Town leads the state in energy awareness

By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo

Bob Wall presents Mary Fanette with a clean energy award as First Selectman Sue Dyer looks on. The award is displayed in Town Hall.

Robert Wall, director of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), traveled to Town
Hall on April 2 to present the Energy Task Force with one of CCEF’s 2008 Connecticut
Clean Energy Communities Awards.
CCEF honored 19 municipalities (including Norfolk), two companies and one university
with their 2008 awards. Norfolk received recognition for becoming a clean energy
community after first joining the 20 percent by 2010 campaign and subsequently attaining
a benchmark of signups within the Clean Energy Options program. Norfolk was the first in
the state to have 10 percent of its households participate in the Options program. As a
result, the town will receive a five kilowatt solar array paid for by CCEF.
Mary Fanette, chair of the Energy Task Force, said, “I think this award is a result of the
spirit and hard work of the people in this small town. It is inspiring what we have
achieved.”
Norfolk’s solar array will be installed on the roof of Botelle School by Pioneer Valley
PhotoVoltaics of New Britain later this spring.
The two companies recognized by CCEF, Curtis Packaging Corporation in Newtown and
ING in Hartford, committed to purchasing 100 percent clean energy. Wesleyan University
received a CCEF award for their commitment to purchasing one gigawatt hour of clean
energy from the CT Clean Energy Options program.
The other towns recognized, along with Norfolk, were: Bethany, Branford, Bridgeport,
Canton, Cheshire, Essex, Madison, Manchester, New Britain, Newtown, Portland,
Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport, Wethersfield, Windsor and Woodbridge.
CCEF was created in 2000 by the Connecticut General Assembly and is funded by the
electric ratepayers. Their mission is to promote, develop and invest in clean energy
sources for the benefit of Connecticut’s ratepayers, which will in turn strengthen
Connecticut’s economy, protect community health, improve the environment and promote
a secure energy supply for the state.
Norfolk continues to lead the state in improving energy efficiency and seeking out
renewable energy choices. First Selectman Sue Dyer recently signed an agreement with
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess and to reduce energy usage at our
municipal buildings by at least 10 percent.

With technical assistance from the EPA, Norfolk’s Energy Task Force will be tracking
energy use per square foot, energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions from our town
buildings. This information will then be shared with organizations across the region to
identify opportunities for energy efficiency and renewable energy options.