Energy Management Committee member Tom Friedman could have been Ray Kinsella looking out at his financially endangered Iowa cornfield, calling Marion “a Field of Dreams situation. If we build it, they will come,” he said, provoking laughter during Monday’s meeting of the members who are otherwise dead serious in their pursuit of green energy.
Friedman’s remark was in response to the town’s lack of adequate charging stations for electric vehicles. While there are opportunities for people to choose battery-powered cars, a scarcity and sometimes efficiency of charging stations has created an incentive problem.
EMC member Eileen Marum said charging stations belong at locations such as Silvershell Beach, Harbormaster headquarters, along with an increase of stations at the Cushing Community Center and the Town House, where its one operational station runs slowly according to the members. Council on Aging and town vehicles typically occupy those two locations, according to Marum, who also recommended charging stations for Little Neck, Marconi Village and the proposed residential developments along Route 6 near the Wareham town line.
EMC Chairman Christian Ingerslev said, once the Town House gets its new power grid up and running, the charging station on site will be upgraded. EMC member Alanna Nelson cautioned that the charging station can do the whole 40 kilowatts required, “but the electric panel can’t handle it.”
Member Bill Saltonstall suggested that businesses may be able to access incentive programs, and the committee would do well to educate them on such financial opportunities. Nelson said she would write a note to introduce businesses to the prospect of electric cars.
Reporting on the Mass Energy Insight program, Saltonstall told the committee that he has received a note from Lisa Sullivan, Southeast Regional coordinator for the state’s Green Communities Program.
Having looked at Marion’s annual report, Sullivan had questioned a home construction project that had not fallen “a little shy of meeting the requirement” of the air test. But that problem was alleviated after Saltonstall’s visit to the Building Department confirmed a new report indicating compliance “by a couple of points.” Green Communities accepted the updated information.
“I think our report from last year is in good shape,” said Saltonstall, who has figures from the first half of FY22 and only needs Friedman’s help to upload the information.
As Saltonstall has scoured Marion for unbothered rocks to turn over in hopes of finding new opportunities for upgrades to cleaner energy, he has been flummoxed by the wall restricting pursuits of solar projects. “It isn’t clear to me with why there is a problem with the town leasing panels,” he said.
Friedman, who discussed the matter with colleagues at Trinity Solar, said any town structure would have to go out to public bid, and few installers are interested in building municipal projects. Saltonstall said he would look into if CVEC has any contractors that work with towns.
Nelson said that while a number of contractors work with CVEC, the matter of who gets the credit has become a sticking point in some cases. She noted that the parking lot at the Captains Golf Course in Brewster is covered with solar panels, and the income from the lease arrangement is financing a staff person. Saltonstall said he believes My Generation Energy built the array at the Captains Golf Course in Brewster and would follow up. Friedman suggested that the Sippican Elementary School parking lot would offer 100 percent sun exposure.
Nelson said that solar installers are hitting their market, using as an example one that works exclusively with nonprofit organizations and that CVEC has been building relationships with providers. “If we can just clasp-bond to one of those, that would be great,” she said.
Completion of the Taber Library project is important to the EMC, which cannot apply for another grant in the fall until that project is completed and paid for.
In reporting on Marion’s Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan status, Marum discussed a potential educational session with Laura Gardner, the Dartmouth Public Schools librarian who has spoken before on issues and impacts brought about by climate change. Marum suggested transitioning into phases or a series of programs that would lead into the Hazard Mitigation Plan.
In her report on reducing Marion’s carbon footprint, Nelson said the increase in efficiency of the Green Communities base code has rendered the stretch code in need of an update and hold implications for Marion’s building projects.
After Marum reported on a regional decarbonization meeting, Ingerslev agreed with the findings and said, “The lifetime cost of a building is what people should be looking at.”
“If you plan for it ahead of time, it’s actually not that much more expensive,” asserted Nelson, citing the improvement in technology.
Ingerslev told the members that he has sent three letters to Marion officials, including the committee’s push for a moratorium on the usage of fossil fuels in any new municipal construction projects, the EMC’s interest in changing the committee’s scope and name and its request to the Select Board to approve full voting membership for alternate member Jennifer Francis.
The next meeting of the Marion Energy Management Committee is scheduled for Monday, April 25, at 5:00 pm.
Marion Energy Management Committee
By Mick Colageo