2023 Annual Report
2023 Annual Report - MEAC
Montpelier Energy Advisory Committee
The Montpelier Energy Advisory Committee was founded in 2010 to act in an advisory capacity to the City Council on energy issues. MEAC identifies and nurtures energy saving projects and opportunities; informs and engages city residents on energy issues; and partners with other statewide groups to foster projects that reduce Montpelier’s energy use or help to meet its energy needs from renewables. MEAC meets the third Tuesday of every month at 7pm and the public is welcome.
Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) - MEAC is supporting the planning for Phase 2 of the upgrades to the WRRF, which will include the installation of a dryer to remove water from the bio-solids collected at the plant, in order to reduce the volume of sludge that is landfilled. This project will also address odor issues at the plant, be fueled primarily if not completely by biogas produced at the facility, and create waste heat that can be used in buildings at the DPW campus on Dog River Rd. The City received a $3.251 million grant for the project from the USDA. This work will eliminate the use of approximately 10,000 gallons of fuel oil annually at the WRRF.
Home Energy Disclosure Ordinance - On July 1, 2022 the City began requiring sellers of residential real estate to provide a Vermont Home Energy Profile (VHEP) when listing a home for sale. In 2023 seventy four (74) properties in Montpelier completed the VHEP.
Net Zero 2030 Action Plan - The City of Montpelier has set an ambitious goal to eliminate fossil fuels from City owned buildings, operations, and vehicle/transportation fleet by the year 2030. The City of Montpelier can cost-effectively reach 88% renewable energy by 2030 by taking actions outlined in the Net Zero 2030 Action Plan. (Vehicles and some building energy will still likely use some fossil fuels and require offsets to achieve the Net Zero goal.)
Sustainability and Facilities Coordinator Chris Lumbra is working with all City Departments on implementation of electricity and fossil fuel reduction strategies. Recent projects have included LED lighting replacement in multiple City-owned buildings, planning for heating system replacement at the DPW equipment barn, planning for upgrades and heating system replacement at the Rec Center, and a wide variety of flood-related repair projects.
Window Dressers - MEAC led a Montpelier/Barre Window Dressers Community Build in November 2023 at the Barre Auditorium. Over the weeklong Build, over 75 volunteers built 252 storm window inserts for 38 households, with ~30% of the inserts going to Low Income households at reduced cost. Due to rising fuel costs, inserts were in high demand this year, and we were unfortunately forced to place many households on a waitlist for next year.
Building on MEAC’s efforts mentoring new community builds in neighboring towns, Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission, in collaboration with MEAC and other Central Vermont community builds, was awarded a Vermont Rural Council Climate Catalysts Innovation Fund grant to support a more integrated approach to community-based weatherization campaigns. By providing training and resources and coordination with Capstone Community Action, Efficiency Vermont, ReSource, and others, this regional effort aims to expand the impact of community builds as a platform to further connect residents to weatherization services, solicit community feedback and engagement on energy and resilience initiatives, and more.
Sam Lash, RPC – MERP – The City of Montpelier was awarded a Municipal Energy Resilience Program (MERP) grant for Level 2 energy resilience assessments of the DPW complex on Dog River Road and the Rec Center at 58 Barre Street. These assessments will provide critical data for planning upgrades to these municipal facilities and open up the potential for future MERP funding for the implementation of energy efficiency projects at those locations.
Revolving Loan Fund – The City’s upgrade to LED Lighting project, replacing 2,300 bulbs across multiple City buildings, was primarily funded through an Efficiency Vermont bulb rebate program for the [purchase of the equipment, and the installation cost was funded through the city’s Net Zero Revolving Loan Fund administered by MEAC. The estimated annual savings on electricity from this upgrade is $34k per year, which is a payback period of only 8 months,
School District Liaison – MEAC collaborated with the Montpelier Roxbury Public Schools in the development of its own Net Zero policy. The School District’s Net Zero Decarbonization Resolution was passed by the School Board.
Flood Recovery – In the aftermath of Montpelier’s July flooding, MEAC worked to pull together resources and information related to rebuilding for flood resilience, which were disseminated through the MEAC newsletter, social media, and website (https://www.netzeromontpelier.org/flood-resilience).
MEAC is actively seeking new members to support our work. To apply please visit
https://www.montpelier-vt.org/formcenter/boards-commissions-12/city-of-montpelier-boards-commissions-ap-60. To learn more about MEAC’s activities, please visit www.netzeromontpelier.org and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/montpelierenergy/.
To reach the committee, email netzeromontpelier@gmail.com.