That program is an initiative of the Climate Economy Action Center of Addison County known as Addison County Energy Navigators.

Through the program, residents receive free one-on-one support in identifying ways to reduce their homes’ carbon footprint and utility bills.

ENERGY NAVIGATORS VOLUNTEER Steve Duclos demonstrates how to use a thermal camera at an energy education workshop in Weybridge. The Addison County Energy Navigators program helps residents decarbonize their home and is continuing to expand its reach through various initiatives.
Photo courtesy of Shannon Bryant

This summer, the Energy Navigators program is continuing to expand its reach and closing in on a key milestone. Energy Navigators Director Shannon Bryant said the team has completed 96 energy navigations with local homeowners and renters and expects to reach 100 such consultations sometime this month.

“I think the more we do this the better we get at it, and we dial in tools that can help and processes are dialed in,” Bryant told the Independent. “One of the things that’s really exciting is the development of volunteers, and the potential to do a really good job here in Addison County and then scale it as we can.”

FREE SUPPORT

The Climate Economy Action Center, or CEAC, initially launched a pilot version of the Energy Navigators program in fall 2023. The initiative kicked off in earnest in 2024 and ties into CEAC’s efforts to help reduce local greenhouse gas emissions. A Climate Action Plan for the county published by the nonprofit in June of 2022 outlines various steps community members can take to achieve reductions in local greenhouse gas emissions, such as decarbonizing homes’ energy use.

The Energy Navigators program is intended to help residents tackle such projects, assisting them in finding options for reducing their home’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as connecting them with resources and incentives available for those projects.

The program is free and open to anyone living in Addison County.  Community members can find more information and next steps on the Energy Navigators website.

“If we can help anyone reduce their greenhouse gases, reduce their costs and increase their comfort then we want to visit with you, and it’s free,” Bryant said. “All it takes is somebody’s time.”

As of last week, Energy Navigators had connected with homeowners and renters in most towns around Addison County. Energy Navigators have helped residents living in a variety of different homes, from older farmhouses to manufactured homes.

“I worked with someone that was living in a manufactured home…she added a heat pump and she got a solar heater for her pool,” Bryant said. “That’s going to completely change what she’s looking at for energy costs, and she’s not going to have to rely on her oil furnace as much.”

The Energy Navigators team meets with residents for energy consultations to discuss their priorities and personal goals for reducing their homes’ utility bills and carbon footprints. From there, the team looks to help them navigate their options and identify available resources and incentives.

“What we’re finding when we talk to people is they’re like ‘Oh, I didn’t know I qualified for anything,’ and there’s incentives out there for everybody,” Bryant said. “It doesn’t matter what your income is; there’s all sorts of incentives out there.”

Incentives available for residents looking to tackle clean energy projects include rebates and tax credits. As of this writing, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., were deliberating on a tax-and-spending bill that included proposed phase-outs of clean energy tax credits, such as credits for energy audits and rooftop solar.

While it’s unclear at this point exactly how those incentives will be impacted, support for clean energy projects offered through the Energy Navigators program and other entities will remain available regardless of shifts at the federal level (see related story).

The Energy Navigators program has received funding from Vermont Low-Income Trust for Electricity (VLITE) for another grant cycle, Bryant said. The team will continue to provide the same support to Addison County residents and aims to stay as up to date as possible on available resources and information.

LOOKING AHEAD

The program is also in the process of expanding its work in towns around the county. Through partnerships with Efficiency Vermont, the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) and the Vermont Energy Education Program (VEEP), the program is broadening its reach through various offerings.

Energy Navigators has partnered with VEEP to offer educational workshops around the county, focusing on topics like home heat transfer and home energy conservation. Those workshops will wrap up later this month with events in Bridport on July 15 and Middlebury on July 16. More information on those events can be found on the Energy Navigators website.

ENERGY NAVIGATORS OUTREACH Specialist, Adayliah Ley, sees how much effort is needed to light up an incandescent versus LED lightbulb. The Energy Navigators program has hosted a variety of educational workshops over the past year, focusing on topics like home heat transfer and home energy conservation.
Photo courtesy of Shannon Bryant

The team is looking to offer similar workshops in the future.

“We’re hoping to set up a series of these workshops, maybe one a month for the next year in different locations,” Bryant said, noting the team is looking to partner with Efficiency Vermont and incorporate the statewide energy efficiency utility into such workshops.

Those involved in the program have also been working to train a cohort of seven volunteer Energy Navigators, who will eventually head out into their communities to help residents explore energy upgrades. Training volunteers will also allow community members to talk with someone they know when exploring clean energy projects, according to Bryant.

“We’re sitting down at people’s kitchen tables and talking to them about one of the biggest investments in their life, and it can be helpful to have someone that’s a trusted, local expert across from the table,” Bryant said. “It’s someone maybe in your community or an adjacent community, and I think that’s really key to some of the communication that happens.”

Volunteers are already assisting with navigations, Bryant said, and some are expected to start leading navigations by the end of the summer. Those volunteers are from towns across the county, including Goshen, Vergennes and Middlebury.

“We don’t have a person from every town yet, but we’re hoping to keep expanding this,” Bryant said.

The program also plans to expand its operations beyond Addison County. Energy Navigators will soon begin working in Brandon, with support from a grant the town received through the Vermont Department of Public Service. Another one of those grants will allow the program to expand its service in Middlebury.

“Both of those towns have hired CEAC to run our Energy Navigator program in their towns really specifically, and they have targets to meet for the grant,” Bryant explained.

Bryant noted Energy Navigators will continue its work in other parts of the county while those newer initiatives are underway. Looking ahead, Bryant said she’s excited about how the program might build on its work over the past year.