...AND CHEAPER...:

Putting forth an ambitious plan to make the Woodstock facility into North America's first net-zero public skating rink, according to UA board chairman Harold Mayhew, management at the nonprofit community center has raised about a third of the project's $1.4 million goal and completed phase one in November. [...]

The arena currently pays about $140,000 per year for its electric and fuel costs, about a third of its annual budget. If the net-zero campaign is successful, about $90,000 of those expenses would be offset through efficiency improvements to the arena's existing refrigeration, heating and cooling systems. The other $50,000 would be generated from the use of solar panels to be installed during phase three of the project.

Union Arena general manager EJay Bishop hopes the savings will eventually help reduce ice-time rental fees at the rink -- at $225 per hour, they're in the middle among public skating rinks in Vermont, he said -- while at the same time significantly lowering its greenhouse gas emissions.

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