Community members and experts on the environment and energy recently gathered to share ideas at the area's first energy forum.

The Lakes Region Energy Alliance on Tuesday held the first of what is expected to be a quarterly discussion between communities and experts in energy and the environment.

Erica Anderson, senior planner for the Lakes Region Planning Commission, was contacted about forming an energy alliance committee by William Johnstone, account executive for the New Hampshire Electric Co-op, and several Lakes Region communities that had formed energy committees after the 2007 town meeting.

Anderson said that of the 30 towns under the LRPC, between 10 and 15 have energy committees. Johnstone said 116 of the 164 communities in the Co-op had passed an energy resolution during town meeting, with 70 adopting energy committees.

Johnstone also said several communities contacted the Co-op for help in starting their own committees.

"It would be good for them to have a forum like this," he said.

The group has been in the works since January, with Tuesday's meeting being the first where representatives from the Co-op, Clean Air-Cool Planet, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Jordan Institute and the energy committees of Center Harbor, Plymouth, and Wolfeboro met together.

Roger Stephenson of Clean Air-Cool Planet described the nature of energy committees and gave advice on how one should be managed and move forward. He also described how Marlborough measured and analyzed energy use in the community.

Shubhada Kambli from the EPA described the agency's programs for reducing energy use, with the overall goal of reducing energy use by 10 percent.

She explained the portfolio management system, a computer program where businesses, homes and municipalities can take inventory of how much energy they are using by entering data into a spreadsheet system to set benchmarks in energy use. The Energy Star program and work with the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) have also been initiatives to promote energy efficiency.

"One of our goals is really to partner with you on your committees and be viewed as a resource," said Carol Woods of the N.H. Electric Co-op.

Woods said the Co-op, Public Service of New Hampshire, Unitil and Granite State Electric Company are all working on energy solutions and providing services and opportunities such as energy auditing, working with customers that receive heating from fossil fuel and geothermal and "expanding opportunities for commercial members to expand the energy program."

Adam Kurowski of the LRPC showed the Planning Commission's website regarding energy efficiency opportunities.

Kirk Stone of the Jordan Institute said it has been working with school districts to make their buildings more energy efficient. Stone said there are districts where the buildings rate low in energy efficiency regardless of building age.

Representatives from the energy committees of Plymouth, Center Harbor and Wolfeboro described the history and work of their committees.

Steve Whitman of Plymouth described how the committee has been working with the town, the school district and Plymouth State University on energy solutions, including more energy efficient street lights and having more bike racks on Main Street. An anti-idling campaign will also go into effect and the committee hosted a green building workshop.

Wolfeboro's Nancy Hirschberg said the committee has been focused on reducing energy use by increasing energy efficiency. The committee, a town subcommittee that works through the board of selectmen, has taken inventory of building energy use and has been involved in the renovation of town hall, held energy fairs and looked into possible renewable energy resources in town among other things.

Center Harbor representative Chris Williams said the committee, formed in April and one of the first to form in the state, established a list of energy goals based on education, agriculture, buildings, transportation, development, water/waste, power generation and political options. Auditing the energy use of the municipal buildings was also done.

The committee also talked with the LRPC, the Co-op and the Jordan Institute about a possible community alliance.

"Center Harbor cannot act alone," Williams said, saying he would also like to see communities such as Sandwich and Moultonborough also working with the town. "Working together we can do a lot more (than) working individually."

"Center Harbor was instrumental to initiate that whole process," Anderson said.