Vermont Town Energy Committees: A Powerful Climate Action
By Johanna Miller, VNRC - Published in the August 2, 2009 'Times Argus/Rutland Herald'

Vermont’s network of town energy committees is growing, reflecting a powerful grassroots response to the pressing need to cut energy costs, foster more renewable energy generation and lessen the state’s contribution to global warming. Last year there were over 50 of these primarily volunteer citizen groups across the state. Now there are almost 80.

Working with local officials, business leaders, and neighbors, these groups are achieving results. They are also raising awareness about the need for greater action, moving ideas for local renewable energy generation forward and gaining credibility from the grassroots to the Legislature in conversations about how Vermont will meet its future energy needs.

As diverse and creative as the people who comprise them, Vermont’s energy committees are coming up with plans — and seeing them to fruition — for projects that meet the needs of local residents, businesses and institutions interested in saving on energy costs. In Middlesex, for example, the local energy committee targeted one of the rural community’s biggest energy users — the local school.

In conjunction with Rumney Elementary School, the Middlesex Energy Committee organized a significant weatherization project of the 22,000 square-foot building. Jumpstarted by a $12,000 grant from the Agency of Natural Resources, the weatherization project is anticipated to save the school between 2,000 to 2,500 gallons of fuel oil a year.

The intensive two-day project was made possible by a pioneering group of energy committee members, forward-looking local school officials, a patient cadre of energy professionals and a dedicated group of volunteers. Organizers coined the effort a ‘21st Century Barn Raising.’

“What I love about the analogy is that it was all about getting everyone out there, pulling together. Two days later we’ve accomplished something remarkable,” said energy committee member Paul Zabriskie, whose day job with EnergySmart of Vermont — an enterprise of the Central Vermont Community Action Council — positioned him as the crew leader of the project.

Like building a barn by the hands of friends and neighbors, the Middlesex ‘barn raising’ weatherization project was no small feat. Zabriskie described the two, dusk-until-dawn workdays in late June.

“You’re in the attic, on your chest, in tight quarters, with nails poking your head. It’s   claustrophobic, its hot, its hard work,” he said. “As a business person, if you ask someone to go up in that attic and do that work all day long, they’ll quit. But if you ask someone to go up for ½ hour at a time for a few hours over the course of a couple of days, they’ll do it. So having lots of volunteers able to tackle this project lends itself to doing a better job. And the town reaps huge savings.

“The retail cost of weatherizing just one small attic would have been about $7,000,” Zabriskie explained. “With seven attics at Rumney, a traditional weatherization project would have been a huge cost.”

At the end of the day, which culminated in a community potluck, Zabriskie described a “good feeling of a job well done and a good community building exercise.” Equally important, the town got a major capital improvement for about 25 cents on the dollar. “The town also gets a school with improved air quality, warmer classrooms and lower heating costs,” Zabriskie noted.

The Manchester and Dorset energy committees are banding together to more effectively harness limited resources — including people power — to further their energy goals. Recently, the energy committees, using a Stratton Foundation grant, partnered with the local Interfaith Council to sponsor two low-income homeowners with a comprehensive energy efficiency upgrade.

“It’s a great project,” said Jim Hand, a Manchester business owner and member of the Dorset Energy Committee. “It will benefit people who might not be able to afford to make these changes and the result will be tremendous energy, cost and carbon savings.” As town energy committees evolve, many are looking for solutions that will have even greater effect.

One opportunity several groups are considering came out of the renewable energy bill passed this year by the Legislature. Vermont municipalities are now enabled to help local property owners finance approved efficiency and renewable energy projects by creating ‘clean energy assessment districts’ or CEADs.   

In rural Moretown, the energy group has started a conversation about CEADs with neighboring town energy committees regarding their interest in this innovative financing program.

“We’re looking at options for what a town can do to actually help residents significantly reduce their energy use and make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” said Moretown Energy Group member Karen Horn. “There’s a lot of homework to do, but we’ve done the basic start up energy committee activities. This opportunity could enable residences and businesses to undertake bigger projects, like weatherizing their home or putting solar panels on their roof. Projects they might not otherwise afford on their own.”

The interests and influence of town energy committees is even reaching the highest levels of state government — creating a symbiotic relationship for Vermonters who want a more efficient, clean, green, renewable energy future for Vermont. 

“Absolutely everything the Legislature is able to do is a result of coming from people, from the ground up,” said Tony Klein, chair of the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, who also represents two districts with very active energy committees — East Montpelier and Middlesex. “Town energy committees end up being the conscience of energy issues for local towns.”

Reflecting on the successful passage of the nation’s first statewide ‘feed in tariff,’ a mechanism for spurring the creation of more local renewable energy generation, Klein noted,” I think the Legislature was a little bolder this year. And it’s the boots on the ground that helps the Legislature be more bold.”

Johanna Miller is the Outreach Director and Energy Program Co-Director at the Vermont Natural Resources Council. VNRC is a research, education and advocacy organization and one of the founding members of the Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network. Visit www.vnrc.org for more information about VNRC and to get involved in state-level actions to save energy and transition towards a renewable energy future.

* Photo of Middlesex's '21st Century Barn Raising' is courtesy of EnergySmart of Vermont.