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Economic & Community Development 103 qualify for Green Communities technical help
More than 100 Massachusetts cities and towns seeking to become “Green Communities” have qualified for $1.2 million in technical assistance from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Consultants overseen by the Department of Energy Resources will work with local officials in the 103 qualifying communities to develop plans for meeting five criteria:
• A zoning bylaw or ordinance that allows “as-of-right-siting” of renewable energy projects (i.e., siting that does not unreasonably regulate these uses)
• An expedited permitting process related to the as-of-right facilities
• Establishing a municipal energy-use baseline and a program designed to reduce baseline use by 20 percent within five years
• An agreement to purchase fuel-efficient vehicles for municipal use, whenever such vehicles are commercially available and practical
• A “stretch” energy building code that would apply to all new commercial and industrial construction and to new residential construction of more than 3,000 square feet
Municipalities that succeed in meeting the criteria will be eligible for grants, totaling $10 million annually statewide, to support local clean-energy projects.
The Green Communities Division, created in July 2008, will work with local officials to develop plans for meeting the five criteria. Regional coordinators, working out of Department of Environmental Protection offices in Lakeville, Springfield, Wilmington and Worcester, will be available to assist with these efforts.
Both the technical-assistance grants and the grants for clean-energy projects will be funded through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
For cities and towns with municipal light companies to be eligible for the grants, the municipal light companies must belong to the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, the quasi-public financing agency.
• Link to Green Communities Program
Economic & Community Development 103 qualify for Green Communities technical help
103 qualify for Green Communities technical help
More than 100 Massachusetts cities and towns seeking to become “Green Communities” have qualified for $1.2 million in technical assistance from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Consultants overseen by the Department of Energy Resources will work with local officials in the 103 qualifying communities to develop plans for meeting five criteria:
• A zoning bylaw or ordinance that allows “as-of-right-siting” of renewable energy projects (i.e., siting that does not unreasonably regulate these uses)
• An expedited permitting process related to the as-of-right facilities
• Establishing a municipal energy-use baseline and a program designed to reduce baseline use by 20 percent within five years
• An agreement to purchase fuel-efficient vehicles for municipal use, whenever such vehicles are commercially available and practical
• A “stretch” energy building code that would apply to all new commercial and industrial construction and to new residential construction of more than 3,000 square feet
Municipalities that succeed in meeting the criteria will be eligible for grants, totaling $10 million annually statewide, to support local clean-energy projects.
The Green Communities Division, created in July 2008, will work with local officials to develop plans for meeting the five criteria. Regional coordinators, working out of Department of Environmental Protection offices in Lakeville, Springfield, Wilmington and Worcester, will be available to assist with these efforts.
Both the technical-assistance grants and the grants for clean-energy projects will be funded through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
For cities and towns with municipal light companies to be eligible for the grants, the municipal light companies must belong to the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, the quasi-public financing agency.
• Link to Green Communities Program
Written by MMA Senior Legislative Analyst Tom Philbin
