If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about how you can save money on everything from energy to food, support local farms, and more, this is THE event of the season!

Local Energy Alternatives Festival Flyer

For more information and a schedule, see the LEAF website at:
http://www.LEAFVT.org

Local Renewable Energy and Smart Grid Efforts

WASHINGTON, August 26 – Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today announced $5.7 million in federal funding to help Vermont households utilize “smart meter” systems and install solar thermal and solar hot water technologies.

The non-profit Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, which operates Efficiency Vermont, will administer a $700,000 project to complement smart grid technology being deployed across the state due to an earlier $69 million stimulus investment.  This outreach project will install energy use monitors and provide information and access to technical support to help approximately 750 low-income households better understand their energy use and identify savings opportunities.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program has awarded $5 million in federal stimulus funding for solar thermal and solar hot water technologies through local agencies in Barre, Burlington, Derby, Hinesburg, Rutland, St. Johnsbury, and Westminster.

Leahy said, “Vermont is a national leader in using the Weatherization Program’s stimulus funds for cost and energy savings for low-income households.  It’s encouraging that so many local agencies have come together to ensure that these investments are made in our state.  With our older housing stock and longer winters, these investments are likely to save Vermont families far more than the national average of $400 a year in reduced energy costs.”

Sanders said, “There is little doubt in my mind that in the years to come the energy mix in this state will be very different than it is today – with a far greater reliance on energy efficiency and sustainable energy.  This federal support will be a major step forward in moving our state toward a greener economy.”

Welch, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and author of the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act, said, “For years, Vermont has led the way in showing the nation that investing in energy efficiency creates jobs, saves homeowners money and reduces harmful carbon emissions. This additional $5.7 million award recognizes Vermont’s past successes, while paving the way for future savings.”

The press release below will be going out next week.  However, before we go public we would like to get as many of the environmentalists, peak oil, alternative energy, and sustainability people as possible to take the pledge.  Lisa and I are wondering if:

You and the Green Energy staff would be willing to take the pledge?  Signed
You would be willing to send out notice of the pledge to the your email list?  We did this – you can, too!
You would be willing to post the pledge on your web site with a link to the actual pledge or at least a link to the pledge.  Obviously we did this!

People taking this pledge will be good for the environment, good for farmers, and good for small businesses! And it matches very well your commentary in the last edition! That was a really excellent issue BTW.  Thank you – If you haven’t picked up a copy, you can view it above under the red tab along the top of our home page, later today.

Please note that the pledge list says to the extent possible and applicable!

And you also might be interested to know that next week All Earth Renewables installs an AllSun Tracker on my land. I am so excited.  Kudos to you! This is a huge step towards a sustainable lifestyle and dent in your CO2 emissions, as well as a huge step towards energy independence! :’)

Thanks and I look forward to your response.

George
Pledge to live more sustainably at http://www.vspop.org/htm/VSP-Pledge.htm

You not only will have a great time, but the opportunity to learn about how you can improve your life and our planet with renewable energy – have your questions answered.  Hear from those doin’ it….

We will be participating in the “Living with Solar Panel Discussion” at 12:30 – 1:30pm
Tent #1
This presentation is a great opportunity to find out what it’s really like to live with solar – both power and thermal. Panelists will discuss their personal experiences with the planning, installation and logistics of on- and off-grid solar living, as well as give a day-to-day account of what it’s like to do all the things the rest of us take for granted.
Presenters: Steve Letendre, Greg Ullstrom, Dave Bonta, Nancy Rae Mallery, and Annette Smith

Hope to see you there!

This interactive page helps to organize NH energy committee information so that users can learn, edit, and update content for sharing with everyone. This site will only succeed if towns share their information and experiences.

So log on, create an account, learn what other towns are up to, and share your committee’s story. Visit http://www.carboncoalition.org/community/EnergyCommitteesResources.php for more
information.

http://www.epa.gov/oar/grants_funding.html
RFP# EPA-OAR-CPPD-10-11

Request for Proposals (RFP) (PDF)(24pp, 110k)
(http://www.epa.gov/oar/grants/cppd_marketbased_rfp_7-13-10_final.pdf)

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals that advance national, regional, state, and local energy efficiency programming by utilizing market-based approaches to program design and delivery.

Climate Showcase Communities (PDF) (29 pp, 146k) click here

This notice announces the availability of funds and solicits proposals from eligible entities to compete for financial assistance through the Climate Showcase Communities Grant Program. This program will assist local and tribal governments in developing plans, conducting demonstrations, and implementing projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions while achieving additional environmental, economic, public health, and/or community benefits.

The overall goal of the Climate Showcase Communities program is to create replicable models of sustainable community action that generate cost-effective and persistent greenhouse gas reductions while improving the environmental, economic, public health, or social conditions in a community.

At a recent REVermont Energy Conference in Manchester, VT., Paul Gipe‘s keynote address encouraged Vermont to take the lead in the US for renewable energy – that we are in the position to do so, more than any other state, due to our lead with our renewable energy policies. Gipe encourages us to raise or do away with this limiting ‘cap’ on the FiT policy.  Germany has been able to accomplish so much more than we have in this country – Ontario is taking a strong move into renewables, as well.

We hope that this limiting factor changes soon so that we can move forward … to expedite and enable us to meet our energy needs with renewables.  Let your state representatives know how you feel about this!

7 July 2010
For Immediate Release:

UC Berkeley Study Touts Economic Benefits of a Feed-In Tariff

Analysis shows unparalleled job growth, tax benefits, and investment potential of a comprehensive FIT achieving the 33% RPS

Berkeley – University of California, Berkeley announces today the results of a study examining the economic benefits of a comprehensive Feed-In Tariff (FIT).  The analysis shows that enacting a robust FIT in California to achieve the state’s 33% Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) would create 3 times the number of jobs, over 2 billion in additional tax revenue, and stimulate tens of billions in new investment.  Furthermore, the adoption of a comprehensive FIT will cost-effectively fulfill California’s 33%-by-2020 goal on schedule.

Headed by Distinguished Professor of Energy Dan Kammen of UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group, the analysis examined the economic benefits of a FIT deployed in California to facilitate the state’s effort to achieve the 33% RPS by 2020.  A FIT is essentially a fixed price, long-term contract for a utility to buy electricity produced by renewable energy generators.  The Berkeley study specifically examined a FIT that would be available to solar projects up to 20 megawatts (MW) in size.  Professor Kammen and his colleague Max Wei studied the impact of such a FIT on employment, tax revenue, and investment compared to current RPS scenarios being modeled by California regulatory agencies.

The study’s key findings include that three times the number of jobs will be created if a FIT is enacted to complement the RPS.  This translates into roughly 280,000 more jobs over the next decade, or an average of 28,000 jobs per year, with more jobs created in the early years because wholesale distributed generation (WDG) projects can come online quickly.  Another key finding includes over $2 billion in additional tax revenue for the state.  Further, the study found that a comprehensive FIT would stimulate up to $50 billion in new private investment in the state with the potential for those renewable energy projects to be eligible for another $15 billion in federal tax benefits.

Craig Lewis, Executive Director of the FIT Coalition, expressed his enthusiasm for the study, “Dan Kammen and his group at UC Berkeley are the most knowledgeable experts on the renewable energy and economic considerations that were examined in this study.  The conclusions confirm the FIT Coalition’s unvarying position that FITs are the best policy mechanism for accelerating the deployment of cost-effective renewables while delivering tremendous economic benefits wherever FITs are designed to achieve scale. This study will open many policymakers’ minds to the unparalleled benefits of FITs and their ability to unleash the wholesale distributed generation market segment.”

“I’ve worked closely with state and national policymakers providing research on renewable energy and economic policies to help craft legislation.  In examining the effects of a FIT in California, I was pleased at what the policy could do for the state. The economic benefits are clear.  A FIT policy that is sized to the state’s RPS goals would produce significant distributed renewable energy generation growth across California – creating jobs, attracting investment and helping alleviate state budget issues.  These key results should be carefully considered by policymakers across the political spectrum,” said Kammen.

“This report demonstrates the benefits of using a feed-in tariff as one of the tools to achieve job creation and get our economy back on track in addition to achieving energy independence and reducing our need for fossil fuels.  It is a wonderful guide to the kind of policies that will get us to a more prosperous and sustainable energy economy.  I am grateful to Dan Kammen, Max Wei, and their colleagues for continuing to produce the kind of solid analysis we need to make better policy decisions,” stated Senator Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) in review of the report.

“Today, utilities are already having trouble reaching their renewable portfolio standards.  This study shows that a Feed-In Tariff can help California create a greener, more sustainable energy supply system.   Feed-in tariffs can not only help reduce our dependence on dirty energy but, if done properly with sufficient public input, should also lead to well-paying jobs for Californians,” said Assemblymember Ira Ruskin (D-Redwood City) in response to UC Berkeley’s findings.

Commissioner Jeff Byron at the California Energy Commission reviewed the study and had the following to say, “The work of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory verifies the conclusions of the Energy Commission regarding Feed-In Tariffs and why we have supported their adoption in the past.  I hope my colleagues at the CPUC are persuaded to expand their previous FIT decision to 20 MW with unlimited applications.  As the UC Berkeley Study shows, job creation and capital investment opportunities are compelling reasons to expand this renewable policy mechanism and require utilities to implement FITs.”

Araceli Ruano, Senior Vice President and Director of California’s Center for American Progress office, had the following to say on the UC Berkeley report, “The Center for American Progress has conducted extensive research that shows Americans are ready to embrace clean energy and the policies needed to make the transition to a clean energy economy.  The UC Berkeley report demonstrates that feed-in tariffs are a powerful tool that can make that change possible while delivering tremendous economic benefits from day one and providing significant savings to ratepayers within a few years.”

“The Los Angeles Business Council supports the findings of the UC Berkeley report saying that a well-designed FIT will create steady growth in renewable energy deployments, which will spur job creation and increased tax revenue in one of the most important industries to American economic leadership over the coming decades,” commented Mary Leslie, President, Los Angeles Business Council.

Hanafi Fraval, President of Innate Energy California, LLC, a biomass technology company that converts waste to energy, also received an advance copy of the report.  Fraval remarked, “This report is significant because it underscores the need for California to quickly put policies in place that help small renewable energy generators get going.  A FIT will help companies like mine create a boom in jobs and revenue for the state while developing our clean energy industry and bringing our cost of energy down over time.  It is imperative that policymakers act quickly on the findings of this study by implementing a comprehensive FIT to fulfill the 33% RPS.”

For details on the study’s methodology, please see the accompanying summary or view the entire report at http://www.fitcoalition.com/economic-benefits-of-a-fit/.

The FIT Coalition is a leading force in replicating Feed-In Tariffs and other global renewable energy best-practices throughout the United States.  The FIT Coalition’s mission is to identify and advocate for policies that will accelerate the deployment of cost-effective renewable energy in the United States. The FIT Coalition believes the right policies will result in a timely transition to renewable energy while yielding tremendous economic benefits, including new job creation, increased tax revenue, and the establishment of an economic foundation that will drive growth for decades.  The FIT Coalition is active at the national, state, and municipal levels.

For further information on the FIT Coalition, please visit www.FITCoalition.com.

Contact: Mircalla Wozniak   Mircalla@FITCoalition.com
415-448-7734

As we celebrate the independence of our country this 4th of July, I have to think that we have missed the boat.  True independence for our country will occur when we are Energy Independent, as well.  We have a long ways to go!  Too many still don’t understand this IS a real necessity that needs to happen in the very near future – NOT 2050 or 2030.  That is way too late.

Not only are we on the downside of the bell curve of Peak Oil, but we need to reduce our current CO2 which is 387 ppm and rising way too fast. We are already over the safe 350 level, and it must be lowered. Catastrophic results will happen from the melting of the polar and glacial ice. We need to not only reduce our emissions, but also find ways to remove the damages that have already occurred!  We could go on and on about how, but will leave that to our quarterly publication and subsequent postings.

For now, you need to understan that Clean Energy can meet our needs.  It is affordable to ANYone who wants to truly stop talking and start walking. Let’s walk that talk people!  Let’s all work together to move on up to Renewable Energy in al of our lives!

Of course, this will require that your needs must be reduced.  It does not mean you have to give up you comforts.  This can all be accomplished.  We went from using the average 20+ kW/day, planning to reduce that number down to 10.5 to 11 kWh/day and ended up accomplishing way more… now using, on the average: 3.5 kWh/day!

Did I give up comfort?  No!  We have a dishwasher, microwave, even a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom; an Amana refrigerator, Crosley Freezer, Premier Cookstove that does not have a glow-bar in it or an electric clock (phantom load) – in fact, all of my clocks are battery operated.  We use a front loading washing machine and dryer (but choose to hang my clothes 99% of the time.  A soft start Grund-fos well pump which runs on electric, pulls the water from the 170’ deep well, which leads to an oversized pressure tank, and on to a preheat tank for our Solar Hot Water …and on to the Rinnai On-demand Hot Water tank (propane). The on-demand system supplements the SHW in the winter and/or super cloudy days. We use a vacuum cleaner! – imagine that?!  I DO try to do the vacuuming on sunny days and am not afraid of a broom or a dustmop (remember them?).  I even use a toaster which i might think twice about using on cloudy stretches and then will fry my bread if i have the urge for toast.  My microwave is on a wall switch that is turned off after use, reducing the phantom load.

The office includes an iMac that is made with some recycled material and uses low energy.  It is on all day long. The fax and printer are turned off when not in use.  The ceiling energy star fans and open windows (we live in VT & NH!) keep it nice and cool in here, along with the design of the structure.*

All of this and probably many things I am forgetting to mention – (like the stereo and television, that are connected to a wall switch that addresses the phantom load issue that really add up. Energy efficient lighting that anyone and everyone should have changed by now is a given (shame on you, if you haven’t replace yours!)
All of our electricity is produced from SOLAR!  In fact, we do not even come close to using all that it produces or could produce.

Our system was designed, as I stated in the beginning, to meet our needs if we were to use 10.5-11 kWh/day:
• 24 160W panels = 3,840W system or 3.8 kW,
12 250 lead acid deep cycle batteries for storage (28.8 kW storage capacity).
So …part of the charge controller’s job is to avoid overload and thus it stops the system from taking in any more electric when the batteries are at full capacity.  This is usually accomplished by 9:30 every morning – maybe 10:30 on a cloudy day.  We can go up to 5 days before the propane generator will come on! (You must have guessed that we are off-grid**) It came on 3 times last year and 2 times in 2008. We use 65 gal. of propane a year. (Gotta work on lowering that – it’s a fossil fuel)

The point of telling you all of this is to show you that YOU ALL can do this, too! It will take a LOT of work by us all, but just going solar and using renewable energy CAN lead to a truly Independent country – an Energy Independent Country where we will, hopefully, be able to celebrate as such on the 4th of July in our near future!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY (Independence Day, 2010) to you all!

*The structure is passive solar with SIP’s (R-38 walls, R-47 roof); triple pane doors and windows, with 4 foot overhangs to keep it cooler in the summer on the south and a porch on the west; breezeway & garage on the north to get some relief from the elements in the winter; basement walls are Insulated blocks that give us an R-25 against the earths insulating value, as well…

** We would love to be on-grid, if we could afford the $30,000 to bury lines to connect. Maybe Washington Electric would like to donate that to us so that we can send our extra energy back to the grid, to help others and not waste what we could produce, if only given the chance.

Green Energy Times recommends that EVERYONE see this film! As was ‘Inconvenient Truth’, this film is indeed an eye-opener.  Ruppert is one of many very informed people with this same understanding.  It would be a wise decision to watch this movie and pass it on to your family and neighbors.

Movie Synopsis:

Americans generally like to hear good news. They like to believe that a new President will right old wrongs, that clean energy will replace dirty oil, and that fresh thinking will set the economy straight. American pundits tend to restrain their pessimism and to hope for the best. But is anyone prepared for the worst?

Michael Ruppert is a different kind of American. A former Los Angeles police officer turned independent reporter, he predicted the current financial crisis in his self-published newsletter “From the Wilderness” at a time when most Wall Street and Washington analysts were still in denial.  Smith has always had a feeling for outsiders in films like “American Movie” and “American Job.” In “Collapse,” Smith stylistically departs from his past films by interviewing Ruppert in a format that recalls the work of Errol Morris and Spalding Gray.

Sitting in a room that looks like a bunker, Ruppert recounts his career as a radical thinker and spells out the crises he sees ahead. He draws upon the same news reports and data available to any Internet user, but he applies a unique interpretation. He is especially passionate over the issue of “peak oil,” the concern raised by scientists since the 1970s that the world will eventually run out of fossil fuel. While other experts debate this issue in measured tones, Ruppert doesn’t hold back at sounding an alarm. He portrays a future that resembles apocalyptic science fiction. Listening to his rapid flow of opinions, the viewer is likely to question some of the rhetoric as paranoid or deluded; and to sway back and forth on what to make of the extremism. Smith lets viewers form their own judgments.

The film also serves as a portrait of a loner. Over the years, Ruppert has stood up for what he believes in spite of fierce opposition. He candidly describes the sacrifices and motivators in his life. Clearly, he believes that a dose of bad news can do some good.

Thom Powers – Toronto International Film Festival
COLLAPSE

Crew Bios:

Chris Smith – Director
Chris Smith is an accomplished filmmaker whose previous films include American Job (1996, Sundance Film Festival), American Movie (1999, Grand Jury Prize Sundance Film Festival, Sony Pictures Classics), Home Movie (2001, Sundance Film Festival), The Yes Men (2004, United Artists) and most recently The Pool (2008). The Pool won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and was selected as one of the Top 25 Films of 2008 by the Museum of Modern Art.

Kate Noble – Producer
Kate Noble has worked in production for the last ten years. She joined Bluemark Films in the spring of 2004 and has since worked on projects including The Yes Men, Suffering and Smiling, and The Grand Human Experiment. Before Collapse she produced the narrative feature The Pool, also with director Chris Smith.

Barry Poltermann – Editor
Barry Poltermann first collaborated with Chris Smith as editor on American Movie. He recently directed and edited the documentary feature The Life of Reilly. Barry also served as an executive producer on the documentary, Rock the Bells, which chronicles the struggle to put together the final performance of the Wu Tang Clan. Most recently he and Chris collaborated on the narrative feature, The Pool, which was edited in large part on location in India.

Didier Leplae / Joe Wong – Composers
This is the third collaboration between composers Didier Leplae and Joe Wong. Didier and Joe are also founders in their music company Noisola.
See www.noisola .com for more information.

Director: Chris Smith
Runtime: 82 Minutes
Color. High Definition
Contact: 414-291-0345
office@bluemarkfilms.com