This web site is being developed so that the community can be more informed on ways to help conserve energy and to also learn about alternative renewable energy resources.

The Green Energy Team was officially established in 2009 as a town appointed committee whose primary responsibility includes the investigation of renewable energy options and ways the town and community can conserve energy. Woodstock is a member of the CT Clean Energy Program and the seven member team meets the first Tuesday of every month.

Woodstock 'Going Green' is a program of the town of Woodstock, dedicated to supporting, encouraging and assisting Woodstock residents, businesses and the town itself to reduce our impact on the environment through conservation and increased use of green energy options. No members benefit or receive monetary compensation for our efforts.  Our contribution is voluntary and our only rewards are what we can successfully contribute toward a cleaner environment for those future generations that follow.

Woodstock Commits to Green Energy

The Board of Education & the Board of Selectmen vote to continue "Going Green"

The recent proposal to the town was to:

1. Approve the MOU to Sterling Planet to commit to a 5 year green energy purchase.
2. Approve the new Green-E Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) program offered by Sterling Planet.
3. Approve switching to Starion Energy for lower generation costs.

Both the Board of Selectmen & the Board of Education approved these proposals unanimously.  We thank the selectmen and members of the Board of Education on behalf of the community for supporting our efforts to commit to "buying green" and saving on utility costs.

The recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Woodstock and Sterling Planet, our clean energy provider, was to continue to purchase green energy for the next five years, retroactive to 2009, thus completing Woodstock's final program requirement with the CT Clean Energy Program.  With the acceptance of this MOU, Woodstock will now receive a $30,000 solar installation grant from state to install our earned panels.

The CCEF will need to set up a solar workshop for the town and evaluate 4 sites recommended by the town.  The town will be able to choose its preferred site from those recommended by the CCEF consultants. We're hoping that the middle school would be the recommended site for the installation.

The Green-E Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) program offered by Sterling Planet allows any commercial business a reduced 1 year rate of .0035 cents per kWh.  This is over a 65% reduction to the .0119 cents commercial businesses are currently paying for clean renewable energy.  The new program requires a 1 year contract agreement as a commercial account to purchase a minimum of 100,000 kWh's yearly. This will continue to be a mix of Wind & Hydro energy. Contact Sterling Planet for additional information.

Starion Energy offers their generation rates of .0959 cents per kWh starting April 1st, compared to Public Power Utility's .0999 cents per kWh.

Over 1.3 million kilowatts (1.3 GWh) of energy will now be replaced as renewable energy and this now pushes Woodstock to the top in CT as the only "Green Town" purchasing 100% renewable energy for it's municipalities and schools, according to Bob Wall of the CT Clean Energy Program.

As a result of these approvals, the town & school board have reduced their clean renewable energy costs by 70% and continue to save even more on generation service charges.

If you are currently an enrolled member, contact me and we'll get you signed up with Starion Energy and also enter your name in a FREE DRAWING we will be hosting this summer as an incentive to join:

WOODSTOCK NOW AN EPA GREEN POWER PARTNER

In a recent letter from the EPA, it reads, "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would like to thank the Town of Woodstock, CT for making a significant green power purchase. Your commitment, and those of other Green Power Partners, helps to reduce the risks associated with climate change by supporting technologies that are more sustainable for businesses and communities."

We look forward to the support and resources, which are now made available to Woodstock, from the EPA. A list of these resources can be view by clicking here.

FREE DRAWING **RESCHEDULED**

Our FREE DRAWING EVENT is rescheduled for December 31st 2010.  Everyone who enrolled will automatically be entered in the drawing.  We are currently planning several more opportunities to join, so check back for more information.

OCTOBER 2nd - FREE ELECTRONICS RECYCLING

Our FREE electronics e-WASTE event held on Saturday June 19th at the Town Hall in Woodstock was quite successful. Many residents participated in support of a ZERO Land-fill policy and we thank everyone.

In the short 4 hours of our event, 23 NEW Renewable Energy households joined to participate in our program. They are now saving money every month on their utilities and purchasing Green Renewable Energy from Sterling Planet. THANK YOU TO ALL!!!

We will continue to promote Renewable Energy in Woodstock and also how you can sign-up for clean energy and save money every month at the same time. Click here more information.

Our NEXT e-Waste event is scheduled for October 2nd, 2010 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Be there if you missed out on our last e-Waste event. If you have working electronics which are still useful and you wish to donate rather than recycled, please email us to arrange a pickup and we'll have them donated BEFORE the event. Donations can not be made at the recycle event.

For Renewable Energy information, visit our Online Forum, Blog, RE Resources and Download sections.

Have a PV Solar or Wind installation already? Email me your photos and I'll post them on our site so others can see what Woodstock residents are doing.

Woodstock Celebrates Becoming a Green Community

With this recent acceptance, Woodstock has reached it's goal in achieving a 'Green Energy Community' status with the CCEF program... download letter. Our goals continue to increase community memberships in the purchase of clean energy and to also move forward with the installation of PV.

Woodstock, along with many other communities, has passed a resolution to commit to the state mandates for a 20% reduction by 2010, as a result, we will be organizing our information and posting it here for all to read and use in the push for a cleaner environment. Read more about the Connecticut Clean Energy Communities Program and what you can do to save and conserve energy.

To date, Woodstock has over 140 growing members who have signed up for Renewable Energy through the CT Clean Energy Fund with CL&P participating. This represents over 2.8% of the households here in Woodstock. The town is given FREE solar panels for every 100 points accumulated, to be used toward a cleaner environment. The scoring system for points has changed recently, so a 50% enrollment is now considered 1-point. Woodstock has, as of this post, earned over 140 points and has qualified to receive 4 PV panels. We encourage everyone to participate... click here for more info.

SIGN-UP for Sterling Planet 1.09 cents kWh

SIGN-UP for Starion Energy 9.59 cents kWh

NEW on our site - ONLINE FORUM

We've just added a FORUM for people to post questions to. This FORUM will address any issue regarding renewable energy (RE) including ways to obtain different types of RE, RE choices, how to get your town involved in RE and where to get funding for RE projects.

With this forum, you'll be able to get replies and responses to postings from all over and everyone benefits from the answers. It's a great way to build a knowledge-base.

Register with the Forum and be a part of the RE community if you're not already. Provide answers and solutions for others with your specialized knowledge or just simply ask a question. As a subscriber, you'll be notified automatically when someone has responded to your post.