For Osler, the energy answer is blowing in the wind

When Evan Osler took his two daughters, aged 5 and 8, to Fenway Park this summer, he was returning to his roots. Osler grew up in Cambridge, Mass., and spent five summers as a food vendor there. He estimates he sold hot dogs at almost 300 games.

The wind can influence how far a ball is hit at Fenway but that’s not the reason Osler ended up in the renewable energy field, concentrating on wind projects. “I focused on it because it was the nexus of a lot of things I find fascinating,” he said.

Osler started his career with a small Vermont consulting firm called Vermont Environmental Research Associates. They had a hand in Vermont’s first wind project in Searsburg, as well as what is now called Kingdom Community Wind. They also assisted with projects on Georgia Mountain and in Deerfield.

From there, Osler moved to NRG where he spent 11 years. “I’ve learned a lot from some very experienced people,” he said. “The fore-parents of renewable energy are in Vermont and there is a vast knowledge base here.”

Osler is currently employed by Deriva Energy which develops, owns and operates renewable energy projects across the country. They purchased Catamount Energy, which was based in Rutland, but they do not have projects in Vermont or anywhere else in New England.

Osler focuses on the wind side of the business which covers the U.S. from the mid-Atlantic to the Intermountain West, with an emphasis on Texas and Wyoming. He said Deriva prefers large-scale projects, which explains the lack of a New England footprint. “We want to go where communities want wind power,” he said. “We invest in communities, and we’ve been a good neighbor.” Osler said the company has built over three gigawatts of operating wind and is currently engaging in “repowering,” which involves swapping existing technology for more efficient, newer models.

In his spare time, you can find Osler on skis or on a bike. His father was a serious cyclist and after watching a few of his races, Osler was hooked.

“One of the most terrifying things you can do on a bike is race,” he said. “I was never great at racing, but I was able to hang in there.”

Osler prefers mountain races despite finding them challenging. He said his best results were on courses with rolling hills.

“There’s nothing quite like racing up and down the Middlebury Gap,” he said.

When he was younger, Osler traveled across the Northeast and New York for races. These days, there are fewer racing opportunities, and having two children keeps him closer to home.

Osler described hill climbs as safer and lower stress than other bike races. In 2009, he began racing for the Green Mountain Bicycle Club race team which was affiliated first with Catamount Family Center and then Synergy Fitness. In 2013, he switched to the 1K2GO team but is currently unaffiliated. He has been taking part in at least one leg of the Green Mountain Stage Race since 2008 and has recently added gravel bike racing to his repertoire.

Osler’s other outdoor passion is skiing. A ski racer in his youth, he quickly realized that he was more interested in going beyond the groomed trails, and now he is mostly focused on backcountry skiing. He noted that this interest preceded the existence of good gear for the sport and its burgeoning popularity.

One of Osler’s recent accomplishments was building a rope tow for skiing in his backyard. “It’s 10 feet of vertical,” he said, “but that’s enough for some turns and a jump.” The rope tow is completely electric so on a sunny winter day, it runs off Osler’s solar array.

Osler has been a resident of Charlotte since 2017. He said that because of their busy schedules and young children, he and his wife have not been able to be as active in the community as they would like.

“We feel very privileged to be part of this community,” he said. This year, both of his daughters will be attending Charlotte Central School.

He believes that among other renewable energy options, wind has stood the test of time, adding that the current trend towards using heat pumps works well with wind.

“I continue to believe wind will be a useful part of our energy portfolio,” he said. “Wind often blows when the sun isn’t out so it’s complementary to solar.”