Ayotte Discusses Municipal Energy Efficiency

MANCHESTER, NH - The New Hampshire Clean Tech Council welcomed U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, and the Mayors of Manchester, Keene, Nashua and Franklin, last week to discuss the status and expansion of clean energy and energy efficiency projects currently undertaken by New Hampshire cities towns, according to a press statement.

The event created a unique bi-partisan discussion highlighting existing projects, as well as the potential for new projects, aimed at helping reduce energy costs, retaining energy dollars within New Hampshire, saving taxpayers money, and stabilizing our existing energy infrastructure.

“Not only are [our mayors] concerned about the infrastructure in their cities but the environment and climate, and how the environment impacts their citizens,” said Ayotte during the discussion. “We don’t need to be the tail pipe for the Midwest’s power plant, we can use our best technology that we have available to make sure we protect New Hampshire’s environment. There is technology that exists that allows us to be better than we are and so we should be embracing it any time we can”.

The event included municipal officials from around the State, along with NHCTC members, focused New Hampshire’s efforts to make our cities and towns more energy independent and efficient. Municipalities, which are typically large energy users, have served as an important sector to deploy new clean energy technologies within our communities. Projects and technologies discussed included conversion to LED street lighting, deployment of solar arrays, revitalization of hydro resources and municipal fleet conversions to biodiesel. These projects have witnessed energy and cost savings that have benefited all of the citizens of those communities.

“We’ve tried to provide some leadership in the region by promoting some environmentally friendly behaviors and practices,” said Mayor Kendall Lane, Mayor of Keene. “We’ve taken a lot of steps to encourage efficiency.”

“We’ve completed over two hundred projects in the City of Manchester,” said Mayor Ted Gatsas, Mayor of Manchester. “The best thing about a lot of these projects is that we’ve gone out and got 4.6 million dollars in grants, aid and rebates so we could do 7.4 million dollars in work.”

The event was also made possible through the generous sponsorship and support of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions. To watch the full video of the event please visit nhcleantechcouncil.org.

Submitted by Michael Behrmann.