Green Blocks

Green Blocks folks might want to read the Draft Energy Plan written last year. Link to read the complete 3-page plan.

Executive Summary Scope and Schedule

1. Goal A survey of our home or business energy use. We will target 5%, or 1000 of the 20,000 people who live or work in Wallingford to complete the survey about their energy use. Action: Some of this survey work will be done with Green Blocks, some with the City Light Neighborhood Power Project, some with Wallingford Solar. Coordination needed. Additional survey work needed.

2. Goal: We will train local middle and high school students to follow up with one-on-one with people who live or work in Wallingford with on-site energy surveys. Students will conduct these surveys in their own households, with their neighbors, or in local businesses and institutions. Students will be mentored by adults. These on-site surveys will focus on 250 homes and businesses. Action: This work will be done through City Light and Green Blocks. More local student involvement would be great! Schedule: The on-site surveys will begin in the summer of 2009. Data collected will be publicized on-line through the summer.

3. Goal: We will recruit 100 people who completed energy surveys to expand their commitment to green energy. These are Wallingford residents and workers who want to learn more about local energy steps to savings. These early Green Energy adopters will meet individually with energy experts, as well as meet at least once in a facilitated groups of 10 each, to make plans, sign a contract of intentions, and provide peer support. Action: Green Blocks has made a commitment to have peer group classes and meetings. Schedule: Peer group community meetings will work best in the fall and winter of 2009.

4. Goal: We will develop a shared resource bank of conservation tips, stories, experiences, contractor contacts, testimonials, and a menu of green energy options. The resource bank will be on-line, fully-interactive, and supported through the Wallingford Neighborhood Office. Action: This GreenBlocks site on the GreenWallingford Ning has the potential to become a shared resource bank when people contribute to it. Schedule: The resource bank will begin in the summer of 2009 and will develop more fully as more people are trained in the fall of 2009.

5. Goal: We will encourage a community cooperative for energy efficiency. This cooperative will support a combination of decentralized home/building actions, microenterprise grants, and centralized large community-wide demonstration projects including a Community Supported Energy (CSE) project. Action: Some CSE is already underway through Wallingford Solar. More is needed! Schedule: Some of the microenterprise grants could be done in the fall of 2009, larger projects will be pulled together as the green energy community evolves.

6. Repeat steps 1 through 5, with the assistance of the first set of people who are Green Energy adopters.
http://www.sustainablewallingford.us/WallingfordEnergyPlan.pdf