By GAYLA CAWLEY
SWAMPSCOTT — Swampscott has been awarded a state Green Communities Competitive Grant totaling $241,287, which town officials plan to use toward installing LED lighting at five public buildings.
“(This) grant announcement is the largest award in the Green Communities program history and represents our administration’s commitment to supporting clean energy efforts for our partners in cities and towns across Massachusetts,” said Gov. Charlie Baker in a statement. “The projects funded by these grants will allow cities and towns across the Commonwealth to reinvest their energy savings in vital public services like schools, public safety, and local infrastructure.”
The grants, with funding totaling more than $14 million, were awarded earlier this week to 72 municipalities, including Swampscott, by the Baker-Polito Administration, through the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Green Communities Division. Grants are capped at $250,000.
Under the Green Communities Act, cities and towns must meet certain criteria to be designated a green community and receive funding — 185 Massachusetts municipalities have currently earned that designation. The grants provide financial support for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects that further the designated communities’ clean energy goals, according to information from the Baker-Polito Administration.
Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald said the money is being used to install interior and exterior LED lights, switching from incandescent lights, at five public buildings—Clarke Elementary School, Swampscott High School, Swampscott Public Library, Swampscott Police Station, and Town Hall.
“I’m extremely proud of the direction the town has been taking,” Fitzgerald said. “When you really add this grant to other efforts the town has taken to be a leader with green energy, Swampscott does really stand as one of the leading communities in Massachusetts.”
Fitzgerald pointed out that Swampscott was only one of two communities in Massachusetts that has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Communities list. Wellesley was the other one.
Another effort, he said, has been to aggregate some of the town’s electricity costs over the past couple of years to help provide a 100 percent green energy option to residents. Those efforts, he said, are a real reflection of Swampscott community values.
Michael Scola, director of facilities management, said the local distribution company is National Grid, and the town is working with the preferred expediter, Horizon Solutions, to install the LED lighting. He said the project costs about $333,726, and in addition to the grant funding, National Grid is kicking in about $92,438 in utility incentives, meaning the company is giving the town a rebate for converting to energy efficiency sources.
“This is a benefit of being a green community,” Scola said. “We’re only allowed to do this because Swampscott is a green community.”
Scola said work must be completed by February 2018, but his two priority buildings are Clarke School and the high school, which needs to be done before the end of the summer. He said he would like to do the work at the police station and Town Hall last. Recently, he said work was also done to switch streetlights and the fire station to LED lighting.
He said the projects at the five building buildings funded by the grant will save the town about $56,725 in electrical/utility costs a year, and provide an annual energy usage reduction of 324,901 kWh. Scola said the town’s electricity usage is 3.8 million kWh per year, which would amount to the project providing about an 8.5 percent energy usage reduction.
“This is the fourth time we have received green community grant funding and it will help to further our efforts to reduce the electricity demand on our municipal accounts,” said Peter Kane, director of community development.
This week marked the sixth annual round of DOER Green Communities competitive grants. Other municipalities will use the grants to fund projects including ventilation system upgrades and high efficiency lighting, installation of insulation and energy management systems at municipal buildings and facilities, and installation of LED streetlights, oil-to-gas heating system conversions, electric vehicles, and electric vehicles charging stations.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.