Wellfleet one of thirteen newest Green Communities

Wellfleet joins three other Cape towns for state designation

Article | News | December 7, 2014 - 7:15am | By CapeCodToday Staff

 

 

Wellfleet is the Cape's newest Green Community. Photo of the Bound Brook area by Jane Booth.

The state last week announced the latest batch of towns in the commonwealth to be designated Green Communities and Wellfleet was one of them. This year's group of thirteen towns contained only one from Cape Cod. Wellfleet is now the fourth town on the Cape to become a Green Community joining its Outer Cape neighbors Provincetown and Truro and Mashpee on the Upper Cape.

To be designated a Green Community, a municipality must meet five clean energy benchmarks:

1. Adopt a local zoning law or ordinance that allows "as-of-right siting"
2. Adopt expedited permitting for the as-of right facilities
3. Establish a program to reduce municipal energy use by 20% in 5 years
4. Buy only fuel efficient vehicles for the municipality if available and practical
5. Adopt energy-saving building for new residential construction over 3,000 square feet such as "stretch code"

One a city or town has met the criteria and been designated a green community, that municipality becomes eligible for state funding for renewable energy or energy efficiency projects, according to the state's Office of Environmental Affairs (EEA). Base grants are $125,000 and increased according to the project's criteria with a cap of $1 million.

The Town of Wellfleet was awarded a grant of $140,000. The town is currently developing a photovoltaic array on the capped landfill adjacent to the Wellfleet Transfer Station.

Read more about the town's energy efforts on their Wellfleet Energy Committee website here.




http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2014/12/07/28132-wellfleet-one-thirteen-newest-green-communities



There is a great deal of information offered on the state's web site:

Energy and Environmental Affairs



 

Completion of Largest Solar Facility in New England

WMECo Celebrates Completion of Largest Solar Facility in New England
2.3 MW Indian Orchard facility is the Company's second large-scale project

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Dec. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECo) today celebrates completion of its second large-scale solar energy facility in the Indian Orchard section of Springfield. The facility features 8,200 solar panels and produces 2.3 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

WMECo officials joined local and state officials in celebrating the transformation of the former foundry site into a clean, renewable energy facility. The Indian Orchard facility joins WMECo's Silver Lake Solar facility in Pittsfield as one of the largest in the Northeast region and is the largest in New England.

"WMECo continues to demonstrate that large-scale solar can be developed and delivered in a cost-effective manner for our customers," said Peter J. Clarke WMECo president and chief operating officer. "These projects represent significant progress toward meeting the Commonwealth's renewable energy goals and diversifying the region's energy supply with non-carbon-emitting fossil fuels," Clarke said.

"I'm very pleased to be here with Peter Clarke and other WMECo officials today to make this great announcement," stated Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. "This continues to build on my Administration's vision for green economic development. Seven months ago we were standing on a remediated brownfield site. Today, this site is now a tax-generating property and is home to the largest renewable energy facility in New England. I appreciate WMECo's continued collaboration with the City of Springfield," added Mayor Sarno.

The project brought nearly $12M of new construction to the region and is will contribute $400,000 of annual property tax revenue to the City of Springfield. Springfield is one of the two Gateway Communities in WMECo's service territory and is home to approximately 65,000 WMECo customers.

"Investments in renewable energy cut long-term energy costs, create local jobs and bring us closer to meeting our statewide clean energy goals," said Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr. "We have 67 megawatts of solar energy installed statewide--equal to the amount of electricity used by 10,600 households annually--and this project builds on this accomplishment by keeping this economic opportunity here in the Commonwealth."

The Commonwealth has a goal to install 250 MW of solar generation by 2017. Under the landmark Green Communities Act (GCA), each Massachusetts electric utility may own up to 50 MW of solar, subject to approval by the Department of Public Utilities (DPU).

Western Massachusetts Electric Company, a Northeast Utilities company /quotes/zigman/236013/quotes/nls/nu NU -0.11% , serves approximately 200,000 customers in 59 communities throughout western Massachusetts and is committed to the environment, economic development and the health of the communities it serves. For more information about WMECo, visit our Web site at www.wmeco.com . Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE Western Massachusetts Electric Company

AG Coakley ignores environmental costs

What a disappointment from AG Martha Coakley!

Oh, sure! Dirty Coal-Fired plants are so much cheaper!

Somerset, MA: Pauline vs. Dirty Coal

This is your Ash - your Coal Ash in Massachusetts.

BRAYTON POINT 190,000,000 POUNDS

SOMERSET 60,100,000 POUNDS

SALEM HARBOR 140,800,00 POUNDS

WEST SPRINGFIELD 40,000,000 POUNDS

MOUNT TOM 75,200,000 POUNDS



Is this what the AG is supporting?

One single accident, one single Coal Ash spill at one of these sites, similar to what occurred in Harriman, TN, will destroy a community.

‎~ 50% of our electric energy in the US comes from Dirty Coal Energy.

It is extremely cheap because they don't have to pay the environmental costs from coal ash spills or mountaintop removal.

+ 500 Mountains have been leveled for coal removal.

For the AG to arrive at this preposterous statement makes one wonder how uninformed she is and how selective in her cost assessment.

And Fracking? Yet another environmentally toxic solution that has destroyed drinking water and environments.

This is about sustainability. Our current path is totally unsustainable.




Green alert on Coakley
BY: Bruce Mohl

Attorney General Martha Coakley insists she is as green as ever, but environmental activists aren’t so sure after her recent testimony on the state’s three-year-old Green Communities Act.

Coakley warned lawmakers on Beacon Hill that the cost of implementing the law over the next four years will be $4 billion, resulting in a 7 percent increase in electricity rates at a time when the state’s economy is struggling to emerge from recession. “We need to fully consider these costs and work to reduce them,” she said in her prepared remarks.

The attorney general’s stark presentation set off alarm bells in the state’s environmental community. “She seemed to be taking aim at our green energy policies across the board,” said Sue Reid, director of the Conservation Law Foundation Massachusetts. Reid says she is arranging a meeting with Coakley to discuss her position.

Jeremy McDiarmid, Massachusetts director of Environment Northeast, said Coakley’s presentation emphasized the cost of the state’s green policies and largely ignored the benefits. “We need to be looking at both the costs and the benefits on an equal footing,” McDiarmid said. “We need a balance.”

Mark Sylvia, commissioner of the state’s Division of Energy Resources, disputed Coakley’s numbers. He predicted electricity rates will rise 2 to 3 percent over the next three years and consumers who take advantage of the state’s energy efficiency programs to reduce their consumption may actually see their electric bills drop. “It’s a great story,” he said of the Green Communities Act.

The attorney general says she remains a big supporter of the Green Communities Act, but she believes parts of the law need to be overhauled. She pulled her cost estimates from a chart buried in a strongly positive Patrick administration report on electricity market reforms. The chart indicates the cost of the state’s electricity initiatives will be roughly $1 billion a year for each of the next four years.

Coakley didn’t mention in her remarks that the same chart also estimated the benefits of electricity market reforms -- in the form of energy efficiency, renewable energy development, and energy innovation -- will hover around $2.5 billion a year. Coakley left that information out of her speech because those benefits accrue over a long time while the costs will be felt immediately.

“Going green, in the short run, is going to cost us,” Coakley said after a bill-signing this week.

To reduce those costs, Coakley is calling for increased competition and transparency, more cost efficiency, and fewer sweetheart incentives for utility companies. She said long-term renewable energy contracts should be bid competitively, an apparent dig at National Grid’s deal to buy Cape Wind power. She criticized financial incentives given to utilities to meet energy efficiency goals and to sign long-term renewable power contracts.

“We are also concerned with policies that favor more costly technologies and would like to see technology-neutral policies that ensure that the least expensive alternatives are implemented first,” she said.

Her comments on technology-neutral policies mimicked those of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, a group of the state’s top business executives. The group says Massachusetts can reach its green emission goals and save $10 billion by adopting a technology-neutral approach with renewable energy.

Under current law, many renewable power generators are subsidized by ratepayers. They are issued one renewable energy certificate, or REC, for each kilowatt hour of electricity they produce. They then sell their RECs to power sellers, who buy them in order to prove that they are meeting the state’s renewable portfolio standard, which currently requires that 10 percent of the electricity they sell come from renewables by 2015.

Under current law, power from wind, solar, small hydro, and biomass projects can be used to meet the renewable portfolio standard. The Massachusetts Competitive Partnership would like to add energy efficiency and big hydro to the mix, but exclude them from the REC subsidy program. In essence, the business officials would let utilities meet their renewable energy targets using energy efficiency projects and large-scale hydro power imports from Canada, which are substantially cheaper than wind and solar. “We think you should go to the lowest-cost alternative,” said Dan O’Connell, CEO of the partnership.

Sylvia, the DOER commissioner, doesn’t think the partnership’s plan would work. He indicated he would keep the existing regulatory system in place to support wind and solar power development while separately encouraging energy efficiency and the importation of large-scale hydro power from Canada.

The green debate is on.

Time For Change

Chuck Kleekamp provided factual insight into the cost of energy in southeastern Massahcusetts because of the Mirant Canal plant for those who missed it --
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Allow me to share with readers some pertinent facts of the oil fueled steam powered Canal plant. This was the most efficient oil fired steam power plant in the age when it was constructed in 1978. But times have changed. Modern natural gas fired combustion turbine plants are much more efficient now.
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Specifically, the efficiency of Canal's unit 1, a base load unit is 38%. Unit 2, a cycling unit is 34%. And if unit 2 is fired with natural gas its efficiency is only 32%. Compare that to a gas fired combustion turbine plant where the efficiency is over 50%. Almost half the generating plants in New England are now gas fired turbine plants. The hand writing is on the wall.
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$350 Million paid by consumers would have accomplished a great deal if utilized with a plan for the future, as Rep Patrick explains --
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Customers paid $350 million to run Mirant Electric as backup --
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State Rep. Matthew Patrick, D-Falmouth, looks back at those years and that money, and wonders aloud what else that $350 million could have been used for.
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Photovoltaic energy panels on every roof. Wind turbines throughout the Cape. A one-third share of the proposed Cape Wind offshore turbine farm.
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The issue of how local ratepayers came to spend so much money without being asked is prompting Patrick and other Cape residents to take a closer look at the relatively obscure way that electricity is managed in Massachusetts and New England.
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The state representative wants state and federal energy regulators to better encourage reducing demand and to increasing the role that renewable energy and smaller, distributed generators play in the power grid's supply.
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At present, the state's new Green Communities Act mandates that all new energy generation be compared to new energy efficiency programs or renewable energy to determine the least cost, not only economically but to society and the environment as well.
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"Do we just go on mindlessly accommodating new fossil fuel generation or transmission for large generators without considering distributed generation? Apparently, if the industry has its way, we do."
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Our laws and regulations need to be re-considered to provide for the 21st Century with emphasis on efficiency and alternatives. Rep. Patrick's proposals make great sense. It's time to move beyond this issue and get the job done!

New Year Resolutions!

The traditional New Year's custom seems to include a recitation of the previous year, along with a laundry list of resolutions for the New Year.

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Most of the resolutions will be hastily abandoned, like 'exercise more' and 'loose weight,' but some won't.

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Had the "C" monster not intruded in the region's field of vision, monopolized the debate, focused attention on a dysfunctional town government that still exists and forced many to expend a great deal of time researching and explaining why casino gambling and slot machines weren't the nirvana supporters pretended, where would we be? What would we have discussed? Or would we have remained isolated, mostly ignoring town government, not knowing who was running for town elections and frankly, not caring about local governance because of the false conviction that it was unimportant?

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The focused attention heightened awareness of the Rockland Industries' waste site, owned by the Striar family, that several individual residents refused to allow to fade into memory. To his credit, Vic Sylvia left the enduring legacy of a committee of talented townspeople who may finally succeed in getting Danny Striar's mess cleaned up. (There are others who continued to raise the issue that I am aware of, but since one protested the inclusion of his name, their names won't be listed. Were it not for those few continually reminding the BOS of the issue, it would have remained buried with the toxic waste of the Striars.) CEHIC

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Thanks are deserved to the Feds for presenting a gift to the Town and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of an indictment and plea bargain of Glenn Marshall prior to Christmas. Their actions should allow the Tribe and the Town to reassess the Tribe's leadership, the original IGA, the relationship with investors and ultimately, how flawed IGRA was. Although it seems unlikely in the shadow of Carcieri v Kempthorne and the state of the economy that the casino will ever move forward, it has allowed time to review the relationship and the impacts.

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Fellow bloggers have explained the issues in praiseworthy fashion that needs no further comment:

Bellicose Bumpkin,

Carl's Casino Quotes,

Gladys Kravitz

Carver Chick

Fiferstone

Truth to Power

Ryan's Take

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Massachusetts passed the Green Communities Act. But it did include provisions for Dirty Coal, the environmental oxymoron, apparently a politically necessary fairy tale to get the legislation passed.

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As the lame duck year ends, the news hasn't been good for the environment.
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Amy Goodman highlights Tim DeChristopher's disruption of the -- Bureau of Land Management land auction that the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance called “the Bush administration’s last great gift to the oil and gas industry.”

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Tim DeChristopher ...bought 22,000 acres of public land. That is, he successfully bid on the public properties, located near the Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and Dinosaur National Monument, and other pristine areas. The price tag: more than $1.7 million. (For those who balked at selling the Precinct St. property to casino investors for a comparable sum, that's ~ $77 per acre.)
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Earthjustice commented Coalition Calls for Administration to Halt Midnight Lease Auction of Utah Wilderness.

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And lest we believe that this Administration would leave off without last minute, holiday shenanigans, after the news cycle, they behaved true to form --CEJournal -

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On late Wednesday afternoon — New Year’s Eve — the Interior Department announced that it would double the rate of logging on 2.6 million acres of public forests in southwestern Oregon.

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And the TVA performs as expected: too much public relations and not enough prevention and attention to public health! That sure is a surprise to anyone with a brain! ENN

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Repeat after me: The water is safe to drink. The water is safe to drink. The water is safe to drink.

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“Most of that material is inert,” said Gilbert Francis Jr., a spokesman for the authority. “It does have some heavy metals within it, but it’s not toxic or anything.”

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Mr. Francis said contaminants in water samples taken near the spill site and at the intake for the town of Kingston, six miles downstream, were within acceptable levels. NYT

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High levels of toxins found at coal ash spill

Appalachian Voices is reporting that levels of arsenic from the Kingston plant’s water intake canal are close to 300 times the allowable limit in drinking water. Two miles downstream, arsenic is 30 times the allowable level. In total, eight toxic chemicals were detected at excessive levels, the tests conducted at Appalachian State University have shown.

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“I have never seen levels of arsenic, lead and copper this high in natural waters,” Carol Babyak, an Appalachian state assistant professor of chemistry who helped conduct the tests, is quoted as saying in the Appalachian Voices article.

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The toxic heavy metals found in the water, which in addition to arsenic include barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel and thallium, pose a risk not only to human health but also to aquatic life as well....

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Note to TVA: Could we see Gilbert Francis Jr., a spokesman for the authority or Tom Gilgore, President and Chief Executive Officer drinking that sludge on camera? Maybe you could bring some of that sludge with you to the Congressional hearings and drink it on-camera to preserve for posterity? Could you explain again about your environmental commitment when this pond has been allowed to leak in the past?
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Grist offers an opportunity to Vote for the top eco-villain of 2008. Too many bad guys and only one vote!

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With a new President who respects science about to be inaugurated, we can have a fact based discussion about what needs to be accomplished.

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Climate Code Red explained - Twenty per cent of the world’s land mass (half of it in Siberia) is covered by permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, rich in organic carbon and tens of metres in depth. As the ground thaws methane and carbon dioxide — the two principal greenhouse gases — are released into the atmosphere.

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“Permafrost areas [in Siberia] hold 500 billion tonnes of carbon, which can fast turn into greenhouse gases. The deposits of organic matter in these soils are so gigantic that they dwarf global oil reserves … If you don’t stop emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, this will lead to a type of global warming which will be impossible to stop [and it will make] the Kyoto Protocol seem like childish prattle… "
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In August 2008, Örjan Gustafsson, the Swedish leader of the International Siberian Shelf Study confirmed that methane was now also bubbling through seawater from permafrost on the seabed.
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Climate zones such as the tropics and temperate regions will continue to shift, and the oceans will become more acidic, endangering much marine life. We must begin to move rapidly to the post-fossil fuel clean-energy system. ...."

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"Sergei Zimov waded through knee-deep snow to reach a frozen lake where so much methane belches out of the melting permafrost that it spews from the ice like small geysers… the Russian scientist struck a match to make a jet of the greenhouse gas visible. The sudden plume of fire threw him backward. … 'Sometimes a big explosion happens, because the gas comes out like a bomb,' Zimov said. 'There are a million lakes like this in northern Siberia'."
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Keeping the Arctic permafrost largely intact is non-negotiable if we want to preserve the diversity of life on this planet, including our own. Australia’s climate policy must be based on this understanding. As oceanographer Richard Spinrad says, “What happens in the Arctic… does not stay in the Arctic.”

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The time has come to support projects like Cape Wind , to recognize that the opposition is funded by Dirty Energy Cape Wind Opposition In Perspective and accomplish what needs to be done for the environment.

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It is to the discredit of the Corporate Controlled Media that they have misrepresented and misinformed on these issues. Maybe it's time to re-think how poorly served we have been by our no longer 'Free Press,' but that's a future issue.

Sen. Michael R. Knapik, R-Westfield,.... also complained about opposition and delays in development of a proposed wind turbine farm in Nantucket Sound that would provide clean power to Cape Cod. “Wind power — God forbid, we help the Cape. We can’t even get that right” ....

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For some additional information:

NASA Study Illustrates How Peak Oil Impacts Climate Crisis

Climate change policies failing, Nasa scientist warns Obama

Climate scientists: it's time for 'Plan B'

What can we do to save our planet?

Score one for the environment

Happy New Year to All!

May we move forward in the New Year recognizing the TRUTH, the facts and fact-based science, support the projects we need to preserve our environment. May we restore FACTS to our discussions and decisions.

Green Communities Act Nov 7th

MMA announced:
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Nov. 7 session will explain Green Communities Act

The MMA and the Department of Energy Resources will present a comprehensive information session for local officials on the recently passed Green Communities Act on Friday, Nov. 7, in Sturbridge.

Department of Energy Resources Commissioner Phil Giudice will deliver the keynote address, and key department staff members will discuss proposed state regulations.

A break-out session on energy conservation will feature energy experts and discuss the town of Belmont’s efforts to implement an energy services company (ESCO) program.

Another session will cover renewable energy resources, highlighting the town of Hanover’s efforts to install wind power.

The Green Communities Act is a ground-breaking state law designed to dramatically increase energy efficiency and expand renewable energy investment in Massachusetts. The act presents significant opportunities for every municipality, including the designation of “Green Community” status to qualifying cities and towns. Eligible communities will have access to grant funding, state assistance, and special resources.

The newly expanded Department of Energy Resources will now include a Green Communities Division to provide technical and financial assistance to municipalities for energy efficiency and renewable energy efforts. The program will receive $10 million in funding from a variety of sources, including emissions allowance trading programs, utility efficiency charges, alternative compliance payments generated by the Renewable Portfolio Standard, and the Renewable Energy Trust Fund.

Breakfast will be served at the session, which will run from 8:30 a.m. to noon at Old Sturbridge Village. The cost is $25.

• Meeting agenda, registration information and directions

Regional Energy Roundtables

Plymouth Town Hall was the site this morning of the second of four Regional Energy Roundtables, to be held around the state with an impressive array of speakers, offering a wealth of ideas, options and resources.

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It seems particularly appropriate that Plymouth was chosen as the site for this forum since their Energy Committee has accomplished a great deal that was offered at the meeting, although not posted on the town's site. Plymouth's Board of Selectmen and Green Committee are working toward a "2020" Program with a goal of being 100% renewable by 2020.

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As time permits, I'll post the resources and information, but would like to comment that representatives of Plymouth, Dedham and Hull were in attendance to explain programs their communities have undertaken to reduce their consumption and address alternatives. They are not the only municipalities with current energy or green programs.

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Adoption of a "No Idling Policy" seems universal. And addressing the 'low hanging fruit,' those solutions that cost nothing or little, but reduce consumption, also seems universal. Those might include installation of CFLs (compact fluorescent lights), installation of motion sensors, programmable thermostats, and just shutting off lights and computers when leaving for the day.

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Former Town Manager, Jack Healey sat next to me so that we could exchange notes about Fuzzy Math and his passion which is the reading program. There were 2 other Middleboro residents present that I won't embarrass by including their names without their permission, but NOT ONE SINGLE MEMBER of the Middleboro G&E or any other Middleboro official was present. What a disappointment!

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The Middleboro G&E recently paid to conduct a telephone poll that asked rather disappointing questions regarding energy conservation. With all of these resources available, it would seem that the G&E might be interested in what other towns are accomplishing.

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Once again, Middleboro is being left behind other towns, missing out on grant money as other towns move forward and missing out on money saving ideas.

Single Sentences

Sometimes single sentences in reporting are the most important.

The Brockton Enterprise reported on an Energy Summit held at Bridgewater State College entitled

Sen. Kerry was among featured speakers at energy summit
At a Bridgewater State College energy summit, the senator compares the green industry and energy independence to President Kennedy’s “Space Race” during the 1960s.

The article offers some good information, but the last sentence is telling:

Mohler-Faria noted that

conservation efforts at Bridgewater State College

have reduced the school’s energy consumption by

28 percent —

proving that green environmental initiatives, are “also a

major economic engine for the state of Massachusetts.”

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Experts keep saying that we can reduce our energy consumption 20-30% and examples continue to prove it. Maybe the experts are right.

Energy Conservation: It's Time

Salon offers Why we never need to build another polluting power plant which helps dispel some of the energy conservation myths.
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After watching the wealthy NIMBYS fight Cape Wind and listening to the Beacon Hill blame game, it's refreshing to have some facts and information to corroborate that the Dirty Coal plant in Salem and the proposed Dirty Brockton Plant have better alternatives.
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It's time to get beyond the myths and expect more of Beacon Hill and our local officials. Excerpts of the article are below, emphasis mine. Click on the link above and read the entire article about savings accomplished by Dow.

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America is the Saudi Arabia of energy waste. A 2007 report from the international consulting firm McKinsey and Co. found that improving energy efficiency in buildings, appliances and factories could offset almost all of the projected demand for electricity in 2030 and largely negate the need for new coal-fired power plants. McKinsey estimates that one-third of the U.S. greenhouse gas reductions by 2030 could come from electricity efficiency and be achieved at negative marginal costs. In short, the cost of the efficient equipment would quickly pay for itself in energy savings.

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While a few states have energy-efficiency strategies, none matches what California has done. In the past three decades, electricity consumption per capita grew 60 percent in the rest of the nation, while it stayed flat in high-tech, fast-growing California. If all Americans had the same per capita electricity demand as Californians currently do, we would cut electricity consumption 40 percent. If the entire nation had California's much cleaner electric grid, we would cut total U.S. global-warming pollution by more than a quarter without raising American electric bills. And if all of America adopted the same energy-efficiency policies that California is now putting in place, the country would never have to build another polluting power plant.

Energy and Demand Response

In response to Massachusetts' Green Communities Act , the following comment was posted:

George Murphy said...
It's great that they're working on a bill for residents in the community, but they should also try to focus on nonresidential buildings who are inefficient. These businesses, hotels, and schools are using the most energy, and by being forced to consume less energy and implement a demand response solutions, it could really help.

Nonetheless, great post, the Bill sounds great!
Tuesday, 01 July, 2008

Middleboro Review said...
Mr. Murphy, You didn't indicate if you were connected with EnerNOC or live in the area, but the introduction to the organization is appreciated.

A search of MR will indicate that I have posted comments about municipal energy consumption, building waste previously and successfully ruffled many local feathers.

Middleboro spent millions restoring an Historic Town Hall, but failed to insulate or install storm windows (or address glazing in any fashion). It's a magnificent building, worthy of preservation that houses 12 employees. The entire 2nd floor is a 2 story auditorium that is not isolated from HVAC.

The school department of an abutting city, Taunton retained a firm to save energy costs and realized $570,000 the first year.

Other towns surrounding Middleboro have taken proactive steps to reduce their energy costs and generate their own alternative power.

But Middleboro seems reluctant to save money or examine the issue.

Maybe some leadership is required or the costs need to increase more.

On the Environmental Stewardship page of EnerNOC, the following was included:

EnerNOC also offers our employees hybrid car subsidies and energy efficiency incentives to promote intelligent energy use. Employees who purchase hybrid cars receive monthly subsidies. With EnerNOC’s Green Green! program, EnerNOC encourages employees to install compact fluorescent light bulbs, commute environmentally (walk, bike, take public transportation, car pool, or drive a hybrid), replace old appliances with energy efficient equivalents, conduct home energy audits, and influence family and friends to follow EnerNOC’s environmental stewardship.

Sounds great to me!

I hope you'll continue to contribute other information you are aware of.

EnerNOC has a great deal of information about demand response that Middleboro might consider employing.

A proactive approach to reducing personal and municipal energy costs seems sorely needed.

Massachusetts' Green Communities Act

MMA had this to say about the recently passed legislation:

Legislature enacts energy reform bill
Thursday, June 26 2008
The House and Senate have approved and sent to the governor a ground-breaking energy reform bill, the Green Communities Act.

The bill’s intent is to increase energy efficiency, update the renewable energy portfolio standard, increase public oversight of utilities, increase service quality of power companies, assist low-income energy customers, and increase the use of renewable generation and energy efficiency products.

After several months of negotiations over differences in House and Senate versions of the bill, the Senate approved a compromise bill (S. 2768) Tuesday, and the House approved it today.

House and Senate leaders struck language that would have preempted Home Rule authority with respect to the siting of certain clean energy facilities. Instead, the bill would establish a study commission that may make recommendations on the siting of such facilities.

The bill would establish a Green Communities program. A city or town that qualifies as a “green community” would be eligible for grants and loans to advance energy efficiency activities. Such assistance would be capped at $10 million per year and would principally be derived from funds generated by cap and trade pollution control programs, a mandatory kilowatt-hour charge on consumer bills, and the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Fund.

In order to qualify as a “green community,” a city or town would have to:

• Provide as-of-right siting for renewable or alternative energy facilities in self-designated areas

• Adopt a streamlined permitting process to site such facilities

• Establish an energy use baseline inventory for municipal buildings and vehicles and reduce the baseline by 20 percent over five years

• Purchase fuel-efficient vehicles when available and practicable

• Require new residential and commercial construction to minimize, to the extent feasible, the life-cycle cost of the facility through energy efficiency and renewable and alternative energy technologies

The Green Communities program would be administered by the Division of Green Communities within a new Department of Energy Resources under the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.

The division would serve as the principal contact between the state and municipalities on all energy-related matters under the jurisdiction of the Department of Energy Resources.The energy bill would also:

• Allow municipalities to construct, own and operate small renewable generation facilities to help control their energy bills

• Establish a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Trust Fund to provide funds for the Green Communities program, to provide interest-free loans for for energy efficiency projects in municipalities that do not qualify as a “green community,” and to reimburse communities for property tax losses due to mandates of the Greenhouse Gas Initiative or the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions for electric generating stations

• Authorize municipal light plants to establish a “renewable energy charge” and enter into the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Fund so customers may be eligible for grants from the fund for renewable energy projects

• Require local building inspectors to have a general knowledge of the energy requirements as part of the International Energy Conservation Code

• Establish several new processes for state and local entities to pursue solar energy and to procure energy management services for projects less than $100,000

• Allow communities to consider areas designated for Class I renewable energy facilities as a factor in designating a Economic Target Area

• Requires the Division of Green Communities to develop a competitive bidding process for the procurement of renewable or alternative electric generation for “green communities”

• Revise processes for state and local entities to procure energy management services

• Extend the financing term for municipalities for efficiency, alternative, or renewable improvements from 10 to 20 years

• Establish a special commission (with participation by the MMA) to investigate the development of “green building initiatives”

• Establish a special commission (with participation by the MMA) to make recommendations to improve the process by which a city or town may establish and operate a municipal-owned electric utility.

By MMA Senior Legislative Analyst Matthew G. Feher