Connecticut Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge Headquarters Open in Wethersfield
Staff Based in Former Wethersfield Chamber of Commerce Will Spread Savings, Energy Efficiency and Economic Stimulus Across Connecticut During 3-Year Program
WETHERSFIELD, Conn., Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Are you ready to save?
That's the big question in Wethersfield today, where the partner organizations behind the Connecticut Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge announced the grand opening of the program's headquarters on Silas Deane Highway.
Located in the former Wethersfield Chamber of Commerce headquarters, the office will be a launch pad for the program's Clean Energy Community Corps, a group of trained advocates who will deliver efficiency measures neighbor-to-neighbor across the state.
"We're so thrilled to get started. Our doors are open and our Clean Energy Community Corps training is underway," said Kerry O'Neill, president of Earth Markets and project manager for the Energy Challenge. "The pieces are coming together for a successful program to help Connecticut residents save money, cut energy waste and create cleaner, more livable communities."
Once it launches later this year, the Connecticut Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge will engage residents in 14 towns, helping them reduce their energy use by 20 percent. The program is administered by a coalition of organizations, led by the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, whose groundbreaking Connecticut Clean Energy Communities program provided a solid foundation upon which the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge will build.
Residents will have many ways to reach their 20 percent energy waste reduction goal, with support from the program at every step on the journey – whether it's using the program website to understand the cost of their home energy use, installing solar thermal or PV systems, or signing up for Home Energy Solutions (HES). HES is an easy and affordable Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund program that provides a variety of home energy saving measures and pinpoints other actions that will cut the energy wasted by a home.
"Energy efficient homes are 30 percent more efficient than regular homes. Through neighbor-to-neighbor education and outreach, we can make this statistic come to life," said Bob Coates, Vice President of Program for the Student Conservation Association, which administers the Clean Energy Community Corps. "We are looking forward to the energy that our corps of 10 young people will bring to this project. They are excited to join the Wethersfield community and help residents reap the rewards of a more energy efficient lifestyle."
And those rewards come at a perfect time. With the state of the economy and concern over volatile energy prices, communities are looking for energy solutions – and with predicted lifetime energy savings of nearly $150 million, the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge will deliver those solutions.
"The Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge is just what the doctor ordered for Connecticut's economy," said Donna Hemmann, Mayor of the Town of Wethersfield. "With small businesses suffering and people out of work, community energy savings programs are a sure way to create jobs and inject dollars back into our communities. I know our success will set a compelling example for the rest of the country."
Wethersfield's central location makes it a perfect place from which to reach out to all 14 participating towns, which are stretched across the state:
- Bethany
- Cheshire
- East Haddam
- East Hampton
- Glastonbury
- Lebanon
- Mansfield
- Portland
- Ridgefield
- Weston
- Westport
- Wethersfield
- Wilton
- Windham
For more information on the Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge, or a full list of the program partners, contact Marissa Newhall at [email protected] or (860) 756-0388.
To sign up for email updates, visit www.ctenergychallenge.com.
About the Connecticut Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge: The Connecticut Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge is a community energy savings program made possible by a $4.17 million Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, funded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Over three years, it will engage residents in 14 towns, helping them reduce their energy use by 20 percent. The program is administered by the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and draws resources and experience from several partner organizations, including Earth Markets, Clean Water Fund, EMpower Devices and SmartPower. The program's Clean Energy Community Corps will be administered by the Student Conservation Association, whose members perform two million hours of service each year. For more information, visit www.ctenergychallenge.com.
SOURCE Connecticut Neighbor to Neighbor Energy Challenge
WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?
Newsrooms &
Influencers
Digital Media
Outlets
Journalists
Opted In
Share this article