Wilbraham has received over $425,000 in grant money from the state for energy conservation projects since 2020.
Reminder Publishing file photo
WILBRAHAM — The Healey-Driscoll administration is awarding over $8 million to cities and towns across the state to fund energy efficiency and clean energy projects, with Wilbraham receiving $60,557 to fund energy conservation measures.
Wilbraham will use the funds for a hybrid police vehicle and heat pumps in municipal facilities, such as the library, the animal control office and the recycling center.
Funds are awarded through Green Communities Grants, which cuts energy costs by $700,000 and emissions by 1,600 metric tons each year across 57 Massachusetts communities. The Department of Energy Resources selects the municipalities and has awarded more than $208 million since 2010, helping to reduce energy costs by over $30 million annually.
“Our administration is committed to helping cities and towns lower energy costs and make public buildings more efficient,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a press release. “These investments will reduce energy use, save money and help communities make the most of every taxpayer dollar.”
Select Board Chair Marc Ducey told Reminder Publishing that the town has been part of the program since around 2020 and has received “somewhere north of $425,000” in grant money since.
“Depending on the projects we take on, we try to be environmentally conscious about many of the projects,” Ducey said. “I think it’s important to be environmentally conscious, but at the same time, being conscious of other issues surrounding that. We’ve been very careful, pretty strategic, about which programs we’ve selected.
He said the hybrid police vehicles have been the town’s biggest use of the funds, along with heat pumps and weather stripping. Weather stripping is when gaps around doors and windows are sealed, preserving air from escaping, improving energy efficiency and lowering heating and cooling costs.
“It’s been a significant amount of contribution,” Ducey said. “That doesn’t include the utility savings you have or the fuel savings you have from whatever you’re purchasing.”
He said projects are first recommended by department heads in presentations to the Finance Committee or Capital Planning Committee, who have a “significant say” in what is chosen. The recommendations are then brought to Town Meeting for voters to decide.
“I think it’s a balance to be environmentally conscious,” Ducey said. “I think it’s a responsible approach, and if it saves money at the same time it’s even better. At the same time, and I’ll speak for myself, I think it’s not a bad thing to necessarily be on the cutting edge, but you don’t want to be on the bleeding edge.”
He recalled a few years ago when the state pushed to purchase electric vehicles for the DPW and stated that it didn’t seem to make much sense to the town.
“We pushed back on the state and the state repealed, or at least delayed some of the implementation of that stuff,” Ducey said. “If you start plowing with a truck that, and I use this arbitrarily, a five hour charge time, well that doesn’t really help you while a snowstorm is still going on. We pushed back on that and they withdrew some of those requirements. I think it’s important to balance the environmentally conscious budget and, at the same time, what the needs of the town are.”
Ducey said the program has been very successful for the town from a variety of angles.
“We’ve been able to buy some of these vehicles that much less would have normally cost us and replaced furnaces and at the same time, we save utility costs,” Ducey said. “It’s been a win-win.”
