Talk of the Towns 11/13/24: Zero Energy Homes for Maine

Talk of the Towns | WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: What is the housing situation here in Maine? What are the key pillars for Zero Energy Homes: Zero energy, Affordability, Modular Construction, Cooperatively owned company. What are the components of a zero energy home? What is modular construction and how does it contribute to an affordable home? What has been the start up journey so far for Zero Energy Homes. What roles have the philanthropic and venture capital sectors played? What comes next? Hiring the a manager for the manufacturing process and locating a site for a manufacturing facility capable of constructing 30-50 homes per year. What is the timeline for locating your first demonstration home in Searsport in 2025? Guest/s: Caroline Pryor, founder of Zero Energy Homes, Mount Desert, Maine. Dick Arnold, advisory board, retired manufacturing ceo and engineer, Old Orchard Beach. Parlin Meyer, Managing Principal and co-owner BrightBuilt Home. Designer of modular, sustainble homes, Portland. FMI: zeroenergyhomes.coop www.brightbuilthome.com About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor.

The post Talk of the Towns 11/13/24: Zero Energy Homes for Maine first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.