2010 marks Cape Light Compact's ninth year of delivering proven energy efficiency programs, effective consumer advocacy, award‐winning energy education, and competitive electricity supply and green power options to customers across the 21 towns and two counties in Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard. Since July 2001, Cape Light Compact has invested over $50 million in energy efficiency programs that have brought tremendous long‐term benefits and a return on investment for its customers and the region, including saving approximately 18 megawatts (MW) of peak electric generation, 103,600 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy use - the equivalent CO2 emissions from 8,396,152 gallons of gasoline consumed - and over $20.7 million on customers' electric bills. Following the success of Phase 1 of a pilot program that tracked energy monitoring, consumer behavior and consumption levels implemented in partnership with GroundedPower, Cape Light Compact is moving ahead with Phase 2 installing a ‘glance device' or a small device that is kept in the house and at a glance can tell study participants how their real time power use is matching their goals.

Homeowners in Maine have another incentive to make home energy improvements before summer's end. Efficiency Maine is offering a $1,000 bonus for improvements completed this summer - this bonus, plus existing cash incentives of up to $3,000 mean that homeowners can receive up to $4,000 from Efficiency Maine to weatherize their homes. The Home Energy Savings Program of Efficiency Maine is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and homeowners of all income levels are encouraged to apply for cash incentives. The limited-time $1,000 bonus is only available for pre-approved improvements completed before December 31, 2010. Federal incentives of up to $1,500 are also available. To be eligible, homeowners must sign up at efficiencymaine.com by August 31, 2010 and have an energy audit performed by a Participating Energy Advisor by September 30, 2010. Eligible improvements include: insulation and air sealing, high-efficiency heating systems and water heaters including solar heating systems, and ENERGY STAR windows and doors. This latest initiative from Efficiency Maine ties directly into the recently approved Triennial Plan of the Efficiency Maine Trust which includes the goal of weatherizing 100 percent of homes and 50 percent of businesses by 2030.

Back to top

For non-profit organizations, saving money on energy expenses can mean a big boost to their bottom line. Efficiency Vermont has partnered with two regional non-profits serving the medical and mental health needs of hundreds of people across the state to make efficient upgrades to their facilities. Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) recently undertook a 33,000 square foot renovation and addition - from the beginning the hospital's leadership knew that they wanted to incorporate energy efficient measures into their plans and brought Efficiency Vermont into the planning process in the early stages. Working together they identified a series of cost-effective energy solutions including efficient lighting design with occupancy sensors and an upgraded HVAC system. In total, the lighting and HVAC measures help NVRH save 431,000 kWh annually, which translates to an estimated cost savings of more than $47,000. Lamoille Community Connections (LCC), a developmental and mental health services provider, recently consolidated its four offices into one new office space in an historic building in Lamoille County. In its renovation process LCC worked with Efficiency Vermont to identify lighting upgrades that would increase efficiency - in the end they switched out older and less efficient T-12s and incandescent light bulbs to higher-efficiency, higher-quality lighting systems with T-5 fixtures, occupancy sensors, and daylight sensors throughout the 30,000 square foot space. All told, the lighting measures will help Lamoille Community Connections save 66,000 kWh annually, which translates to an estimated annual cost savings of $8,500.

Back to top

Working in partnership with Appliance Recycling Centers of America, Inc (ARCA), LIPA recently announced that its Refrigerator Recycling Program had reached 1,000 customers highlighting both companies' commitment to energy efficiency, recycling and environmental awareness. The Refrigerator Recycling Program, which launched earlier this year and is a multi-year program, removes, properly disposes and recycles the energy-wasting appliance in an environmentally responsible manner and awards LIPA customers with a rebate of $35. LIPA envisions this ongoing program will allow for most of the old inefficient refrigerators to be recycled rather than being placed in the garage or basement of LIPA customer homes, which is the predominant practice. The energy saved with this program by recycling the 1,000th refrigerator is equivalent to CO2 emissions from approximately 649,256 gallons of gasoline or the carbon sequestered annually by 54.8 acres of forest preserved from deforestation. LIPA's Refrigerator Recycling Program is part of Efficiency Long Island, a 10 year, $924 million program which offers a wide array of incentives, rebates and initiatives to LIPA's residential and commercial customers to assist in reducing their energy usage and thereby lowering electric bills.

Back to top

National Grid has recently partnered with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to launch "Energy Efficiency For Health," a powerful new partnership to help National Grid's hospital customers across New York State reduce their energy usage, save on operating costs and cut greenhouse gas emissions through more efficient use of electricity and natural gas. Under the new initiative, National Grid and NYSERDA will work together to provide hospitals with individualized and targeted technical assistance as well as up to $10 million in funding for energy efficiency initiatives that will generate as much as $5 Million in annual energy savings. "Energy Efficiency For Health" brings together the program and technical resources of National Grid and NYSERDA to work collaboratively to identify energy efficiency opportunities for New York State hospitals, provide hands on account management, and assist hospitals through the design and implementation of sustainable, cost reducing, energy efficient measures and practices. Customized lists of energy efficiency measures will be developed and prioritized based on payback on investment, a phased implementation plan and customer goals as they relate to advancing critical care practices. Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn is the first hospital to participate in the program. Lutheran was one of the first New York City hospitals to install a natural gas cogeneration facility to efficiently produce some or all of its own electricity, and completed a lighting retrofit which will save approximately $180,000 annually in energy costs and reduce its carbon footprint by 1.8 million pounds per year.

Back to top

In June, NSTAR teamed with National Grid to host the Energy Efficiency Show - Portal to Profitability. Capitalizing on the success of NSTAR's Technology Show from last year, this year's event, which consisted of a one-day conference with over 25 presentations covering three tracks in technology, finance, and sustainability, was sold out. Over 500 people attended, including over 300 customers! In addition to the valuable and informative educational sessions, a sold-out exhibit area of 38 sponsors, provided live demonstrations and information throughout the day. The event was developed to inform customers about available opportunities and promote energy efficiency projects, as evidenced by the 10 percent incentive that was distributed to attendees. Lastly, the event was fully funded by sponsors and attendees with no net expense to NSTAR.

Back to top

Public Service of New Hampshire has reached agreement with Laidlaw Berlin BioPower LLC to purchase the energy from a proposed wood-fired power generation facility planned for New Hampshire's North Country. When operational, the 70 megawatt gross capacity biomass facility in Berlin will be the largest wood-burning power plant in the state, and will move New Hampshire closer to its goal of 25 percent renewable energy by the year 2025. The plant will consume local, clean, wood chips which are byproducts of the local forest products industry and land management practices.

Back to top

Unitil Corporation (Unitil) is a public utility holding company headquartered in Hampton, New Hampshire which provides for the necessities of life, safely and reliably by delivering natural gas and electricity throughout northern New England. Unitil is committed to developing both the business practices and the technologies which will lead to dependable, more efficient energy.  Unitil offers a variety of energy efficiency programs to both its electric customers and natural gas customers in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Unitil has integrated its business development group to support its energy efficiency programs. To that end, account representatives work directly with multiple contractors to assist customers and to help them with their energy efficiency needs. In one successful example, Unitil is currently working to support a 175 unit mill rehab of the former Premier Corrugated Box building in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. The historic mill building has become a targeted economic development project for the city and a great opportunity to spotlight energy efficient building technologies. In Maine, Unitil supports its natural gas customers by partnering with building owners, weatherization companies and engineering firms as part of its low income multifamily program. Past projects served by the program include work at River Valley Apartments, a 300 unit multifamily property in Lewiston, Maine. More information on Unitil is available online at www.unitil.com.

Back to top

Silver Lake Solar Project Launches

On a bright sunny day, appropriate for the Summer Solstice, WMECo celebrated the launch of construction on the Silver Lake Solar project in Pittsfield, MA. "The project we are launching in Pittsfield is tangible evidence that large scale solar energy is becoming a reality in the Commonwealth," said Peter Clarke, president and chief operating officer of WMECo. "Silver Lake provides a new use to a challenged site and a showcase of what can be achieved with a public-private partnership." This summer, contractors from American Capital Energy will begin the task of installing 6,500 solar panels on the eight-acre brownfield site owned jointly by WMECo and the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority (PEDA). The panels will produce up to 1.8 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 300 homes. The panels will be low-profile, and enclosed by an eight-foot decorative fence. The facility will be operational this fall. In August 2009, WMECo became the first utility in New England to receive approval from the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to build solar energy facilities in its service territory. The DPU's decision authorizes WMECo to build up to 6 megawatts (MW) of solar facilities through 2012. WMECo's program focuses on large-scale solar facilities located on sites with significant usage restrictions. WMECo plans to announce additional sites for development later this summer.

Back to top