Brewer and Gobi Announce Barre Receives Green Community Award
(Boston) – Senator Stephen M. Brewer (D-Barre) and Representative Anne M. Gobi (D-Spencer) announced that the Town of Barre, as a Green Community, has been awarded $143,575 for energy audits at several municipal building and multiple energy efficiency projects, including lighting upgrades at several buildings along with funding for a program administrator to manage energy projects. In total, $2 million in grants were awarded by the Massachusetts Executive office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) and Department of Energy Resources (DOER) yesterday to 12 of Massachusetts’ newest Green Communities that earned the designation in December, making them eligible for renewable power and energy efficiency project funding.
“This is a welcome designation for the Town of Barre, my hometown,” said Senator Brewer. “The fiscal burdens on cities and towns are not yet faltering, even though we are seeing modest improvements in our economy. Barre’s commitment to increasing efficiency, and to better harnessing the energy they are using, will save money and lead to a better infrastructure with less impact on the environment.”
“I thank the Patrick administration for assisting communities who take the initiative to be part of Green Communities. The Barre Energy Advisory Committee has undertaken this task to help with sustainability through energy efficiency,” state Representative Gobi.
With these latest designations, 42 percent of Massachusetts residents or 2.7 million people now live in Green Communities across the Commonwealth. All of the 86 Green Communities committed to reduce their municipal energy consumption by 20 percent. This commitment collectively equates to the annual energy consumption of more than 13,000 Massachusetts homes and the greenhouse gases from more than 16,800 cars.
“The Town of Barre is very pleased and honored to be one of the twelve communities recently designated as a “Green Community”. A great deal of time and effort on the part of our Energy Committee made this all possible. Without the enthusiasm, commitment and support of Virginia and Howard Hastings, Neil Anders, Barre Selectmen and staff, this honor could not have been achieved. This award will go a long way in helping us further reduce energy costs while maximizing efficiency,” said Barre Town Administrator David E. Battistoni.
Recently, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) named Massachusetts number one in their annual state-by-state energy efficiency scorecard.
DOER calculates Green Communities grants using a formula that caps awards at $1 million and provides each community with a $125,000 base grant - plus additional amounts based on per capita income and population, and for municipalities that meet Green Communities Criterion 1 for energy generation. There are 86 Green Communities in Massachusetts.
In addition to grant eligibility, each Green Community received a certificate from the Commonwealth and four road signs identifying it as an official Green Community.
DOER’s Green Communities Grant Program uses funding from auctions of carbon emissions permits under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to reward communities that win Green Communities designation by meeting five clean energy benchmarks:
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 within 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”).
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Posted: Fri, May 4, 2012
Updated Fri, May 4, 2012