Resources
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This page contains various resources that can provide insight and assistance for your committee.
Contents |
[edit] Reports and Guides
New Guides:
- HB189 Fact Sheet prepared by the LEC Working Group to provide guidance on enabling legislation to form Energy Commissions
- Forming a Energy Commission- a process map of the approach utilized by Plymouth Energy Committee
- Guide to Outdoor Lighting - November 2009
- Guide for Historic District Commissions - Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy and Historic Preservation - November 2009
[edit] Fact Sheets and Information
The following are reports, documents and informational brochures you can download and use in your community. For example: Information on CFL and Mercury, Appliance Energy Consumption, etc.
Energy Audits: Energy Circle's comprehensive guide to energy auditor certification programs, with a state by state list of resources for homeowners looking for an audit.
Propane or Charcoal?: Gertner wrote in the green edition of New York Times magazine: Barbecuing, as any guy grilling a flank steak will tell you, is as much about process as product. Propane gas versus charcoal is typicaly a debate about flavor, not carbon-dioxide emissions. But let's ask anyway. Which is greener? Probably charcoal, according to Tris West, an environmental scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratories, who last year calculated emissions from the two methods.
He says that since charcoal is derived from wood - and thus trees that took in atmospheric carbon as they grew - burning it on the grill is pretty close to a “net zero” in terms of carbon emissions. Propane, by comparison, is a fossil fuel that adds to greenhouse-gas accumulations. West cautions, though, that it gets a little more complicated than that. Even if burning charcoal is technically greener, it may release particulates into the atmosphere. (Food scientists also warn that it can be less healthful.) It's good to know that your choice won't effect any significant change in mass carbon emissions. By West's estimation, the total amount of carbon dioxide released from barbecue grills on July 4 is on the order of .003 percent of the annual U.S. total.
[edit] Programs and Projects
Beacon Communities The NH Beacon Communities Project will empower three very different communities to achieve transformative reductions in fossil fuel use and greenhouse gases through deep energy retrofits and complementary sustainable energy solutions in residential, commercial, municipal and industrial sectors.
New Hampshire Climate Collaborative
The New Hampshire Energy and Climate Collaborative (NHECC) was established in 2008 to track and facilitate the implementation of the recommendations of the 2008 NH Climate Action Plan. The Collaborative brings together leaders from all sectors of society – government, business, not-for-profits, and academia – to focus our collective attention on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Clean Air Cool Planet Community Toolkit
Property Tax Exemption for Renewable Energy Systems: Information from the OEP web site:
Renewable energy property tax exemption. NH RSAs 72:61-72 permit cities and towns to offer exemptions from local property taxes for certain renewable energy installations. These include solar thermal (for example, to heat water), solar photovoltaic (to generate electricity), wind (to generate electricity) and central wood-fired heating systems (not stoves or fireplaces). 67 cities and towns have adopted one or more renewable energy property tax exemptions as of 2007. Please consult local officials for current renewable energy tax exemption status. If your city or town does not currently offer such exemptions, see procedures for adopting local property tax exemptions. Note: Local officials may be unaware of exemptions, as the exemptions may have been adopted as long as 30 years ago. If you live in a city or town that offers exemptions and you have an installation that qualifies, you may apply for an exemption by completing the NH Department of Revenue Administration Form PA-29. OEP recommends that homeowners and municipal officials consult the NH Department of Revenue Administration with any questions regarding the renewable property tax exemption laws and their application.
[edit] Financial Tools and Funding for Energy Projects
Breaking News!!! EECBG Funding Available...TIME SENSITIVE!!! $6.6 Million in New Hampshire Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program
The New Hampshire Office of Energy and Planning (OEP) announces the availability of $6.6 million through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program. This grant program will fund projects that reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions, and improve energy efficiency.
http://www.nh.gov/oep/recovery/eecbg.htm
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Information Related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also known as the "Recovery Act," includes $16.8 billion for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE) programs and initiatives. This site describes how the funding in the Recovery Act is being used by EERE. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/recovery/
November 9th Financing and Policy forum held in Berlin: To view video visit: http://northernforest.org/2009-ref-video.shtml The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Northern Forest Center and White Mountains Community College sponsored an informational forum on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Financing in November, 2009. Panelists included:
Jack Ruderman, Director of Sustainable Energy, Public Utilities Commission Dick Ober, Chair, NH Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EESE) Board Joanne Morin, Director, NH Office of Energy and Planning Chris Recchia, Executive Director, Biomass Energy Resource Center Charles Willing, Rath, Attorney, Young and Pignatelli, P.C.
[edit] Workshops
Button Up New Hampshire - Home Weatherization Workshops Button Up NH presenters will conduct nine free home weatherization workshops in regional hubs across the state this winter, including New London, Lebanon, Grafton, Plymouth, Sanbornton, Concord, Rye, Atkinson and Dover.
The first Button Up NH workshop took place in New London, NH at the Tracy Memorial Library Thursday December 10, 2009 at 7 p.m. Robert J. Walker of the Sustainable Energy Resource Group (SERG) presented the workshop. This event was sponsored by the New London Energy Committee.
Button Up NH presenters will conduct another eight free home weatherization workshops in regional hubs across the state this winter, including Lebanon, Grafton, Plymouth, Sanbornton-Tilton, Concord, Rye, Atkinson and Dover. View the full Button Up NH Winter 2009/2010 Schedule.
For additional information contact Garry Dow, New England Carbon Challenge Community Outreach Coordinator at gdow(at)cleanair-coolplanet.org or 422-6464, ext. 115.
[edit] Webinar Trainings
Clean Air-Cool Planet Webinar Trainings on Energy and Climate Change Topics
Join us for two exciting webinars this month—one with internationally renowned renewable energy pioneer Steven Strong, of Solar Design Associates to talk about the selection and practical financing of renewable technologies, and another with a panel of up-and-coming young professionals whose careers exemplify the promise of new green jobs and green industries.
- Alternative Financing for Alternative Energy: Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)
January 19th, 3:30 Eastern
- Low-Carbon Careers: A Discussion with Young Professionals in the Field
January 26th, 5 pm Eastern
- Green Entrepreneurship
Wednesday Feburary 24, 2010, 2:00 PM Eastern
Sign up at: http://cleanair-coolplanet.org./Webinar_Registration/registration.php
(a small fee is associated with these webinars)
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- Green Entrepreneurship
Wednesday Feburary 24, 2010, 2:00 PM Eastern
The focus on an emerging green economy grows every day, but the gulf between vision and reality still looms large. How will we get there quickly enough to address the worst impacts of warming while truly creating new industries, jobs -- and the educated professionals prepared to drive them forward? Find out what is being done to push the envelope in terms of real technology innovation, hear examples of how universities and businesses are positioning themselves strategically at the intersection of "research" and "development" and empowering students to do the same.
Our speakers include Rafe Pomerance, Dr. Lois Peters, and John Frodyma. Rafe Pomerance is a Senior Fellow at Clean Air-Cool Planet; Mr. Pomerance oversaw CA-CP's development of "An Energy Future Transformed: The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) - R&D Pathways to a Low-Carbon Future". For more than a decade, Dr. Peters has focused on partnering and cooperation among and between multinational firms, entrepreneurial small firms and universities. Dr. Peters is an Associate Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lally School of Management in Technology, where she is also the Director of the Ph.D. Program. In 2009, John Frodyma left a 15-year career in Commercial Banking to join American EcoThermal Inc., a Portsmouth NH based renewable energy company focused on providing affordable geothermal heating and cooling systems to commercial and residential customers as Director of Commercial Development.
Rafe Pomerance, Senior Fellow, Clean Air-Cool Planet
"ARPA-E and other policy mechanisms to support Low-Carbon Research and Development"
Dr. Lois Peters, Associate Professor, Lally School of Management and Technology, Director, Ph.D. program Lally School of Management and Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
"Preparing a New Generation of Entrepreneurs and Innovators: Technology Commercialization & Entrepreneurship (TC&E) graduate program"
John Frodyma, Director of Commercial Development, American EcoThermal, Inc.
"Developing innovative financing and management to support renewable energy technologies" 12:24, 5 February 2010 (CST)12:24, 5 February 2010 (CST)12:24, 5 February 2010 (CST)12:24, 5 February 2010 (CST)12:24, 5 February 2010 (CST)12:24, 5 February 2010 (CST) Students and volunteers, just $10. Schools and nonprofits, $25. Businesses and consultants: $50. Register here: http://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/Webinar_Registration
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. IMPORTANT: You must open this email and click the link in order to complete your registration.
- NH Carbon Challenge;
- Carbon Coalition;
- Clean Air - Cool Planet;
- UNH Cooperative Extension's Energy Answers;
- NH Sustainable Energy Association;
- ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability;
- Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative - PAREI;
- The Jordan Institute;
- The Piscataqua Sustainability Initiative
- Carbon Solutions New England
Governmental:
