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Annual Reports Downloadable copies of SERG annual reports:
2007-08 Annual Report [pdf]
SERG 2008/2009 Annual ReportSERG formed in 2002 to help homeowners and towns reduce the amount of energy they consume, avoid the hardship caused by ever-rising energy prices and reduce their impact on climate change. In these difficult financial times, SERG understands that we need to pull together and work as a community to help turn challenges into opportunities. Here are a few of the important projects we accomplished this year to create a more sustainable region. Thetford Center Community Center Weatherization - SERG received a Vermont Community Climate Change Grant in the spring of 2009 to educate and train volunteers in building weatherization, using the Thetford Center Community Center as our training ground. Thus far over 30 volunteers have provided almost 300 hours to air seal, insulate and deal with moisture problems in Thetford's most-used historic community building. We thank the many community volunteers for their time; the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, New England Grassroots Environment Fund, Ben and Jerry's Foundation, Town of Thetford and local donors for their financial contributions; and the Thetford Energy Committee and Thetford Center Community Association for organizing assistance with this great project. VCEM/HEAT - Last winter, SERG coordinated 26 Home Energy Assistance Team volunteers from Thetford and Norwich to install weatherstripping, plastic window applications, compact fluorescent bulbs, programmable thermostats and water saving devices in 52 Thetford homes through Efficiency Vermont's Vermont Community Energy Mobilization program. HEAT volunteers also conducted visual inspections of homes and provided information on available technical and financial resources for additional weatherization. Button Up Energy-Saving Workshops - In 2008 SERG helped create the hugely successful Button Up Vermont Home Energy Saving Workshops, which were held in 100 communities throughout Vermont. The series is being repeated in at least 75 Vermont communities again this fall and SERG is once again presenting workshops throughout the Upper Valley area. Communities, businesses, civic groups and organizations wishing to organize a workshop can contact SERG to present. SERG is now working with Clean Air √ Cool Planet to expand this program to New Hampshire. SERG Residential Energy Audits and Assessment Services - Requests for energy audits declined last fall as the price of heating fuel fell and the economy sputtered. SERG continues to offer Home Performance with ENERGY STAR assessments including blower door tests, infrared scans, combustion efficiency tests, and health and safety checks. Mow Down Vermont- SERG collaborated with Community Climate Action and Brattleboro Climate Protection to organize a series of 5 one-day sales around the state of battery-powered electric Neuton mowers. In addition to selling 479 of these clean, efficient and quite Neuton mowers, we also recycled 295 polluting gas-guzzling mowers. These mowers will reduce air pollution, save energy and they are much quieter. Vermont & New Hampshire Town Energy Committees - SERG was created in 2002 with a mission to develop and consult with town energy committees. This model we developed was so successful that today there are more than 90 energy committees in communities in each of Vermont and New Hampshire. In Vermont, we are networking and providing programs and resources to energy committees through the Vermont Energy & Climate Action Network (VECAN). Our goal is to have an energy committee or initiative in every Vermont town by 2012. VECAN is hosting its second annual day-long statewide conference of energy committees Dec. 5th, 2009 at the Lake Morey Inn, Fairlee. More information about VECAN and the annual conference is available at: www.vecan.net. In NH, SERG has been networking with energy committees through the NH Local Energy Committee Working Group. SERG also organizes twice annual meetings of energy committee representatives from throughout the Upper Valley to share information updates and to discuss collaborative regional projects. Municipal Energy Assistance Program - SERG and our Energy Program Assistant Laura Chesnut are working with Clean Air - Cool Planet and Vital Communities to provide municipal energy inventories and audits to 6 communities throughout the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and 48 communities across the state. Norwich District Heat and Power Project - SERG and our interns, Alden Adolph and Mitch Kewer, are working with the Norwich Energy Committee to conduct a study to determine the interest in and technical feasibility of developing a renewably generated heat and power district for the town of Norwich, Vermont. SERG Energy Alliance - SERG maintains a list of Energy Alliance businesses who offer discounts on energy efficiency and renewable energy products and services, such as wood stoves, solar hot water and PV systems and weatherization supplies, to those who make a tax-deductible contribution of $50 or more to SERG. You can view the complete list of Energy Alliance business partners and the discounts they offer at www.serg-info.org/energy-alliance. Public Education and Policy - SERG continues to educate the public through public forums and workshops, compact fluorescent bulb sales, letters to the editor and regular outreach to our database of over 1,800. We continue to work with town energy committees, individuals, state agencies and other organizations to support and promote energy conservation, efficiency and renewal initiatives. SERG Board - Jeff Bernstein, President and Managing Director of the law firm BCK Law, P.C. - Alan Berolzheimer, historian, editor and chair of the Norwich Energy Committee - Bruce 'Buff' McLaughry, Chief Operating Officer of the Real Estate firm, Lang McLaughry Spera - Jeff Wolfe, CEO of the renewable company, groSolar - Bob Walker, SERG Director For more information on SERG and our programs, contact 802-785-4126, SERG@valley.net or www.SERG-info.org.
Sustainable Energy Resource Group 2007-08 Annual ReportSERG formed seven years ago to help homeowners reduce the amount of energy they consume, avoid the hardship caused by ever-rising energy prices and reduce their impact on climate change. SERG implemented numerous successful programs to address the wave of major increases and turmoil to energy markets this year. Weatherization Workshops - In the fall of 2007, SERG worked with Efficiency Vermont to develop a series of workshops to teach homeowners how to cost-effectively reduce home energy use. The workshop covers the health, safety and comfort issues involved in home air sealing and describes services, products and techniques homeowners can employ to do the job themselves or hire it out. More than 125 people attended three workshops held in Putney, Montpelier and Thetford. Energy committees throughout the state expressed great interest in holding similar workshops. This success, coupled with an even greater demand due to large fuel price increases this summer, prompted the effort to organize Button Up Vermont, a series of 100 home energy-saving workshops held throughout Vermont in the fall of 2008. Central Vermont Community Action Council (CVCAC) received a grant from the State of Vermont to organize this effort and hired SERG to develop the educational curriculum. SERG helped with the outreach for the overall effort and was the lead presenter at eight workshops throughout the Upper Valley. We are working to expand this program to New Hampshire and remain available to present the Button Up workshop to additional towns, civic groups and businesses. SERG Residential Energy Audits and Assessment Services - Requests for energy audits soared due to the high rise in heating fuel prices. To meet this demand, SERG expanded its Home Performance Assessment services in the Upper Valley by subcontracting audits to two recently certified contractors. From June to November, 2008, we completed a total of 50 home audits, up significantly from the 15 audits we completed in the 18 previous months. We are currently on pace to average about 10 audits a month. We also plan to continue growing our auditing services with the purchase of an infrared camera in Fall '08. SERG Energy Alliance and Solar Hot Water Challenge - SERG added several contractors to its list of Energy Alliance dealers. These dealers offer discounts on energy efficiency and renewable energy products and services, such as wood stoves, solar hot water and PV systems and weatherization supplies, to those who make a tax-deductible contribution of $50 or more to SERG. You can view the complete list of Energy Alliance business partners and the discounts they offer at www.serg-info.org/energy-alliance. We also worked with the Norwich Energy Committee and the First Branch Sustainability Network to organize a solar hot water workshop and challenge to Upper Valley residents. The goal was to encourage at least 50 homeowners to install solar hot water systems. We are well on the way to accomplishing that goal. Vermont & New Hampshire Town Energy Committees - SERG continued its efforts to form new town energy committees, consult with existing committees and network with committees throughout Vermont and New Hampshire. In Vermont, we are working through the Vermont Energy & Climate Action Network (VECAN), a network of 65-plus committees, up from just 30 in 2007. Our goal is to have an energy committee or initiative in every Vermont town by 2012. VECAN hosted its second annual statewide gathering of energy committees Dec. 2007, with more than 50 representatives sharing experiences, discussing successes and challenges and considering collaborations. VECAN has also launched a website www.vecan.net to provide town energy committees with easy access to resources and facilitate communication and information-sharing among energy organizers. SERG has worked for several years with numerous NH town energy committees in the Upper Valley. This year we began networking with the NH Local Energy Committee Working Group which is networking with more than 90 energy committees throughout the state. This spring SERG organized the first Upper Valley regional meeting of representatives from 14 Vermont and New Hampshire town energy committees plus representatives from regional housing, food and transportation organizations. The purpose was for organizations to share what they have been working on and to discuss collaborative regional projects. Public Education and Policy - SERG continues to educate the public through additional workshops, compact fluorescent bulb sales, letters to the editor, participation in forums and regular outreach. Our database has now grown to more than 1900 names. We continue to work with town energy committees, individuals, state agencies and other organizations to support and promote energy conservation, efficiency and renewal initiatives. SERG Business Plan - With help from the Executive Services Corps and a grant from the Upper Valley Community Foundation, SERG developed a business plan this year to help guide our actions for the future. SERG Board - SERG added two new board members this year: Bruce 'Buff' McLaughry and Jeff Bernstein. Buff McLaughry grew up in and returned to the Upper Valley after graduating from Middlebury College. He joined family's Real Estate business, McLaughry Associates in 1980 and helped grow and merge the firm with two other firms in 2007, creating the largest Real Estate firm in Northern NH/VT, Lang McLaughry Spera. As Chief Operating Officer, Buff's interests include changing real estate environment to allow buyers and sellers time-of-purchase home audits and future information on home efficiency through the web, MLS and closings. Jeff Bernstein is President and Managing Director of BCK Law, P.C., a firm concentrating on renewable energy projects and sustainable development, technology, corporate and regulatory matters, primarily in Vermont and Massachusetts. He represents many municipal entities and non-profit environmental and renewable energy organizations across New England and elsewhere. He served as special counsel to the Washington Electric Cooperative in its successful negotiation and development of a landfill gas-fired generating plant in Coventry, Vermont. He is also providing legal assistance to the development of "New Generation Partners," a project of the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, to create an entity that will help Vermont's consumers, communities and utilities build new renewable generation projects. Other board members include: Bob Walker, president, Jeff Wolfe (CEO of GroSolar) vice-president and Alan Berolzheimer (historian and editor) secretary/treasurer. This annual report is also available as a PDF download: 2007-08 Annual Report [pdf]
Sustainable Energy Resource Group 2007 Annual Report
TOWN ENERGY COMMITTEES & VERMONT ENERGY & CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK (VECAN) - This year, SERG networked and consulted on numerous initiatives with more than 40 local energy committees throughout Vermont and New Hampshire, more than twice last year's number of committees. Working with our VECAN partners , we organized a statewide gathering where more than 60 committee representatives shared experiences and created a website for town energy committees. The website will list resources and initiatives and enable committees to list their accomplishments and connect with other committees working on similar issues.
WEATHERIZATION WORKSHOP - SERG worked with Efficiency Vermont, energy committees and professional Home Performance contractors to organize 3 weatherization workshops in Putney, Montpelier and Thetford. The workshops taught more than 120 homeowners how to identify and seal the most common areas of heat loss and the importance of ventilation, health and safety related to tight buildings. Numerous towns have expressed interest in additional workshops next year. We thank Mascoma Savings Bank, New England Grassroots Environment Fund and The Byrne Foundation for their support for these workshops.
LIBRARY RESOURCE KITS - SERG distributed educational resources kits with books, DVDs and a wattmeter teaching about the impacts of climate change and how to save energy in your homes to 27 town libraries throughout Vermont and the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire. Energy committees in those towns are helping to promote and encourage the use of the library kit materials.
STREET LIGHTING CAMPAIGN - For more than two years, SERG consulted with the Town of Thetford in its case before the Vermont Public Service Board to secure ownership of streetlights from Central Vermont Public Service, which resisted this request. Ownership should save towns money and broaden their choice of efficient lights, fixtures and controls. While we applaud CVPS's decision this year to allow for town ownership, the terms and conditions established by CVPS for ownership are not favorable to towns. We hope to address these issues in CVPS's next general rate case.
COMPACT FLUORESCENT BULB SALES - SERG sold 625 CFL's this year. Over their lifetimes, these bulbs will: reduce electric use by 290,000 kilo-Watt hours, save $34,000 in energy expenditures and cut CO2 emissions by over 220 tons.
HOME ASSESSMENTS - Over the past year SERG conducted more than a dozen home energy audits and provided reports to homeowners on reducing energy use. We hope to expand this program in the coming year.
LEBANON LANDFILL METHANE - SERG met with representatives from Pike Industries and Carroll Concrete to discuss their interest in using methane from the Lebanon Landfill. Both companies are interested in using this renewable energy for heat and electricity, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and odors from the landfill and provide a revenue stream for Lebanon.
SERG 2006 Annual ReportTOWN ENERGY COMMITTEES & VERMONT ENERGY & CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK (VECAN) - SERG helped form new energy committees and implement energy-saving programs in Hanover (street lighting), Putney (CFL sales), Sharon (biodiesel in town equipment) and Strafford (just forming) this year. We also worked with our VECAN partners to replicate SERG's model of town energy committees, and
STREET LIGHTING CAMPAIGN - SERG consulted with the Town of Thetford in its case before the Vermont Public Service Board to secure ownership of streetlights from Central Vermont Public Service, which is resisting this request. Town ownership would save Thetford money and enable it to install more efficient lights, fixtures and controls. A positive decision by the VPSB would set a precedent to benefit other Vermont towns.
LEBANON LANDFILL METHANE - SERG recruited a Dartmouth graduate student to conduct a study and produce a report on the economic and technical feasibility of collecting and using methane from the Lebanon Landfill. The study findings look promising for using this renewable energy for heat and electricity, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and odors from the landfill and providing a revenue stream for the City.
COMPACT FLUORESCENT BULB SALES - SERG sold 227 CFL's this year. Over their lifetimes, these bulbs will: reduce electric use by 136,350 kilo-Watt hours, save $16,362 in energy expenditures and cut CO2 emissions by over 100 tons.
HOME ASSESSMENTS - Last heating season SERG analyzed and reported on the home heating efficiency of 165 residential energy surveys. We also conducted 9 home energy audits and provided reports to homeowners on reducing energy use.
EDUCATION & OUTREACH
2003-2004 Annual Report
Sustainable Energy Resource Group (SERG) had a very successful year (9/1/03-8/31/04). Below is a list of some of the projects we worked on. Please feel free to contact us if you would like more information on or to support our efforts.
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