Net Zero Montpelier: A Municipal Case Study

Five years ago, the capital city of Montpelier, Vermont, set a bold and audacious goal: for the city’s municipal buildings and operations to be Net Zero by 2030. What can a small city (under 7,000 people) with a volunteer energy committee do at the municipal scale? Come learn from Montpelier’s progress, challenges, and future plans. Innovative approaches include district heating powered by wood chips; auditing and retro-commissioning existing buildings; using organic waste to produce biogas and create a net positive wastewater treatment plant; municipal solar and renewable alternatives for heating. We’ll also tackle transportation, transitioning a heavy-duty fleet off fossil fuels and traditional buses to on-demand micro-transit. We’ll discuss strategies for tracking municipal energy use and GHG, and share strategies for financing and public outreach.