As spring transitions to summer it’s finally farmers market season once again.  The Wooster Square Farmers Market in New Haven, Connecticut, recently opened its 2009 season and the grassroots outreach team at Community Energy is looking forward to another successful season teaming up with our partners City Seed to help spread the word about the benefits of clean energy.

City Seed is a non-profit organization that hosts several farmers markets in the New Haven area with the motto “engaging and connecting communities through food.”  City Seed’s vision is to “create a sustainable model of local economy, urban community, regional agriculture, environmental stewardship, and well-being through food.”  The Wooster Square Farmers Market on Saturday mornings from 9 am-1pm was recognized last year by USA Today as one of the Top 10 farmers markets in the US and was also featured in a recent New York Times article.

City Seed was also recently recognized by the State of Connecticut as a recipient of a 2008 Climate Change Leadership Award for its efforts to reduce carbon emissions and increase public awareness.

2009 marks the third season Community Energy will be partnering with City Seed to promote the CT CleanEnergy Options program.  To date, roughly 250 Community Energy customers have enrolled in the CT CleanEnergy Options program at City Seed markets.  Thanks in part to this partnership, The City of New Haven currently has the highest numbers of enrollments of any municipality in Connecticut.  Through the CT Clean Energy Communities program, the City of New Haven earns a free 1kw solar photovoltaic (PV) system from the CT Clean Energy Fund for every 100 residents who enroll in the CT CleanEnergy Options program.  Community Energy’s partnership with City Seed has earned at least 2kw of free solar PV with an approximate value of $20,000.  

We at Community Energy are looking forward to another successful season at the New Haven markets spreading the word about the importance of supporting clean energy.  We’d like to thank our friends at City Seed for understanding the connections between clean energy issues and sustainable agriculture issues and the impacts they have on our local communities.