Thanks to Recorder reporter Aalianna Marrietta for her balanced article on Deerfield’s Finance Committee’s hesitancy on Climate Leadership [“Deerfield Finance Committee hesitant on Climate Leader Community warrant articles,” Oct. 17].
For well over a year, Deerfield’s Energy Conservation Committee has been studying the state’s Climate Leader program. Though I have great respect for the town’s Finance Committee, they’ve got this one wrong:
• “We’re mandating something that’s going to increase the cost of homes,” said one member. Actually, it gives people a chance to build a home for $25,000 less than current codes.
• “If we do one project, this won’t be free money,” said another, citing estimates of the cost of converting school heating systems to heat pumps. Climate Leadership does not commit us to any projects — if doing something doesn’t make economic sense, we don’t have to do it. Is it so prudent to say, “I don’t want your million dollars because it might make me want to spend more!”? No. Projects that could easily be funded by the grants alone promise very significant ongoing savings for the town’s energy bills.
• “I don’t believe all electric is the way to go.” First-generation heat pumps have struggled in older, draftier homes, but Climate Leadership only affects new buildings. Heat pumps have improved. They can heat homes in cold weather even though, on the very coldest days, they may for those few days be less efficient than other forms of heat. [See “Why Mainers Are Falling Hard for Heat Pumps,” New York Times March, 2, 2024]
People say, “I’m all for solar but it should go on roofs, not fields or forests.” Cimate Leader grants can help pay for rooftop solar. Let’s not forget the costs of doing nothing to reduce carbon emissions, costs with which we’re already struggling that could get exponentially worse.
David Gilbert Keith
Deerfield