Newburyport Residents and Businesses Invited to Help Define City’s Clean Energy Future

June 12, 2013 - PRLog -- Newburyport, June 11, 2013 – Newburyport is developing innovative ideas to meet future energy needs. Community members are invited to participate in the development of Newburyport’s Clean Energy Roadmap at a public forum on the evening of June 18th at the City Hall Auditorium.

Key forum topics will include:

·         Where will our energy come from in the next 20 years?

·         What types of clean energy projects make the most sense for Newburyport?

·         What is Newburyport’s clean energy vision, and how will it become a reality?

Press Information: Newburyport Community Energy 101 Forum

Newburyport Mayor Donna Holaday has invited community members to participate in the Newburyport Community Energy 101 Forum held on June 18th, 2013 at 6:30 pm. Hosted in the auditorium at Newburyport City Hall, the event marks the kick-off of the Newburyport Community Energy Strategies Program. The Forum provides participants the opportunity to engage one another – as well as state and community leaders – in structured conversation that will inform the development of Newburyport’s comprehensive Clean Energy Roadmap.

The Newburyport Community Energy Strategies Program is an initiative developed by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Green Communities Division. It provides local residents and businesses an opportunity to work with city leaders to identify, assess, and enable new energy efficiency, renewable energy, and renewable heating and cooling projects and programs to serve the Newburyport community.

As part of the program, community members will define their vision for Newburyport’s clean energy future, engaging neighbors, policy-makers, and technical experts in a multi-event stakeholder process. This process combines a high level resource assessment with broad stakeholder involvement in order to identify and enable clean energy technologies, projects, and incentives best suited to address Newburyport’s needs and interests. Two Community Energy Forums will be held under the program over the coming months

At the first forum, community members will learn about the program from state and community leaders. They will additionally have the opportunity to contribute their own ideas in order to develop the community vision. Based on the community vision – as well as a resource assessment carried out by technical experts – a clean energy project inventory will be developed for Newburyport, and community stakeholders and experts will convene at the second Community Energy Forum to evaluate options, identify priorities, and make concrete project recommendations. By drawing on stakeholders’ ideas as well as technical analyses, community leaders will develop the Clean Energy
Roadmap, which establishes a pathway for future clean energy development in Newburyport.

Newburyport businesses and residents interested in taking part in the first forum event should register at: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6328626091/eorg# (http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6328626091/eorg)

Questions about the Newburyport Community Energy Strategies Program can be addressed to: energyplanning@masscec.org