Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 8/15/2023
HADLEY — The town of Hadley has been awarded a grant of $139,250 as part of their new designation as a Green Community.
In the Aug. 8 announcement, the Healey-Driscoll Administration identified the towns of East Longmeadow, Hadley and Southwick as designated Green Communities. The three new Green Communities commit to clean energy and energy efficiency goals to reduce energy usage and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
The program encourages communities in the commonwealth to make town and school buildings more energy efficient.
As detailed in a statement from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, under the Green Communities Act, DOER’s Green Communities Designation and Grant Program can provide up to $20 million annually to qualified cities and towns. The goal of the Designation Grant Program is to support communities’ investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that further the clean energy goals determined by the designated communities.
In a letter to Town Administrator Carolyn Brennan, Green Communities Regional Coordinator Chris Mason wrote that the town met five criteria for designation.
“Meeting these criteria is proof of the town’s position as an energy leader in Massachusetts, poised to reduce its energy costs, improve the local environment, and implement energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with funding through the Green Communities Designation and Grant Program,” Mason wrote.
Hadley joins 290 other municipalities sharing the designation across the state who also receive an official certificate and aluminum signs to post in high traffic areas. Those communities commit to reducing municipal energy consumption by 20% each over five years.
DOER Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony praised the announcement.
“An important part of our clean energy transition will happen at the local level, and we are excited to welcome East Longmeadow, Hadley and Southwick as designated Green Communities,” she said. “The hard work and dedication of our communities to reduce their energy consumption and lower their greenhouse gas emissions will create healthier living spaces across the state and help Massachusetts meets its ambitious climate goals.”
Eighty-nine percent of the commonwealth’s population now resides in a Green Community. Projects proposed for the three new Green Communities include weatherization improvements in schools and municipal buildings, electric vehicles for town and school fleets, and renewable thermal technologies, such as air source heat pumps.
State Rep. Dan Carey (D-Easthampton) offered his congratulations to the town.
“This designation shows the town’s commitment to clean energy and a sustainable future. The hard work it takes to become a Green Community is already paying off with $139,250 in state funds coming to Hadley to pursue energy efficiency goals,” he said. “Thank you to the Healey administration for their partnership and commitment to the entire commonwealth, including Western Mass.”
The Green Communities program has awarded more than $166 million in grant funding to the commonwealth’s cities and towns through designation and competitive grant rounds.