]. Monday-Saturday 8:30-5:30 Friday night till 8PM closed Sundays deriving all of their power from on-site WWW.GREENENERGYTIMES.ORG 802.439.6675 January 2019 39

Local Ski Areas Get Green Done their operations, such as reducing costs for Climate change Cont’d from p. 1 energy use, according to NSAA. makes snow- Sugarbush installed 15 electric vehicle making imper- farms in an anaerobic digester charging stations, built a solar panel array ative. Photo: system to generate electricity to that supplies power to the local grid, and Killington sell to Green Mountain Power. Kil- upgraded its snowmaking system to reduce Resort. lington purchases 1,125,000kWh its energy use by 24%. The resort participat- annually of this energy to power ed in Green Up Day, a statewide the K-1 Gondola and the Peak initiative to clean up trash, with Lodge. the help of volunteers collecting Killington has installed 47 char- 65 bags of trash and 33 bags of gers for electric cars, and it also recycling. The waste manage- uses 200,000kW annually from ment in the dining halls provides a solar farm grid. Waste water at Local cows from Hagar Dairy Farm participating in the Cow Power separate bins for compost, trash, the area is recycled, so no potable program at Killington Resort. Image: Chandler Burgess. liquid, and recycling. water is being squandered in Like Killington, Sugarbush toilets, saving up to 35,000 gallons of guns, making more snow over a faster helps fund the local bus route, water during the peak season. Transporta- period using less energy than ever before. which runs from December to tion, another significant contributor to Gore Mountain will be “turning sunlight March, and there are transporta- carbon emission, is being addressed at into snow,” where 85% of the mountain tion initiatives for staff including Killington by funding the local bus routes will be powered by solar with two 25-year three employee van pools and supporting a regional ridership of 800,000 contracts that are estimated to offset carpool cafes, which facilitates one-way trips annually, with almost half 113,919 tons of carbon over the course of staff carpooling. Sugarbush has of all trips for those going to the resort. the contracts. put NO IDLING signs in the park- Killington uses Freeaire, a system which ORDA is also part of I AM PRO SNOW, ing lots and forbids staff to idle Shipment of high-efficiency Snow Logic snow guns awaiting instal- draws in winter air to keep walk-in coolers the Climate Reality project, which com- their vehicles. lation at a Vermont ski area. Photos courtesy Efficiency Vermont. cold when the outside temperature drops mits ski areas to 100% renewable energy in Replacing old snow guns with below 40°F. Energy is also being con- the future. I AM PRO SNOW is a worldwide high efficiency models are changes that served in accommodations, where hotel project aiming to help organizations, cities, make a huge difference in cost and energy thermostats are linked to card usage, so communities and individuals to become use for any ski resort, John McMurry of the hotel is not heating the room when sustainable. Efficiency Vermont noted, and Vermont ski no one is there. The ski area also raises Sugarbush Resort in VT has experienced areas have been leaders in the country. honey bees and sells honey and related a 30% reduction in energy use since Efficiency Vermont thoroughly tested products. 2014 and is one of more than 40 ski areas snow making equipment to determine SKI & BIKE CENTER New York state’s ORDA (Olympic Re- nationwide involved in the NSAA Climate ideal conditions for each type of high gional Development Authority includes Challenge, a voluntary program that aims efficiency gun and encourage ski areas to 802.434.2283 or 1.866.254.1524 Whiteface, Gore, and Belleayre), has to help ski resorts reduce greenhouse gas replace snow guns that cost around $10/hr. deployed more energy efficient snow emissions (GHG) and reap other benefits in to operate with guns that cost about 10¢/ • 35 km of Nordic Skiing hr. to operate. and Snowshoeing Whether for monetary gain or environ- mental concern, northeast ski areas are • Mountain Biking & Hiking clearly leading the charge to put sustain- • Winter and Summer able practices to good use and make exem- plary models for other businesses to follow. Round Barn Weddings Lillian Eden is a laboratory research www.skisleepyhollow.com assistant at Tufts Sackler School of Graduate [email protected] Killington Resort Biomedical Sciences in the Neuroscience Department and hopes to attend graduate 427 Ski Lodge Drive school in science journalism. Huntington, Vermont 05462 Sustainable XC Ski Areas Sleepy Hollow Inn Ski & Bike Center in New England in Huntington, VT has now eight separate Roger Lohr solar installations after adding new 4kW Some New England cross country ski and 6kW systems for a total of 60kW, which resorts are quickly becoming very sustain- is enough to provide 100% of electric able. According to industry expert, Roger needs at Sleepy Hollow including the ef- Lohr of XCSkiResorts.com, “There are ficient snowmaking operations for its two about forty Nordic ski areas that employ kilometer trail. The Sleepy Hollow property snowmaking today and for more of the also powers their three family homes. A Nordic areas to invest, there is often the solar hot water system heats 50% of the need for favorable financial and labor hot water at the inn and the lights on the circumstances.” Below are a few examples ski trail have been converted to LED lights. NH’s 1st Solar of Nordic ski areas in New England that Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Crafts- Powered Brewery employ snowmaking and use sustainable bury, VT is net metering with 32kW on practices. solar tracker panels in the field and more The Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center panels on the roof, supplying the Activity in Gorham, NH upgraded an old micro- Center with about 70kW. Between the two, hydro system, supplying 80% of electric that provides 63% of operation’s electricity needs. They’ve also converted more vans and there is also solar thermal to provide that tour up to the top of Mt. Washington summertime domestic hot water, which is to run on propane gas and installed an supplemented with heat pumps. electric vehicle charging station, too. The The Craftsbury Activity Center is heavily new Glen House (lodging facility on the insulated, uses a heat pump, and has com- property) is highly energy-efficient and posting toilets. They also cogenerate heat Family Friendly nearly carbon neutral. A state-of-the-art from the snowmaking generator and make geothermal system provides heating and snow in one location that is moved around Sustainable Restaurant cooling for the hotel. to the trails as needed. 20 Handcrafted Brews on Tap

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