Aquinnah Climate and Energy Committee Meeting

Aquinnah Climate and Energy Committee Meeting

December 5, 2022, 4 pm

Agenda

1. Landfill Solar Array.  As mentioned last month, the Select Board has approved Town purchase of the solar array at the capped landfill.   We’ll discuss the timing for the transaction and how to publicize this.
2. Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP) Technical Assistance Project.  The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has recruited the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to provide technical assistance to Aquinnah and Chilmark in our ETIPP process.  Our first meeting with the Lab team will be on Friday, December 5, to start scoping the project and get to know each other.
3. New Stretch Code and Specialized Opt-In Stretch Code.  DOER’s revised Stretch Code will take effect autormatically in mid-2024 in towns that have adopted the Stretch Code, as Aquinnah has.  The Specialized Opt-In Code, which is intended to require new buildings to have zero carbon emissions, will be available for towns to opt into.  A movement is afoot to get the new Healey administration to revisit and tighten the Specialized Code.  VSEC has recommended that all six island towns opt into the Specialized Code, each on its own schedule.  We will discuss how and when we should take this up with the Town’s Select Board. 
4. Action Items under Climate Action Plan. 
5. The Climate Action Plan identifies town energy committees or town administrators as the lead on a number of energy action items.  As discussed at our last meeting, those items will be resolved in connection with the new Stretch Codes.
6. The Plan assigns lead responsibility for the following two items to town administrators.  It is really the town energy committees that need to take the lead, in Aquinnah’s case through our ETIPP process, discussed above. 

1. The Climate Action Plan assigns the lead on a number of other action items to various other organs of town government.  We will discuss how we should act to ensure that Aquinnah entities are aware of their responsibilities in this regard.
2. Vineyard Power Application to Be CLC’s Community First Partner.  Vineyard Power has been designated by Cape Light Compact as its Community First Partner, to help island residents and businesses to take advantage of the MassSave incentives to weatherize and electrify their buildings.  We’ll discuss working with Vineyard Power to promote retrofitting of existing buildings in Aquinnah.
3. Resiliency Project at the Town Buildings.  We have planned to have solar and battery storage at the Town buildings.  We will discuss coordination with the Town building renovation process and further developments.
4. Other Business.

A Zoom invitation is set forth below.  The same Zoom link will be used for all meetings for the coming year. 

Bill Lake is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

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