Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $1.75 Million in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants

Boston — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today awarded $1.75 million in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) competitive subgrants to 45 municipalities across Massachusetts to fund 29 clean energy initiatives that help municipalities meet their own climate goals and share the benefits of climate action equitably.

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program is a $550 million grant program funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program is designed to help states, local governments and Tribes cut costs, reduce energy use, lower fossil fuel emissions, and advance environmental justice.

“Massachusetts’ cities and towns are on the front lines fighting climate change, and we are committed to supporting their efforts through funding like Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants and more broadly through our Green Communities Program,” said EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “These grants will help municipalities reduce their use of harmful fossil fuels, protect local governments from energy price volatility, and help build more resilient communities.”

"Energy efficiency and building decarbonization is core to our strategy to combat climate change and lower energy costs,” said DOER Commissioner Elizabeth Mahony. “With this funding, 45 communities will get another chance to reduce their energy needs and municipal budgets. The energy manager seed funds will help many communities who want to act but lack the resources to plan expansive energy projects leverage additional funding, multiplying the full impact of EECBG.”

“I am thrilled to see Massachusetts making such impactful use of EECBG Program funds by prioritizing subgrants to uplift disadvantaged communities, as well as the partnerships that have formed to promote energy efficiency and advance environmental justice,” said Adam Guzzo, EECBG Program Manager, U.S. Department of Energy. “The impact of the EECBG Program was already extensive with 2,708 communities nationwide eligible to receive funding directly from the Department of Energy. With Massachusetts’s announcement today of these 46 communities, along with the other states making subgrants through the EECBG Program, the opportunity to invest in place-based clean energy projects is available to even more communities across the country.”

The EECBG Competitive Program is open to municipalities with populations under 35,000 that do not receive EECBG funding directly from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) accepted applications for competitive sub-grants to provide financial support for energy efficiency, energy conservation, and renewable energy projects that support the reduction of fossil fuel emissions and communities’ total energy use and invest in the equitable distribution of the benefits of climate action.

DOER’s EECBG program offered up to $75,000 for public building envelope projects and up to $50,000 for other project types. Funding was prioritized for applications from Massachusetts Justice40 and Environmental Justice communities.

The communities will use the funding for a variety of projects aimed at reducing fossil fuel emissions, reducing energy use, and improving energy efficiency in their communities. These projects include community-based and project-based clean energy planning, clean energy community campaigns, energy manager seed funding, building decarbonization engineering and design, and building envelope improvements. Energy manager seed funding is an innovative approach to meet the needs of multiple communities with shared programmatic and technical assistance. The aim is that the two energy manager positions funded—one in partnership with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission serving 15 communities in Western Massachusetts, and one serving four communities in Central Massachusetts—will be sustained after grant funding ends. Notably, funding for the replacement of windows, which is not available in other grant programs, is a focus of many of the projects.

The following municipalities received grant awards:

The proposed projects will leverage $7.1 million in utility incentives and municipal contributions, and yield energy cost savings of more than $97,000. The 9,726 MMBtus expected in annual energy savings translates to the amount of energy consumed by 75 Massachusetts households. The projects are estimated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 555 metric tons annually, roughly equal to taking 107 cars off the road.

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