Editor’s note: This commentary is by Elizabeth Courtney, an author and environmental consultant, a former chair of the Environmental Board and former executive director of the Vermont Natural Resources Council. A version of this commentary appeared in the Jan. 7 Times Argus/Rutland Herald.
[T]oday, many of us are still reeling from the fallout and dark matter of the 2016 national elections. Vermonters are anxiously looking for ways to save decades of progress in environmental and climate protection. In the absence of a supportive national government we are finding that local communities are the bright places where we can advance toward our goals. Our local efforts can become islands of progress in a sea of unpredictability. Here is a tale of two islands, one called Samso, in Denmark, the other called Montpelier, in Vermont. They are rays of hope-filled light in an otherwise dark time.
In 1997 the Danish government offered a challenge to several populated Danish islands to cut their carbon footprint and increase renewable energy production. Samso Island, just west of Copenhagen — with a strong leader and an eager community — won the competition.
The winning effort started with Soren Hermansen, a high school environmental science teacher who spoke to small groups across the island to educate citizens and organize interest in the project. A natural organizer, Hermansen knew that public buy-in was essential to the success of the project. A critical part of his strategy was to set up co-op style investment plans for island residents to buy shares in the wind towers, solar arrays and biomass heaters, slated to be installed on the island.
Ten years later, the island had become an energy exporter to the mainland and today, residents are enjoying the profits from their investments in shares of their renewable energy project. The islanders have reduced their carbon footprint by 140 percent. Thousands of visitors come to the Island Academy to find out how they too can accomplish this.
In 2013 and again in 2016 Hermansen came to Vermont to speak about and plant the seeds of the Danish success story. His most recent visit was to keynote the ninth annual Vermont Energy and Climate Action Network conference at Lake Morey. From his personal experience as the director of the Samso Energy Academy and as the director of the Samso Renewable Energy Island Project, he emphasizes two prerequisite factors that must be met for success: public buy-in and starter capital.
Dan Jones, then chair of the Montpelier Energy Advisory Committee, heard Hermansen in 2013 and came away enthused and wondered how we could do something similar on our “island.”
For Montpelier, reaching a goal of net-zero energy means reducing the city’s overall energy consumption dramatically and meeting remaining energy needs through renewable supplies.
The first step was to lead the Montpelier Energy Advisory Committee in spreading the word to the City Council about the value of making carbon neutral (“net zero”) a city priority.
As a result, Montpelier has set a goal of becoming carbon-neutral, or net zero, by 2030. That means the community will use little carbon-based fuels to support food systems, transportation, industry, space heating and power. For Montpelier, reaching a goal of net-zero energy means reducing the city’s overall energy consumption dramatically and meeting remaining energy needs through renewable supplies. This goal could be achieved with massive energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy development.
Unlike the rural Samso Island, what largely stands in the way of getting to net zero in Montpelier is a land use issue. It’s called parking and it covers a whopping 60 percent of the land in the downtown. If we could design and plan for residential, recreational and commercial land uses accessed by public transit and walkable distances, we would be well on our way toward reducing the biggest category of contributors to greenhouse gases, the transportation sector. We would need to design a robust transportation system that is convenient, affordable, reliable and fun. A tall order to ask of a small city with no design staff.
Thus, the Sustainable Montpelier Design Competition was born and includes a $10,000 prize, thanks to a slate of corporate sponsors, including Ben & Jerry’s, National Life Group, All Earth Renewables, Vermont Creamery and VSECU.
The newly minted not-for-profit Net Zero Vermont, with co-CEOs Deb Sachs and Dan Jones, led the charge. They believe creative designers will help imagine more efficient land uses, make the city more livable, create new taxable property and do all this in a way that uses minimal carbon-based energy. The goal is to make this small New England city a more enjoyable place to live, work and play, while running on renewable energy. The request for proposals came out in July 2016.
There was representation from four countries in the 27 initial submissions. A professional board of jurors as well as a public voting process selected five finalists in October. Those five teams presented their final proposals on Jan. 7.
Today, the vision for a net zero Montpelier and the winners of the $10,000 prize are being considered by your friends and neighbors. The presentations and entries are on the Net Zero Vermont website (www.netzerovt.org) and online voting extends through Jan. 12.
So, please, get online to vote for a ray of hope-filled light in an otherwise dark time.
