Press Release: Energize Vermont supports Greensboro WindowDressers Project

East Burke, Vt.--Energize Vermont, a non-profit energy education and advocacy organization, announced a grant award to the Greensboro, Vermont Energy Committee to support the town’s WindowDressers program. Over the last several years, Energize Vermont has granted thousands of dollars to WindowDressers communities. At WindowDressers workshops, community volunteers collaborate to assemble custom-fit plastic film inserts stretched over wooden frames for use in area homes. The Energize Vermont grant is intended to support participation in WindowDressers workshops by lower-income households.

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Becca Dill
Letter to Legislators: Vermont--Still not a leader in biodiversity

Here’s today’s headline: Over One-third of Biodiversity in the United States is at Risk of Disappearing.  

United Nations scientists tell us that the number-one driver of the global loss of biodiversity is the degradation of habitat.

Locally, Vermont’s energy policies and incomplete climate policies are contributing to this biodiversity catastrophe. We have given the reduction of carbon emissions priority over absolutely everything else. The promise of emissions reduction has led us to encourage the development of high-impact, land-intensive energy projects.

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Becca Dill
Mark Whitworth: Vermont and the Sixth Great Extinction

I recently saw this quote, attributed to Bill McKibben: “When we look at a solar panel or a wind turbine, we need to be able to see … that there’s something beautiful reflected back out of that silicon: People finally taking responsibility for the impact our lives have on the world and the people around us.”

When I see a wind turbine in Vermont, I see something different: I see Vermont’s contribution to The Sixth Great Extinction. The Fifth Great Extinction was caused by a meteor that hit the Earth 65 million years ago. It killed the dinosaurs.

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Mark Whitworth
Energy Bites: Solar Panel Efficiency

The other day I heard somebody say that solar capacity factors are going up. She misspoke, and I chose not to correct her.

 (I wish I could show the same restraint with my wife. Happy wife, happy life, and all that.)

 What my friend meant was that solar efficiencies are going up.

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Mark Whitworth
Energy Bites: What's the Deal with Capacity Factors?

I have an array of solar panels in my backyard. The nameplate capacity of the array is 3.6 kilowatts. That means that if the sun is shining on the array at just the right angle, the solar panels can put out 3,600 watts of electricity.

If the sun shone on the array at just the right angle for an hour, the array would generate 3.6 kilowatt-hours of electricity over the course of that hour. 

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Mark Whitworth