Renewable Portfolio Standard

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, renewable portfolio standards are requirements or goals for energy producers or providers to supply energy from low-or zero-carbon emission sources. These policies require or encourage energy suppliers to provide their customers with a stated minimum share of energy from eligible energy resources. The majority of these programs apply to electricity; however, some include heating fuels and energy-efficient appliances and equipment (U.S. Energy Information Administration 2024). Although no federal RPS or CES exists, over half of states have established programs. New Hampshire’s Renewable Portfolio Standard requires that each electricity provider meets customer load by obtaining certificates representing generation from renewable energy based on total megawatt-hours supplied (DES n.d.). The RPS aims to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels by providing alternatives, information on building design and use, and providing optimizations to necessary uses of fossil fuels.

New Hampshire Climate Action Plan

With the passage of the IRA, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services received a $3 million federal grant to help create and implement a CAP—the first time New Hampshire has created a new CAP in 14 years. The NHDES used the 2009 New Hampshire CAP as a framework to start, focusing on actionable measures to reduce GHG emissions. The CAP is the first of two phases of the state’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant. The second phase is a competitive implementation grant program, in which applicants will compete for $4.6 billion in implementation grants based on measures identified in the CAP. The updated CAP includes a detailed, state-level GHG emissions inventory and a list of priority measures that could reduce the state’s GHG emissions.

Granite State Clean Cities Coalition

The Granite State Clean Cities Coalition works with vehicle fleets, fuel providers, community leaders, and other stakeholders to identify community-driven choices that save energy and promote the use of alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies in transportation (Granite State Clean Cities 2024). They collect data from their stakeholders and partners who are implementing clean transportation projects in New Hampshire. Supported by DOE’s Clean Cities Program, the Granite State Clean Cities Coalition seeks to reduce petroleum use in transportation through the use of domestically produced, cleaner burning alternative fuels, and other fuel reduction strategies. They believe that using less diesel and gasoline in vehicles helps to reduce the U.S.’s dependence on foreign oil while improving air quality.

Town of Hanover

Sustainable Hanover

The Sustainable Hanover Committee has launched a multi-year initiative that demonstrates ways to minimize environmental impacts with home landscaping and maintenance practices that mimic natural ecosystems. By applying principles of permaculture, it hopes to reduce water runoff, and air and noise pollution, to improve biodiversity, create natural habitats for wildlife and to require less maintenance. It also helped the town of Hanover to launch a community power program.

Weatherize Hanover, a program launched in 2019, is a key component of Hanover’s goal to reach 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030. Weatherizing homes involves making physical home improvements such as insulation and air sealing to reduce energy costs, improve comforts, and resolve issues such as ice dams, moisture, mold, cold spots and drafts. Weatherize Hanover provides resources on weatherizing and provides cost estimates by qualified contractors to weatherize homes.

The Hanover community has been developing a sustainability master plan in accordance with New Hampshire’s statutes relating to master plans, and it was adopted by the Hanover Planning Board on April 2, 2024. The Sustainability Master Plan will guide the town to a more sustainable future by serving as a policy basis for decision-making. It will address several sustainability principles, including land use, use of natural/cultural resources, open space and recreation, transportation, energy, housing, economic development, public facilities/services, and public health.

Hanover Community Power

In May 2017, the Town of Hanover, New Hampshire voted on a community goal to transition to 100 percent renewable energy. The goal states that Hanover will have 100 percent renewable electric energy by 2030, and 100 percent renewable heating and transportation energy by 2050 (Levy 2017). Hanover is the first town in New Hampshire to commit to the Sierra Club’s “Ready for 100” goal, a national movement led by the environmental organization working to help cities convert to running on 100 percent renewable energy. The 69 cities who have already committed to the “Ready for 100” goal, range from smaller towns such as Blackburn, Virginia, to large metropolises such as San Diego, California and Orlando, Florida (Sierra Club 2018).

Members of the Hanover community made the decision to commit to the Sierra Club’s campaign during a vote at a town meeting, making Hanover the first municipality in the U.S. to have a renewable energy goal both voted on and approved by community residents (Town of Hanover 2017). The Sustainable Hanover Committee, which endorses the transition to clean and renewable energy, proposed the idea for committing to the Sierra Club’s campaign. The Town plans to spend $50,000 per year on energy-efficient improvements (Sears 2018). Hanover has been working with the Concord Energy Committee and plans to find more opportunities for solar power in the area.

Members of Sustainable Hanover’s Energy Initiative and the Hanover Electric Aggregation Committee prepared the Hanover Community Power Plan in 2021. Community power offers Hanover residents and businesses four energy options, each with a different price tag and renewable content. Hanover Community Power purchases energy, which is then distributed through Eversource, Liberty, and NH Electric Co-op to the community. The renewable content of the options ranges from 100 percent in the Clean 100 option to 24.3 percent in the Granite Basic option.