|
|
|
|---|
|
|
Renewable Energy Task Force The Renewable Energy Task Force was sanctioned by the Select Board on May 8, 2007 with the following charge: Explore renewable energy as an alternative to, or in tandem with, conventional energy to benefit town facilities, infrastructure or otherwise benefit the community as whole; to evaluate renewable energy applications, options and costs; to identify feasible projects and associated costs; and to report to the Town Manager and Select Board your findings and recommendations for funding and implementation. Task Force members have been meeting since March with the purpose of energizing the efforts in Longmeadow to help green the town by applying solar and wind energy to reduce the demand for utilities generated from oil & natural gas and reduce the carbon footprint made by the town government as it goes about its daily activities. Initially the focus of the Task Force was to identify projects attractive to the town which would be based on the direct conversion of solar energy to electricity, the utilization of solar energy to heat potable water for use in the high school swimming pool and the conversion of wind energy to electricity. "Demonstration" projects were thought to be especially attractive to increase the awareness of the potential of these technologies to all of the town's residents. Early study indicated that wind velocities in our part of Pioneer Valley are insufficient to sustain wind turbines for electricity generation, so this concept has not been studied further. Early review of the work of other communities indicated that energy conservation should be the first order of the day… "If you don't use it you don't have to worry about how it's made.", so energy conservation was included within the scope of the group's work and given top priority. Other activities considered for Task force involvement were tabled as they were beyond our resources; see minutes of the August 31, 2007 meeting. Please read the minutes of our meetings to get a blow-by-blow description of all that has happened since the group's formation. E-mail messages for the Renewable Energy Task Force may be sent to Roger Wojcik, Chairman, at rogerwojcik@hotmail.com. John Hoagland Dean Kavanagh Dick Kmetz Jerry Nolet, Clerk Paul Santaniello Roger Wojcik, Chair There is no corner on brains, ideas and energy within the group members; if you want to participate in the work of the Renewable Energy Task Force, please attend one of the meetings, listen to the conversation of the Task Force members on our work and decide how you can help. We welcome your help. Meeting dates will be published on the Longmeadow calendar as soon as they are set.
Status Report: Direct Conversion of Solar Energy to Electricity in Longmeadow
  |
All of
the above meeting minutes + assorted documents are posted in
Adobe Acrobat Read format. For information on how to utilize
this useful reader, please consult our