(photos) Advocating for Newtown and “Green” Energy Projects at State Capitol

March 15, 2016
Sen.HwangTecCommTestimony1

Sen. Tony Hwang (left) and Newtown Public Works Director Fred Hurley, Jr. (right) on Mar. 11 testified before the state legislature’s Energy and Technology Committee in favor of a proposal to better enable towns to save money over the long term and move forward on “shovel-ready” clean energy projects.

The legislation focuses on virtual net metering, which allows towns like Newtown to assign energy credits from a solar system to another metered account.

“The benefit of this for Newtown is that it doesn’t obstruct open spaces, it can provide significant savings, and it allows municipal facilities that are not ideal for solar to reap the benefits of solar energy production,” Sen. Hwang said. “This proposal would raise the current cap for credits, allowing Newtown and other towns to move forward in their efforts to ‘go green’ and keep projects moving while generating long-term savings. I believe all of our efforts during this session should be focused on policies which make Connecticut a more predictable, more sustainable, and a more transparent state. By passing such policies, whether they be energy policies or budgetary measures, we make our state stronger over the long-term.”

Hurley warned the Energy and Technology Committee that not passing this proposal “will effectively kill 11 shovel-ready municipal projects and send a chill to all municipalities regarding other State energy initiatives such as microgrids.” Hurley added that “virtual net metering is one tool that only the State can give us, a tool that will allow Newtown and other municipalities to broaden their horizon of possibilities.”

The bill awaits a vote by the committee. The legislative session ends in May.

Sen. Hwang represents Easton, Fairfield, Newtown, Weston and Westport. On the web: www.senatorhwang.com