PETERBOROUGH RENEWABLE ENERGY PLANNING
PETERBOROUGH RENEWABLE ENERGY PLANNING
What is PREP?
At Peterborough's 2021 Town Meeting residents voted overwhelmingly (with 74% in favor) to pass a Warrant Article committing the town to transition to 100% renewable sources of electricity by 2030 and for all other energy needs by 2050. The Peterborough Renewable energy Planning (PREP) Team was appointed by the Peterborough Select Board to research and write a general action plan to meet this goal.
PREP is made up of Peterborough citizen volunteers, many with years of experience in the energy field. We will spend the next year researching possible solutions to help Peterborough reach its goals.
PREP is committed to working transparently and inclusively, keeping in touch with Peterborough citizens throughout the process via community input events, informational talks, this web site, and through a regular column in the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript newspaper.
Why Should Peterborough Transition to 100% Renewable Energy?
Peterborough has always been forward thinking. As early as 1996 the town had taken steps to reduce its energy demands. Now, after years of inaction on climate change by world governments, including our own leaders, this work has become urgent. We can't count on others to do it for us. We must do what we can to make sure our town can survive and thrive.
As predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1990 and confirmed in each subsequent report, extreme weather events are causing deadly and costly temperature extremes, storm damage, droughts and coastal and inland flooding globally, nationally and in New Hampshire, with significant economic loss among other effects. Drastic reductions in fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions are needed soon to respond to the IPCC report findings.
How Will the PREP Team Work?
Our mandate is to deliver a plan by December 2022 to transition Peterborough to 100% renewable energy.
We will strive for solutions that are:
Fair, accessible, inclusive, transparent
Cost aware while still valuing self-sufficiency, economic and infrastructure resilience, and energy efficiency
Data driven
Collaborative - regularly communicating with and getting input and help from the community, citizens, businesses, schools, other organizations, etc.
Pragmatic - striving for realistic solutions, not perfection
Unbiased - Looking at any and all solutions, big ways and small ways to meet our goals
Focused “locally” - for example, keeping energy dollars in the local community
Health conscious - Improving the health of our citizens and the beauty of our town by eliminating pollution caused by using fossil fuels
Copyright Peterborough Renewable Energy Planning 2021-2023