The Craftsbury Energy Committee is developing a grant proposal for a Microgrid based at the Craftsbury Academy, the town's Emergency Shelter. The Microgrid would include a solar array and a large battery storage system. The grant is offered through the USDA Rural Energy Pilot Project.
Many parties are involved in the proposal including the Craftsbury Select board, Craftsbury Town School Board, Craftsbury Academy Trustees, Sterling College, Craftsbury Planning Commission, and Hardwick Electric Department.
The grant would be used to engineer, purchase, and construct a solar array plus storage microgrid system as well as contract for maintenance and operation including sale and management of storage assets and photovoltaic(PV) production.
The purpose of the proposal is to:
1. Provide renewable and reliable power for Craftsbury Academy, the designated emergency shelter, eliminating the need for the installation and maintenance of a fossil fuel backup generator.
2. Have income from the sale of battery services and excess PV production finance home weatherization and installation of backup batteries and heat pumps for low and moderate income Craftsbury residents.
3. To increase grid and community resilience through distributed generation and storage
4. To provide net-metering for all of Craftsbury Academy's electrical needs as well as the power required for the municipal buildings not currently supplied by renewable energy.
The system will provide close to $3,000,000.00 in direct and indirect savings and income to the town over the life of the project.
The grant request is for $2,000,000 with an additional 20% match ($400,000) required from the grant recipient. We hope that the Town of Craftsbury will provide as much as $50,000 from the $330,000 of ARPA funds they've received. No additional funding will be needed from the town. Additionally there are several promising sources of matching funding with whom we are actively engaged.
The Energy Committee believes that the grant proposal has substantial social and economic benefits for the town and emphatically fulfills the goals of Vermont's Climate Action Plan and Comprehensive Energy Plan.
We will be giving a public Zoom presentation of the proposed project on Sunday, April 3 at 5:00 pm.
Use this Craftsbury Town link to get the Zoom link: https://www.townofcraftsbury.com/craftsbury-calendar/craftsbury1
Hope to see you at the Zoom presentation!
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