Energy and Waste: Ensuring that a Community has Reliable, Secure and Environmentally Sound Energy Supplies

1. SECTION 7

2. energy & waste
Goal: Ensure that the Vineyard community has reliable, secure,
ample, affordable, and environmentally sound energy supplies;
obtains as much of its energy as possible from sources that are
renewable and, increasingly, local; and transforms a maximum
amount of our waste into useful resources.
TARGET: Cut projected energy use by half
using efficiency measures for buildings and
transportation, and produce or offset the
rest, mainly from community-owned facilities
(e.g. about fifty, 500-foot-high offshore wind
turbines).
R ising fuel costs and increasing environmental concerns make us more
aware of the high costs and unsustainability of bringing virtually all our
energy to the Island and transporting away virtually all our waste. Energy
and waste offer huge potential to establish sustainable practices that will also
generate local employment.
This section presents a multi-pronged approach to transforming the way we deal with these
important resources.
• Energy Efficiency: to decrease the total energy needed, mainly in buildings and
transportation.
• Renewable Energy Generation: to generate our own clean energy.
• Solid Waste: transforming waste into useful resources in order to reduce the amount of
waste we produce and then deal with it in more sustainable ways.
Island Plan 7-1

3. energy & waste
The management of energy and of waste is There are several reasons to want to change the • With respect to the environment, fossil fuels
essential for supporting human activity on the current system of providing energy to the Vineyard are our major source of energy. There is general
Vineyard. We take for granted that we’ll have community. scientific agreement that burning fossil fuels
plenty of energy and that someone will take produces carbon dioxide that is influencing the
• With respect to cost, the Vineyard has a large
care of our trash, garbage, and human waste. earth’s atmosphere and contributing to rapid
and steadily increasing annual energy bill (more
climate change. Burning these fuels results in
Energy: As of 2005, the Vineyard used than $64 million in 2005). Our energy costs are
air and water pollution and emissions, which
approximately 4.3 trillion BTUs of energy
endanger health and contribute to climate
annually (equivalent to 757 ,000 barrels of oil,
change. Annual carbon dioxide emissions
or three-quarters of a 1,000-foot supertanker).
attributable to the Vineyard were 329,000
We use about 30% of this energy for heating
tons in 2003 and will rise to 457 ,000 tons by
and cooling our buildings, 33% for electricity for
2050 if we take no new action. The Vineyard
lighting, appliances, and machinery, and 37%
is particularly vulnerable to effects of climate
for transportation. Our principal energy fuels are
change such as rising sea levels, more frequent
oil, propane, and gasoline, as well as electricity
and severe weather events, and health risks from
generated primarily from the source fuels (in
insect-borne diseases. Importing our electricity
decreasing order of magnitude) natural gas,
from distant power plants means that a substantial
nuclear, coal, and oil. Most of the cordwood burned
amount of power is wasted in the conversion of
for heat comes from off-Island. The generation
source fuels into electricity and in transmission
of electricity on-Island from small wind turbines
losses; it takes about three units of energy at the
and various solar systems does not yet produce a
plant to produce one unit on the Vineyard.
meaningful percentage of our energy needs.
• With respect to reliability, foreign fuel sources
The Vineyard consumes a disproportionally high
are increasingly insecure and unstable and may
amount of energy because of the nature of our
subject the community to supply shortages and
buildings and settlement pattern. It costs a lot
among the highest in the United States. Since more price fluctuations beyond our control. The fact
more to heat a single-family dwelling with four
than 99% of our energy is produced off-Island, that we have to bring energy to our shores results
exposed walls and a roof, than an apartment that
these expenditures leave our local economy. Both in higher risks. Fuels are shipped to the Island
loses heat only through one exterior wall. And
the Vineyard’s year-round community and visitor- by ferry or barge, subjecting the Vineyard to
our low-density housing, spread across the Island,
based economy are sensitive to high energy costs shipping-related issues. Electricity is brought to
means that we have a much higher proportion
and disruptions to the energy supply. the Island by four 23.2-kilovolt underwater cables
of people who drive compared to an inner-city
that are vulnerable and hard to repair, and the
neighborhood where people can more easily
Vineyard’s 50-megawatt peak electricity usage
walk, bike, and take transit.
level is fast approaching their 62.5-megawatt
capacity; the cost of additional cables will be
high and will be borne by all.
Island Plan 7-2

4. Many communities in the U.S. and elsewhere are
well ahead of us in embracing new technologies Energy Self-Sufficiency energy locally is a large, expensive task.
to change their dependence upon fossil fuels, and While there is a variety of renewable sources
can serve as models for Martha’s Vineyard. Also, The region’s strong and consistent winds and different scales of production from which
the Vineyard’s abundant resource of wind energy could enable the Vineyard to supply or offset we can generate our needs, there are definite
gives us options not available to most other its energy needs, and even produce excess economies of scale. For example, to produce
communities. energy to sell to the mainland, by 2050. While the amount of energy we are likely to need,
current projections do not foresee complete it would take 32 of the largest, utility-scale
In relation to the Island Plan’s goal of making replacement of fossil fuels with renewable wind turbines (more than 550 feet high at the
the Vineyard a sustainable island, this section energy sources, mainly due to transportation blade tip, presumably located well offshore
outlines a way to make the Vineyard largely power demands, we could generate enough in federal waters) at a cost of about half
energy neutral by 2050, essentially by using surplus electricity to offset greenhouse gas a billion dollars, whereas it would take an
efficiency measures to reduce overall energy emissions from those fossil fuels. impractical 85,500 small, domestic-scale
consumption by 50%, and then generating this
With current growth trends, our energy use wind turbines (one for every ¾ of an acre of
energy from renewable sources such as wind
would grow from 4.3 trillion Btu today to 5.5 land) at a cost of $2.6 billion.
turbines. Achieving these ambitious targets
presents complex challenges that would involve trillion Btu by mid-century. This projection
We will likely obtain our future energy needs
a significant commitment, but if the community anticipates that improved efficiencies will
from a variety of sources using a combination
chooses to do this, it is within our reach. outpace increased power usage, so per
of individual, municipal and utility scale
capita energy use decreases some 20%.
Fundamental to achieving the energy objectives facilities. From what we know today, though,
With the Plan’s Modest Growth scenario and
outlined in this section is to achieve a it seems clear that to produce substantial
additional aggressive efficiency measures, we
consensus on effective strategies among major portions of our energy needs will depend
could reduce our projected total energy use
stakeholders. This involves bringing together the mainly upon utility-scale wind facilities that
by more than half, down to 2.7 trillion Btu.
energy establishment – utility companies, Cape can only be physically accommodated in the
Light Compact, fuel transporters, wholesalers Even producing this reduced amount of waters offshore of the Vineyard.
and retailers – to build consensus for cohesive,
integrated strategies.
Waste: The volume of waste the Vineyard off sewage sludge and organic materials
disposes of is an energy-intensive and, thus, we could use to make our own fertilizer and
costly operation. Currently we ship 33,500 tons compost. Wiser use of what we now discard as
of trash off-Island each year, accounting for waste could reclaim useable resources, reduce
15% of the Steamship Authority’s freight traffic, waste transportation costs, create new economic
or one in seven freight trips. Our generation of opportunities, and even produce energy.
waste is growing much faster than our year-round
population. If we look instead at waste as a
resource, we might address multiple issues. We
import compost at great expense, while shipping
Island Plan 7-3

5. energy & waste
• Provide technical outreach and assistance to
Objective E1: Organize to deal identify opportunities and evaluate technologies,
effectively with energy issues. train construction community and building
inspectors in energy efficiency construction
Common to all the energy issues discussed in
techniques, offer and coordinate incentives
this section is the need for well thought-out and
such as tax credits, rebates, grants, and low
integrated mechanisms to organize, educate,
interest loans, design and operate an energy
fund, and lobby.
audit-upon-sale program, train and supervise
Strategy E1-1: Develop an Island-wide competent energy auditing teams.
organizational infrastructure to sustain
• Provide technical support for existing building
energy efficiency and generation
inspectors with enforcement powers to certify
initiatives.
the energy efficiency of construction. Presently,
The challenges to our community for effectively
each town has its own building inspector. Until
addressing the demands, technologies, and
towns could justify their own individual energy
costs for the production and management
inspectors, the position of an Island-wide Energy
of energy will require multiple initiatives and
Building Inspector could be created to check
strategies. While individual towns and the
7.1
for compliance and ensure that techniques are
private sector may perform some of this, the
being applied correctly.
larger initiatives that promise the most impact in
Energy Efficiency
improving efficiencies, changing user behavior, • Establish a revolving fund allowing financing
or developing our Vineyard-grown resource of energy projects.
will require a high level of coordination among
The Vineyard Energy Project provides some of
the towns to produce a complementary, if not Energy efficiency efforts may be the least
these functions. The VEP could be transformed
unified, effort to bring about positive change. A exciting, but are also the simplest and least
or a new Vineyard Energy Commission could be
few examples of such Island-wide activities that expensive way to improve our energy situation.
created with official town representation.
could fall under one or more entities are: In the oil crisis of the 1970s, President Carter
• Receive grants, rate surplus and tax revenue, asked the American people to put on a
evaluate proposals and administer funds; sweater and turn down the thermostat. That is
authorize bonding authority to finance larger an example of energy conservation. Today,
public energy projects. technological advances offer us the opportunity
to provide the equivalent services using smaller
amounts of energy. Compact fluorescents
provide the same amount of light using one-
third the energy. This is an example of energy
efficiency.
Island Plan 7-4

6. Readily available technology can make dramatic Nevertheless, the dispersed physical
improvements in energy efficiency both cost development of the Vineyard makes it likely Objective E2: Reduce the amount
effective and reliable. Examples include that personal motor vehicles will remain our of energy used in buildings.
fluorescent lighting, super-insulation, high- predominant means of transportation even 50
In 2005, the approximately 15,000 housing
performance windows, Energy Star appliances, years from now. If we are to make a significant
units (including guest houses and apartments)
and high-efficiency heating systems. Retrofit reduction in the amount of the energy that
and nonresidential buildings accounted for 58%
projects can save up to 50% of energy use. Our transportation consumes and the destructive
of the energy used on the Vineyard. Energy
targets for 2050 include 50% improvement from waste it emits, we will need to improve fuel
use in buildings can be reduced by requiring
efficiency gains using currently known efficiency consumption rates of vehicles, and transition to
higher efficiency new construction, improving
techniques, with the anticipation that even cleaner burning or “green” fuels that might be
the energy performance of existing buildings,
greater opportunities will avail themselves in the generated on-Island.
and setting up a rate structure that encourages
future. This is an ambitious target, given recent
people to use less energy.
growth in energy consumption.
Strategy E2-1: Adopt a Vineyard Energy
Existing technologies, our low-density settlement
Code requiring new construction to be
pattern, and our automobile-dependent society
more energy efficient.
make it most challenging to substantially reduce
It is now feasible to build much more efficiently,
energy and carbon emissions in transportation,
thereby reducing owners’ annual heating and
which is one third of the Island’s energy
cooling costs. In 2009, the Commonwealth
consumption. Total motor vehicle miles traveled
adopted a stricter energy code that will be
has been increasing by approximately 2% per
fully effective in July 2010. Since 2008,
year, twice the population growth rate, and SSA
the Commonwealth’s Green Communities
traffic has grown in the shoulder and off-seasons
Act enables localities to adopt even stricter
(at least until the current economic crisis). The
local energy codes. The state has drafted a
large home services and construction sectors
“stretch” energy code for possible adoption
require a lot of travel throughout the Island.
by municipalities. It is recommended that
The Island Plan (section 9: Transportation) Vineyard towns amend the energy portion
outlines a series of measures aimed at reducing of their building codes to phase in improved
the amount of car usage, including making energy performance, requiring 50% greater
public transit more compelling to use and energy performance in 2015, and increasing
improving facilities for bicycles and pedestrians. performance targets every five years so that by
It also (section 2: Development & Growth) 2030, new buildings will be 90% more efficient
outlines long-term planning strategies to focus than today’s requirements. These performance
development in more compact, walkable towns standards should give credit for using renewable
and villages. energy sources and could include offsetting
Island Plan 7-5

7. energy & waste
part of the requirement with mitigation fees • Business audits would be required for Strategy E2-4: Implement energy
that would go into a revolving fund to pay for buildings with annual energy bills of more than a pricing structures that encourage
other energy improvements in the community. given threshold, with mandatory implementation energy efficiency.
Homeowners could finance these efficiency of efficiency measures with less than 10-year The average house size has increased
improvements in several ways such as low- simple payback. considerably on the Vineyard, and seasonal
interest loans or energy efficiency mortgages homes are increasingly heated year-round,
Strategy E2-3: Create a revolving fund
which are paid back with the cost savings from so even with more efficient buildings, energy
for energy improvements – the Island
reduced energy consumption, as well as by consumption can continue to rise. This could
Energy Fund.
using the increasing number of federal and state lead to energy price increases or supply
Property owners who undertake energy
grant and tax credit programs. disruptions that will affect the whole community.
efficiency improvements – especially those with
Communities across the nation have shown that
Strategy E2-2: Institute energy audits less than a 10-year payback identified in their
inverted pricing such as inclining block rates
and upgrades upon residential property energy audit – could get low-interest loans
(the more you buy, the higher the unit price) is
sales and for all commercial buildings. from a revolving fund. Loans for public and
an effective way of changing behavior, allowing
Our old buildings are usually the least energy affordable housing projects could be interest
efficient users to benefit from rates subsidized
efficient. Once a Vineyard Energy Code is in free. The fund could be financed by floating
by inefficient users. Setting up an inclining
place, we should set up a system requiring that an bonds, from mitigation fees for buildings unable
block rate program would require working with
energy audit be conducted when a property is sold, to meet their full energy requirements, and with
the power supplier, fuel distributors and state
similar to mandatory Title 5 septic inspections. The arrangements with energy suppliers to pay back
agencies. The inclining block methodology was
audit could be accompanied by expert advice in implementation costs from savings in energy
applied successfully to water rates in California
reducing energy needs for lighting, refrigeration, bills (already available to large customers under
during the 1990s drought and remains in place
ventilation, and air conditioning. Energy upgrades area-wide agreements or Utility Energy Savings
at many public and private water agencies.
could be encouraged, or even required for Contracts). Aspen, Colorado has had such a
The program could be designed to be revenue-
efficiency measures with less than a 10-year simple program for many years, and Vachon Island
neutral, or to send net proceeds to the Island
payback, perhaps assisted with a revolving fund. in Washington State is instituting energy fees
Energy Fund for reinvestment in efficiency and
Conversions to non-greenhouse-gas-emitting energy to support a revolving loan fund for energy
renewable generation projects.
sources would be encouraged and rewarded. improvement programs.
• Residential audits would be required upon
the home sale, allowing sellers and buyers to
negotiate prices or possibly triggering required
upgrades by the seller for efficiency measures
with a 10-year payback.
Island Plan 7-6

8. Strategy E2-5: Become an incandescent- Strategy E2-8: Publicize our energy
free Island. challenges and opportunities for Objective E3: Reduce the amount
Replacing incandescent light bulbs with efficient addressing them. of fossil fuels used in motorized
compact fluorescents (CFL) or other efficient Changing attitudes and behavior is the most transportation.
bulbs is the simplest short-term energy-efficiency challenging part of this work. For generations,
Other parts of the Island Plan address strategies to
measure and one from which homeowners most energy has been an inexpensive commodity
reduce the use of motorized transportation, but it
immediately see reduced monthly electricity and has been taken for granted. We need to
is also important to reduce the use of fossil fuels in
costs. Annual savings average about $100 foster greater understanding of the critical role
the motorized transportation that does take place.
per household. Australia is banning the sale that energy plays in our lives and the energy
of incandescent bulbs by 2010 and Canada challenge before us. Our efforts will be more We have choices in the size of our vehicles and,
by 2012. If every Islander exchanged 15 successful if they emphasize the benefits of increasingly, the fuels to power them. Choosing
incandescent bulbs for more efficient bulbs, the choice and comparability of options rather than fuel-efficient vehicles could significantly reduce
Island’s annual electrical consumption would suggesting that being efficient involves self- the amount of petroleum-based fuels we
decline by 7%. A program promoting this sacrifice or “doing without.” If we are to succeed consume and the related damages to the air
exchange could involve trained door-to-door at creating an energy paradigm shift, we need quality and public health.
personnel equipped to make on-the-spot change to have the commitment of Islanders of all ages
With fuel efficiencies double or more than
outs, calls on businesses to explain efficient – essentially a mass movement. Educating and
today’s average vehicle, hybrids and other
alternative lighting and arrange incentives for motivating people about the energy choices the
efficient vehicles – such as soon to be available
efficiency measures. Vineyard faces will require the involvement of
plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles – offer
utility companies and major energy consumers.
Strategy E2-6: Require new pools to be the easiest solutions to reducing our fossil fuels
A variety of approaches should be pursued and
solar-heated. used in transportation.
could involve developing a social marketing
Solar pool heating has very quick payback
program to popularize energy awareness; The Vineyard holds particular promise for
and offers significant fuel savings. A simple and
stepping up energy education programs in alternative-powered automobiles. Some
effective short-term efficiency measure would
schools to educate future consumers; illustrating concerns about these vehicles – such as the
be to mandate that any new heated pool be
operational costs/benefits of energy efficiency duration of battery charges between charging
accompanied by passive or active solar pool
implementation; and running a program to raise stations, the inability to accelerate rapidly,
heating adequate to meet the pool’s needs, as
awareness about carbon footprints and how to and the reduced collision resistance of lighter
well as requiring that all pool and hot tub covers
reduce them. vehicles – are less problematic here, since Island
be insulated.
trip distances are relatively short and there are
Strategy E2-7: Convert to more energy no speed limits over 45 mph. The Vineyard
efficient building HVAC systems. could be the ideal location for a prototype
As surplus renewable electric energy becomes installation of innovative vehicles, for the reasons
available, establish incentives and furnish expertise mentioned above, and because only a small
for conversion of building heating/cooling/hot number of prototype fueling stations would be
water systems to geothermal heat pumps. needed to service a fleet of experimental cars
kept permanently on-Island.
Island Plan 7-7

9. energy & waste
In the long term, replacing the use of combustion
engines with other available technologies such Objective E4: Improve Island air
as electric motors, hydrogen-powered fuel cells quality related to transportation.
or vehicles designed to store power for the
Burning fossil fuels pollutes our air. Motor boats,
Island, in combination with locally generated
lawn equipment, idling vehicles, all impact the
energy from renewable sources, will allow us to
Vineyard’s air quality. Diesel fuel is one of the
work towards the goal of zero emissions for the
contributors to particulates in the air that are
Island’s transportation sector.
linked to the rise of asthma in the United States.
Strategy E3-1: Promote use of hybrid The Island has many services and industries
and other energy-efficient vehicles. dependent upon diesel-fueled engines: the
ferries and boats; most of the buses used for
Hybrid cars go twice as far on a gallon of
public transit, schools and tourism; vehicles and
gas as the typical car on the road, so if we
equipment used in construction, home services
all switched to hybrid vehicles, we’d reduce
such as fuel delivery and landscaping, and
gasoline consumption in automobiles by 50%.
agriculture.
If, in a decade from now, we all drive the plug-
in hybrids that will then be available, we’d Strategy E4-1: Use available
reduce gas consumption by 75%. Measures
to encourage use of fuel-efficient vehicles
technologies to lessen the impact of
diesel fuel use on the Island. 7.2
include having towns and other public agencies Phase in requirements for all Island diesel-
buy them, and/or requiring that taxis and
a proportion of car rentals be fuel-efficient.
powered vehicles to use clean fuel alternatives:
better grades of diesel, biodiesel, electric.
Renewable Energy
Individuals could be encouraged to make
their next car a hybrid or other fuel-efficient
Conduct a pilot project for Island school buses
and/or for ferry buses to demonstrate the Generation
vehicle with an information campaign, and with viability of clean fuel alternatives to use of diesel
incentives such as priority ferry reservations and Generating electricity locally can help stabilize
fuels, such as adding a percentage of biodiesel
better parking spaces. our energy costs; reduce hazards, power losses
to the fuel mix.
and costs associated with bringing fuel and
Strategy E4-2: Eliminate unnecessary power from off-Island; and provide a strong
vehicle idling. new sector to our year-round economy and
Institute an anti-idling program based on labor market. The main potential local sources
education, monitoring, and enforcement. Target for renewable generation – wind, solar, and
staging and passenger pickup areas at ferries, geothermal – can meet the Vineyard’s power
airports, schools, and parking lots. Work to needs while appreciably lessening our carbon
alleviate vehicle wait times and congestion, dioxide emissions. Energy generated from
especially due to parking. biomass, septic waste, or solid waste may also
supplement our needs.
Island Plan 7-8

10. There are three sizes of facilities: The Commonwealth’s draft Ocean Management Possible Renewable Energy Sources
Plan, released in June 2009, identifies two
• Small, residential-scale, or on-site, facilities Various ways of producing 2.1 trillion Btus per year
areas in state waters for commercial, utility-scale
serving the relatively small energy demands of (modest growth and efficiency measures)
wind-generated renewable energy, both in the
the individual land owner. Source Units Total $M
waters of Dukes County. One area is south of
Wind - offshore utility scale (6MW turbines) 32 675
• Medium, municipal-scale facilities for Nomans Land Island (in the waters of Chilmark Wind - domestic scale (10kW turbines) 85,500 2,565
individual users with large energy needs or and Aquinnah) and the other is southwest of Solar - centralized utility scale (acres) 577 1,297
serving a cluster of energy users. Cuttyhunk Island (in Gosnold). Combined, these Solar - domestic rooftop (3kW units) 171,100 2,848
• Large, utility-scale facilities providing power two areas could host about 166 turbines (3.4
to a broad community of users. megawatts each, 440 feet high) producing about The federal government has initiated a process
for planning development of commercial wind
Wind, especially the stronger winds offshore, farms in a large area of federal waters stretching
offers the best opportunity for utility-scale from south of Martha’s Vineyard to south of
generation, which is needed if we are to meet Nantucket, identified as having exceptionally
much of our Island’s energy needs. Relatively good wind resources. This area offers the
large amounts of land are needed for utility- potential of significantly greater energy
scale solar and wind facilities, and large wind production due to higher wind speeds, while
turbines could have significant impacts on their minimizing environmental and other impacts on
surroundings, which is another inducement to the land and in coastal areas (birds, boating,
erect wind-powered facilities offshore. scenic values, etc.). However, technologies for
Well before 2050, the Vineyard could generate erection of wind turbines in deeper waters are
enough renewable energy to supply our not as proven.
electricity needs and to offset the carbon from These state and federally identified areas could
the fossil energy we would still likely need to serve as the site for any Vineyard-initiated or
import, based on the projection that energy owned wind projects, and could generate many
efficiency measures will reduce demand by 50%. times the power needed by the Vineyard. It is
Any number of potential combinations of energy very likely that power from these wind facilities
Ocean Plan: The Massachusetts Ocean Management
source type and scale could achieve energy self- Plan designates two areas west and south of Martha’s would be connected to a substation in New
sufficiency. One largely decentralized scenario Vineyard for large-scale commercial wind farms. The
Bedford.
of mostly on-site, municipal-scale wind and solar waters east of the Cape Cod National Seashore are a
prohibited area. Potential areas in federal waters are As the state and federal planning and permitting
facilities would have a capital cost of about $1.4 shown in blue and gray.
billion. A more centralized scenario of utility-scale processes advance, it is important to ensure that
facilities would produce the same energy at about 600 megawatts. The Ocean Management Plan these projects are well designed and that they
half the cost. also suggests that the federal government develop maximize the community benefit to the people of
additional turbines in federal waters between and Dukes County.
beyond the two state-designated areas.
Island Plan 7-9

11. energy & waste
Strategy E5-2: Establish an electrical consumer-owned cooperative aimed at generating
Objective E5: Pursue local, utility- cooperative or Island utility company. renewable energy and distributing it to members.
scale generation of energy. Community ownership of generation facilities can
Strategy E5-3: Prepare a plan that
pass on savings in energy production costs directly
The simple fact is that our energy demands far identifies the best locations for
to community members in the form of reduced
exceed the energy generation capabilities of on- renewable energy facilities.
electric bills. Community ownership might be in
site, residential-scale generation technologies. The preparation of a Wind Energy Facilities
the form of sales of shares in energy projects
The only practical and most cost-effective way Siting Plan for Martha’s Vineyard would
or the establishment of a Vineyard public utility
to produce substantial amounts of our energy allow for balancing available energy sources
needs would be to use utility-scale energy with other community considerations. It is
generation. This would most likely involve recommended that town planning boards,
town planning boards, the utility company, energy committees, utilities, and Island
conservation groups, and state and federal conservation groups participate in evaluating
officials identifying the best onshore and potential sites and gaining public approval of
offshore sites for clustering utility-scale wind sites through public outreach and education.
turbines, to find the best balance between Analysis of potential locations for wind turbines
maximizing renewable energy production, should consider factors such as average wind
minimizing negative impacts (such as noise, speed, airport restrictions, environmental and
flicker effect, deterioration of scenic and scenic impacts, proximity to the electrical grid,
cultural values), minimizing costs, and providing access to major roads for construction, and
community benefits. proximity to abutters. Producing our own energy
through community-owned facilities such as
Strategy E5-1: Advocate changing state
a carefully located offshore windfarm – with
law to allow electricity distribution by
siting determined by the local community – can
local energy generation facilities.
Wind Turbines size. Height in feet relative to the East stabilize and eventually reduce our electric bills.
Present regulations limit flexibility and Chop Lighthouse and the High School turbine (HS). A similar analysis should be made of potential
cooperation in the harnessing and use
locations of tidal projects and large-scale arrays
of renewable energy. For example, a company. Because a community-owned entity that
of photovoltaic solar panels.
neighborhood might have a superior site for could contract for, finance, and manage utility-
a wind turbine that could support the entire scale electrical generation facilities and future Strategy E5-4: Explore renewable
neighborhood, but current state law prevents storage facilities is more likely to reduce user energy generation with site-specific
the power from a private generation facility rates, it would also be more likely to gain public sources.
being transported across property lines. The support of necessary projects. The Cape Light Work with the Island’s refuse organizations
Commonwealth’s efforts to allow electricity Compact has established the Cape and Vineyard and wastewater commissions, State Forest
generated at one farm to be allocated to other Energy Cooperative focused on supplying management, and Island farmers to explore
farms across the state may pave the way for the electricity to municipalities, and several Vineyard the potential for using the Island’s construction
nonfarming private sector. towns have joined. The Vineyard Energy Project waste and woody biomass, and possible use of
is in the process of setting up Vineyard Power, a methane gases for energy generation.
Island Plan 7-10

12. Strategy E6-2: Require that new Strategy E6-4: Develop information
Objective E6: Optimize potential development provide for the and incentive programs for property
for on-site, residential-scale incorporation of renewable energy. owners to encourage on-site energy
energy generation. Town zoning regulations should require that new generation.
buildings be positioned and built to provide for Provide information on available equipment,
Current technologies do not enable us to
the incorporation of renewable energy, now funding options, zoning and interconnection
economically produce all of our energy needs
or in the future. This could include orienting issues for all technologies. Funding options
from on-site, residential-scale generation
buildings to maximize solar gain, solar energy might include property tax breaks, low-interest
facilities. Nevertheless, such on-site facilities
generation, and day-lighting opportunities; loans, funding from the Island Energy Fund and
are an effective strategy to help curtail use of
positioning buildings so as not to shade each feed-in tariffs (once an Island utility company is
fossil fuels as they eliminate transmission losses
other; and preparing buildings to enable established).
and reduce the size of the generation facility,
installation of solar hot water and solar electric
which can reduce concerns about visibility Strategy E6-5: Investigate renewable
systems in the future if the site has south-facing
of facilities scaled for larger generation. All energy options specific to farmers.
roofs or ground area.
sites should be thought of as potential energy Costs of farming operations may be lowered,
generation locations. Solar electric and wind Strategy E6-3: Promote conversion to the cultivation season lengthened, and waste
systems can generate power for the Island year- more energy-efficient building and hot reduced by providing supplemental heat to farm
round whether or not the buildings they are water systems. greenhouses with solar thermal technologies or
associated with are occupied. Solar hot water A program should be undertaken to encourage biogas digesters for use with animal manure and
is particularly beneficial for buildings occupied property owners to upgrade existing heating farm waste to generate on-site energy.
year-round and for sites with high hot water and hot water systems and to incorporate the
demand. New technologies make geothermal best systems in new construction. It should target
energy increasingly viable for home heating and existing homes with electric hot water heaters,
cooling. year-round housing with good solar access, and
any buildings that will be using large amounts of
Strategy E6-1: Identify sites with water, such as hotels and restaurants. It should
advantageous access to renewable promote use of clean-burning, efficient wood-
energy sources. fired appliances and upgrading from outdated
Use mapping and other technologies to identify
wood stoves to systems that meet the highest EPA
areas with good wind resources or with soils
standards.
suitable for geothermal installations. Include in
the evaluation proximity to the electrical grid.
Prepare for public consumption a list of sites
or areas that might benefit most from available
energy sources. This could be part of the Wind
Energy Facilities Siting Plan (Strategy E5-3).
Island Plan 7-11

13. energy & waste
Strategy E7-2: Adopt development
Objective E7: Develop capacity regulations that encourage renewable
and a regulatory framework energy generation.
to encourage and support the Town by-laws and MVC DRI development
guidelines can encourage appropriately
development and installation of scaled energy generation facilities to minimize
renewable energy generation. uncertainty while still protecting neighborhood
The public’s confidence in using renewable character. Where possible, it would be desirable
energy can be greatly boosted by providing for such regulations to be standardized across
unbiased, clear information in the rapidly the Island.
evolving industry, which is partly accomplished
through trained installers and maintenance
Strategy E7-3: Improve consumer
personnel. Well crafted regulations on where
education and protection by providing
and how renewable energy facilities can be
current information on products and
developed can help assure the community that
practices.
Provide an ongoing and updated list of
all aspects of such facilities are being taken into
available, tested products to improve consumer
account.
7.3
education and protection. For example: Provide
Strategy E7-1: Create training programs information on products available that are
for workers needed to support the appropriate in historic districts or new products
growing renewable energy industry.
Provide ongoing education for electricians,
plumbers, and the construction community
that are ready for widespread application.
Solid Waste
to ensure that knowledgeable installers and We should move to converting most of our
maintenance teams are available on the waste into useful resources with an integrated,
Vineyard. Enact a certification program for Island-wide program of waste management.
renewable energy installers using a nationally The emphasis needs to be both on controlling
recognized program and offer certification and influencing what we generate as waste
courses and testing on-Island. Provide vocational and on how we are maximizing potentials
programs at the high school to train students as for reuse. Other communities have shown
renewable energy installers or energy efficiency leadership in managing waste effectively with
technicians. programs to reduce the generation of waste, to
reuse building and other materials, to convert
organic waste into compost, and to transform
waste into energy. Converting our waste to
useful local purposes rather than shipping it off-
Island decreases energy and expenses used for
Island Plan 7-12

14. Four of the Island’s six towns – Aquinnah,
Chilmark, Edgartown and West Tisbury – are Objective E8: Convert most of
members of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional our waste into useful resources
Refuse Disposal District, jointly handling their
waste management. Oak Bluffs and Tisbury are
with an integrated, Island-wide
no longer members of the District, and manage
program of waste management.
their wastes together. These two towns are the Strategy E8-1: Develop an Island-
most densely populated and are the only towns wide system for coordinated waste
that provide curbside collection. In addition, management.
several private companies are involved in The fragmentation of current management
collection, consolidation, and off-Island shipment systems – among towns and between the public
of waste, independent of any governmental and private sectors – increases administrative
functions. and operational costs, has resulted in varying
disposal practices for people across the
The addition of three components to our current
Island and within towns that present barriers
waste system – a large-scale composting facility,
to increasing recycling practices and re-
a used building materials exchange, and a
use programs, and makes it harder to reach
transportation of waste and provides resources comprehensive recycling facility – may allow
the critical mass needed for some kinds of
of community value. Some communities, such as us to create both jobs and products (compost,
processing. This inhibits opportunities to
Nantucket, mine their old landfills for materials mulch, biomass for heating, building materials,
increase recycling and reuse programs and
that can be recycled or converted to energy, etc.) while reducing energy consumption and
more sustainable processing practices. As
thereby removing potential groundwater costs. Nantucket’s integrated solid waste
transportation and processing costs continue to
contaminants and restoring valuable real disposal system, encompassing landfill cleanup,
climb and population increases, an approach to
estate for new uses. Nantucket, which has a recycling, and composting, has reduced
waste management which integrates all handling
centralized composting facility, is now the top waste by 86%. A thorough feasibility study
systems would not only be more efficient, but the
recycling community in the country, with only 8% looking at site considerations, material sources,
combined volume of waste resources could open
of waste ending up in a landfill. collection methods, use options, and product
up new opportunities such as composting and
resale is needed to develop an appropriate
building materials recycling to draw us nearer to
comprehensive approach for the Vineyard. The
being a zero-waste community. A coordinated
first objective below focuses on managing waste
approach would facilitate dealing with
after it enters the waste stream while the second
increasingly complex and costly requirements
deals mainly with ways to reduce, reuse, and
and technologies, and would make it possible to
recycle so materials don’t have to be treated or
more efficiently finance necessary infrastructure
disposed of in the first place.
improvements.
Island Plan 7-13

15. energy & waste
Strategy E8-2: Construct an integrated Strategy E8-3: Use construction debris
Island-wide recycling/composting and available biomass (wood waste, Objective E9: Pursue
facility. leaves, and organic wastes) as a local opportunities to reduce, reuse,
A large portion of the Island’s waste that resource. and recycle waste materials.
cannot be recycled or reused in its present Under this objective, government or a private
Many communities are attempting creative
form can be “cooked,” breaking down the sector operator would create and/or operate
ways to manage waste in response to space
volume of material and significantly reducing a facility to accept and receive construction
limitations, regulations, financial considerations,
the amount of solid waste we need to ship off- waste, demolition debris, and other unwanted
and increased concern about the wasteful
Island. Sources for compostable materials could or surplus building materials; essentially a
consumption of resources that still contain utility.
include sewage sludge, schools, restaurants, supermarket for used building materials and
People (not just Vineyarders) have long trolled
the hospital, senior housing, and individual processed wood waste – the latter for use
landfills to salvage items still containing some
homes. This facility would also allow towns to as fuel, mulch, or compost supplements. The
utility. Salvation Army clothing deposit boxes
mine their capped landfills, harvesting useable operator would conduct sorting, separation,
and local thrift shops rely upon such gently
contents of the buried waste and removing the storage, and inventory functions to make
used items. Unfortunately, such practices are
threat to groundwater quality posed by the materials available for reuse. Fees and
plagued with the fear of insurance liability or
capped (impervious membrane on top) but charges for materials would be expected but
unscrupulous people simply depositing unusable
not lined (no membrane underneath) landfills. still represent a savings over disposal costs
trash. Continuing public education is needed
Once all useable resources are extracted from or purchasing items new. These efforts could
to overcome skepticism about whether carefully
the excavated waste, the remaining material be supplemented by ordinances requiring or
sorted glass and plastics are, in fact, ending up
would return to a lined area of the landfill and incentives for on-site separation of materials
recycled.
ultimately be capped. Such mining could also during construction or prohibitions on disposal.
return portions of the current landfill acreages On a more aggressive level, this facility could Strategy E9-1: Reduce the amount of
to alternative, active use. A thorough feasibility also become involved with processing forest and potential waste brought to the Island.
study must first be conducted. landscaping wood waste. The first step is to minimize the importing of
unnecessary materials that will ultimately have to
be disposed of. This can be done by educating
consumers, retailers, and applicators of
alternatives to continued use of hazardous and
toxic materials, especially those that will cause
disposal issues, and to assure availability of
these alternate products. We should encourage
hardware and grocery stores to discontinue the
sale of toxic products. The use of packaging
materials can be reduced by promoting the
reuse of bags and packaging, and by adopting
packaging polices for shipping goods to the
Island and for on-Island retailers. We can
Island Plan 7-14

16. reduce Third-Class mail volume by providing Strategy E9-5: Adopt mandatory
education about ways to stop unwanted recycling.
catalogues and junk mailings. In order to increase recycling, some communities
throughout the United States have made
Strategy E9-2: Improve awareness of
participation mandatory.
waste disposal processes.
Reinstill the public’s faith in the recycling Strategy E9-6: Minimize demolition of
programs already in place through periodic homes.
information in the newspapers or posted Promote alternatives such as restoration,
at disposal sites on the volume of materials improvement, relocation and deconstruction
recycled and the monetary savings to the of buildings for reuse and recycling. Provide
community. Develop educational programs incentives to not demolish. Institute town
targeting businesses, institutions, and demolition delay by-laws that require buildings
governments. A part of the education process be offered for reuse for a certain time frame
should include encouraging the purchase before they are allowed to be demolished.
of refurbished materials and products with
recycled content, in order to support the
Strategy E9-7: Consider septic tank
demand for recyclables.
dewatering.
Strategy E9-4: Provide for the reuse or The use of residential septic tank dewatering
Strategy E9-3: Increase the number repurposing of materials. systems could lessen the transport costs
of recycling containers and satellite Work with existing thrift stores and the associated with septic tank pumpouts as well as
drop-off sites. Dumptique to address operational barriers to reducing the volume of waste to be transported
In the past few years, the SSA has placed expanded use. Work with the municipal waste and disposed of.
recycling containers aboard ferries. We
should look at all public trash receptacles as
stations to address legal concerns with people Strategy E9-8: Generate biodiesel from
potential locations for recycling containers with
picking through discarded materials, examining waste cooking oil.
practices of other communities. Similar to the Construct a biodiesel generation facility using
multiple compartments for sorted materials. reuse of construction materials, entire programs waste cooking oils.
Consideration might also be given to additional might be created around particular materials;
drop-off sites for paper and other recyclables. e.g. an independent entity could collect used
latex paint and then mix and redistribute (sell) it.
Island Plan 7-15