Governor Peter Shumlin today announced two new clean energy investments in Windham County totaling $1.9 million. The funds are made available through a 2013 agreement with Entergy Vermont Yankee and will help increase efficiency, save Windham County schools, municipalities, and homeowners on heating bills, and spur economic activity and job growth.
Through the Public Service Department’s Clean Energy Development Fund, $1.6 million has been awarded to the Brattleboro-based Sustainable Energy Outreach Network (SEON). SEON will be working with Building Green, the Windham Regional Commission, the Northern Forest Center, and other businesses and organizations to offer “Windham Wood Heat,” a program to provide for the installation of wood pellet/chip heating systems for schools and municipal buildings in Windham County.
Governor Shumlin at the Academy School in Brattleboro Wednesday. Courtesy photo.
SEON was selected through a competitive bid process to lead the project, and among the goals set out by the Clean Energy Development Fund are maximizing the number of wood heating systems installed, and leveraging the program’s activity with complementary energy efficiency measures to increase energy savings.
“Today we are advancing the effort to move to clean, local and affordable energy in Vermont by investing in renewable biomass heating for Windham County schools and public buildings,” said Shumlin. “Not only are these investments good for the environment, but they will save money for taxpayers on heating costs at our schools and municipal buildings.”
“Windham County has the potential to become an extraordinary regional hub of advanced wood heating technology, professional development, and fuel supply and delivery,” said SEON Executive Director Guy Paine. “Our project team will be assisting with energy efficiency and fuel switching, developing greater mechanical capacity in high-efficiency wood-based heating, and contributing to the overall transformation of this region’s economy.”
Also through the Clean Energy Development Fund, $300,000 will be made available in Windham County to support solar loans for residential projects. Working with VSECU’s Brattleboro Branch, the funds will help reduce interest rates for borrowers seeking to finance solar projects for their homes. The program is income-sensitive, and will provide greater support for borrowers with incomes under 120 percent of Windham median income.
“We are making smart use of clean energy funds by buying down interest rates for Windham County residents who want to put solar panels on their roof or in their yard, making solar even more affordable and accessible,” Shumlin added.
“VSECU is pleased to accept the award of the Windham County Solar Finance Program grant, which we will use to enhance our existing VGreen loan program and bring even greater savings on solar PV or solar hot water installations to residents of Windham County,” said Lori Fielder, VSECU VGreen Program Director. “Loans will feature an interest rate buy-down which will be variable based on household income, to all eligible applicants. VSECU welcomes this opportunity to work with the CEDF, Department of Public Service, local solar installers and community solar providers to offer easy, affordable solar financing to Vermonters in Windham County. Anyone who lives or works in Vermont can become a member of VSECU, and the Brattleboro branch services our Windham County members.”
“Windham County is 90 percent forested,” Payne said. “We have the potential to become an extraordinary regional hub of modern wood heating technology, professional development, and fuel supply and delivery.Our project team will be assisting with energy efficiency and fuel switching, developing greater mechanical capacity in high-efficiency wood-based heating, and contributing to the overall transformation of this region’s economy.”
“I want to thank the Vermont Clean Energy Development Fund for investing in the Windham Wood Heat Initiative,” said Payne. “We are so excited about the positive changes this initiative will bring to Windham County.”
The program will help at least 20 municipal and school buildings convert to heating with advanced wood heating systems that use local, sustainable wood while addressing those buildings’ energy efficiency and durability needs. The program also includes public education, training for local building professionals, and fuel supply procurement.
"TheCEDF is excited about the team that has come together to form the Windham Wood Heat Initiative,” said CEDF Director Andrew Perchlik. “We think the program has great potential for advancing CEDF'srenewable energy goals as well as Windham County's economic development goals."
The economic impact of choosing local wood fuel over fossil fuels is easily understood by a comparison with heating oil. In New England, 78 cents of every dollar spent on oil leaves the local economy, while 100 percent of every dollar spent on local wood fuel stays in the local economy.
The Windham Wood Heat initiative is a collaborative effort that brings together local business, non-profit and public entities, and leverages regional and national expertise to develop the systems and programs necessary to make advanced wood heat a widespread option in Windham County.
The state awarded the grant to SEON, which serves as the lead agency for the project. BuildingGreen, Inc will assist with financial management and the Northern Forest Center will manage the project.
The Windham Regional Commission will assist with public outreach and project coaching, while STIX L3C, BuildingGreen, Forward Thinking Consulting, and Innovative Natural Resource Solutions will provide technical assistance.
Public school and municipal buildings in Windham County are eligible for assistance. Windham Wood Heat expects to offer a variety of incentives and services, such as assessments of whether buildings are appropriate for advanced wood heat, as well as energy- and building-envelope analyses.
Buildings selected for participation in the program will get one-on-one coaching through project development, bid review, budget, and public approval stages, plus incentives ranging from $10,000 to $75,000 toward installation of a high-efficiency pellet or wood chip heating system based on project cost and size. Loans, credit enhancements, performance contracting, and other financing mechanisms may also be available.
“Windham Wood Heat is a crucial piece of the puzzle for the Northern Forest Center as we try to catalyze a new energy economy for the four-state region,” said energy program director Maura Adams. “We’ve helped convert more than 100 homes and non-residential buildings to high-efficiency wood pellet boilers to boost the regional economy and create forest-based jobs.”
CEDF defines advanced wood heating systems as those that use highly efficient technology, produce low emissions, support healthy forest ecosystems, and consume local wood.
Windham Wood Heat will also include public information sessions, building tours, and technical training to help develop awareness of advanced wood heat and skills and experience within the county to support the new systems.
“We see the Windham Wood Heat project as an enormous opportunity for the Green Building/Green Energy sector to further develop the capacity to provide more high-quality jobs while delivering an essential service to our community,” said Adam Grinold, executive director of the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation.
Towns and schools interested in assistance or more information from Windham Wood Heat about converting a building to wood fuel should contact Kim Smith at[email protected]or(802) 257-4547 x108.
To learn more about advanced wood heat, seewww.revermont.org/main/technology/bioenergy/modernwoodheating/.
Sources: Governor's office. SEON. 4.15.2015