New Hampshire towns will trade ideas for local energy projects – and talk with policymakers – at a conference Friday in Concord.
The state Sustainable Energy Association has held this expo for the last 10 years.
At the start, local energy solutions director Henry Herndon says, it was mainly residents trading tips for home energy upgrades. Now, the event attracts hundreds of stakeholders in local energy development, including businesses, municipal leaders and lawmakers.
Herndon says they can network and share their success stories – like LED streetlight installations, school efficiency upgrades or town solar projects.
"If a town can invest in their own source of energy generation, and reduce energy costs that way, it's a clear benefit to them,” Herndon says. “And I think they'll probably be wanting to communicate that to state policy-makers."
Members of the legislature's incoming Democratic majority have said they want to prioritize renewable energy development next session.