AUGUSTA -- From the potential for a wind turbine to provide power to public buildings in Richmond to plans in Augusta to collect public and private funds to help citizens prepare their homes for winter, local municipalities, schools and others are looking for new ways of dealing with the high cost of energy, other than writing bigger and bigger checks.

"With the impending winter and heating oil crisis we all know we're going to be facing, the question is what we can do to help keep our fellow citizens from freezing," said Augusta Mayor Roger Katz.

Katz said he's already reached out to Gardiner Mayor Andrew MacLean, and also plans to contact Hallowell Mayor Anthony Masciadri, to look for ways the three riverfront cities could work together to prepare for the energy crisis.

Of course, concern over energy costs is not limited to cities. Officials in small towns like Richmond and Litchfield have concerns too, and they're looking for solutions now in toasty-warm July, with hopes of being ready when the chill of winter blows in.

In Litchfield, what started as an occasional e-mail newsletter for residents interested in energy issues has grown into the Litchfield Energy Savers Society, a group of residents working on energy-crisis solutions.

Resident Teague Morris, a leader of the group and publisher of the town's Litchfield Sodalite newsletter, said they are working on getting a group of volunteers together so they can do a massive "weatherization weekend" to help residents unable to install kits in their homes and to make them more able to withstand winter's cold.

"We'll send folks out there and provide the basics -- caulking, maybe some foam spray, information on how to do a home-energy audit," Morris said. "But, obviously, this is a drop in the bucket -- and a leaky bucket at that. It's only a temporary fix. We need to look at longer-term solutions."

Morris said some in Litchfield are planning a series of workshops later this year to educate the public on energy issues.

One planned for Aug. 11, for example, would feature an engineer who will speak about how to compare the costs and features of different heating systems.

Those longer-term solutions, he said, could include looking at what Litchfield could do, as a town, with solar, geothermal or hydropower as options for providing energy.

Selectmen in Richmond hope to have a wind-turbine site survey conducted by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service. Selectman Burt Batty said the survey could determine if wind-turbine power could help offset the power needs of town and school buildings.

Seth Goodall, chairman of the selectmen in Richmond, said the school heating system may need to be replaced soon and the town and school are looking into the feasibility of installing a renewable-energy system which could heat multiple buildings, and not just one.

Richmond is also looking to improve programs the town has to help residents deal with high energy costs, including a proposal to lower the interest rate on a town program providing loans to residents to improve their homes. And they are also looking at having a weatherization day to help seniors and other residents winterize their homes.

"We're looking at what we can do for our residents," Goodall said. "This is the time we should be working on it, before winter strikes."

Augusta and Litchfield have been comparing notes on their energy efforts, in large part through Michael Byron, Litchfield's town manager, who is also a member of the Augusta City Council.

Augusta City Manager William Bridgeo said the city has about $60,000 in funds from past housing-rehabilitation programs, accumulated through early payoffs of loans made to homeowners, which he said can be used to fund weatherization-related activities, such as installation of new windows and insulation in the homes of Augusta residents if they meet federal income guidelines.

Gerard Roy, city development associate, said Augusta could partner with the regional Kennebec Valley Community Action Program. KVCAP could administer the program and use the $60,000 to help Augusta homeowners who qualify for help, Roy said. Using the funding like that could also bring additional matching federal money.

Darek Grant, a member of the Augusta Board of Education, has proposed the city's schools form an Augusta Energy Committee to study and recommend strategies for both short and long-term ways to conserve energy.

The school system is already conducting an energy audit of all school buildings to look for potential ways to save funds.

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com