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February Hub News

In a recent weatherization and energy savings workshop for homeowners, Bob Edredge of ABC Energy Savings informed attendees that dense roof edge icicles and snowy roofs that show the skeleton of underlying joists are signs of excessive and preventable building heat loss. In summer, this also means excessive heat gain. He spoke to a good-sized and attentive audience at the Keene Recreation Center on January 31st, in a free event co-sponsored by the Keene Clean Energy Team, Monadnock Sustainability Hub and the City of Keene. Bob recommended looking for credentials such as “Building Professional Institute (BPI) Certified Professional” or being enrolled as an NHSaves contractor when choosing who to hire for building evaluation and weatherizing projects.

On January 31st, the Hub and partner Southwest Region Planning Commission gave a presentation on Community Power to the Bennington Select Board and Energy Committee. Following the presentation, Bennington promptly established a Community Power Committee to research the path for their town!

These presentations by the Hub and SWRPC have proved very valuable to towns interested in Community Power as a way to save money on electricity for residents and businesses. Community Power is also a powerful way for our region to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, since plans’ default options typically increase the proportion of renewables in the energy mix.

If your town is not yet moving towards Community Power, you can email nhanke@monadnocksustainabilityhub.org to arrange a presentation to your Select Board and/or Energy Committee.

Upcoming Hub Events

Residential landlords in the Monadnock region are invited to attend a free webinar focussed on improving heat loads (and bills!) on February 27th from 5:30-7 pm. This event is a NHSaves ButtonUp workshop tailored to landlords, who often pay for heat but not for individual apartments’ electric loads. In addition to learning from NHSaves speaker Andy Duncan, PhD, about current incentives for heavily subsidized weatherization and energy efficiency work on multi-unit housing, attendees can hear about new funding through the Inflation Reduction Act. Josh Elliott, Director, Division of Policy and Programs at the NH Department of Energy, will outline what is currently known about new and massive energy savings incentives that will roll out later in 2023 and last through 2032. This event is supported by a grant from the New England Grassroots Environment Fund. Interested residential landlords must register to attend, and can do so at https://bit.ly/LandlordSavings or by emailing nhanke@monadnocksustainabilityhub.org (wise to add this address to your contacts so event information does not go to spam).

Save the Dates

The Hub will be hosting a Monadnock Energy Forum at Whitcomb Hall in Swanzey on Wednesday, March 29th from 12 noon to 2 pm. The Swanzey Energy Committee and Clean Energy New Hampshire (CENH) are co-sponsoring this lunchtime meeting. Representatives from towns across the region will share their experiences and aspirations about energy projects in their communities. CENH’s Monadnock Region Energy Circuit Rider will explain his role in assisting municipalities in securing funds for energy projects, and the Hub will introduce Program Manager Nora E. Hanke and how the Hub can assist with education on Community Power and other topics, assist with events such as weatherize, and projects such as electric school buses and community solar.

On Saturday, April 22nd, the next Drive Electric Expo will take place in the Whitney Brothers parking lot, adjacent to the Monadnock Food Co-op. Come check out the large array of electric vehicles we will be showcasing. Test drives will be offered!

This event coincides with the Co-op’s EarthFest, with good food, music, information and other attractions.

The Kryptonite killing public electric vehicle charging in New Hampshire by Bruce Tucker, Hub member, is the title of February’s Green Monadnock column in the Shopper News. Bruce explains that as a primarily rural state, NH has a great need for the small, affordable, distributed Electric Vehicle (EV) charging that Level 2 chargers provide. Yet, current state regulations make power for such chargers prohibitively expensive for vital public charging stations and chargers at multi-unit housing.

Clean Energy & Climate News

Climate Resilience in New England, How Does NH Stack Up? is a free webinar on February 13th from 5:30-7 pm, sponsored by NH Network Environment-Energy-Climate. This event was prompted by the recent release of a report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), “New England State Climate Action Assessment 2022.” Dr Reinmar Seidler, UMass Boston and NH Network, will moderate a discussion led by Jo Field and Miriam Israel, UNH Sustainability Institute Summer Fellows and Roger Stephenson, Northeast Regional Advocacy Director, UCS. To register, go to bit.ly/Feb13ClimateResilience.

A Community Power Forum webinar on February 23rd from 5:30-7 pm will provide an introduction to Community Power and inform towns of one way they can adopt Community Power, which is through Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire. The free webinar will equip participants with resources and support towards joining the Coalition and approving and launching their own Community Power programs. Sign-up is here.

The Monadnock Sustainability Hub is the region’s catalyst for climate solutions! We operate on a small budget, and your donation of any size will be mindfully spent. Please give today to help us protect our climate through programs such as Community Power, solar and energy efficiency projects, and the electrification of transportation. Thank you!