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Local Energy Trust
2009-03-09
The Southwest Garden Energy Trust has been formed with the mission of advancing energy conservation through education and leveraging cooperative purchasing for energy conservation services and technologies in the Southwest Garden and surrounding neighborhoods.
The goals of the initiative include:
- Monitoring progressive
energy technologies and leveraging the best pricing for all
participants by negotiating with suppliers and contractors
for products and services.
- Producing and providing communications to neighborhood residents and businesses about the Energy Trust and how to participate in reducing energy use, saving money, and conserving our shared natural resources;
-Providing a fulfillment center for ordering energy conservation audits and services;
-Planning for implementation of progressive energy technologies as they become feasible and investigating job training and job creation opportunities in these new technologies;
The Trust has been launched, and after discussions with several energy consultants and committee members, it was determined that the most valuable approach will be to offer energy audits with energy- conservation measures as a first step.
A mini-Website has been established that explains the trust idea, its mission and allows residents and businesses to sign-up for the audits. http://southwestgarden.org/swge/swg_energy_trust.html Further pages will include a partners/advisors page, resource page (links) and later a jobs page as this aspect emerges.
A significant partnership has been formed with Dr. Sarah Coffin at Saint Louis University. Her urban planning class will be using the Trust as a project this semester that will include creating a Web page where residents and businesses can track their energy usage, and students researching various aspects of the Trust's ideas and other models/projects from other cities.
[How You Can Now Help] We are now at a point where greater expertise is needed to move the Trust ahead. Greater expertise in the following areas will be much welcomed.
A. Creating a policy on how to recruit contractors and how to approach them in a manner to seek the best value for the buyers the Trust hopes to recruit.
B. Seeking funding sources, and discussing avenues where the Trust could leverage government and foundation money for communications, jobs training, education, administration, etc. to make the Trust a viable entity.
C. Structuring a green-energy jobs-training program.
D. Continue monitoring new technologies.
E. Expertise on renewable power generation. Current expertise in solar heating (space and water) would also be ideal as this is also an area where there is good monetary return-on-investment at this time.
F. Expertise on the current laws and tax codes (Federal, State, Local) related to tax credits, tax deductions, other incentives and how to apply for economic stimulus money.
G. Knowledge of leveraging carbon credits and renewable energy credits.
H. Knowledge of renewable energy projects in Missouri and their level of success, especially any similar to our idea. (And any similar projects around the US and internationally).
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