October 2024
Regional Planning &
Economic Development
in the Northeast Kingdom
ENERGY UPDATE October 2024
As always, if you have news or events to share email [email protected] -- or a colleague who'd like to subscribe -- please sign up here. We publish monthly.
FREE Online Class "Intro to Solar"
Only Two Spots Left for NEK residents!
Thanks to a VCRD Climate Catalyst grant NVDA can cover the cost for up to 20 NEK residents in this online training: "Intro to Solar Installation & Design." Please fill out the form to express your interest in signing up and NVDA will contact you regarding next steps and to cover payment. Questions? Please email Allie Webster, [email protected].
Intro to Solar Installation & Design - Online Course (Entry Level ~ 46 hrs)
This course is designed for beginners, so experience with electric or electronics is not necessary. It's fully online, and can be done at students' own pace/when they have time. The class focuses on the skills and knowledge required to design and install small-scale solar electrical systems. Learn more: https://solarpvtraining.com/courses/residential-solar-installation-design/
Solar with Justice Resources for Towns & States
For the past three years, the Solar with Justice Project, managed by the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), has helped state energy agencies (SEAs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) work collaboratively to advance the equitable development of solar to benefit underserved communities. The project has produced numerous reports, case studies, and video interviews, all of which are available on a dedicated webpage on the CESA website. Check out their website and paper summarizing the project’s main recommendations for SEAs and CBOs interested in expanding solar in low- and moderate-income and disadvantaged communities.
Once you've weatherized your home, heat pumps are an excellent way to keep it warm in the winter (and cool in the summer). Efficiency Vermont experts will review the different types of heat pumps, incentives available, and what homeowners should consider when upgrading to a heat pump. The webinar will take place two times on Oct 16 at 6pm and Oct 30 at 12pm. You can check out all Button Up Events on the events calendar.
Starting Oct 1, Efficiency Vermont is launching the Weatherization Home Repair Program to help Vermonters complete weatherization projects where home repairs are a barrier. This program offers up to $15,000 in rebates for necessary home repairs. Learn more at the Home Repair Program Informational Session on Tuesday Oct 22 from 9am-10am.
Register for the webinar here!
Get a New Heat Pump Water Heater for FREE!
An old hot water heater can be a drain on your monthly energy bill. Now income-eligible households can switch to a new heat pump water heater and get up to 100 percent of costs covered (up to $5,000). Don’t miss this opportunity to lock in big savings for your home.
Vermont Climate Action Plan (CAP) Input Session on Buildings & Thermal
Oct 24, 12:30 pm (online)
This virtual meeting will be hosted by the Vermont Climate Council’s Cross-Sector Mitigation subcommittee on October 24 at 12:30 pm. (There are three other Climate Action Plan Input Sessions for Transportation and Rural Resilience, which you can find at www.climatechange.vermont.gov/calendar if those are of interest. Four other input sessions will soon be scheduled to cover municipal topics, agriculture, and forests/ecosystems.)
VCRD Climate Catalyst Innovation Fund
Oct 28 Deadline
The Climate Catalyst Innovation Fund is now open for the fourth round of funding! VCRD is accepting applications until Oct 28 at 5 pm. Grant awards will be made ranging from $500 to a maximum of $4,000. Funds can be awarded to a municipality, school, non-profit organization, town committee or business.
The Vermont Council on Rural Development, in collaboration with the Vermont Low Income Trust for Electricity (VLITE), Vermont Community Foundation (VCF), and others, invites applications for small grants to support local innovators developing solutions that move Vermont closer to its climate and energy goals.
The objective of the fund is to:
- Support innovative local climate and energy projects where a small grant could have a meaningful impact.
- Simple application process through a google form.
- Upfront funding provided to projects (to be distributed by December 2024).
- Simple report when project is completed (or at 12 months).
2024 VT State & Local Government Municipal Day
Nov 1 - Montpelier, VT
The Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), in cooperation with Vermont Emergency Management (VEM), Natural Resources Board (NRB), Agency of Transportation (VTrans), and the Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets (AAFM), invites you to participate in a day-long event that will include informational workshops, a opening session with Department of Fish and Wildlife Biologist Grace Glynn, and networking opportunities with colleagues from across Vermont. This year, the event will have a strong focus on biodiversity to help our cities and towns understand its role on a landscape faced with more frequent and intense climate-related events such as floods, wildfires, and presence of diseases and invasive species.
$400 Million in Funding to Lower Energy Costs & Enhance Energy Resiliency
New funding for rural and remote communities!
The Department of Energy's OCED plans to fund anywhere from 20-50 projects with a 5–50% minimum non-federal cost share per project. Eligible applicants include tribes and tribal organizations, state and local governmental entities, non-profit and for-profit entities, rural electric cooperatives, farming associations and cooperatives, labor unions, institutions of higher education, and both incorporated and unincorporated consortia.
The funding announced today is part of the Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) Program, which aims to fund community-driven projects that demonstrate clean energy systems, deliver measurable and sustained benefits to people who live in areas with fewer than 10,000 people, and build clean energy knowledge, capacity, and self-reliance throughout rural America. The funding opportunity provides support for rural and remote communities to build clean energy projects that provide benefits to their communities—ranging from cleaner, more resilient, more reliable, and more affordable local energy sources for rural and remote communities, to local energy independence, tax revenue, economic development, local jobs, and a reduced environmental and health burden.
EAN Post-Election Gathering
Dec 3 - Capitol Plaza, Montpelier
EAN will also be hosting a Post-Election Gathering on Dec 3 in Montpelier. This will be a chance to hear from State Leaders about their priorities and engage in conversation about new and emerging opportunities and challenges at the federal and state levels. Register before the early bird deadline on Nov 11!
VT Municipal Vulnerability Indicator (MVI) Tool
A new online tool that helps towns across Vermont understand their vulnerabilities to climate change is now available.
Explore the MVI tool. Send questions to NVDA.
Northeastern Vermont Development Association | PO Box 630 36 Eastern Ave. Suite 1 | St. Johnsbury, VT 05819