Cape & Islands Self-Reliance Corporation

News and Policy Updates

March 16, 2009 Announcement: 

Land-based Wind Workshop 2009:  PUTTING WIND TO WORK IN A CHANGING CLIMATE

Friday, April 17, 2009 from 8 am - 4:30 pm

 at the Cape and Islands Association Realtors Conference Center, West Yarmouth, MA

Please contact Laurie at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (WBNERR):     Laurie.Tompkins@state.ma.us

The day's agenda will be posted soon.

February 20, 2009:  On Saturday, February 28, from 9:00 am until 12:00 pm, the Harwich United Methodist Church, located at 1 Church Street in Harwich, will host open forum on a community-based weatherization initiative that is being conducted by members of the Cape and Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative.

The public is invited to learn practical things everyone can do to stay warm and safe this winter, and to become a volunteer "work crew member" trained to help one's neighbors stay warm and save energy.  The information that will be presented is designed to empower consumers interested in winterizing their own homes and in helping families, friends, and neighbors save energy, money, and the environment. Megan Amsler, Executive Director of Self-Reliance and Chris Powicki, President of the Cape and Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative will be presenting.

Cape and Islanders are facing increasingly difficult energy choices. With funding from the Cape Cod Foundation, the Cape and Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative (CIRenew) is implementing an innovative, community-based initiative to help people stay warm and safe this winter.  We are collaborating with energy, social service, faith-based, and other organizations to mobilize volunteers into a Community Energy Corps.

For more information, please contact Megan Amsler at Cape & Islands Self-Reliance, 508.563.6633 or Valerie Bell at 508.430.2506 or valeriebell@lycos.com.

February 18, 2009:  Self Reliance is pleased to announce an upcoming Passive House Consultant Training by The Passive House Institute US (PHIUS), the only body in the US that is authorized to administer Certified Passive House™ Consultants' Training.

The training consists of a series of three, three-day sessions and is intended for architects and building system designers who want to learn how to successfully implement Passive House design principles in residential, commercial, and retrofit scenarios.   This is an advanced building science class for professionals looking to become certified Passive House consultants. Far more stringent than Energy Star and other U.S. standards, the Passivhaus Standard requires reducing the operational energy load by 90% when compared to existing buildings.

Boston Area - Spring 2009
Phase I - March 4-6
Phase II - April 1-3
Phase III - June 3-5

Registration: $650 per phase.

This program will be held at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative in Westborough, MA.

The trainings are progressive, so phases must be taken consecutively - i.e., Phase I must be completed before Phase II can be started and Phase II must be completed before Phase III can be started.

If you are interested in the training, a pre-registration application is required - both to allow you the opportunity to share a little about yourselves, your background and relevant experience, and to allow PHIUS to more effectively assess the growing number of requests for training. The Passive House Consultants Training application and instructions are available by email - click here to request. Be sure to indicate which of the programs you are interested in attending. If you are interested in more than one program, please indicate your order of preference. Within two weeks, applicants will be notified by email as to the status of their application, and accepted candidates will receive instructions regarding registration and logistics.
 
There is extremely high demand for this training, so we suggest that you submit your application as soon as possible.
 
For your reference, by clicking on the following links, you may access the agendas for each phase 1, phase 2 and phase 3 of PHIUS’s most recent training program. These should give a good sense of the curriculum to be covered in the trainings.

Thanks again for your interest!

Megan Amsler named to Small Wind Certification Council Board

At the American Wind Energy Association’s WindPower 2008 conference in Houston, TX, Megan Amsler, executive director of Self-Reliance, was named the secretary of the board of directors for the Small Wind Certification Council.

In April 2008, the Small Wind Certification Council (SWCC) was incorporated as an organization that will provide independent certification that indicates whether small wind turbines meet or exceed performance, durability, and safety requirements.

The SWCC will issue certified, easy-to understand labels for "SWCC Rated Annual Energy Output," "SWCC Rated Power," and "SWCC Rated Sound Level," for small wind turbines, 65 kilowatts and under. The label will also confirm the turbine meets durability and safety requirements. The SWCC will offer the information on the certified turbines through a web directory that will include Power Curves, Annual Energy Performance Curves and measured sound levels for each model certified.

 As part of its certifying function, the SWCC will determine the testing requirements. The SWCC will not conduct tests, but will verify and certify test results submitted by others. With certification labels, consumers can compare products and funding agencies and utilities will gain greater confidence that small turbines installed with public assistance are safe and perform as expected. Certification can help prevent unethical marketing and false claims of small wind systems, thereby ensuring consumer protection and industry credibility.