Town of Coventry

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Summary

Town of Coventry

Description

A commitment to clean energy results in a renewable resource for the Town of Coventry

It began as all good community initiatives should begin – with a group of caring individuals who saw a problem and wanted to make a difference. But in this case, it was a group of young people from Capt. Nathan Hale Middle School’s Ecology Club. Wanting the Town of Coventry to become more aware of the benefits of clean energy, the students developed a presentation and for the next three years urged residents to sign up for clean energy options. In February 2008, their advocacy resulted in a commitment by Town officials to purchase 20% of municipal energy from clean sources by 2010.

The momentum didn’t stop there. With the Council’s support, residents were encouraged to enroll in the Clean Energy Options program from the CT Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), committing to receive a portion of their electricity from renewable sources. The goal was to enroll a minimum of 100 town residents into the program, which would qualify the town to receive a 2-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array, valued at $20,000, that would generate additional power for the town and provide electricity back to the grid during off-peak times. The community embraced the project, and it didn’t take long – only a couple of months – to reach this milestone. The solar array was installed on the roof of the Town Hall Annex building during the spring of 2010.

CCEF estimates that Coventry’s support of clean energy has avoided 476 tons of CO2 per year, the equivalent to saving more than 49,000 gallons of gas or planting 360 acres of trees each year.

Read more about "Connecticut Clean Energy Options Program"