March Meeting Summary

Thanks to everyone who attended the March 17th meeting of the RRPC Energy Committee!

Our discussion again benefited from the participation of town energy committees, a local high school, and several interested citizens.

Nancy Burzon of the Rutland Region Workforce Investment Board presented information about workforce training in our Region. She presented several key reports and resources around existing workforce training programs and about the green economy, including The Green Collar Economy (these will appear in the draft minutes). Nancy stated that there is a general lack of energy for the green economy right now, in spite of the fact there is a great need for retraining and for job creation.

Nancy is working with Stafford Technical Center and also is considering organizing a forum to gather more detailed information about what the needed training should look like. Anyone wishing to work with Nancy on this project can contact her at njburzon@vermontel.net.

Michael Fannin and Steve Spatz made a joint presentation about past and present experiences with weatherization projects. Michael shared his experience as a member of a federally-funded Home Energy Audit Team in Vermont during the 1980s. He explained that these teams focused on minimizing fuel use. The teams were well trained, fully insured, and provided satisfying jobs to displaced workers. He suggested that the RRPC's role could be to act as a clearinghouse of information about home energy efficiency to the public.

Steve Spatz then presented information about current home energy efficiency and safety training programs available to builders and contractors today and explained the different training programs and sets of standards. He stated that the public needs to be educated about the fact that there are opportunities to have this kind of work done, the fact that there is funding available to a broad range of residents to help pay for the work, and about the health and safety aspects of home weatherization. He emphasized the importance of viewing buildings as a complete system, and advocated for a focused effort to improve the efficiency of the existing housing stock.

Thank you to all of our speakers!

Upcoming Meetings Schedule

• April 21st - Transportation and Energy Efficiency. The Committee will learn about the Vermont Way to Go! program.

• May 19th - Efficiency Vermont and Geographic Targeting in the Rutland Region. Bob Murphy of Efficiency Vermont will explain their outreach efforts in the Rutland area.

Resources

• Visit the RRPC Energy Committee website for news, events, funding opportunities and more: http://rrpcenergy.blogspot.com. Look for a link to our draft minutes for the March meeting in April.
• The enclosed list of resources was compiled by Steven Spatz of Redbarn Design and Build, LLC, to assist local energy conservation committees in their efforts to expand the accessibility of energy auditing and weatherization services to residents throughout Rutland County. Thanks, Steve!
• Read an article in The New Yorker about Van Jones, author of The Green Collar Economy (2008).
• Download a copy of the VECAN Town Energy and Climate Action Guide that Paul Markowitz, Coordinator of the Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club, presented in the full commission meeting.