March 7, 2010
/ Rutland Herald
Is Rutland Up for the Challenge?
By Mary Lamson
When the white and orange Central Vermont Public Service bill appears in
the mailbox there may be something other than a bill inside. CVPS is
one of several businesses that recently signed a pledge supporting a
local movement to reduce energy use in Rutland County.
"We're
always looking to help customers save money," said Steve Costello,
director of public affairs at CVPS.
The pledge signifies
partnership with the Rutland County Energy Challenge. CVPS customers
will receive information with their bills in the coming months about how
they can save money by saving electricity.
The purpose of the
Rutland County Energy Challenge is to lead Vermont and the nation
through a countywide effort to reduce the monetary and environmental
costs of energy use through efficiency and conservation, and increase
the use of renewable forms of energy. The challenge is not limited to
electricity but includes all forms of energy used in Rutland County. It
stretches across individuals, businesses, organizations, towns and
industries and consists of several stepping-stone challenges over
several years. It's an informal, largely volunteer, collaboration of
nonprofits, businesses, individuals and the planning commission's
network of local energy committees.
The 2010 stepping-stone
challenge is to increase participation in conservation measures and
energy savings by 10 percent over what was achieved in 2009 in Rutland
County. There are many ways that individuals, organizations, businesses
and municipalities can participate.
To start, a community based,
neighbor-to-neighbor project called Vermont Community Energy
Mobilization (VCEM) is being implemented statewide by Efficiency
Vermont. In Rutland County, it's being done in partnership with the
Rutland Regional Planning Commission (RRPC). Under this project, trained
community volunteers conduct a free "home energy visit" to install
energy-saving products in neighbors' homes and identify additional
energy saving opportunities.
The home energy visits — not to be
confused with a professional energy audit — are designed to help people
identify areas in their home that can benefit from efficiency upgrades
and weatherization work. The VCEM goal is to reach 300 Rutland County
homes by April 30.
There are almost 100 VCEM volunteers in 14
towns across Rutland County ready to help their neighbors save money and
energy. Anyone interested in having a free home energy visit should
contact the RRPC at 775-0781, ext. 208, to be put in touch with their
town energy coordinator. [This program ran from January through May 2010; volunteers are no longer available for home visits, but the Efficiency Vermont incentives remain.]
There are many other ways to participate
in the challenge. To get involved, contact your town energy
coordinator. Encourage your towns to contact the RRPC about money that
will be available this fall for municipal building audits. Suggest that
businesses, organizations and towns sign a pledge of commitment to the
challenge. Many local businesses, organizations and towns have already
signed on to the challenge.
Start with your own house: Efficiency
Vermont offers incentives and programs all year long for people
interested in reducing home energy use, including Button-Up Workshops.
Programs are also available through NeighborWorks of Western Vermont and
BROC to help low and moderate-income households receive energy audits
and home energy retrofits.
Across the state 11 regional planning
commissions are ramping up to provide a variety of energy-related
programs over the next three years. Many will work directly with town
energy coordinators and committees.
The Central Vermont Regional
Planning Commission plans to hire a coordinator for the region to help
towns establish energy committees and design and implement programs. The
CVRPC was also awarded a Department of Energy grant to assist with
municipal energy audits and energy retrofits of town building in their
region, according to Laurie Emery of CVRPC.
Energy committees
represent the heart of the challenge, because it's their community-based
efforts that will produce results. By accumulating all the individual
goals, the challenge organizers hope to reach their participation
target. Future challenges will be identified and be expanded to include
commercial energy use, transportation, and renewable energy
technologies.
The Rutland County challenge began last summer when
NeighborWorks of Western Vermont's Executive Director Ludy Biddle
noticed there was a lot of energy-related activity in Rutland County ¯
but the activity was fairly isolated.
"There were many great
ideas and activities, but no one group could get as much done as all the
groups working together," Biddle said.
Biddle called on
individuals from the RRPC, Green Mountain College and the Town of West
Rutland to work towards achieving a more cohesive energy picture in
Rutland County, and, at the very least, increase awareness.
Last
September the group hosted the Rutland Region Energy Summit, which
brought together nearly 60 people representing a broad range of
energy-related activities, from home energy auditors and state
representatives to energy suppliers and activist groups. Out of that
summit, a committee formed and the challenge began to take shape.
"The
Challenge is good for Rutland County residents, its economy, its
future, and its pride," said Challenge committee member Ken Welch.
Some
households, for instance, could save up to 60 percent of their current
energy costs after completing a home energy retrofit. The local economy
can benefit in many ways. Jobs can be created by promoting businesses
and contractors who sell energy efficiency and renewable energy services
and products. All of this lays the foundation for a healthy and growing
regional economy.
"Rutland County has the highest unemployment
rate in Vermont and is considered among the poorest counties," Welch
said. "What if Rutland County had something to brag about, like being a
leader in community-based energy solutions? If Rutland County reduced
its unemployment, improved its economy and laid a secure foundation for
its future — all while becoming a state leader and a role model for the
nation — well, that's something residents could be proud of."
Reprinted with the permission of the Rutland Herald
. Mary
Lamson is the communications director at NeighborWorks of Western
Vermont in West Rutland and can be contacted at 438-230, ext. 223 or MLamson@nwwvt.org.