By Sue Wambolt, Contributing Writer
Southborough – Members of the Southborough Green Technology and Recycling Committee will be hosting a public meeting on Jan. 19 to discuss the goals and benefits of becoming a certified green community. The meeting will take place at the town's public library starting at 7:30 p.m. It will feature presentations by Carl Guyer, the committee's chair, Kelly Brown, the central Mass. regional coordinator for the Mass. Department of Energy Sources and Anita Haspiel, of Rethinking Power Management, LLC.
Guyer, a member of the Southborough Recycling Committee for over 5 years, is a retired engineer. He worked many years for a company that developed and marketed a residential cogeneration system. Cogeneration, (combined heat and power), he explained, is the process of using the same fuel to first generate electrical power, and then heat with the left-over energy.
In 2010, the Southborough Recycling Committee was upgraded to the Green Technology and Recycling Committee. Recently, the committee has been working on a project to encourage residents to sign up for home energy audits from Mass Save ®, all in an effort to make the town more energy-conscious.
“The committee's biggest project,” said Guyer, “is to convince the town that we should become a “Green Communities” town.” By doing so, he added, the town will be eligible to receive increased local aid.
A Green Community is a town or city that meets certain qualifications defined by the Massachusetts Green Community Act of 2008.
For more information on Green Communities visit http://www.mass.gov/eea/energy-utilities-clean-tech/green-communities.
