Lieutenant Governor and State Energy Officials present $941K in Green Communities grants to Weymouth, Cohasset, Norwell, Stoughton, and Whitman

Posted on: February 3, 2016 - 2:34pm

Weymouth, MA – February 3, 2016 – On Thursday, January 26, Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito and Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Commissioner Judith Judson presented the Towns of Weymouth, Cohasset, Norwell, Stoughton, and Whitman with $941,740 in Green Communities grants to fund municipal clean energy and energy efficiency projects.

The five municipalities received certificates from the Commonwealth and road signs identifying them as Green Communities.  The DOER’s Green Communities Division officially designated the Towns in December, recognizing their achievement in meeting five clean energy benchmarks.  The grants each community received are as follows:

  • Weymouth     $277,635
  • Cohasset       $141,460
  • Norwell         $146,520
  • Stoughton      $209,910
  • Whitman        $166,215

The grants are part of more than $3.1 million in funding awarded this year to 19 cities and towns across the state that met the criteria to be designated as Green Communities.  Once designated, municipalities are eligible for awards to fund local clean energy and energy efficiency projects. 

Weymouth’s initial designation grant will be used to install an Energy Management System (EMS) at town hall as well as retrofit florescent lighting with LED technology inside three municipal buildings and four primary schools.  Installing the EMS and retrofitting the municipal buildings and schools are projected to conserve 316,415 kWh in electricity per year and generate nearly $47,000 in annual cost savings. 

DOER’s Green Communities Designation and Grant Program, a result of the Green Communities Act enacted in 2008, is funded through the auction of carbon emissions permits under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, as well as Alternative Compliance Payments made by electricity suppliers under the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard.  Grants are used to reward communities that win Green Communities Designation by meeting five clean energy criteria:

  • Adopting local zoning bylaw or ordinance that allows “as-of-right siting” for renewable and/or alternative energy R & D facilities, manufacturing facilities, or generation units;
  • Adopting an expedited permitting process related to the as-of-right facilities;
  • Establishing a municipal energy use baseline and a program to reduce use by 20 percent over five years;
  • Purchasing only fuel-efficient vehicles for municipal use, whenever such vehicles are commercially available and practicable; and
  • Requiring all new residential construction over 3,000 square feet and all new commercial and industrial real estate construction to reduce lifecycle energy costs (i.e., adoption of an energy-saving building “stretch code”).

There are 155 Green Communities across the state, representing 54 percent of the Massachusetts population.  All Green Communities commit to reducing municipal energy consumption by 20 percent over five years.  This commitment by the 155 communities amounts to savings of 2,153,992 MMBTu, energy use equivalent to heating and powering 19,698 homes, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 203,538 tons (U.S.), equivalent to taking 38,866 cars off the road. 

Weymouth’s energy conservation commitments are projected to generate savings of 24,283 MMBTu, energy use equivalent to heating and powering over 200 homes and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2,294 tons (U.S.), equivalent to taking more than 400 cars off the road.