Programs

NH Solar Shares

NH Solar Shares in partnership with many community partners including the NH Electric Cooperative will design and install solar PV arrays one community at a time. The project brings multiple wins to our communities:

• Sharing proceeds generated from solar energy with low income families,
• Increasing the portion of clean renewable energy on our grid, and
• Contributing to building healthier, more sustainable communities.

Local Foods Plymouth

Local Foods Plymouth’s (LFP) – a program of PAREI – connects local farmers to community members in order to grow and strengthen local agriculture and food producers and support our local economy. By offering a weekly, year-round, online farmers market, LFP serves as one of the primary local food “hubs” for farmers in Grafton County.

LFP began in 2006 as a collaboration between the members and staff of D Acres Educational Farm and the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative (PAREI). The innovative idea to create an on-line platform connecting local buyers with area farmers got off the ground using a small start-up grant from the US Department of Agriculture.

The online year-round market has grown from 9 to 36 farmers and food producers. During the pandemic, the program grew by 630% and began offering curbside pick-up, home delivery and community harvest sharing program.

PAREI encourages members to also become a Local Foods Plymouth member to help sustain our local food producers to enable easier access to fresh, local foods. By providing our community with an avenue to reduce its foodprint*, PAREI and LFP play an important role in reducing our community’s overall energy consumption.

*Your daily habits around your food choices all have an impact on our environment, animals, and people. The food system, which includes production, packaging, transportation and disposal of everything we eat, accounts for one third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Everything you eat leaves behind a print – a Foodprint – some more harmful than others. Reference: Footprint.org

Farm to Community Food Sharing Program

Local Foods Plymouth is committed to bringing farm fresh locally grown nutritious food to our under-served community members experiencing food insecurity. There are many barriers that prevent access to healthy foods, whether it be transportation, income, or computer skills. We believe it’s our responsibility to be the network that shares our community’s harvest. All people have the right to eat healthy and that is why we have created the “Farm to Community Food Sharing” Program. Money given to the food share program will be allocated on at least a monthly basis to the below organizations. 12% of your food share purchase will go towards operating the program. Thank you for your participation and for supporting your local farmers, vendors and community members.

The Bridge House

The Senior Center

Boulder Point Veterans Housing

Plymouth Community Closet

Little Gardens Everywhere

Little Gardens Everywhere is a non-profit program that through community collaboration creates and unifies neighbors and their gardens for diverse, abundant, accessible, and local food supply by offering educational workshops, resources, and community.

Learn more about Kitchen Inspired, our locally produced cooking show.

NH Rural Renewables

NH Rural Renewables provides free technical assistance to small businesses and agricultural producers in the rural regions of New Hampshire, helping them evaluate and assess the potential for using renewable energy at their business.

Lakes Region Community College, along with Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative (PAREI) have teamed together to provide this free technical assistance. Rural small businesses interested in installing solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, wood heat, and other renewable energy technologies can receive helpful educational information and preliminary vendor-neutral site evaluations at no cost. This Renewable Energy Development Assistance two-year grant is part of USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which has a variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy grant and loan programs.

NHSaves Button Up Workshop Series

The NHSaves Button Up Workshop is a 1.5 hour presentation about how to improve the energy efficiency of your home. It is conducted by a certified energy auditor and covers basic building science principles as well as examples of whole house weatherization measures that will button up your home for the heating and cooling seasons. It also covers details about the energy efficiency programs offered by NH utilities (for existing homes and new construction) that provide energy audits, weatherization measures such as air sealing and insulating and rebates on new technologies and products such as electric and gas appliances and high efficiency electric heating/cooling equipment.

PAREI of Plymouth, NH is working with local groups around the state to bring these workshops to the public on behalf of New Hampshire’s utilities.