by Marissa Lucas

Thanks to the efforts of the Kittery Energy Advisory Committee, in conjunction with fellow KEYS-area Energy Committees (which includes the towns of Eliot, York, and South Berwick), Kittery was one of six towns to receive a five hundred thousand dollar federal energy efficiency grant for this year.

The idea originated with the Community Wellness Coalition, who, after recognizing the availability of government stiumuls money, brainstormed ways to better the community -- and the environment. The idea was passed on to the Kittery Energy Committee, who then teamed up with the other KEYS communities to submit their combined proposal.

This money was awarded to towns in York County in the form of the Energy Efficiency Grant, and is designed to stimulate the economy, fund weatherization of buildings, energy savings and installation of solar technologies, as well as education and training programs in the KEYS towns and other communities.

According to Nancy Farron, getting people to understand that energy savings really happens with conservation is one of the main goals of the grant. "This grant will help people save money and resources,” says Farron.

Another one of the key goals of the grant includes local job creation. "This will create a need for energy audits and construction," explains Sharron. "And community influence, if people start seeing their neighbors getting involved they will be more likely to make a conservative change,” Sarron continues.

The awarding of the grant brings into sharp relief a new and growing focus on energy efficiency throughout the Seacoast. In York Country, forty percent of the buildings were constructed before 1970, and existing energy systems need to be outfitted with new and efficient energy conservation systems. To do all this work would save twenty-five to fifty percent in energy costs. It would also help with job retention, job creation, affordable housing, and business growth.

The KEYS region proposal states the project goals for the grant include:

• To create a replicable model in South York County for improving the energy efficiency of homes and small businesses, and reducing green house gas (ghg) emissions from this area.
• To build a workforce of trained professionals who will be able to meet current and future demand for energy efficiency projects in the region.
• To build the infrastructure to support widespread use of a variety of energy efficient technologies in south York County starting with solar thermal.
• Leverage savings from increased energy efficiency of buildings in the private sector.
• Leverage government and private sector resources.
• Build the foundation for regional cooperation on energy efficiency and ghg reduction efforts.

The goals allow the York County area to “green” their communities by providing money to people who are interested in taking new and bold initiatives. The way the project works by establishing a loan fund to provide low interest loans to the homeowners and small business owners in the participating towns for energy efficiency upgrades and solar thermal installations.

“Change starts with weatherization and moves on to bigger, more visible initiatives,” says Farron.

The money will allow for a program to train energy professionals in the South York County region. The average loan will be $7,200 with a cap of $10,000. Biddeford Saco Area Economic Development Corporation (BSAEDC), a non-profit agency will be administering the loan program.