Climate Leader Communities Overview
The Green Communities Act of 2008 established the Green Communities Designation and Grant Program, creating the framework for achieving designation status and awarding grant funds to municipalities for energy efficiency projects. Since then, the vast majority of Massachusetts municipalities have voluntarily become designated Green Communities, partnering with DOER on hundreds of projects resulting in energy and costs savings.
However, the goals articulated in An Act Creating A Next-Generation Roadmap For Massachusetts Climate Policy and the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2025 and 2030 (CECP) pivot the focus from energy reduction to greenhouse gas reduction. As a result, the programs DOER offers to support municipalities are also pivoting. The Climate Leader Communities certification program, evolving from the Green Communities program, creates a new voluntary framework for meeting these goals by providing tools and resources to help municipalities reduce emissions by electrifying non-electric energy uses and maximizing the efficiency of buildings and transportation. The following guidance describes the Green Communities Division’s Climate Leader Communities Certification and Grant Program process (pursuant to M.G.L.c. 25A §10 (b)).
Becoming certified as a Climate Leader Community provides access to grant funding to a municipality to support all or a portion of the cost of:
- studying, designing, constructing and implementing energy efficiency activities including, but not limited to, energy efficiency measures and projects;
- procuring energy management services;
- adopting energy efficiency policies; and,
- siting activities related to and construction of renewable energy generating facilities on municipally owned property.
Climate Leader Communities Program Guidance
To be eligible for Climate Leader Community certification, communities must meet the following requirements.
Requirement #1: Be a Green Community in good standing
A municipality seeking Climate Leader Community certification must be an existing Green Community in good standing as documented by the most recent fiscal year’s Green Communities Annual Report. The Annual Report shall demonstrate the municipality continues to meet the five Green Communities Designation Criteria as established by M.G.L Ch. 25A Sec. 10(c).
In addition to having submitted the most recent fiscal year’s Green Communities Annual Report, municipalities may not have active moratoriums on the permitting of ground-mounted solar PV systems and/or battery energy storage systems to be considered a Climate Leader Community.
Requirement #2: Establish/maintain a local committee to advise, coordinate, and/or lead clean energy and climate activities
Municipalities must either establish or maintain a local committee that advises and helps to coordinate clean energy and climate activities in the municipality.
Municipalities that do not have such a committee can establish the local committee by City Council or Select Board vote, as appropriate. Members of the local committee may be appointed from municipal staff and departments, elected officials, volunteer members of community boards and commissions, as well as interested residents. It is also important to include representation from local and regional public schools.
Additional Resources
Requirement #3: Municipal Decarbonization Commitment
Municipalities seeking Climate Leader Community certification must commit to eliminating on-site fossil fuel use by the municipality by 2050. There are several ways in which a municipality can demonstrate this commitment. One way would be a clean energy/climate resolution from Town Meeting or City Council that directs the community to take some sort of action. Communities that have climate action plans completed or underway also have demonstrated this commitment as are municipalities that are signatories to the 2016 Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s (MAPC) Metro Mayors Coalition Climate Mitigation Commitment.
Requirement #4: Municipal Decarbonization Roadmap
Municipalities seeking Climate Leader Community certification must develop a roadmap for decarbonizing municipal operations.
Consistent with the goals established by Executive Order 594 governing emission reductions for state government, municipal decarbonization roadmaps should focus on eliminating the use of onsite fossil fuels in buildings and vehicles, using a “Zero Over Time” approach that addresses “trigger events” such as but not limited to, equipment replacement, roof replacement, change of use, substantial renovation, etc., in conjunction with evaluating electrification of heat, solar and storage opportunities.
DOER is offering technical assistance to municipalities to prepare a municipal decarbonization roadmap. Applications will be reviewed three times a year, following the last Fridays of March, July, and November; awards will be prioritized to municipalities that have met other Climate Leader Communities certification requirements.
Additional Resources
Climate Leader Municipal Decarbonization Roadmap Guidance
Requirement #5: Zero-Emission-Vehicle First Policy
All Departments in the municipality must purchase only zero-emission vehicles for municipal use whenever such vehicles are commercially available and practicable.
Additional Resources
Requirement #6: Specialized Stretch Energy Code
Communities seeking Climate Leader certification must adopt the Specialized Energy Code. The Specialized Code is required (M.G.L Ch. 25A Section 6) to be designed to achieve Massachusetts GHG emission limits and sub-limits set every five years from 2025 to 2050. As a result, all compliance pathways under the Specialized Code are designed to ensure new construction that is consistent with 2050 net-zero goals, primarily through deep energy efficiency, reduced heating loads, and efficient electrification.
Additional Resources
Climate Leader Communities Grants
Municipalities certified as Climate Leader Communities are eligible to receive funding from two separate grants. The first, the Decarbonization Technical Support Grant, is designed to provide communities up to $150,000 to hire vendors to produce recommendations and engineering design documents for one or more clean energy projects at municipal facilities.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and awards will be made semi-annually.
Decarbonization Technical Support Grant Application Materials
Climate Leader Communities are also eligible for Decarbonization Accelerator Grants, which provides up to $1,000,000 for projects that significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from municipal operations. Eligible projects must align with the community's Climate Leader Municipal Decarbonization Roadmap and prioritize reducing fossil fuel combustion, energy use, and costs. Potential funding areas include renewable energy technologies like solar and heat pumps, energy storage, and other strategies that support decarbonization efforts.
Applications will be accepted semi-annually. The first deadline is August 1, 2025, at 5:00 PM. Subsequent deadlines will be the first Fridays in February and August at 5:00 PM.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a Notice of Intent to DOER prior to submitting a grant application.