Summit Spotlights Saving Energy

By Cara Baruzzi

By Luther Turmelle North Bureau Chief

HARTFORD — Helping consumers save energy is big business, if the scene Thursday at the Mariott Hartford Downtown was any indicator.

Officials from energy conservation-related businesses from across New England were at the Columbus Boulevard hotel for the 2008 Northeast Energy Efficiency Summit.

Forty exhibitors and more than 300 people attended the conference, where speakers stressed that energy efficiency is critical to the economic health of the six-state region.

“New Englanders recognize that conservation is critical for our economic and environmental survival,” said Ann Berwick, undersecretary for energy for the state of Massachusetts.

Charles Shivery, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Northeast Utilities in Berlin, Conn., said that while his company is proposing several transmission projects that would bring wind, solar and hydroelectric power from Canada and northern New England, renewable energy alone won’t be enough to address the region’s electric needs in the future.

“New England has more of an energy efficiency upside than other regions around the country,” Shivery said.

He added that the age of much of New England’s housing stock and commercial building portfolio make the buildings logical candidates for upgrades.

An entire energy conservation industry has sprung up to address the efficiency improvements these buildings need. Mary Healey, Connecticut’s consumer counsel, said about 1,000 people are employed by the industry in this state alone.

And as the price of oil reaches record highs on almost a daily basis, vendors at the energy summit like groSolar of Vermont are seeing increasing demand for their services.

“We’re seeing the number of installations we’re doing double,” said Charlie Noury, a Connecticut representative for groSolar, which recently installed a solar-powered hot water system at Boston’s Fenway Park.

Noury acknowledged that the upfront costs of solar energy — an average of $12,000 to $14,000 after factoring government rebates for a system that generates a little under five kilowatts — keep it from gaining a wider acceptance among consumers.

“But for those who can afford it, it offers them an opportunity to fix their energy costs over a multiyear period,” Noury said.

While escalating energy costs are convincing more consumers about the value of power conservation, some people still need more convincing, said Richard Steeves, chairman of the state’s Energy Conservation Management Board, which administers the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund, making money available for efficiency projects.

“It requires a change in lifestyle, really,” Steeves said. “People lived a certain way for so long that in some cases, they’re reluctant to changes.”

Luther Turmelle can be reached at lturmelle@nhregister.com or 789- 5706.

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