At our recent energy conservation & alternative energy workshops we suggested that one of the best ways to put the sun to work to reduce energy costs is through the installation of a solar hot water system. Have we got a great follow up for you.

The Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative or PAREI that was mentioned at our solar hot water workshop is looking to team up with Tin Mountain to encourage interested local folks to form a group to start offering their Energy Raiser program here in our valley.  PAREI is non-profit citizen’s organization whose mission is “to encourage energy conservation and energy efficiency practices and to promote the use of renewable energy in the Plymouth, NH region. This is done through education, community building, increasing accessibility to professional energy-related services and by developing and sharing our model with other communities.”

The PAREI Energy Raisers are a neighbor helping neighbor concept of installing solar energy on homes based on the tradition of Amish barn-raising.  See: http://www.plymouthenergy.org/raisers.html

PAREI also offers community partnerships outside of the Plymouth area. This involves” identifying a local core group of 5 – 6 people that are interested in creating an Energy Raiser Team and having two or three families who are able to afford the equipment costs and are very interested in hosting an ER at their home.  And to sweeten the deal, PAREI has a grant available to cover much of the fees that they usually charge when working with a new community partner.  The only hitch is that we need to have one home prepared to host a Solar Riser by mid November,

To add to our luck locally, we have discovered a party who not only is interested, but already has purchased (from PAREI) the collectors for the system and has a new roof already plumbed to accept the collectors. All that’s needed is a commitment from a few of you to help us seize this opportunity to get the ball rolling here in the Valley.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer to help move the program forward or hosting an Energy Rasier at your home (or both!), please join us for an informative gathering on Tuesday, September 21st at 7pm at Tin Mountain’s Nature Learning Center on Bald Hill Road in Albany. Questions? Please contact Russ Lanoie at (603) 447-5266 or russ@ruralhometech.com.