As part of their Green Communities program, the state awarded Arlington $250,000 toward energy reduction initiatives. A total of $2.8 million in grants to 19 communities across the Commonwealth were awarded in the first round of the Green Communities Competitive Grants. Capped at $250,000 per municipality, Arlington was one of three municipalities to receive the highest award granted.
“We’re pleased that the state is providing additional financial support toward the Town’s energy reduction goals,” said Town Manager, Adam Chapdelaine. “This funding will not only help in making needed facility upgrades, it will also help by saving the Town operational costs over time.” Chapdelaine added, “this grant award would not have been possible with the assistance of volunteers on the Energy Working Group and Sustainable Arlington.”
The Competitive Green Communities grant will go toward upgrading Arlington High School’s 6th Floor HVAC system to a more energy efficient system and installing variable frequency drives on boilers at other Arlington schools and the Robbins Library. These drives, also referred to as variable speed drives, utilize less electricity than standard drives.
Grants were awarded to municipalities designated as Green Communities who successfully invested their initial designation grants. Arlington was designated a Green Community in 2010 and invested the initial $200,000 grant on converting high pressure sodium streetlights to LED streetlights in East Arlington, upgrading the energy management system at the Hardy school, and the replacement of steam traps in Arlington High School’s heating system. Additionally, to become a Green Community, the Town met all five clean energy benchmarks set by the program, including the adoption of the energy-saving building “stretch code” voted by Town Meeting.
The Green Communities Division empowers the Commonwealth’s cities and towns to reduce their energy use and their carbon footprint on the journey towards healthier communities and stronger economies. Read more about Green Communities and the state’s release on the Competitive Green Communities Grant online at mass.gov.
Join us at Arlington Town Day on Saturday, September 15, 2012. On this wonderful day celebrating Arlington, you will find us on the corner of Water Street and Mass. Ave. where you can browse through Arlington homes for sale, ask our agents questions about the Arlington real estate market, or just stop by and get a free tape measure, ruler, pen, coloring book and other goodies!
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