Students rally for renewable energy

Alex Rodriguez, an organizer with Chispa, a grassroots conservation activism group, spoke to University of Connecticut students and Connecticut Sierra Club members at a rally outside the Capitol in Hartford on Tuesday. less Alex Rodriguez, an organizer with Chispa, a grassroots conservation activism group, spoke to University of Connecticut students and Connecticut Sierra Club members at a rally outside the Capitol in Hartford on ... more Photo: Emilie Munson / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Emilie Munson / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Students rally for renewable energy 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

Wearing neon hats and carrying signs, three dozen University of Connecticut students and Connecticut Sierra Club members gathered Tuesday outside the Capitol to bring their message to lawmakers and agency heads.

“Hey hey! Ho ho! Natural gas had got to go!” they chanted.

Speakers at the rally said the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is not doing enough to support renewable energy projects, like wind and solar, in the state and criticized DEEP’s recent Comprehensive Energy Strategy.

“As the CES is written, it would be detrimental to the state,” said Kyleigh Hillerud, a freshman at UConn and one of the rally organizers. She opposed parts of the plan like changing metering practices for residential solar panels and advocated for funding more solar projects across the state.

Chris Collibee, spokesman for DEEP, said the department is committed to cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy for Connecticut.

“The finalized Comprehensive Energy Strategy, along with recommendations from the Governor’s Council on Climate Change, and proposed legislation introduced by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ensures that Connecticut will continue to be the national leader in taking real action to address climate change,” he said.

The Comprehensive Energy Strategy, published by DEEP earlier this month, seeks to grow and sustain zero-carbon emitting renewable energy production across the state.

The department has set a goal of increasing the state’s renewable portfolio standard to 40 percent by 2030. DEEP is also seeking bids for state energy contracts from off-shore wind, fuel cell and anaerobic digestion.

Walter Dodson, a sophomore at UConn, said students across the state are ready to hold the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection accountable for pushing leading-edge clean energy policies.

The Tuesday rally was the first that UConn Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG) has held in years, said Dodson who is a vice chair of the UConn chapter.

Martha Klein, a volunteer with the Connecticut Sierra Club, joined students in calling for a rewrite of the energy strategy, tossing out natural gas and favoring solar and wind energy more heavily.

“In fact, (the CES) inhibits the growth of renewable power in our state,” she said. “Wind and solar are renewable, and that’s only one part of what our state considers clean energy. It’s absurd.”