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Swampscott selected for clean energy program 

Credit:  February 28, 2013 | swampscott.patch.com ~~

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources’ (DOER) Green Communities Division announced that Swampscott is among the towns that will participate in a $500,000 pilot program to help local communities identify energy efficiency, renewable energy and other clean energy strategies to meet local energy needs.

The Community Energy Strategies Pilot Program – which will serve 16 communities – will provide technical and financial assistance to these municipalities and regional planning authorities to help identify, prioritize and enable a mix of clean energy strategies and incentives best suited to address local interests, needs, resources and opportunities for clean energy development.

“The Patrick-Murray Administration continues its commitment to assisting municipalities in pursuing clean energy development,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan. “These grants will provide the technical and financial capacity to identify and take full advantage of local clean energy opportunities.”

Participating in the pilot program are:

  • Northampton
  • Watertown
  • Newburyport
  • Franklin Regional Council of Governments (Greenfield, Montague, Buckland and Shelburne)
  • Metropolitan Area Planning Council (Hamilton, Wenham, Salem and Swampscott)
  • Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (Amherst, Hadley, Holyoke, Easthampton, East Longmeadow)

The program is designed to help communities assess and evaluate clean energy investments ranging from high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment and insulation to wind turbines and solar electricity systems.

Participating communities and regional planning authorities will receive assistance from industry experts in assessing the area’s clean energy resources, infrastructure and community needs. The goal of the program is to provide communities with a menu of clean energy options depending on their needs and resources.

 “We look forward to working with these communities as they work to expand their clean energy portfolio and reduce their environmental impacts,” said Commissioner Mark Sylvia.

“Each community is unique. Renewable energy projects that work for one community may not work for another, and this program will help these communities find the best projects to fit their cities and towns,” said MassCEC CEO Alicia Barton.

“This new pilot program demonstrates MassCEC and DOER’s continued innovation in program design” said Representative John Keenan of Salem, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy.  “I am excited that these agencies are focused on meeting state energy goals by helping local communities transform their energy strategies in methods tailored to fit each community’s needs, in the spirit of the Green Communities Act.”

Massachusetts lies at the end of the energy pipeline – lacking indigenous supplies of traditional energy resources. As a result, Massachusetts has some of the highest energy costs in the nation. Of the $22 billion Massachusetts spends annually on energy, $18 billion of that goes to out-of-state and foreign sources.

The state’s growing renewable energy portfolio and emphasis on energy efficiency – the state’s first fuel – keeps more of that spending in the Massachusetts economy, while creating local jobs. As a result of Massachusetts’ progressive clean energy policies, clean energy jobs in Massachusetts have grown by 11.2 percent from 2011 to 2012, according to the 2012 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Report.

About MassCEC

Created by the Green Jobs Act of 2008, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) has as its mission to foster the growth of the Massachusetts clean energy industry by providing seed grants to companies, universities, and nonprofit organizations; funding job training and workforce development programs; and, as home of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, supporting the installation of renewable energy projects throughout the state.

About DOER

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources develops and implements policies and programs aimed at ensuring the adequacy, security, diversity, and cost-effectiveness of the Commonwealth’s energy supply within the context of creating a cleaner energy future.

– See more at: http://www.masscec.com/index.cfm/cdid/14654/pid/11150#sthash.MagD6QQY.dpuf

Source:  February 28, 2013 | swampscott.patch.com

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

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