Jericho Energy Task Force

You have seen the ads, now come see the cars and talk to their owners.

The Jericho Energy Task Force and Underhill Energy Committee have partnered with GMP and Drive Electric to showcase EVs on Thursday, June 29 from 4-6 pm at the Browns River Middle School.

From 5:30 - 6:30 pm at the Deborah Rawson Library fireplace room, there will be an opportunity to hear more about current incentives, charging stations and the ability to talk to owners about the pros and cons of EV ownership including traveling cross country.

On April 26^th at 7:00 the Jericho Energy Task Force will present a lecture by Seth Itzkan on The Role of Ruminants in Reversing Global Warming: How Local Farmers and Ranchers can be Climate Heroes at the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library. Itzkan is the co-founder and co-director of Soil4Climate, a global movement championing soil as a climate solution. Soil4Climate is a non-profit which advocates for soil restoration as a climate solution. They promote regenerative land management practices to capture atmospheric carbon and encourage collaboration with the larger body of climate activism.

Light refreshments will be served but this will be a waste-free event so please bring your own mugs and plates.

March 21, at 7 pm, the Jericho Energy Task Force will present Climate Change, Polar Bears and the Arctic at the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library. National Geographic author/photographer Kieran Mulvaney has traveled to Antarctica and the Arctic as a writer and as an activist for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, Greenpeace, and SeaWeb. He spent seven years in Alaska before returning to the continental United States, settling in Bristol in 2014.

Mulvaney's books include The Whaling Season, At the Ends of the Earth, and The Great White Bear. His presentation will include plenty of photos of this charismatic species and a discussion of how their lives are impacted by climate change.

Light refreshments will be served but this is a waste-free event so please bring your own mugs and bowls. For more information, email vtphyl72@gmail.com.

The Jericho Energy Task Force recently hosted a meeting which discussed ways to burn wood more efficiently. Home heating is one of the top two sources for air pollution in Vermont (the other is transportation). If you can, replace your current wood stove (federal and state rebates are available!) with an EPA rated model, however even if you can't, these tips will reduce emissions from your current stove and save you money.

For additional details, including rebate resources, and step-by-step instructions to build a "top down fire" click here: https://www.burnrightvermont.org/

To learn how to reduce emissions, and save money by burning less wood watch a short video published by Burn Right Vermont here:

Join us for a film and panel discussion on regenerative farming and soil health on Wednesday, February 22, 7pm, at the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library.

Click Here To Watch Movie Trailer

VEC powers up two new solar arrays in Jericho in support of 100% renewables by 2030. The two new arrays developed by Encore Renewable Energy are sited on the closed landfill and former gravel put totaling 4.4MW.

Click on the photo below to view an article published in Vermontbiz.

photo courtesy Vermontbiz

Even though the weather may start to feel like spring is on the way, this winter with its cold and snow has brought a bumper crop of icicles. If your home has looked anything like the photo, not only are you spending money to stay warm inside, it is also costing you money to heat the outside. When you’re outside, study your roof. You may see areas where there is less snow than in other places or even bare. This can indicate where heat is leaking.

Efficiency Vermont - provides rebates of 50% of a project’s cost up to $5,000.00 for weatherization projects. There are programs for those meeting eligibility guidelines, which are quite generous, to have work done for free. There are also programs for very low interest loans structured so that there are no additional out of pocket costs. The monthly energy cost savings pay for the loan and the rebate will also offset part of the loan expenditures.

Work done this coming year will not only provide a warmer more comfortable home next winter, but will also cost less to do so. These weatherization projects that decrease home operating costs only increase comfort and do not increase the assessed value of the home.

To give you some ideas, check out Clean Energy States Alliance, for a pdf to a new guide for Vermonters on residential heating and cooling.

A lot of things are uncertain right now. Cold weather isn't one of them! Button Up season is here!

Join the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission for a virtual Fall 2020 Button Up Workshop: 6:00pm, October 27, 2020

REGISTER NOW »

Please help spread the word in your community via your town website, newsletter, and other social media. Click here for resources to help.

The 2020 Button Up campaign has a lot to offer, including:

• Free Virtual Home Energy Visits: Register your community here to gain access to free virtual home energy visits for residents in your community.
• Weatherization Wednesdays: Weekly webinars featuring trivia, Q&As, DIY videos, and tips for weatherization. See upcoming events here.
• Share the Warmth: Help your neighbors weatherize their homes by making a contribution to the Button Up Vermont Campaign here!

For more information, contact Melanie Needle: mneedle@ccrpcvt.org.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the workshop.

It's that time of year. A bit of snow on your roof followed by sunshine can result in the steady drip-drip-drip of icicles from your eaves. What you may not know is that this also represents a drip-drop-drip from your wallet.

Icicles are evidence that head is leaving your house, causing a spike in your energy bills.

The Jericho Energy Task Force is proud to sponsor our seventh annual Icicle Contest. Send photos of your icicles to enerjericho@gmail.com. We'll print the photos and display them anonymously at Town Meeting and ask Jericho residents to vote on who has the most impressive array. That person will win a free home energy audit courtesy of the Energy Co-op of Vermont.

Winter is fast approaching.

Now is a good time to think about ways to make your home more energy efficient and cheaper to heat. Come to the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library on December 5 at 7 p.m. for a discussion about the resources available to help finance your weatherization projects.

The Underhill Energy Committee and the Jericho Energy Task Force will provide an overview of the programs available. Afterwards, representatives from those programs will be on hand to answer any questions you might have.

Light refreshments will be served but this is a waste-free event so please bring your own bowls and mugs. For more information, contact Dwight DeCoster at ddecoster@cvoeo.org