DOER names 18 new Green Communities

On Dec. 16, Department of Energy Resources named 18 additional “Green Communities,” making them eligible for more than $3.6 million in grants for local renewable power and energy efficiency projects.

The additional communities are Boston, Dedham, Easton, Gardner, Gloucester, Harvard, Hatfield, Marlborough, Medway, Milton, Newburyport, New Salem, Scituate, Swampscott, Watertown, Wayland, Williamstown and Winchester.

These communities join 35 cities and towns named in the first round of Green Communities designations last May.

The Department of Energy Resources’ Green Communities Grant Program uses funding from auctions of carbon emissions permits under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to reward communities.

To attain the Green Communities designation, a city or town must meet the following clean energy benchmarks:

• 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

• 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

For cities and towns with municipal light companies to be eligible for the Green Communities grants, the companies must belong to the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, a quasi-public financing agency.