Newtown And The Clean

Energy Program

To the Editor:

This letter is to help clarify the Clean Energy Program here in Connecticut. Any resident or business can sign up for this program. The additional cost is .011 cents per kWh. You would continue to receive your bill from the utility company, but there would be an additional line item indicating the additional charge to participate in this program. The typical Connecticut household uses about 700 kWh of electricity per month so this would be an additional cost of approximately $8 to participate in the program at 100 percent. A 50 percent participation plan is also available.

The additional clean energy that is being generated is delivered to an electric grid which displaces an equal amount of electricity that would have been generated from traditional sources such as oil, coal, natural gas, or nuclear. Once it is delivered to the grid, it will follow the path of least resistance and therefore cannot be delivered to a specific home or business.

By participating in this program you are making a statement that you are willing to support the higher cost of electricity produced from clean sources. Think of it as voting with your electric bill. If more customers support clean energy, there will be a greater incentive to invest in the generation of clean, renewable sources of electricity. Further, benefits in public health and energy independence are inherent in choosing to support this program. For every 100 residents who sign up for the program the town is also eligible for a free solar panel that can be installed on a public building to help reduce the town’s energy expense.

Currently the clean energy products being offered through the program are a combination of wind power, low impact hydro and landfill gas with most of it being produced in the mid-Atlantic region and smaller portion coming from New England. Recently the US House of Representatives passed a 15 percent by 2020 Renewable Electricity Standard amendment to the energy bill which should further encourage the development of clean energy sources such as wind and solar.

One such project is currently being developed in Lempster, N.H. When completed, this project will consist of 12 turbines producing 24 MW of power, enough electricity for approximately 10,000 homes. As the current schedule stands, this project hopes to become the first major wind power project in New Hampshire, and one of the first new wind projects in New England in over a decade. The more demand that can be created for clean energy, the more investment there will be in supplying that demand.

Newtown has already made the commitment to be a Clean Energy Community and has qualified for two solar panels. With a task force in place, the discussion on how best to achieve our goal of 20 percent clean energy by 2010 can now begin.

Kathy Quinn

17 Scudder Road, Newtown                                           August 8, 2007