In Germany today, over 150 villages are generating more energy than they consume, using renewable resources. The success of these so-called “bioenergy villages” is based on decentralized, community-owned renewable energy systems that are a cornerstone of Germany’s remarkable Energiewende, or Energy Transformation.
Local resident, Andrew Dey recently spent a year living in Germany and studying the country’s transition from fossil fuel and nuclear power to renewable energy. On April 29 at 7pm, he will give a presentation at the Putney Public Library about Germany’s bioenergy villages. These rural communities generate all of the electricity and most of the heat that they consume. The primary resource is biomass from locally-owned fields and forests.
The presentation will feature two communities at the forefront of Germany’s growing bioenergy village movement. In addition to describing the technologies, challenges and achievements of these villages, the presentation will touch on the process that such communities typically follow in their journey toward energy self-sufficiency. The local and regional economic benefits of this movement will be discussed, as will the challenges of translating the bioenergy village model to New England.
Andrew Dey is a construction consultant with a passion for making buildings more energy efficient. Since graduating from Harvard College in the mid-eighties, Andrew has been a general contractor, he has led the project management department of Bensonwood Homes, and he has conducted building-science based evaluations of hundreds of buildings. In recent years his work has focused on retrofitting existing buildings for greater efficiency. As a member of Walpole’s TriVillage Energy Committee, Andrew managed the deep energy retrofitting of two town buildings, and facilitated energy audits for Walpole’s three schools. Andrew has held several certifications from the Building Performance Institute, and has taught classes at Keene State in building science and construction management. He lives in Walpole, NH with his wife — a structural engineer from Germany — and their two children.
This program is free and open to the public. Putney Public Library is located at 55 Main St. in Putney, VT. Please call or email Emily Zervas with questions: 802-387-4407 or putpub@svcable.net
