Street lighting constitutes a significant portion of municipal energy consumption and expenditures. By buying back streetlights from their utility provider, converting to energy-efficient fixtures, and procuring products and services in […]
Continue reading...An energy plan should be treated as a living document that can be continually supplemented and passed down to new community stakeholders on an ongoing basis. To that end, a […]
Continue reading...The Green Communities Designation and Grant Program, is an initiative of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) that supports and rewards communities that meet certain clean energy goals established by […]
Continue reading...As part of a long-term energy plan, after baselining energy use across their portfolio of accounts and facilities, municipalities should track the changes in their energy use over time. This […]
Continue reading...The Green Communities Act (MGL Chapter 25A) put in place several mechanisms to encourage the implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, including streamlined procurement pathways for energy conservation […]
Continue reading...Energy retrofit projects can have multiple benefits for municipalities in addition to resiliency preparation and climate change mitigation, including operational cost savings, reduced maintenance, and greater comfort. However, large retrofits […]
Continue reading...Electricity suppliers in the New England grid generate primarily from fossil fuel and nuclear power resources. However, electricity produced from renewable sources is beginning to gain clout in the market. […]
Continue reading...In addition to energy generated by large facilities, Massachusetts also allows excess energy generated by small-scale, distributed systems to be purchased by utilities (for up to 3% of their peak […]
Continue reading...For municipalities that want to encourage residents to think comprehensively about their energy use, it makes sense to bundle both efficiency and solar outreach into one program in which residents […]
Continue reading...The purpose of a Green Business Program is twofold: to acknowledge the clean energy efforts and energy savings of the business community; and, to encourage local businesses to take advantage […]
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