GOVERNOR DEVAL PATRICK
WESTFIELD – The state has recognized the success of the Westfield Gas & Electric Department’s energy conservation program for both residential and commercial customers by awarding the municipal utility a $235,000 grant to further that energy efficiency effort.
Governor Deval Patrick announced that Westfield was one of 14 out 41 eligible communities served by municipal utilities receiving the grant “to expand cost savings and environmental benefits.” A total of $1.78 million was awarded to municipal utilities with money collected through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The utilities could apply for a maximum grant total of $250,000.
“With these grants, the Patrick administration continues to expand the number of households, businesses and communities that participate in energy efficiency,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Maeve Vallely Bartlett. “Energy efficiency is our first fuel for a reason; it provides energy, environmental and economic benefits.”
The grants, funded with proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) auction, will leverage more than $1.8 million in MLP-funded energy efficiency programs, save participants more than $1.2 million in energy costs and have projected annual energy savings of nearly 8.3 million kWh, enough electricity to power nearly 1,100 Massachusetts homes, and to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to removing 705 cars from the road. A portion of these grants will be used for municipal energy efficiency projects to reduce taxpayer-funded energy bills.
DAN HOWARD
“The Patrick administration has been a leader in reducing energy use and emissions, aided in large part by the clean energy leadership of cities and towns,” said Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Acting Commissioner Meg Lusardi. “These grants will help ensure that more Massachusetts residents and businesses served by municipal utilities can improve their homes and worksites, use less energy and save money while also protecting our environment.”
WG&E General Manager Dan Howard, speaking at the July 2, 2014 Municipal Light Board said the utility submitted, in accordance with prescribed guidelines, a grant application for $50,000 to upgrade the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant equipment; $50,000 for retrofitting lighting fixtures at the Woodward Gymnasium on the campus of Westfield State University; $50,000 to initiate grid modernization technology; and $100,000 to expand the Energy Efficiency (EE) program outreach to small business, residents and local contractors.
“Once this latest grant offering was announced, the Westfield Gas and Electric, in a collaborative effort with the City Advancement Office, Business Improvement District (BID), and our City Council liaison, quickly worked together to submit the best application possible,” Howard said.
“The money received will be used to further our efforts of installing energy efficient technologies across multiple projects in the city,” Howard said. “The Westfield Gas & Electric has run a successful energy efficiency program for both our residential and commercial customers for several years and we are pleased to see those programs receive the recognition and now funding from the state.
“This grant, combined with our existing programs, helps all of Westfield achieve economic sustainability for our customers. It’s all about keeping business here and strengthening our local economy,”Howard said.
WG&E Energy Specialist Sean Fitzgerald worked with city and WSU officials to determine the scope of work which will be performed through the RGGI grant funding.
Fitzgerald estimates that over 40,000 less kilowatt hours of electricity will be used in the small gymnasium which is used mainly by the intramural department, and savings of over 22,000 kilowatt hours around campus.
“These are pretty substantial savings. The University has identified 90 different opportunities to start making the campus more efficient,” he continued. “We’ve cherry-picked some good projects because we think they’d be good paybacks.”
“We’re looking at efficiency as responsible, financial stewards of our money, working with Westfield G&E applying for a grant to do other types of upgrades that will save energy, as well,” said University Vice President Dr. Kimberly Tobin. “As part of their rebate program, the money we gain from that will be reinvested into further money-saving initiatives related to energy.”
“We commit almost $1 million a year (to energy conservation programs),” Fitzgerald said. “All utilities pay a portion of their rate to compensate for greenhouse gases, CO2, which is pumped into the air. That money is put back into programs to reduce energy consumption and emissions.
“Our commercial and industrial program is substantial and we’re helping those customers to reduce their energy consumption,” he said.
The energy conservation program begins with an energy use assessment, and then a comprehensive energy audit used in identifying energy conservation measures that work for the specific power customer.
“We look at everything, lighting, compressors, heating and air conditioning, pumps, drives, systems that can be energy hogs, trying to find more efficient systems to reduce consumption,” Fitzgerald said. “We have a grant program to replace those inefficient systems.”
