Orange is the new green — along with neighboring Royalston.
The two North Quabbin communities have joined the list of cities and towns across the state that have been designated “green communities” and have received money to make energy-related upgrades to public buildings.
The two towns should be commended for this achievement because before they can even qualify for the green grants, they have to demonstrate a commitment to energy conservation and efficiency.
All towns designated as a Green Community from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Department of Resources are required to meet five qualifications before receiving the grant. Each town has to adopt zoning provisions that allow development by right of alternative energy generation installations like solar farms; must develop a plan to reduce the town’s municipal energy use by 20 percent within five years; and adopt energy-efficient “stretch” building codes, among other requirements.
Judith Judson, commissioner of the state Department of Energy Resources, and Nick Connors, director of Green Communities, recently visited Orange Town Hall, presenting ceremonial checks totaling more than $421,000 to three area towns. The pair cited Orange and Royalston as among the newest of 25 recently designated Green Communities.
The program provides financial and technical support to communities willing to cut municipal energy use by an “ambitious, but achievable, goal of 20 percent over five years.”
Green Community grants are used to reduce municipal energy costs, the savings from which presumably underwrites more energy-saving projects. In addition, the funded changes reduce the carbon footprint of municipalities, reduce strain on energy grids during peak times, and in general, reduce individual customer costs.
Orange, for example, will use some of this latest grant to make energy-saving changes to its energy-inefficient Town Hall, and for boiler controls at Fisher Hill School, while Royalston will swap out old lighting fixtures and replacing them with highly efficient LED fixtures.
Orange Energy Committee members Rice Flanders, Henry Oertel, Deb Kent, and Pat Larson were on hand to accept their town’s check for $159,830. Selectboard Chairwoman Christine Long and Building Committee member Jim Barclay received Royalston’s $129,365.
The three new towns bring the number of Massachusetts communities designated as green to 210, or 72 percent.
It’s encouraging to see even smaller towns like Orange and Royalston getting on the bandwagon created by the state as a way to further reduce the carbon footprint of our local government buildings and communities at large.