Ray School 4th Graders Take the Lead!
This spring, students in Elizabeth Adams’4th Grade class at the Bernice E. Ray School took on a big question: How can humans use natural resources to meet their energy needs?
A Tool for Estimating Rooftop Solar Potential
On Friday, June 5th Master of Engineering and Management students Maria Paz Muramatsu, Prajwal Prasad, and Aishwarya Shankar presented a web-based tool for estimating the overall capacity and feasibility of rooftop solar for individual Hanover homes.
Upper Valley Upgrades: Nifty New Tool for Hanover Homeowners
As a capstone project for their final year at Dartmouth and under the auspices of faculty advisor Erin Mayfield, engineering students Aidan Curtis, Liz Kendrick, Ian Moore, and Ryan Proulx spent the fall ’25 and winter ‘26 terms creating a web-based tool to help Hanover residents make their homes more energy efficient.
Student Team Explores Renewable Energy Heating Options for the Courtyard
On Tuesday, Feb 17th, a student team from Dartmouth’s Master of Engineering Management program presented findings from their project for ENGM 178 (Technology Assessment), taught by Professor Eric Bish, to a special meeting of Sustainable Hanover’s members and friends.
Sustainable Hanover Sponsors Workshops on Energy Efficiency
In 2017 the Town of Hanover committed to transition to 100% reliance on renewable energy sources for electricity by 2030 and heating/cooling and transportation by 2050. Sustainable Hanover is sponsoring a series of educational workshops on energy efficiency to help the town to reach those goals.
4th Meeting of Hanover’s Largest Energy Consumers
Sustainable Hanover convened the fourth meeting of Hanover’s Largest Energy Users (LEEK) on Friday, January 23, in partnership with Robin Tindall of Hypertherm Associates. Previous meetings were hosted by the Town of Hanover, CRREL, and Dartmouth College.
Window Inserts (sign up now for next winter)
A simple way to lower your energy bills and make your house less drafty is with Window Dressers interior window inserts. Since our first Window Dressers insert build in 2021, these inserts have helped hundreds of Upper Valley households save energy and enjoy a more comfortable winter home.
Sustainable Hanover Walking Tour
In collaboration with Antioch College and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Dartmouth College hosted in mid-September the sixth biannual conference on “promoting a rural Northeast region that is climate resilient, equitable, economically revitalized, and decarbonized.” Organizers invited Sustainable Hanover to showcase some of the Town’s sustainability initiatives, including a walking tour of downtown Hanover and brief presentations at Town Hall.
Local Solutions Conferences
Local action on climate change has always been important, and perhaps never more so than in the current period while we have drastically reduced support from our federal and state governments. This September, two conferences sought to help attendees by providing a forum for them to share and network with others also promoting local action.
Plug-In Solar: A New Path to Solar Energy
Get ready to hear more about plug-in or balcony solar! This term refers to small portable photovoltaic (PV) devices which are designed to be plugged into a standard 110/120v wall outlet to supply power for household use.
Window Dressers Update
For the fifth year in a row, the Norwich Energy Committee and Sustainable Hanover completed a Window Dressers Build. This year, the Lyme Energy Committee joined the effort. When completed, 235 inserts were constructed for 33 households.
Help Celebrate National Sun Day: Sunday, September 21, 2025
Saturday, September 21, 2025, will be a national day of action to celebrate the power of clean energy. The day will be full of events highlighting the capacity of solar panels, wind turbines and batteries to reduce greenhouse gases, lower costs, create new jobs, and strengthen our communities.
Support Collective Climate Action
On July 21st, Clean Energy New Hampshire (CENH) hosted a lively “Summer Social” at Dartmouth’s Irving Institute for Energy and Society. The event brought together sustainability leaders and supporters from across the Upper Valley for conversation, networking, and inspiration.
Free Upper Valley EV Expo Sept. 6
Come see an expected 20 different kinds of electric vehicles and talk to individual owners or local dealers at the free Upper Valley EV Expo on Saturday, September 6 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hartford Town Hall and Lyman Point Park, 171 Bridge Street, White River Junction.
Inching Forward with LEAP!
Dartmouth Students associated with the Cook Engineering Design Center’s LEAP Program (Learn Engineering Through Applied Projects) recently completed a two-term project looking at the feasibility of decarbonizing residential energy use through geo-exchange microgrids. Under the supervision of Professor Emily Monroe, freshmen Eden Gray, Caleb Frank, and Declan Schilling and senior Nathan McAllister concluded that this form of low emissions heating could be a viable alternative to furnaces fueled by oil or propane.
Hanover Kicks Off Shared Streets Vision Planning
On May 12th, Hanover kicked off Shared Streets Vision Planning to design a multimodal network for all ages and abilities. How we design our streets, intersections and paths determines who can get where they need to go and how. And our choices have a massive impact on our community’s carbon footprint...
But how do our choices in street design impact the community’s emissions and health? What does it mean to envision Hanover streets that are inviting and accessible to people of all ages and abilities? How can we do it?
Earth Day Fair
“Aye, ’twas a cold and rainy day” or at least the threat of one for the Earth Day Fair and celebration sponsored by Sustainable Hanover and Dartmouth College’s Sustainability Department on Saturday, April 26. Nevertheless, seventeen exhibitor and vendor tables were crowded together, receiving between 60 and 70 attendees in Richmond Middle School gymnasium.
A Promising New Initiative for Hanover’s Large Energy Users
Sustainable Hanover is excited to have launched a new initiative to bring together the largest energy users in Hanover to share ideas and solutions for a more sustainable future. This group includes representation from Dartmouth College, Kendal at Hanover, the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), Hypertherm, Sheridan Printing, the Coop Food Stores, and the Town.
Community Power Outperforms Expectations
Recent news from the Community Power Coalition of NH (CPCNH) contained some surprises. Community power programs, including our own Hanover Community Power (HCP), are surpassing expectations held in April 2023 when Hanover launched as one of ten communities in the first wave of CPCNH programs. Over the first 16 months, HCP customers saved $643,000 compared to what they would have spent for utility supplied electricity.
EVs on Long Trips
If you are interested in getting an electric vehicle (EV) but apprehensive about how to charge it on a trip longer than the battery will supply, our recent trip to Maine might answer a few of your questions.