Grant, website energize green efforts more

CORNWALL — It’s all about momentum. That was the core advice from state and federal agency representatives promoting energy initiatives in communities at a Nov. 15 gathering at Town Hall.

Cornwall’s Energy Task Force understands that. The group also got an award, one of only 20 awarded nationwide, for Cornwall’s success in the Green Power Community Challenge.

Winners in the year-long competition reached the dual goal of top use of green power and the highest percentage of total electricity use from renewable resources.

The gathering attracted about 30 people. Some of them were selectmen from area towns; others were people interested in learning more about energy planning and initiatives.

But if anyone was waiting for a plaque presentation, it wasn’t on the agenda. Task force members are not taking even a moment to rest on their laurels. When they heard about the award, and a pending visit from Linda Darveau of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Bob Wall of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), they decided to take the opportunity to continue moving forward with information and awareness.

Energy Task Force Chairman Katherine Freygang, an energy force in herself, talked briefly about the group’s big and small accomplishments, from earning a solar voltaic system (installed at Cornwall Consolidated School) to “being a minor presence at all major public gatherings.â€

At times, she said, it’s simply about overcoming the excuses people have for not converting to green power; some people fear it will cost more to buy energy from renewable resources, for example. Freygang explains that any additional costs will be offset by replacing incandescent light bulbs around the house with CFL bulbs.

What she is most excited about now is the EPA’s website,  which now has a simple guide to a variety of programs that promote energy conservation. Much of the information is aimed at towns and businesses, but there are tools for homeowners, too.

More suggestions for additions to the site, such as a way to easily chart home energy use, were suggested by audience members.

Darveau, the New England representative to the EPA’s Energy and Climate Team, and Wall, who is director of market initiatives for CCEF talked about the grant and about incentive programs available through their agencies. Cornwall, Wall said, is well-positioned to take advantage of any of them. Again, it is about momentum, and the more a community does, the bigger the rewards.

Each gave a PowerPoint presentation of programs, which will be posted soon on what promises to be a popular tool for Cornwall — and for other towns that might want to follow in its footsteps; cornwallctenergy.org was launched Nov. 15.

It is still under construction to a large degree. Some of the pages still contain placeholder text in Latin, and the list of resources has not been linked yet. But it’s already clear it will be the place to start for individuals, businesses and others.