FOLLOW US

WHILE MUCH OF THE WORLD FRETS ABOUT WHAT TO DO ABOUT COMMUNITIES ARE SHOWING THAT RESOURCEFULNESS AND INGENUITY

ENERGY RESOURCES AND CLIMATE CHANGE, THREE NEW ENGLAND CAN STILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

BY HOWARD MANSFIELD

The Milford Town Hall fills up almost an hour before the meeting. It’s a small room—seating only 220—for this “scoping” session, held last July by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to study the environmental impact of a proposed natural- gas pipeline. It would run through Massachusetts and 17 New Hampshire towns, including Milford. As more people arrive, they’re directed to an overflow room to watch the proceedings on a video feed. Outside in the rain, pipeline opponents on the common are waving signs to get cars to honk.

It’s surprisingly festive in the hall. Many of those waiting to testify know one another and are catching up. Since the pipeline was first announced in 2014, a dedicated opposition has grown up. They populate the hall in neon-yellow “Stop the Pipeline” T-shirts, a few yellow hoodies, and some armbands. A woman gives out “Stop the Pipeline” stickers, which some people add to their armbands.

Every now and then a young guy walks up to the front of the hall holding up two large poster boards he’s just been writing on: Clean says the first board; the second says Energy Now!!! Each time he does this, the room cheers as if we’re at a football game. Let’s go! Get in there, solar power, and fight! Fight! Fight! The mood darkens once the meeting is under way; a watchful anxiety spreads.

Clean Energy Now!!! That, in three words, is the argument of the pipeline’s opponents. Natural gas is advertised as clean, but that doesn’t account for the hundreds of chemicals used in fracking to force it out, or all the methane that’s released, say the opponents. Alternative technologies are being ignored. There’s a different future out there, they say. Inevitably they’re derided as “nimbys” (“Not in My Backyard”) but the opponents point to many communities that are saying yes to these alternative technologies—communities that are saying “Yes in My Backyard”—and yet we don’t hear very much about these “yimbys.” I set out to see for myself the future of clean energy in Maine, Connecticut, and Vermont, creating a big carbon footprint in my quest for a smaller one.

In the old days—let’s say 30 years ago— you had one phone company, three television networks, five or six major car brands. All of that has been “disrupted,” to use the popular word of the moment among tech entrepreneurs. All that’s really left of that old world is our power grid. That power bill you pay monthly, that’s not just your father’s bill; that’s your great-grandfather’s bill. Our grid is just an aging version of how it was in its pioneering days at the start of the last century. The joke in the industry is that if Edison came back today, he’d easily recognize the power grid. But ye olde grid is in rough shape.

The United States has more power outages than any other developed country, and it’s getting worse. Since 2000 the number of major outages has doubled every five years. In an average year a New England resident will be without power for three and a half hours; in Japan the average yearly outage is four minutes. One major engineering organization grades our power grid as a D+.

The grid is old and it’s vulnerable. One federal study found that if terrorists shut down just nine of 55,000 transfer substations and a transformer manufacturer on a hot summer day, the country could be plunged into the black for 18 months—or more. The Pentagon is bailing out. The military knows that it can no longer rely on the usual utilities to power its bases; it’s building microgrids that can operate on their own if there’s a blackout. The Pentagon has also become the world’s largest buyer of renewable energy. (It’s concerned about our domestic oil supply. One of its studies showed that terrorists could shut down threequarters of the oil used in the eastern U.S. without leaving Louisiana.)

A massive reinvestment is coming to improve that D+ grade, and it could revolutionize the way we get electricity. Instead of adding to big centralized power plants, new technology will be local (“distributed” is the term)— solar panels, battery backups, biomass (wood chips), windmills—and it will employ many techniques to reduce peak demand. By 2040 renewables will produce almost half of all electricity worldwide. In just the first half of last year, 70 percent of new electric-power generation in the U.S. was from renewables. “The days of monopolized power are coming to an end,” said one respondent in a survey of the utility industry. “Get smart or get out of the way.”

This is the story hiding behind the battles over building new powerlines, natural-gas pipelines, and large windmills. A revolution is underway—one that’s taking place without the protests surrounding pipelines, wind farms, and other huge projects. What does it look like?

The first stop on my yimby tour is Boothbay, Maine. I drive into town like a tourist, stutter-stepping down narrow streets: Is this one-way? Can I turn here? Is that a parking space? It’s this kind of three-blind-mice traffic that makes locals crazy. Desperate to live in a town where people actually know where they’re going, they put up more and more signs, which only further confuse visitors. It’s a pretty town, but this is just about the last I’ll see of postcard Boothbay. I meet Dan Blais, and we tour the backs of convenience stores, shopping centers, and an industrial park by a gravel pit—Wish you were here? —and, mercifully, the front of one inn. It’s a tour of tan Dumpster-sized boxes, white tractortrailer-sized boxes, little tan boxes with fans, and solar panels. He talks kilowatt hours, functionality, syncing.

Blais manages GridSolar’s Boothbay Pilot Project. GridSolar is a private Portland company that, along with environmental groups, challenged Central Maine Power when it wanted to build new transmission lines across the peninsula to Boothbay to cover the peak hours of summer demand. GridSolar said it had a different solution and won the right to try it out. Eight years ago, the utility doubted it would work. GridSolar installed rooftop solar panels on hotels and municipal buildings, efficient LED lighting, backup batteries, and Ice Bears, a kind of air conditioning that makes ice at night to be used later for cooling at peak demand times. It also installed a backup diesel generator.

In an industrial park, Blais shows me the diesel generator, a 25-foot-long trailer known as a BUG (backup utility generator). It wasn’t anyone’s first choice; funding for a solution using renewable energy fell through. It’s not ideal, but Blais points out that if it’s called into use, the emissions would be the same as a dump truck’s. None of the backups has yet been needed; they’ve run only during tests.

Farther into the industrial park, by a gravel pit, we look at three long white shipping containers housing backup batteries. It looks like a pristine NASA installation, as though a Mars Rover could pull up alongside. Everything else nearby is weathered and worn, looking as though Maine has had its day—old, leaning tractor trailers, a left-behind boat (of course), and a big barn of a garage. But these batteries look as though they’re still an artist’s rendering, a fresh idea.

The other gadgets are unexceptional, like the Ice Bears, light-brown Dumpster-sized boxes that look like the usual stuff behind buildings. It’s undramatic, but it’s the face of the revolution going on right now. This is what the future may look like. The future was supposed to be flying cars and the Pan Am Clipper to the moon, but this might be it: incremental technological improvements going on all around us—and that’s why we’re missing it. The future wasn’t supposed to arrive wrapped in dull boxes.

But these dull boxes have produced big results. GridSolar has provided enough backup and reduced the peak demand such that the transmission line won’t have to be built, saving ratepayers $12 million. The company is looking to bring this approach next to Midcoast Maine and Portland in larger projects that could save $50 million or more.

The Acadia Center, a nonprofit that advocates for a clean-energy economy, was one of the environmental groups that fought for the Boothbay Pilot Project. “We’re very excited by this pilot. It shows that the model can work,” says Daniel Sosland, the center’s president. “The energy future isn’t going to be in big power plants and transmission lines. The system’s really going to shift and transform dramatically. Communities are where the energy resources can be located. They’re cheaper, they’re cleaner, and they offer consumers more control over their energy bills and energy choices.” He is, however, disappointed by the backup diesel generator and doesn’t want to see that in future projects.

More important, Sosland points out that canceling the transmission line saved money for ratepayers in all six New England states. Each state’s ratepayers are billed for any project to improve a transmission line’s reliability. But, under current regulations, alternative technology like that in Boothbay has to be paid for solely by the state. The deck is stacked for the old way of doing things. This needs to be fixed, Sosland says. He points out that a heavy investment in energy efficiency by Massachusetts and Vermont canceled more than $400 million in transmission-line work, which would have been paid for by anyone who turned on a light in New England.

Central Maine Power is reserving judgment on the Pilot Project until the full testing period is completed in 2018. “We certainly support the testing of different methods for providing reliable service, which can include alternatives to building transmission,” says company spokesman John Carroll. He agrees that “it’s absolutely the way the industry is going” and that the utility has “a real obligation to look at all types of solutions,” but the company is cautious, keeping its options open. The Boothbay peninsula has only one transmission line, and CMP wants to be convinced that the Pilot Project will be reliable. “It may be an interim solution,” Carroll adds, “and eventually we’ll need to build a transmission line.”

We emerge from the back of build ings to visit Brown’s Wharf Inn. The owner, Tim Brown, whom we flag down while he’s mowing, has gone all in: new HVAC cooling units, solar on the roof, LED lighting. He’s pleased. He’d do more; he only wishes that he’d put solar on his own house when Maine was offering rebates, but he didn’t get to it. The inn came first.

Brown was recently in Germany, where one can see huge windmills next to castles, he says. The Germans have great trains—he’d like to see that here, too. Once you start changing a few lightbulbs, it seems, you begin to see that new things are possible.

I leave Boothbay with one question. This pilot project used less than 1 percent of Boothbay’s rooftop space for solar panels—why not do more?

After a series of devastating storms, Connecticut passed major legislation in 2011, known as Public Act 11-80, to create a Green Bank to fund “energy resiliency.” Each dollar of state money would be matched by $10 of private investment. In the first year, 11 projects received the go-ahead, but 10 stumbled out of the gate, failing to line up the right financing. Things are now going better. The use of renewable power has grown tenfold. Rooftop solar installations are soaring, while wind was stalled for years as the state wrestled with where turbines should be allowed.

But it’s the planned microgrids that have attracted national interest. A microgrid can stand alone when the rest of the grid goes down; it has enough generators and storage to operate independently. Eleven projects have received funding; three are complete. I’m here to visit the first one, at Wesleyan University in Middletown, driving onto a campus where students, in communion with their smartphones, drift across the roads like jellyfish in the current. They never look up.

I meet Alan Rubacha, a fast-talking, fast-walking optimist who has worked at Wesleyan for 15 years, the last three as director of its physical plant. He’s responsible for about 80 buildings and a small power grid that requires six employees to run. Rubacha offers me some water, and as I’m nodding yes, he disappears, then pops back into the room indicating that I should follow him. In the few seconds it takes me to get up, he’s gone again. Out in the hall, I locate him by following his voice, around a corner and down another hall. He’s on his phone, which he is often. During our short interview, he’s texting and taking calls.

Wesleyan’s microgrid is a bit deceiving. It was already in place, with the exception of an extension to the Freeman Athletic Center, a 300,000-square-foot building to which was added a big co-generation plant to produce electricity and heat. In an emergency, the athletic center will be a FEMA distribution point. The staff holds drills annually.

The university has been managing its own power system since the 1960s. It added a natural-gas generator in 2009 and is adding solar now. The local utility supplies only one-sixtieth of Wesleyan’s electricity; the rest is generated on campus. The university can “island”: run separately in a blackout. It’s resilient. Wesleyan won the race by starting one foot from the finish line.

Still, these people put it all together, and the world has come to see their microgrid. Rubacha has had visitors from 40 states and as far away as Australia and New Zealand. Even so, this isn’t going to be the solution for most places, he says. Connecticut has been “really forward-thinking” he notes, but “what they found is that it’s harder to do than you think.” It demands an expensive infrastructure. The university is set up to work on that and is committed to reducing energy use, cutting 30 percent in the last five years, while the square footage has increased slightly. The university continues to pursue savings in everything it does, installing things like new windows and more-efficient motors.

Connecticut

MAR. 6: CHESHIRE, Train Show. More than 70 dealers pack seven rooms at Cheshire High School’s annual show featuring all things railrelated, along with movies, clinics and workshops, and good food as well. 203-265-7527

MAR. 12: HARTFORD, St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Rain or shine, the 45th annual event starts on Capitol Avenue and marches down Main, Asylum, and Ford streets en route to its terminus at Memorial Arch. For the best view, stake out seats along the parade route early. irishamericanparade.com

MAR. 12–13: HEBRON, Annual Hebron Maple Festival. Celebrate the sweet-and-sticky season by learning how maple syrup is produced. Take in sugarhouse tours and demonstrations, then indulge in an abundance of maple treats. With children’s activities, a craft fair, and more at locations about town. hebronmaplefest.com

MAR. 18–20: NEW LONDON, Southeastern Connect icut Home Show. For the 35th year, 125 decorating and remodeling exhibitors set up at Dayton Arena & Athletic Center at Connecticut College. Bring nonperishable food items for the United Way drive and get a $1 discount on admission. 860-563-2111; osbornejenks.com

MAR. 18–20: OLD GREENWICH, Ephemera 36: International Vintage Paper Fair & Conference. Intriguing history can be found in the smallest details: political posters, postcards, stamps, and more. This year’s theme is “Politics, Patriotism & Protests.” More than 90 exhibitors set up at the Hyatt Regency for a weekend of deals, discussions, presentations, and auctions. 315-6559139; ephemerasociety.org

MAR. 20: MYSTIC, 13th Annual Irish Parade. One of the region’s largest such events, this celebration of the city’s Irish heritage kicks off from Mystic Seaport’s south lot and makes for a lively spectacle on its way downtown, with an array of floats and more than 25 marching bands. mysticirishparade.org

MAR. 31–APR. 1: HARTFORD, “Having Our Say”: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years. The New York Times called it “the most provocative and entertaining family play to reach Broadway in a long time.” Now Hartford Stage presents the tale of the last century as told by centenarian sisters Sadie and Bessie Delany, daughters of a former slave, who grew up in the Jim Crow South and lived in Harlem during its Renaissance. 860-527-5151; hartfordstage.org

APR. 2–3: WATERBURY, 33rd Annual Cactus & Succulent Show & Sale. The largest show of its kind in New England, this judged exhibition at Naugatuck Valley Community Center features more than 500 entries in 100 categories, plus vendors offering a huge selection of plants and wares for sale. Free plants are awarded to the first 50 families admitted each day. ctcactusclub.com

APR. 9: WETHERSFIELD, 11th Annual Taste of Wethersfield. Secure your tickets in advance for this fashionable fundraiser for the Wethersfield Historical Society, held at Keeney Memorial Cultural Center, and settle in for excellent food and beverages, much com- munity spirit, a silent auction, and live entertainment. 860-529-7656; wethhist.org

APR. 10: TOLLAND, 50th Antiques Show. The Historical Society transforms Tolland Middle School into a distinguished showplace for 18th- and 19th-century furniture, accessories, folk art, rugs, early iron, and more. tollandhistorical.org

APR. 16–17: SOUTHBURY, Spring Shower of Quilts. The Connecticut Piecemakers Quilt Guild offers an expansive show at the Crowne Plaza, with appraisals, demonstrations, exhibits, a raffle, and more. ctpiecemakers.org

APR. 17: NEWTOWN, Borealis Wind Quintet. Formed at Juilliard in 1976, Borealis has evolved into one of the nation’s elite chamber ensembles. Don’t miss this appearance at Edmond Town Hall on Main Street. 203426-6470; newtownfriendsofmusic.org

APR. 24: NEW HAVEN, 43rd Annual Cherry Blossom Festival. Enjoy the sight and fragrance of 72 Yoshino Japanese cherry-blossom trees in all their spring glory around historic Wooster Square. The city celebrates with musical performances throughout the afternoon, exhibits and demonstrations, creative kids’ activities, and a variety of fine foods. historic woostersquare.org

APR. 28–30: STAMFORD, Northeast PEZ Collectors Gathering. This celebration of the iconic candy and its signature dispensers has been going strong for 18 years. After a day of games, auctions, exhibits, swaps, and pretty much everything PEZ at the Sheraton hotel, punctuate your visit with a stop at the PEZ Visitors Center in nearby Orange. 843-868-1739; pez gathering.com

APR. 30–MAY 1: MERIDEN, 38th Annual Daffodil Festival. More than 600,000 daffodils have sprung up within Hubbard Park, and it’s a sight for winter-weary eyes. Simply stroll through the park, or enjoy the parade, fireworks, craft fair, carnival rides, great food from local vendors, and more. 203-630-4259; daffodilfest.com

Maine

MAR. 1–12: STATEWIDE, Maine Restaurant Week. Dozens of the state’s independent and locally owned restaurants offer events and discount prices, creating a great opportunity to revisit an old favorite or to try something new. Check the website for details. 207-7752126; mainerestaurantweek.com

MAR. 2: PORTLAND, Salzburg Marionette Theatre: “The Sound of Music.” Celebrate the 51st anniversary of the beloved classic film as Merrill Auditorium hosts the Salzburg Marionette Theater, treasured around the world for its artistic perfection. 207-842-0800; portlandovations.org/shows

MAR. 12–17: BATH, Blarney Days. The City of Ships hosts the state’s largest celebration of the Irish with nightly music and film events, a 5K Shamrock Sprint, dances, dinners, an Irish soda-bread bake-off, and of course the annual parade of floats, marching bands, and zany costumed characters. 207-442-7291; visitbath.com

MAR. 18–20: PORTLAND, Maine Boatbuilders Show. At the Portland Company complex, this gathering brings together the finest builders of custom fiberglass and wooden boats on the East Coast, plus numerous manufacturers of boating equipment, all ready to discuss and sell their work. 207-774-1067; portlandyacht.com

MAR. 19: BRIDGTON, Spring Fling. Now in its 32nd year, this Shawnee Peak tradition features music, entertainment, the Slush Cup pond-skimming competition, and plenty of time for lounging on the Blizzard’s Pub party deck. 207-647-8444; shawneepeak.com

MAR. 19–20: LEWISTON, Maine Home Show. Meet local builders and contractors and check out more than 100 booths of home-related products and services, from lawn-care equipment and landscape design to windows and doors, from kitchens and baths to insulation, weatherization, and more, all at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée. mainehomeshow.com

MAR. 29–APR. 17: PORTLAND, “My Name Is Archer Lev.” Portland Stage presents the award-winning play based on the best-selling novel by Chaim Potok. It’s the powerful story of a boy prodigy who is driven to be a painter at any cost—against the will of family, community, and tradition. 207-774-0465; portland stage.org

APR. 2–3: NEWRY, Spring Festival. From the Parrothead lineup of Jimmy Buffet tribute bands to the Eat the Heat Chili Cookoff and Firefighters’ Race, this Sunday River event offers something for everyone. A margarita mix-off, a key-lime pie-eating contest, pond skimming competitions, and outdoor concerts add to the lighthearted fun. 207-8243000; sundayriver.com

APR. 3: PORTLAND, 30th Annual Chocolate Lovers’ Fling. Local chocolatiers gather at the

Marriott Sable Oaks to showcase their creativity and serve up ther ultimate chocolate confections, hoping to win your vote in the coveted People’s Choice category. With a silent auction to benefit an area nonprofit. 207-828-1035; chocolateloversfling.org

APR. 15–17: BANGOR, Garden Show. Once a year, Cross Insurance Center is transformed into a gardener’s dream. Meet vendors, see demonstrations, and take in exhibits in keeping with this year’s “flower carnival” theme. 207-947-5555; bangorgardenshow.com

APR 15–17: OGUNQUIT, Patriots’ Day Celebration. Historical characters offer insights into the past with scheduled reenactments throughout the weekend, plus a treasure hunt and a variety of activities to suit all ages at downtown locations. 207-646-2939; visit ogunquit.org

APR. 16: BATH, Women of Folk: The New Revival. Bringing together the vocal prowess of Lucy Wainwright Roche and Sloan Wainwright with the stunning harmonies of EVA, an all-female harmony group, this show at Chocolate Church Arts Center melds folk, blues, gospel, and rock. 207-442-8455; chocolatechurch.com

APR. 16: DENMARK, 22nd Annual Sheepfest. From humble beginnings, this festival at the Arts Center has grown each year. The focus is on shearing and prepping the fleece, with demonstrations of creative uses of wool, too. denmarksheepfest.com

APR. 16: PENOBSCOT COUNTY, Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race. The 50th running of the largest paddling event in New England follows a 16.5-mile course from Kenduskeag to Bangor. If you’re attending as a spectator, brave the crowds near the rapids of Six Mile Falls for some “thrill of victory, agony of defeat” moments. kenduskeagstreamcanoe race.com

APR. 22–24: BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Fishermen’s Festival. The community celebrates local fishermen with the crowning of Miss Shrimp, lobster-hauling competitions, tug-o-war, and foot races over lobster traps or while dressed in rain gear and carrying a codfish. The weekend concludes with the blessing of the fleet, a solemn observance featuring a parade of fishing vessels. boothbay harbor.com

Massachusetts

MAR. 5–6, 12–13, 19–20, 26–27: STURBRIDGE, Maple Days. The sweet season is back again—enjoy sugaring demonstrations and learn how the task would have been done in the 19th century at Old Sturbridge Village. 508-347-0323; osv.org

MAR. 5–20: NORTHAMPTON, Spring Bulb Show. Get an early glimpse of spring with this spectacular array of more than 5,000 blooms, from crocuses and hyacinths to irises, lilies, tulips, and more, a longstanding tradition at Smith College’s Lyman Conservatory. 413-585-2740; smith.edu

MAR. 16–20: BOSTON, Flower & Garden Show. This year’s theme is “nurtured by nature.” With more than 20 professionally designed gardens on display, the Seaport World Trade Center is the place to be for expert advice, retail vendors, floral competitions, and more. 781-237-5533; bostonflowershow.com

Asia in Amsterdam: The Culture of Luxury in the Golden Age

February 27–June 5, 2016

Rodin: Transforming Sculpture

May 14–September 5, 2016

American Impressionist: Childe Hassam and the Isles of Shoals

July 16–November 6, 2016

The Wright Museum of World War II Wolfeboro, NH

The Wright Museum of World War II Wolfeboro, NH

Since 1994, educating visitors about the WWII-era Americans called, “the greatest generation”. See extensive 1939-45 Home Front displays; vintage tanks & weapons; period art & music and more.

Since 1994, educating visitors about the WWII-era Americans called, “the greatest generation”. See extensive 1939-45 Home Front displays; vintage tanks & weapons; period art & music and more.

Please join us for these 2016 Special Exhibits:

“The WWII Art of Private Charles J. Miller” May 1-June 10 “Norman Rockwell in the 1940s: A View of the American Homefront” June 18-August 21

Please join us for these 2016 Special Exhibits: “The WWII Art of Private Charles J. Miller” May 1-June 10 “Norman Rockwell in the 1940s: A View of the American Homefront” June 18-August 21

“Infamy: December 7, 1941” - August 29-October 24

“Infamy: December 7, 1941” - August

Open May 1

Hands-on

Shoes: Pleasure and Pain November 19, 2016–March 12, 2017

Shoes: Pleasure and Pain

November 19, 2016–March 12, 2017