CPCNH 2025 Holiday Letter: A Year of Momentum and Gratitude
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Highlights from a Transformative Year in New Hampshire’s Community Power Landscape
As the year ends, we at the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire find ourselves reflecting on a period of tremendous growth and change. In a landscape as dynamic as energy, we’re proud of the foundation we’re building—not just in megawatts or markets, but in relationships, trust, and transparency. This holiday season, we offer a few personal reflections from our staff, the people working behind the scenes to keep Community Power moving forward in the Granite State.
In 2025, CPCNH served more than 175,000 customers across New Hampshire, hosted 12 virtual Office Hours sessions, and held numerous in-person events and activities across the state, from our Annual Meeting in Manchester to a summer staff kayak day on the Contoocook River. We launched interactive reporting tools to improve rate transparency, expanded access to community solar initiatives through the ASPIRE program, and welcomed new cities and towns into the Coalition following strong local votes across the state.
We also marked key milestones: moving into our new headquarters in downtown Concord, hosting our largest Fall Membership Meeting yet in Waterville Valley, and co-presenting the 2025 Local Energy Solutions Conference. We celebrated the construction of the Poverty Plains Solar Array, a 4.99 MW project in Warner that will serve 11 CPCNH communities and begin delivering a projected $5 million in local benefits when it comes online in 2026. And through efforts like our summer Regulatory & Legislative Affairs Committee retreat and participation in conferences like NHMA and the NH Association of Counties, we laid strategic groundwork for policy and member engagement in the years ahead.
These efforts are more than just programs and projects: they represent a broader commitment to local leadership, community engagement, and the power of collective action. As we close out the year, we’re taking a moment to reflect.
Below are a few personal notes from our staff on what we’ve accomplished in 2025 and what each achievement means to us. And if you'd like more information on what's happening at CPCNH, please sign up for our emails. First, we’d like to introduce one of our newest hires:
Laura Van Sant, Clerk & Administrative Assistant
“A little about me: I grew up in Iowa before moving to New Hampshire, where I spent more than 30 years and raised my three children in Brentwood. I worked for nearly 12 years as a paralegal and legal assistant for Attorney Keri Marshall in Kingston, supporting a wide range of legal functions until her retirement.”
“Following that transition, I moved to the Lakes Region and joined the SAU 2 Office as an assistant to the business director. There, I supported district operations and took on numerous HR responsibilities. In the fall of 2023, I relocated to South Carolina, where I served as executive assistant and board clerk for GREEN Charter Schools in Greenville. I’m now happy to be back in New Hampshire — and thrilled to be joining CPCNH!”
Henry Herndon, Acting General Manager
“2025 has been a year of business restructuring for CPCNH. We upgraded our risk management and financial systems, improved our office headquarters, and continued growing our staff team. These internal changes have helped lay a strong foundation for long-term, transformative value — empowering New Hampshire cities and towns to shape the future of our state’s energy marketplace.”
“Serving as CPCNH’s interim executive has been the most challenging and rewarding experience of my professional career. I’m thankful for the constant opportunities to grow and learn, to lead our team of staff and vendors, and to support the board through critical and complex decisions. I’m proud to work alongside the committed and engaged membership of local leaders who have taken the future of this state’s energy market into their own hands.”
Jackson Kaspari, Director of Member Services
“This fall marked one year for me as a CPCNH staff member, though I’ve been involved with the organization for more than four years. In 2025, I contributed to our communications and engagement strategy, supported improvements to our website, and was involved in the subscription process for the Poverty Plains Solar project. It’s very rewarding to work cross-functionally with the team to deliver a full range of services from financial reporting to emceeing events. It’s been exciting to see our work reach more communities and to celebrate another year of growth.”
Deana Dennis, Director of Regulatory & Legislative Affairs
“This year, I’m proud to have strengthened CPCNH’s policy and regulatory position during a time of significant challenge — advancing long-term legislative strategy, safeguarding competitive markets and helping build the foundation for New Hampshire’s future local energy marketplace.”
“Navigating this year's intensity taught me the value of resilience and balance. I’m grateful for the opportunity to grow alongside a dedicated team and a membership committed to empowering New Hampshire communities.”
Bobbi-Jo Michael, Director of Administration
“CPCNH brings members together through our Annual and Fall Membership Meetings — moments where collaboration moves us forward. I’ve had the privilege of helping to organize these gatherings, which connect members, directors, officers and staff to share ideas, highlight community projects, and learn from industry experts. They’re also key decision-making moments, from electing board leadership to voting on initiatives that shape CPCNH’s future.”
“Even after two years in this role, I continue to be inspired by the dedication of our board directors, officers and committee members. Their commitment to CPCNH’s growth and success is unmatched. I'm equally proud to work alongside our small but mighty staff, who consistently give their best to advance the coalition. One thing continues to guide our work: Is this what’s best for our members?”
Mark Bolinger, Director of Projects & Programs
“One of the major highlights for me this year was seeing the progress of Poverty Plains Solar. We secured board approval in April, fully subscribed the project within a few months, and by November, it was under construction — on track to deliver clean, cost-effective electricity to our members starting in 2026.”
“Another big step was the formation in April and launch in June of our Projects and Programs Committee. It’s been a lot of effort — brainstorming agendas, preparing for monthly meetings, leading discussions, drafting minutes and Board reports, and following up on action items — but it’s added a degree of structure and discipline to our department that had been missing. That foundation has helped us move initiatives like our first ASPIRE solicitation and its resulting proposals through the right channels for approval.”
Scott May, Senior Energy Analyst
“I spent much of this year focused on developing financial tools that help CPCNH and our members manage and understand resources. I created the CPCNH Revenue Forecast to support accurate forecasting of our financial position — essential for both day-to-day and long-term planning. I also developed the Cost Allocation and Benefits Report to provide members with a detailed look at their individual financial contributions and resulting benefits.”
Andrew Hatch, Outreach & Engagement Manager
“The Poverty Plains Solar project was a defining initiative for CPCNH’s Member Services team this year. Our team was tasked with marketing municipal Group Net Metering (GNM) credits to our membership — and the success of this inaugural effort hinged on fully subscribing more than 8 million kWh of load under a tight deadline.”
“We aimed for a broad cross-section of participation, prioritizing communities geographically close to the project site in Warner, as well as smaller municipalities where the benefits would be felt most. Securing contracts meant multiple meetings with stakeholders and working out important details in real time as outreach was underway. Ultimately, we were able to secure commitments from 11 member communities — including four adjacent to the project and one all the way up in Coös County. It was a proud and collaborative milestone for our team.”
Nick Gosling, Communications Manager
“I joined CPCNH in February 2025 and have focused on improving how we communicate with our members, the public and other key stakeholders. That’s included enhancing our email marketing systems, building the infrastructure to record and share our Office Hours and webinar recordings, and improving the design and clarity of our communications overall.”
“One project I’m especially proud of is the merging of CPCNH’s two previous websites — an initiative I led and implemented to improve the user experience and better represent the coalition as a whole.”
~~~
Thank you for reading and for being part of this growing Coalition. If you’d like to continue to stay in touch, sign up for email updates at the bottom of this page — and we’ll keep you in the loop on news, events and opportunities to get involved.
