Arlington tackles climate change one energy-saving dollar at a time

At a time when purse strings are tight, can any of us really afford to think about our responsibility to the environment?

Saving energy also saves money, and Arlington is among the leading communities in the Commonwealth to weave those two factors together for the benefit of the Town’s finances.

Arlington received its MA Green Communities designation this spring, and now the Town has been awarded a Green Communities grant in the amount of $200,188 for three municipal energy efficiency projects. The funding will be used to purchase and install a new Energy Management System (EMS) at the Hardy School, to fund an ongoing steam trap maintenance program at Arlington High School, and to continue to replace Arlington's streetlights with state-of-the-art low energy-use LED technology.

 

To date, thirty-five Massachusetts communities (out of 351 total) received Green Communities status and applied for and received grant funding for a variety of energy efficiency projects.

"These 35 cities and towns have already demonstrated outstanding leadership by qualifying to be Green Communities," states Governor Deval Patrick’s press release on Wednesday, July 14. "With the grants they are receiving today, these communities can take critical next steps as our partners on the road toward a clean energy future."

 

To read the Governors press release, see:
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eoeeapressrelease&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Eoeea&b=pressrelease&f=100714_pr_grants&csid=Eoeea

 

How many Arlingtonians does it take to screw in a light emitting diode (LED) ?

Sustainable Arlington believes it should take as many as possible.

It takes many energy-saving actions to reduce Green House Gas emissions. More and more residents are replacing incandescent light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent lights, or CFLs. For the Town, the parallel efficiency step is to use the greatest energy-saving technology for our buildings, street and traffic lights, and municipal vehicle fleet.

Arlington pulled together many forces to make sure we have the funds for those new light-emitting diodes. What follows is a story of dedicated public servants and volunteers working together on a vital common goal- to reduce energy use and energy costs for Arlington.

Sustainable Arlington members Lisa Weil and Shelly Dein led the drive last fall and winter to pass critical Town legislation that put Arlington in the position to be able to apply to be designated as a Green Community. They attended meetings with the Arlington Redevelopment Board, and the ARB chair, Chris Loreti, attended a number of Sustainable Arlington (SA) meetings about needed warrant articles, including adoption of the Stretch Energy Code. Lisa and Shelly also reached out to the Planning department, offering SA support around public education and outreach to Town Meeting members and Selectmen. The Stretch Energy code was endorsed by the Board of Selectmen, which has shown ongoing support for town employees during the Green Communities application process.

Lisa Weil submitted the Town warrant article to permit ground-based PV installations by right.  Marc Breslow, in his role at DOER and a SA member, made a presentation to Town Meeting members regarding what the Stretch Energy Code entails. At Town Meeting this spring, SA members prepared printed explanations of what Green Communities status would mean for the Town, and distributed these to all Town Meeting members. Chris Loreti and Carol Kowalski, the Town Planner, made eloquent presentations to Town Meeting, where Brucie Moulton stepped up to the microphone and voiced Sustainable Arlington's support of the Stretch Energy Code. Scott Samenfeld and David Landskov kept the SA community of almost 200 members updated, by posting information on the SA website.

When it came time to submit the Town's application to become a Green Community, Shelly Dein and Ryan Katofsky worked with Domenic Lanzillotti, the Town Purchasing Director, to collect data on current Town building, vehicle, and public lighting energy use and build a model to estimate energy savings potential. They also met with Mark Miano, Superintendent of Building Maintenance, to identify energy efficiency project opportunities in town facilities, and reviewed the Capital Planning Committee’s report on future Town projects. This information was then used by Town Manager Brian Sullivan and Deputy Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine to prepare an Energy Reduction Plan for the Town (a requirement for Green Community certification). Also assisting with the narrative writing of the Energy Reduction Plan were SA members Ryan Katofsky, Shelly Dein, Brucie Moulton and Charlotte Milan.

The bulk of the application was completed by the Planning department's Laura Wiener, who had been working for months to prepare the narratives for the four additional criteria Arlington needed to meet to be eligible for Green Community designation.

Once designation was confirmed, there was little time to waste before the grant application was due. Upon thorough review of Arlington's energy efficiency project opportunities, Mark Miano made recommendations to the Town Manager's office. Working with SA members, the Town staff prioritized the three projects that were the subject of the grant award.

At AHS, completing upgrades to the steam traps (part of the heating system) will reduce energy losses by about 10%. Coupled with a new boiler that is planned for installation this summer, total heating fuel use at AHS should be reduced by an amazing 40%. Also, energy cost savings from proper steam trap operation should be sufficient to create a self-funding steam trap maintenance program for the high school and the handful of Town buildings that heat with steam. The EMS for the Hardy School will help reduce energy use by an estimated 5-10% by improving the management of existing systems. Lastly, the Town will be able to install approximately 500 LED streetlights as the existing stock of high-pressure sodium (HPS) bulbs need replacing, resulting in an estimated 50% reduction in electricity use. These LED fixtures are also expected to last about twice as long as the HPS fixtures, saving on maintenance and bulb replacement costs.

Because of the Town’s designation, Arlington has also received five Big Belly solar trash barrels, which use PV energy to compact trash, reducing the number of times trash barrels need to be picked up. Look for them along Mass Ave. The Town is also in line to receive comprehensive energy audits of some municipal buildings, to identify and prioritize other savings.

These projects are a continuation of the Town’s longstanding efforts to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, while saving money. Many more such projects are anticipated in the coming months and years as the Town works towards the goal of reducing energy use by 20% over the next five years.