Power to the people

A rebate program to encourage small renewable energy projects has, in its first year and a half, awarded nearly $4 million to 400 homes and businesses -- fueling a trend toward energy independence that is becoming increasingly common in this region.

At Sassafras Hill Farm in Plymouth, the roof is tiled with solar panels that provide more than enough hot water to heat the house, so the horses get warm showers. At Steve MacAusland's century-old farmhouse in Dedham, solar panels and an efficient oil burner have freed him from electricity bills. By tomorrow, Extrusion Technology Inc. in Randolph plans to start using 192 solar panels mounted on its roof to supply 5 percent of the supply for the energy-intensive aluminum extrusion process.

``It's becoming more mainstream.... This is not for hippies in the backwoods anymore," said Warren Leon, director of the Renewable Energy Trust for the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. ``The largest group of people do it for enviromental reasons, but there are some folks who are doing it because they want our state and country to be more energy independent. Some businesses run the numbers and conclude it's a good financial investment."

The quasi-state Renewable Energy Trust awards rebates to homeowners and businesses, paying for about half the cost of a project, on average. The grant program was recently allocated an additional $1 million; it plans to ask for more funds this fall in order to implement a second phase because it has been so popular.

Individually, these small-scale turbines and solar units are a drop in the bucket compared with the proposed Cape Wind, a cluster of 130 off shore wind turbines in Nantucket Sound that would produce up to 468 megawatts of electricity, with each turbine contributing up to 3.6 megawatts. The 421 small renewable projects that have been approved by the Renewable Energy Trust add up to only 1.4 megawatts, according to Leon.

``It's the aggregate we're concerned about," said US Representative William Delahunt, who is working to establish an ``energy independence corridor" that would focus on making biofuels available in Massachusetts. ``I think in many respects, people not only see this in terms of respecting the environment.... I think there's a growing consensus we have to" wean ourselves from our dependence on foreign oil.

The important thing, homeowners said, is to set an example and make lifestyle changes that could benefit the environment in some small way.

East Bridgewater resident Chris Croteau is using the rebate program to help pay for a 10-kilowatt, 130-foot turbine in his yard, which he calculates will generate almost 1 1/2 times as much energy as his house needs.

``We're doing it because we're a normal, mainstream family: three-bedroom home, two kids, stay-at-home mom, husband works in Boston.... We're not like this earthy-crunchy, out-of-the-box type people -- and what has to happen is this type of energy on a household basis has to become mainstream over the next 50 years," he said, noting that already his neighbors have expressed an interest in buying into the $65,000 project, which will be aided by a $30,000 grant from the collaborative.

Debby Stein Sharpe, treasurer for Extrusion Technology, said the business first became interested in making an investment in solar because of environmental concerns. The 60-kilowatt project cost about $450,000 and was helped by a $250,920 grant from the Renewable Energy Trust. It will help the company in an uncertain energy future, she said.

As interest in renewable energy grows, so does the field of entrepreneurs. Steve Pitney of Plymouth started bringing renewable energy to homeowners more than 30 years ago, sometimes struggling to keep his business afloat as a one-man operation. But things have changed.

``I've been in business since 1974, but there's been an explosion of opportunities and people wanting renewable energy, so we're going into a new phase," he said.

He is opening a store called Alternate Energy Center in Plymouth that will serve as a demonstration center, with biodiesel fueling his trucks, a solar van, and heat provided by tiny pipes that run under the floor and carry water warmed by the sun.

Jay Silva of Scituate has installed small wind turbines at homes, and has a windmill with 2-foot-long blades at his home, an otherwise conventional two-story house. ``The only customers I have want to do it because it's the right thing to do.... I think we really have to do something to improve this lot we're in, and there are lots of ways to do right, to reduce your carbon footprint. This is the way I chose."

MacAusland, of Dedham, said the decision to convert his house to alternate energy has been profitable. He traded in his ``hypocrite - mobile" -- a Toyota Land Cruiser -- for a hybrid Honda Insight six years ago, and has been keeping track of the money he has saved on gas. Using that savings, he invested in photovoltaic panels for his roof and an efficient oil burner.

``If you really wanted to build a green house, you'd start from scratch and build it with all the doodads. But you can take an old house" and do something similar, he said.

But besides holding an open house and talking up energy independence, he also co founded Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light, a group to help religious groups make changes.

At St. Paul's in Dedham, the lighting has been converted to energy-efficient bulbs and two boilers have been installed so that the church can convert to oil or gas to save money.

And MacAusland hopes for more.

``We can do a lot better.... I'd like to see some solar thermal for heat and hot water... geothermal, which will help you with heating and cooling," he said. ``These are all things we can do, and we're beginning to get there."

Carolyn Y. Johnson can be reached at cjohnson@globe.com.