A state grant is helping Goshen, Huntington, and Pelham become more energy efficient.
On Monday, the Baker-Polito administration awarded various Hampshire County communities $5,000-7,500 to develop clean energy projects.
Communities that are designated “Green Communities” by the state are required to annually report energy usage data and are committed to reducing municipal energy consumption by 20 percent within five years.
To help fund contractors to aid in management and development in energy efficient projects, communities can apply for the Municipal Energy Technical Assistance Grant.
The Hampshire Council of Government, which works with about 60 communities across the state, applied and secured the grant to support the towns of Goshen, Huntington and Pelham.
Goshen will fund a project for energy efficiency in municipal buildings such as the fire station, town hall and town offices as the town works to achieve the 20 percent reduction target.
Huntington will use the funds on measures to improve the efficiency of the town’s wastewater treatment facility.
“Hopefully that will save the town 17,000 kilowatt hours per year,” Hampshire Council of Governments executive director Todd Ford said. The plan would save energy as well as taxpayer money, according to Ford. “For every kilowatt hour you have, it costs a certain amount of money.”
Pelham was designated a green community in 2012, according to the grant proposal, and has not completed its completed its primary project of insulating the roof and air on the town’s community center.
Funds from the grant will go toward developing a tracking and reporting system to help the town’s volunteer energy usage and resources committee to manage the project and move forward.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.