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lincoln Energy committee
annual report- 2011
The Lincoln Energy Committee engaged in three principal initiatives during 2011:
- The Lincoln Community Woodbank
- Solar hot water for town residents
- Solar electricity generation for the school
Lincoln Community Woodbank
For the fourth consecutive year the Energy Committee provided cut and split wood for emergency use for Lincoln residents who may have temporarily exhausted their supply. Thanks to volunteers, we processed several cords of wood and maintained a steady supply in the structure specifically built for the woodbank. It is located at the southeast corner of the old town shed on East River Road.
Volunteers may support the woodbank as follows:
- Send a check for any amount to Lincoln United Church, 23 Quaker Street, Lincoln VT 05443. This money will be made available for emergency fuel deliveries.
- Donate split, dry firewood at any time in any amount, 16” or shorter. Please deliver the dry wood directly to the woodbank structure at the old town shed. If the structure is already full, or if you need help moving the wood, please contact Stephen Taylor 453-3225 / vhw@gmavt.net or Henry Wilmer 453-4614 / henry@hwilmer.net.
- Volunteer some time and effort. Again, contact Stephen or Henry to learn more.
Solar Hot Water
Generating hot water requires more power than any other activity in the average home. Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG) asked us to help promote a project which permitted town residents to install solar hot water at a heavily discounted price, and hence to recoup their investment in a very short timeframe.
Working with Dan Conant of VPIRG, we advertised several meetings to explain the program and to encourage residents to sign up. The result was gratifying; five families now use the system, a boon to their pocket books and the environment; many more have had site visits and are considering this option.
Solar Electricity Generation
Lincoln resident and State Representative Michael Fisher and a group of volunteers, including Stephen Taylor of the Energy Committee, collaborated with AllEarth Renewables to propose solar electricity generation for a portion of the town's energy consumption in buildings like the town office, the school. Burnham Hall, and the Lincoln Library. In the end, after discussions with both the Selectboard and the Board of the Lincoln Community School, the latter signed an agreement to generate about 80% of the school's energy needs from solar panels located on land near the town garage, which the Selectboard will lease to the school. The recent rate increase from CVPS will make this arrangement all the more cost-effective.
Respectfully submitted,
Stephen Taylor, Chair
Henry Wilmer, Clerk
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