The Hampshire Council of Governments will work on issues related to renewable energy sources with the appointment of Eric L. Weiss as sustainability director.
Eric L. Weiss, of Belchertown, is at the Williamsburg transfer ttation in Williamsburg two years ago.NORTHAMPTON – At a time of national political debate over whether to put money and time into sustainable energy efforts, the Hampshire Council of Governments has created a new job coordinating such efforts for member towns.
Eric L. Weiss was appointed by the council to work on sustainable energy issues for the towns. Weiss is the administrator for the Hilltown Resource Management Cooperative, which runs recycling and waste management programs for seven towns.
The boards of directors of the Resource Cooperative and the Hampshire Council of Governments have agreed to have Weiss continue in his current job as he takes on the new one, splitting his time in a way that will have him work half-time for each.
“I am confident I can meet both roles,” Weiss said.
The council of governments wants to take a leadership role in promoting sustainable energy use, said Todd Ford, executive director of the council.
“As an organization, we recognize that support for sustainability is very strong in this region, but there does not seem to be a lot of centralized leadership on this issue,” Ford said.
“We are not a regulator, so, we do not necessarily plan on entering into a debate on regulation. We do plan on looking at sustainability not only as a quality of life issue, but as an economic development issue,” Ford said.
“When I look at sustainability, I do not see it as that battle between going green and making money, I see it as one and the same,” Ford said.
The Hampshire Council of Governments took over the job of providing regional services when it replaced the Hampshire County government in 1999. There are now 13 member towns, who take part in cooperative purchasing, health care and other regional services, and the council also sells electricity to more than 100 communities and school systems through Hampshire Power. That enterprise, has started a process for selling electric power to residential customers.
Weiss is also chairman of the Springfield Materials Recycling Facility Advisory Board chairman of the Pioneer Valley Sustainability Network and chairman of the Belchertown School Committee.
He said the new job is a good match for someone with his background.
“Between the effects of climate change and having only a finite amount of accessible resources we need to become more sustainable on a local, regional, and global basis. We need to use less and pollute less and I am excited to create programs and services through the Council that can help meet this goal,” Weiss said.
Expanding recycling efforts and opportunities for solar energy installation are among the goals Weiss will be tackling in the new job, along with helping Hampshire Power increase the amount of electricity purchased from renewable sources.