City of Keene EP3 100% Renewable Energy Press Release

The City of Keene set a goal that all electricity consumed in the City will come from renewable energy sources by the year 2030 and that 100% of all thermal energy and energy used for transportation come from renewable energy sources by the year 2050. While this goal is set for the entire Keene community and not just municipal government operations, in an effort of moving toward this goal, the City recently contracted for electricity for their municipal operations requirements which supports clean and renewable electricity generation.

The City contracted with Constellation to provide Green‑e® Energy certified Renewable Energy Certificates for one account for 12 months and the remaining accounts for 24 months.  The City has procured Renewable Energy Certificates, also known as RECs, sourced from wind renewable resources located within the United States. The RECs that will be provided to the City of Keene will promote greenhouse gas emission reduction benefits such as carbon dioxide (CO2) reductions.

From 1995 to 2015, emissions from the City’s facilities decreased from 5,899 tons CO2e to 4,423 tons CO2e corresponding to a 25% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve this, the City of Keene implemented a variety of energy efficiency and cost savings measures over the past 20 years that have led to significant emissions reductions for municipal operations, including:

• The installation of a geothermal heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system at the Keene Public Works Department,
• The installation of hydroelectric turbines at the Water Treatment Plant,
• Various building envelope and lighting upgrades,
• The installation of a solar photovoltaic system at the Keene City Hall,
• The use of biodiesel for the City vehicle fleets.  

Within the same efforts, the City also recently installed a 643.2-kilowatt grid-tied solar electric system on the roof of the Public Works Department and Keene Police Department (350-400 Marlboro Street.)

The purchase of RECs associated with its municipal electric usage demonstrates the City’s commitment to renewable energy supply and reducing its carbon footprint.  The City’s installation of solar PV, the use of biodiesel and reduction in energy use should significantly contribute to a decrease of CO2e tons emitted by the city buildings. If you would like to help the community reach its 100% renewable energy goals, there are several ways to get involved:

• Attend a meeting of the Energy and Climate Committee, which meets monthly on the first Wednesday of the month at 8:00 AM.
• Contact Mari Brunner, staff liaison to the Energy and Climate Committee: (603)352-5440 or mbrunner@ci.keene.nh.us
• Attend upcoming community meetings (see the schedule at https://keenenh.gov/sustainability)

The EP3 Committee is committed to assisting the City’s Purchasing Division in identifying and procuring products and services that 1) reduce toxicity, 2) conserve natural resources, materials, water and energy, and 3) maximize recyclability and recycled content and reduce waste. This is in response to the City policy stating that The City shall promote the use of environmentally preferable products in its acquisition of goods and services.”  Environmentally Preferable Products have “a lesser or reduced negative effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products which serve the same purpose (including) reusable products, product(s) that can be used several times for an intended purpose before being discarded.”

For more information, call Yves P. Gakunde, Chairman of the City of Keene EP3 Committee at (603)357-9800 or email ygakunde@ci.keene.nh.us.