"Solar Panels May Sprout on Winooski Buildings"

On June 10, 2010, the Burlington Free Press published an article regarding the potential installment of solar arrays on municipal buildings in Winooski, Vermont.  Click here to read the full article.

"Moretown Select Board to Consider Solar Installation"

On June 3, 2010, the Valley Reporter published an article examining the proposed 150 kW solar array to be installed on a parcel of land in Moretown.  Click here to read the full article.

"Company Suggests Solar Farm at Landfill"

On May 24, 2010, the Rutland Herald published an article discussing Encore Redevelopment's proposed redevelopment of a landfill and subsequent renewable energy generation site in Bennington.  Click here to read the full article.

DOE Announces Grant Funding to Help Solar Achieve Viability as a Baseload Power Source

On May 14, 2010, the United States Department of Energy announced grants intended to help make solar technology a more viable solution for contributing baseload electricity to the grid.  Overcoming the variability of electricity output from solar cells is only one of the barriers preventing solar from making up a larger share of our electric mix, and more efficient storage strategies for concentrated solar will allow solar arrays to have a continuous output by releasing power when it is cloudy or at night.  Federal funding and private equity should also result in the focusing of research and development activities on improving the efficiency of panel production and output which will lower the cost of panel manufacturing and increase the electrical output of panels.   Click here to read more.

"Turning Brown Into Green"

The Burlington Free Press published an article about Encore Redevelopment on Monday, May 17, 2010, entitled "Turning Brown Into Green."  The article, written by John Briggs, focused primarily on introducing the company and its mission, but also emphasized the importance and time sensitivity of the government incentives available for solar projects in Vermont.  Click here to read the full article.

Select Board Hears Proposal for 750-Flat-Panel Solar Array

On May 13, 2010, the Valley Reporter published an article about Encore Redevelopment's proposed project of a 150 kW PV solar array in Waitsfield.  Click here to read the full article.

Federal Legislation Introduced to Promote the Redevelopment of Brownfields for Renewable Energy Generation

U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey introduced legislation on May 7, 2010 to help promote the development of clean energy projects on contaminated brownfield sites.  The bill is being co-sponsored by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Sherrod Brown of Ohio. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that there are 4,100 brownfield sites across the country that offer potential host locations for renewable energy development.  Click here to read the full article.

The Development of Property Assessed Clean Energy Districts in Vermont

With the enactment of the Vermont Energy Act of 2009 (Act 45), the creation of Clean Energy Assessment Districts (CEAD) was authorized.  The recognizable and popular title for such programs is Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE).  PACE is a voluntary program for property owners who are interested in making energy efficiency and/or renewable energy improvements to their property but do not have the upfront capital required for such endeavors.  Click here to read the full article.

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program Awards $5.8 Million to 147 Communities and Schools in Vermont

On March 29, 2010, the Vermont Department of Public Service announced the awards for the EECBG Program.  The allocation per eligible activity is as follows:

• Energy Efficiency Retrofits: $4,055,468.90
• Financial Incentives for Energy Efficiency: $121,200.00
• Renewable Energy Technologies on Government Buildings: $138,416.00
• Traffic Signals and Street Lighting: $1,514,596.81
• Implementation of Transportation Projects: $13,356.00

Encore Redevelopment assisted 3 communities in obtaining this funding for projects within the Energy Efficiency Retrofits and Traffic Signals and Street Lighting categories.  A further breakdown of each community and school that received funding can be found on the Burlington Free Press website.  Click here to read the full article.

Study Indicates Significant Job Growth Opportunities Through a National Renewable Portfolio Standard

A new study released by the RES Alliance for Jobs entitled “The Job Impacts of a National Renewable Electricity Standard” indicates that hundreds of thousands of new American jobs would result from the adoption of an increasing national renewable electricity standard (RES).  Specifically, the study found that a 25% RES by 2025 would result in the creation of 274,000 more jobs than a no-national RES option.  The study also indicates that while renewable energy tax credits continue to play a vital role in the preserving the viability of existing and developing projects, a RES is needed to support both near- and long-term investments. 

More information pertaining to the jobs study can be found here. 

DPS White Paper Summary

In December, the Department of Public Service released an economic White Paper that evaluated the Vermont Feed-In-Tariff (F-I-T) as a job creation policy.  The report concluded that a net of 34 jobs will be created in VT as a result of Act 45 primarily in the O&M, Construction, and Utility sectors.  According to the DPS, 34 jobs are far less than the number expected by the creators of the Act and therefore the F-I-T should be considered a poor investment.  Click here to read the full article.

UK Announces Feed in Tariff Program for Solar Energy Development

The Energy and Climate Change Secretary of the United Kingdom announced the country's first feed-in tariff program.  Solar projects of up to 5MW will receive the equivalent of US$0.47 per kWh for 25 years.  This tariff has been set for projects that begin producing during 2010 and 2011.  Projects that begin producing in 2012 will receive US$0.43 per kWh for the same 25 year period. For comparison, the current German and Spanish feed-in tariffs are the equivalent of US$0.44 and US$0.43 per kWh respectively.  Click here to read full article.

Results of Preliminary Applications for EECBG Funding for Non-formula Funded Vermont Communities and Schools Announced by VT DPS

On December 22 ,2009, the Vermont Department of Public Service (VT DPS) announced the results of the preliminary round of applications for non-formula funded communities for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.  A link to the selection results of the preliminary application process can be found here.

The VT DPS is inviting 162 preliminary applicants with a combined total request of $6.7 million to submit comprehensive applications for the $5.8 million (increased from the original $4.8M) of available funding.  Comprehensive proposals are due by 4:00 P.M. on Tuesday, February 23, 2010.  The complete RFP can be found at the link below:

http://publicservice.vermont.gov/energy/ee_files/cedf/EECBG_RFP_FINAL_11_13_09.pdf

A FAQ, which will be continually updated, is located here:

http://publicservice.vermont.gov/energy/ee_files/cedf/EECBG%20FAQ%2011_24_09.pdf

Cleantech Industry Expanding in New England

A recent article entitled, "New Bedford emerging as cleantech leader" published on the news website SouthCoastToday.com discusses the abundant opportunities for the emerging "cleantech" industry.  As defined in the article, the term "cleantech" is used to describe the range of up-and-coming industries and technologies that are related to alternative energy, renewable energy and energy efficiency.  In addition to the beneficial aspects of job creation and increased tax revenues for host communities such as New Bedford, some of these creative businesses are redeveloping environmentally challenged brownfield sites for their facilities, providing additional benefits to host communities by returning abandoned and underutilized property to productive reuse.  Click here to read the full article from SouthCoastToday.com.

State of Vermont Receives US Department of Energy Federal Grant for Smart Grid

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the State of Vermont $69 million in a federal grant that will enable Vermont electric companies to upgrade to a smart grid system. Essentially, the smart grid system is a cutting-edge, automated metering system that will increase energy efficiency and save consumers money by providing information on their energy consumption in real time. The meters will disclose consumers’ individual peak times and thus, when they are spending more money than is necessary.  Click here to read the full article that appeared in the Burlington Free Press on Wednesday, October 28, 2009.

Remaining EECBG Funding Released as Competitive Local Government Sub-Grants

On September 24, 2009, the remaining $9,593,500 in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funding was allocated to the State of Vermont.  The State plans to bid the sub-grants to the smaller cities and towns that were not directly formula funded from the DOE during the first round.  In addition, the State will save a portion of this pool for the 11 Regional Planning Commissions across the state.  Lastly, this funding will also be used to reinstate the Clean Energy Development Fund (CEDF).  Encore is working with the cities of Barre, Winooski and St. Albans to assist them with maximizing funding opportunities associated with the EECBG program.

Working with Communities to Redevelop Landfills for Renewable Energy

In accordance with our efforts to assist communities in redeveloping environmentally challenged and otherwise underutilized or unused properties, Encore is reaching out to cities such as Rutland, Vermont to discuss the potential benefits of developing solar farms and other renewable energy projects on closed landfills.  Click here to read the full article that appeared in the Rutland Herald on Saturday, September 5, 2009.

Georgia Mountain Wind Farm Debate

The traditional model for developing a wind farm has focused on the intrusive placement of turbines on ridgelines.  The benefits of ridgeline development are simple: greater wind potential with less variability exists at higher elevations, which in turn increases the efficiency of a plant and its profitability.  As the debate over the proposed Georgia Mountain project demonstrates, wind farm projects draw opposition from project neighbors who express the typical “Not in My Back Yard” (NIMBY) mentality.  Click here to read full article. 

Van Jones and the New Green Economy

On May 21, 2009, Chad Farrell of Encore Redevelopment had the honor and privilege to participate in a green focus group session with Van Jones, Special Advisor to President Obama and author of The Green Collar Economy. The discussion was an opportunity to hear about developments in Washington and get ideas as to how to best position Vermont to thrive in the new green economy.  Click here to read full article.

EPA Announces $111.9 Million in Brownfield Grants

On Friday, May 8, the United States Environmental Protection Agency awarded communities within the United States a total of $111.9 million for brownfield assessment and cleanup. The grants include $37.3 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that President Obama signed into law on February 17, 2009, and $74.6 million from the EPA brownfields general program funding. Click here to read full article.

Brownfield-Related Provisions of the Recently Enacted Federal Stimulus Legislation

Although direct funding for brownfield redevelopment activities may appear somewhat limited in the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), there are a number of different funding opportunities for brownfield redevelopment projects through programs run by several other federal agencies.  In addition to an appropriation of $100M for EPA’s brownfield grant program, grants available under Departments of Energy and Commerce as well as other portions of the EPA’s approximately $7.2B share of the stimulus package will play a vital role in brownfield redevelopment efforts in the next few years. Click here to read full article.

Former Brownfield Site to Become 'Green' Community

The news in recent months has not been good with respect to the credit markets and their ability to support new real estate development projects.  However, there are a number of projects out there that are receiving investment funding, particularly those that offer developers the opportunity to offset costs through the use of state and federal funding vehicles as part of their project pro formas.  Brownfield sites often offer not only these financial incentives, but also the ability for the developer to work with a motivated community eager to create jobs and return these properties to productive reuse.  Click here to read full article.