Lighting a fire under self-reliance Addison County group starts renewable energy co-op

Author: Grady Ross

Vermont ranks last among all 50 states in its demand for petroleum products, and emerges second only to Hawaii in least consumption of natural gas. Still, nearly 3/5 of Vermonters use fuel oil as their primary source of home heating. Furthermore, in January 2009, the state paid on average $0.315 more per gallon of Number 2 heating oil than the rest of the nation. Vermonters are not blind to this state of affairs. In Addison County, residents have acted to allay their concerns, establishing the ACORN Energy Co-Op.

"Essentially," said Greg Pahl, president of the organization's interim board of directors, "the Co-Op is a peak oil and global warming response initiative."

The co-op evolved in June 2008, a brainchild of the Addison County Relocalization Network (ACORN). The umbrella organization got its start in 2005. Jonathan Corcoran, an ACORN volunteer, paralleled the need for the initiative with the necessity of "self-reliance."

"We're seeing the impacts of peak oil," he claimed. "ACORN explores ways to mitigate those impacts locally."

Group members hope to achieve this in part through an increased dependence on locally-grown foods. ACORN has turned much of its focus to a relationship between community members and area producers, teaming up with the Addison County Localvores. In 2006, ACORN launched an "Eat Local" campaign of their own, and has since developed an Addison County Farmers' directory and an online farmers' market. At this online directory, area residents can place orders for a variety of offerings from local growers and producers, and later pick up their purchases from the Farmers' Market in Middlebury.

"We're trying to get people to understand that there are a wide variety of foods available, and that it's possible to eat locally all year round," Corcoran said.

According to members of the ACORN Energy Co-Op, Vermont also has the ability to self-energize.

"Vermont is so utterly dependent on fossil fuels, it's dramatic," Pahl said. "But New England, and Vermont in particular, have the resources for alternative energy." He specifically cited biomass, saying "Vermont's forests and farm fields are significant resources."

Corcoran described the larger Network as an incubator from which the co-op matured. Although the co-op spun off the original re-localization initiative, they have no financial relationship.

"The co-op is run as a business," said Corcoran, "whereas ACORN is completely non-profit."

It is a business that began with a goal outlined on its Web site: to "help transition the county from our near total dependence on fossil fuels to a greater reliance on affordable, renewable energy strategies."

The co-op began the transition with an experiment, offering 19 local families the chance to heat their homes with wood pellets during the 2008 heating season. The organization is anticipating the next heating season with 66 tons of pellets.

Pahl described the wood pellet initiative as a "three-way partnership." The group has teamed up with Bordeau Bros., a local feed dealer that covers delivery, and Vermont Wood Pellet LLC, a company that runs a mill in North Clarendon, Vt. For $270.50 per ton, members of the co-op can join the partnership.

"This is to their advantage," Pahl said. "The current price per ton of wood pellets from other sources is $300 a ton. And that doesn't include delivery."

Still, this might not be realistic for many Vermonters, an issue that directors must take into account, listing "social equity" as a goal on the group's website.

"We recognize that there are various income levels," said Pahl, referencing the cooperative's option for local residents with yearly incomes below $40,000.

ACORN Energy Co-Op has partnered with businesses to offer special benefits to members.

"This is about the community helping itself," Pahl said. The co-op hopes to bolster Vermont's financial situation in larger ways as well.

"Currently most of our energy dollars go out of Addison County, or even out of the state and the country," Pahl stated, adding that "Vermont-based resources keep the money in the local economy."