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The Berkshire Eagle, Sunday April 14, 2002

Williamstown seeks to set a pioneering energy policy 

April 12, 2002

By Edward Ortiz 

Special to The Eagle 

WILLIAMSTOWN 

As rising evidence of global warming begins to claim a larger share of the public's consciousness, this community of 8,400 is
undertaking a pioneering campaign to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.

The commitment to renewable energy is coming at an opportune time. Nearly 64 percent of Berkshire County residents say
they would be willing to pay extra to use renewable energy -- like solar, wind or waterpower -- if it is available according to
a recent poll by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC).

As part of its master planning process, and through funds from the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Williamstown is
halfway through an inventory of how much energy it uses and where it comes from. That inventory, which will be complete
this summer, put Williamstown among 111 communities nationwide that are doing such studies as participants in the Cities for
Climate Protection Program (CCP) -- a voluntary effort to help municipalities reduce their share of greenhouse gas emissions,
like carbon dioxide.

Through its participation in the CCP program, endorsed by the Selectmen, the town has agreed to be a guinea pig from
which other Berkshire County towns can learn about wiser energy use.

The energy use inventory, being conducted with a $4,000 will lead to the creation of a town committee that will recommend
options on renewable energy practices, said Henry Art director of the Center for Environmental Studies at Williams College.
Art is a member of the town's master plan steering committee and one of the town's most eloquent proponents of renewable
energy. 

"This is a new idea that could apply to the rest of the county," said Art. "This will allow us to compare apples and oranges." 

For Art, who holds a doctorate in forest ecology from Yale University, those apples and oranges mean the different energy
categories the town draws upon such as electricity, gas, coal and nuclear power.

For example, Art said, the study shows that the town's annual electricity consumption results in more than 120 million pounds
of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere each year. That's because 40 percent of the town's electricity --
supplied by Massachusetts Electric -- is derived from the utility's burning of coal. And the burning of coal to produce electric
energy has been identified as a major contributor to atmospheric pollution in Western Massachusetts. 

"Electricity is the easiest medium of change," said Art.

He said once the energy assessment is done, Williamstown will have a very clear picture of where changes need to be made.
Right now, the town is missing figures on its oil and natural gas consumption, he said.

Once the figures are culled, the town can begin to think about permit standards for more energy-efficient building design --
especially in education and industry, said Nancy Nylen, associate director of the Center for Ecological Technology in
Pittsfield. 

"This is a tangible effort," said Nylen. "It's not solely theoretical." 

Nylen pointed to the recent $58,000 grant received by the town for the new $14. 5 million Williamstown Elementary School
as an example of what a community can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The grant, which comes as part of the
Greens Schools Program through the Massachussetts Technology Collaborative, will help fund the wiring of a photovoltaic
solar electric system and passive solar greenhouse heating system.

When completed, the school will be the first in the Berkshires with a 10-kilowatt solar-energy system, enough to meet the
electricity needs of five homes.

Michael Card, the town's director of inspection services, said that while the photovoltaic system is currently very expensive to
buy and install, the cost benefits will come by connecting the system to Mass Electric's power grid. 

"In the summer, when the school is unoccupied, our power meters will spin backwards," said Card. Whatever solar power is
collected, but not used, he said, can be sold back to Mass Electric. 

"That's just good common sense and part of being a Yankee," said Card.

The town is also looking at other renewable energy possibilities -- like wind power. 

A warrant article for the May 14 town meeting seeks to amend town zoning codes so that wind power technology can be
developed, zoned and implemented without compromising property character or value.

It is not the first time such an article has been included at town meeting, and it is expected to spark intense debate.

Although the town appears from all this to be firmly committed to establishing renewable energy practices, it is to Williams
College that many here look to make the biggest impact on energy use. Williams is, by far, the major employer -- and
landowner -- in the community. 

"The college has to be willing to consider energy efficiency in their decisions," said Birgit Koehler, assistant professor of
chemistry. "I think that the faculty needs to use their expertise to educate their colleagues, their students and the community." 

The college has a Campus Environmental Advocacy Committee working with the administration on such issues as renewable
energy.

Stephen Mischissin, director of facilities, pointed to the pending installation of a co-generator, which will allow the college to
re-use the effluent of its steam energy heating system to produce electric power, as one example of Williams's commitment to
renewable energy. The system will be on-line in 2003. 

"The college has always been concerned about conservation," he said. 

"But cost will always be an issue." said Helen Ouellette, vice president of administration at the college. She said that while
environmental concerns should be talked about, the campus master plan that's under development has "nothing specific" in it
about renewable energy goals.

Williamstown is not the only town considering the impact of its energy use on the rise of greenhouse gases.

The Energy Action Group based in Great Barrington, is also looking at the issue. The group is drafting a letter to selectmen in
South County asking them to make some commitment towards renewable energy, said Ellen Pearson, coordinator of Energy
Action. 

"One of the biggest issues for us is transportation," said Pearson. "That's where a third of our energy resources go." 

Auto use in the county has risen nearly 80 percent since 1970, according to figures from the Berkshire Regional Planning
Commission.

However, Pearson bristled at the notion that Williamstown is taking the lead in a town-mandated commitment to renewable
energy practices. 

"We intend to compare notes with Williamstown," said Pearson "But we're not sitting on our hands with respect to this issue."

Pearson said that the Energy Action Group has forged close ties with the Massachusetts Climate Action Network which has
helped the cities of Cambridge and Amherst in establishing renewable energy resources and practices.

For Henry Art the biggest obstacle towards establishing renewable energy practices countywide is ignorance.

"Renewable energy issues are issues that are pretty easy to ignore on a daily basis," said Art. "There's a lot of subtlety
involved here. It's not Chernobyl." 

Cost and acceptance of new technologies will be key, said Art.

Cost may seem to be a valid constraint, he explained, when one is thinking about installing a solar power system or buying
hybrid car that runs on gasoline and electric energy. But he added: "I think people should look at the bigger picture." 

For Art, that has everything to do with medical and hidden costs that arise from breathing air polluted by the burning of coal
and other so called "cheaper" fossil fuels.