RICHARD K. SULLIVAN
BOSTON – There was some good news for taxpayers this week with the announcement of an accelerated energy program.
The program is designed to reduce energy consumption at 700 state facilities, saving taxpayers $43 million annually and creating clean energy jobs for up to 4,000 people.
The 700 facilities are planned to be revamped over the next 700 days.
“That’s reflective of the governor’s last two years in office,” said Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Richard K. Sullivan, Jr.
State owned facilities, which Sullivan said could be a single building or a campus, will be part of a DCAM (Department of Capital Assets Management) energy audit and selected for the program.
“Some updates will be as simple as insulation and new windows, while others, like Springfield Technical Community College, will be a bigger retrofit,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan made the program announcement this week alongside Secretary of Administration and Finance Glen Shor. The school is one of the first identified as part of the program and will receive, among other things, an updated heating system.
Sullivan said STCC is expected to realize a savings of $447,000 annually over the life of the system. Work at STCC has already gone out to bid.
“These energy efficiencies will yield significant savings,” said Sullivan.
Creating local jobs is another benefit of the accelerated energy program.
“Carpenters, electricians, manufactureres, construction – there will be a need for labor across the state,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said Westfield State University and Western Mass Hospital are two buildings in Westfield that could receive a savings under the program.
Other projects are set to move forward fast.
“Seven hundred days is going to go by pretty quickly,” said Sullivan.
Sullivan said the state plans to spend $400,000 over the next two years, which should result in a 20-25 percent savings statewide. Currently, $250 million is spent on state energy costs annually.
