PITTSFIELD – The crowd may have been small at an energy forum on Thursday offered by local businessman and former Town Councilor Michael Dugas, but it certainly was enthusiastic.

Only about a dozen people attended the forum, held at the J.W. Parks’ Golf Course clubhouse, similar to the number that attended a town-sponsored energy forum last month.

Dugas said that even with the modest attendance, “we’ve all learned something tonight.”

Dugas said he put the forum together because everyone is suffering from high oil and energy costs. At his golf course, Dugas said he is putting $1,000 worth of gasoline a week just into his golf carts.

“We have a problem,” he said. “It’s not just me. It’s everybody. I was hoping to bring people together to see what options are out there.”

One option that Dugas was researching was wind. “This is great for a seasonal business, such as golf courses and campgrounds. We could bank the power created all winter to use in the summer.”

On hand to provide advice and expertise were Bruce Linkletter, a wood pellet manufacturer from Athens; Tim Clark of the Efficiency Maine Program; Rep. Stacey Fitts, R-Pittsfield, a member of the Legislature’s Utilities and Energy Committee; Wayne Leete of Abundant Energy, a wind and solar power company; Mac Curtis, who owns a stove shop in Skowhegan; and James Lemieux, president of Sebasticook Valley Federal Credit Union, which offers zero-interest oil loans as well as energy retrofitting loans.

“We have an immediate crisis,” Fitts said. He said that an effort is under way in state government to make energy the state’s No. 1 priority. Gov. John Baldacci has established a task force that is charged with “developing a strategic plan to make it through the next winter and beyond,” Fitts said. “Maine is the No. 1 state in the nation for dependence on fossil fuels.”

Fitts said the first and most important solution was for homeowners and businesses to become more efficient. Air leaks and insulation need to be addressed before alternative energy systems are even considered.

SAD 53 and 59 Superintendent Michael Gallagher said that both districts had achieved considerable savings from participating in the Efficiency Maine Program, which serves both businesses and residential spaces.

He said that through the program, SAD 53 had reduced its oil consumption by 16,000 gallons a year, dropping from 40,000 gallons a year to 24,000.

Lemieux said that SVFCU had loaned more than $90,000 to area people last year through its zero-interest heating loans. “We hope to do it again this season, but we will have to increase the cap from $2,000,” he said. In addition, he said SVFCU will be offering a 6 percent interest loan to help people install new, more efficient heating systems, such as solar, wind or wood.

Several businessmen in attendance said Lemieux’s approach was refreshing since they had found conventional banking institutions unsupportive of alternative energy systems.

After each of the speakers had addressed the group, even Dugas had found a way to save money. Efficiency Maine has a rebate program that will provide him with an incentive to replace an outdated and inefficient compressor.

“This is a great piece of the puzzle,” he said. “Now I’ll get a financial benefit for replacing my compressor.”

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