DENNIS – The state has announced that 31 Massachusetts cities and towns, including Aquinnah, Brewster, Chatham, Chilmark, Dennis, and Nantucket have been designated as Green Communities.
Those towns have committed to clean energy goals to reduce energy consumption and lower emissions.
As Green Communities the municipalities are now eligible for grants totaling $5 million.
With the latest designations, 271 of the Commonwealth’s towns and cities have earned a Green Communities designation.
Since the program began, the Department of Energy Resources’ Green Communities program has awarded over $123 million in grant funding to the Commonwealth’s cities and towns through designation and competitive grant rounds.
“The Green Communities program is instrumental in helping municipalities take action at the local level to protect the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Governor Charlie Baker.
“The addition of 31 newly designated communities continues the progress being made by the many municipalities and local officials across the Commonwealth who are on the front lines of Massachusetts’ clean energy efforts.”
The 271 Green Communities range from the Berkshires to Cape Cod and are home to 84 percent of Massachusetts’ population in municipalities as large as Boston and as small as Aquinnah.
All Green Communities commit to reducing municipal energy consumption by 20 percent each, and this new group of 31 cities and towns have committed to reduce their energy consumption amounting to savings of 54,519 MMBtus in five years.
That’s the energy use equivalent to heating and powering nearly 2,071 homes, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions of 20,250 tons, the equivalent to taking 4,263 cars off the road.
Proposed projects include weatherization in schools and municipal buildings, electric vehicles for town and school fleets, and renewable thermal technologies such as air source heat pumps.
The Department of Energy Resources’ awarded $126,530 of funding for projects in Aquinnah, $150,270 in Brewster, $134,620 in Chatham, $126,430 in Chilmark, $160,170 in Dennis, and $139,340 on Nantucket.
“I’m proud of leaders in Aquinnah, Brewster, Chatham, Chilmark, Dennis, and Nantucket for joining the vast majority of other municipalities in the Commonwealth as Green Communities and making a commitment to reduce carbon emissions and protect our fragile coastal environment,” said Cape & Islands State Senator Julian Cyr.
“The Cape and Islands particular needs to take a bold action to address climate change and plan for a carbon-free future.”
“I would like to thank Governor Baker, Lieutenant Governor Polito and Commissioner Patrick Woodcock for their tremendous support to the towns of Brewster and Dennis in their applications to become Green Communities,” said Brewster State Representative Tim Whelan.
“Having access to these grants will provide incredible opportunities for the towns to continue making progress towards producing clean energy and lowering emissions.”
For more information on the Green Communities program, visit Mass.gov.
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