Mayor Joshua A. Garcia
Reminder Publishing file photo
HOLYOKE — Mayor Joshua A. Garcia has been named a finalist for the Mayor of the Year Award by the Northeast Renewable Energy Coalition, in recognition of his leadership and innovation in clean energy and community development.
“We are changing the narrative; our once nationally known industrial city has a new energy. We are reinventing and revitalizing our Holyoke,” Garcia said, “This nomination is an unequivocal testament to every Holyoke resident’s shared commitment to a stronger future.”
The Northeast Renewable Energy Coalition is engaged in several states, most notably in Connecticut and Rhode Island, with a track record of bringing together leaders and the region’s nationally recognized political energy trailblazers like Rhode Island’s U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Gov. Dan McKee and Connecticut’s U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Garcia is the group’s first mayor in Massachusetts to be recognized. The award will be presented during Massachusetts Clean Energy Week, taking place from Sept. 29 to Oct. 4.
Garcia shared how it felt to be named a finalist for the award.
“I am overwhelmed and honored to receive this recognition on behalf of Holyoke. This award is for all of us in Holyoke, not just me. Our residents, business owners, neighborhood and community activists who love our city and work so hard to move us forward in the effort to harness our clean energy resources to continue to bring clean energy environmental and economic benefits to our city,” said Garcia.
Holyoke receives New England-wide recognition as a hub for clean energy and economic opportunity.
Once known as the “Paper City,” Holyoke has become a leader in hydro and renewable energy. Through community partnerships and long-term planning, Holyoke Gas & Electric has built a sustainable clean energy portfolio.
HG&E’s core strategy is to overestimate future demand. That approach led HG&E to upgrade the infrastructure and install one of Massachusetts’ largest utility batteries, six megawatt-hour, to handle peak demand.
Affordable clean energy attracted MIT-backed ventures like Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center and Sublime Systems to Holyoke. Clean energy investment has improved Holyoke’s quality of life and kept energy costs low.
In a letter to the Mayor, NREC Executive Director Kristin Rode praised Holyoke’s progress and Garcia’s community-centered approach.
It read, “Your dedication to your community and the innovative solutions you’re implementing make you a natural fit for recognition during Massachusetts Clean Energy Week. Your leadership in Holyoke has caught our attention as truly exceptional. We understand that Western Massachusetts is often left out of the spotlight when it comes to statewide recognition, and we want to change that narrative. From what we have learned about your innovative approaches to municipal leadership and community development, you represent exactly the kind of community centered leadership that deserves to be celebrated and shared with mayors across the commonwealth.”
Garcia has also negotiated upgrades critical to Holyoke’s wastewater treatment system, replacing outdated infrastructure with energy-efficient, environmentally sound technology. One of these is separating the existing combined sewer flows within Holyoke’s River Terrace area.
By leveraging clean energy savings and working closely with state and federal agencies, his administration secured funding to reduce long-term operating costs and improve water quality. These improvements not only align with Holyoke’s sustainability goals, but also position the city as a model for green municipal operations across Massachusetts.
Garcia talked about what Rode said and stated, “I appreciate Kristin’s kind thoughts about our work to ‘change the narrative.’ That is exactly my greatest hope, every day for Holyoke, for all our people — to change past perceptions and narratives. This industrial city is again being known as a place of so many possibilities.”
The Northeast Renewable Energy Coalition visited Holyoke on Aug. 8 to tour the city and learn more about these projects and initiatives.
To learn more about the Northeast Renewable Energy Coalition and Massachusetts Clean Energy Week, readers can visit northeastrec.org/mcew.
