There has been a lot of talk in Deerfield about the Specialized building code and its effects on construction costs. Massachusetts has adopted a 2050 net zero policy. It reads: The “2050 Clean Energy and Climate Plan charts out the way Massachusetts will achieve the emissions limits and sub limits in 2050 through building a future in which the heat in homes, power in vehicles, and the electric grid can all operate with minimum reliance on fossil fuels.” So the policy is to minimize fossil fuel usage, not eliminate it. To meet this policy, the state upgrades the building codes, which includes the electrical, plumbing and various other codes, every three years or so whether we like it or not.
Adoption of the Specialized code does not increase building costs in any all-electric home, only those that use fossil fuels. The intention is to help minimize the pollution of our planet for us and future generations. Any additional costs would be paid back with the energy savings and incentives of the required additions of the Specialized Code. (Approximately 8 years). Also, statistics are starting to show that homes with solar are typically selling in less time and at a 3 to 4 % increased value so there is an immediate payback in value, which is not taxable in Massachusetts.
Having spent 40 years as an electrician in the area, I’ve watched this happen. Right now, we have a choice to be able to recoup some of these costs. It becomes a choice between a carrot and a stick. The carrot is voting for the specialized building code and vehicle policy now. This would allow us to apply for up to $1 million in municipal energy upgrade grants and $150,000 in technical grants (engineering, studies, etc.) These energy upgrades to the town would produce immediate payback in the form of reduced energy costs. And, as energy costs keep climbing, energy upgrades become more valuable. Our taxes are paying into this fund: now is the chance for us to get some of our tax money back into Deerfield rather than let other towns use our tax money to fund their energy upgrades. Do not let this opportunity pass us by.
Sooner or later the state will mandate many of these requirements anyway and there will be no money to recoup these expenditures. It will be Deerfield’s burden alone. That is the stick.
Side Note: As an example, Ashfield just received over $850,000 from this grant. Please vote for both the vehicle policy and the Specialized building code amendment before we lose the opportunity to apply for any grants.
You may not like the regulations but as the past has proven they come here sooner or later.
Bruce St. Peters lives in South Deerfield.