Energy Commission

The Energy Commission met Jan 30 and discussed a number of topics, including energy conservation ($250k for new windows at CHS, Firehouse #3, a microturbine for CHS and the pool), energy benchmarking (measuring town building energy use and comparing to other towns in a nationwide database) and clean energy (increasing awareness of the 20% by 2010 campaign, placing photovoltaic arrays / solar panels on Highland School, grants for clean energy education and a competition with the Town of Bethany).

One of the items generating a lot of discussion last night was the microturbine for CHS. While the estimated cost is $1.89million, it could provide significant energy/cost savings that may be able to be used to pay for the system and save taxpayer dollars. As well, it could help turn CHS into an emergency shelter (as there would be energy generated on site during power outages.)

The Energy Commission normally meets the last Monday of every month at 7pm in Town Hall. For more information on the Energy Commission, see: http://www.cheshirect.org/energy/default.html

For details on various federal tax credits that may be available to you, see: http://www.doe.gov/taxbreaks.htm

For details on the state sales tax holiday that applies to certain home weatherization products, see: http://www.ct.gov/drs/cwp/view.asp?A=1514&Q=307396