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- February 2024
Your latest local news on sustainability and climate change action
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IN THIS ISSUE
Setting goals for 2024
plugIN Metrowest plugs heat pumps and solar
Baking climate and sustainability into Framingham’s charter
What to know about the Specialized Building Code
Hear, hear! Students’ climate suggestions for Framingham
Briefs: Funding available, Community Preservation proposals, and more
Upcoming Events | In the News
Setting goals for 2024
On January 27, Energize Framingham held a meeting at the McAuliffe Library to set its climate action priorities for 2024. We were buoyed by a great turnout! About a dozen new faces joined our existing team, bringing our numbers to about 20. Led by Nanette Magnani, an experienced facilitator, we formed small working groups to discuss six identified areas of focus:
Residential heat pumps and solar
Community solar
Passing the opt-in Specialized Building Code
Supporting home and school food waste composting
Forest protection, agriculture, and land use
Communications and outreach
Each group brainstormed and identified steps toward accomplishing each goal. Everyone felt “energized” by people’s thoughtful ideas, passion, and commitment, and conversations continued even as we broke down the room.
Membership in all these working groups is open! Indicate your interest and availability on this form. Group leaders will be in touch.
Our next quarterly in-person meeting will be in March with a prior online meeting for February. Watch for further notices!
plugIN Metrowest plugs heat pumps and solar
Energize Framingham is thrilled to participate in the four-community electrification campaign, plugIN, designed to empower residents to embrace clean energy. We are collaborating with the City of Framingham and the Framingham Sustainability Committee as well as Acton, Natick and Wayland on this initiative.
Through plugIN you can access information and resources on:
Heat pumps: Say goodbye to fossil fuels. By adopting heat pump technology, you can optimize your home's heating and cooling systems into one utility, reduce your energy consumption, enjoy cleaner air, and contribute to a healthier future for everyone..
Solar power: Harness the sun's abundant energy and reduce your carbon footprint with solar panels. You’ll lower your energy bills and contribute to a cleaner environment.
Community solar: Renters and homeowners alike can benefit from this option, which enables you to receive solar energy without having to have your own panels. Qualifying residents can save as much as 25 percent annually on your electricity bill!
Visit pluginmetrowest.org
Post a testimonial!
Survey finds interest in taking action, and some barriers
You might have seen our posts urging you to take the plugIN survey (don’t worry, you still have time to answer!). The 67 responses so far from Framingham (thank you!!) show high concern about climate change; 76 percent were very or extremely concerned. Many respondents already have heat pumps (40 percent) or solar (41 percent). The biggest barriers people reported in getting heat pumps or solar were upfront cost and finding an installer.
As for community solar, 25 percent of respondents had never heard of it or weren’t sure how it works. But 49 percent want to know more. The biggest barriers reported were not knowing how to find a community solar provider (44 percent), lack of knowledge (37 percent), and mistrust (27 percent). One common misconception is that if you have rooftop solar, you cannot also have community solar — but you can!
Across all technologies, the biggest motivators were 1) saving money and 2) reducing fossil fuels.
Watch for more on plugIN in the coming months. Visit pluginmetrowest.org to get your questions answered and find a coach to help you explore your options for saving money and reducing your carbon footprint. And if you haven’t filled out the survey, it’s still open!
Baking climate and sustainability into Framingham’s charter
Framingham’s Charter Review Committee is reviewing the city charter and gathering public feedback. Its recommendations must be submitted to the City Council by May 1.
Over the past couple of months, Energize Framingham has been exploring ways to adjust the City Charter to build consideration of climate into all city operations – from procurement decisions to transportation planning to new buildings.
Here are a few ideas we offered in a letter to the Charter Review Committee:
Appointing a dedicated, paid Chief Climate Officer, in the Mayor’s office to head climate, as the Healey Administration has done in appointing Melissa Hoffer as Climate Chief.
Creating a Climate and Resilience Commission, analogous to the Traffic Commission, that has the authority to work across all city departments on climate issues.
Adding three climate appointees to the Strategic Initiatives and Financial Oversight Committee — one each appointed by the Mayor, City Council, and School Board — and empowering them to work with city departments on climate issues.
Read our letter to the Charter Review Committee and our Sunday op/ed in the MetroWest Daily News (also posted on our website).
What you can do
The City Council must put the committee's recommendations on its agenda for action before June 15, 2024. If you agree with our recommendations around climate and sustainability, please reach out to your city councilor between May 1 and June 15. (Watch for a notice in your email and use this tool to identify your councilor.)
The Opt-in Specialized Building Code: What to know
(pixabay.com via Picryl.com)
Energize Framingham has set passage of the opt-in Specialized Building Code – a.k.a. the Net Zero code – as a 2024 priority. The City Council must vote to adopt the code, and then a minimum of six months are recommended before starting to enforce the code. As of mid-January, 32 Massachusetts communities had adopted the code, and others are expected to vote to adopt it this spring.
Massachusetts building codes are a complex topic, but here are some basic facts:
What does the Specialized code do?
The Specialized code builds upon the updated Stretch Energy Code, which already applies in Framingham. The new code calls for NEW buildings to be either:
All-electric, using heat pumps and/or solar thermal hot water heating plus all-electric appliances, and be solar-ready, or
“Mixed fuel” or electric-ready, meaning buildings may incorporate fossil fuels but must be pre-wired for future electric heating/cooling and must incorporate solar panels to reduce fossil fuel use. (Houses of less than 4,000 square feet with shaded roofs are exempt from the solar requirement, but larger houses must have some renewable power source.)
What else to know:
The Specialized code does not apply to existing buildings, renovations, or additions.
All new multifamily buildings over 12,000 square feet must meet a standard for high energy efficiency, known as the Passive House standard.
Backup fossil-fuel-fired generators are allowed in all-electric buildings.
Why do we need the Specialized code?
It will make new housing affordable to live in. People who live in buildings built to the code will save money by reducing or eliminating their monthly energy bills. Eighty percent of Massachusetts home energy use is from heating/cooling and water heating.
It provides consumer protection and choice: Wiring buildings for electric heating/cooling, electric appliances, and electric vehicle chargers is low-cost at the time of construction ($4-$9/sq. ft.), but expensive and time-consuming after construction ($5-$17/sq. ft.).
It’s good for our health. Gas stoves and other gas appliances are responsible for 15 percent of cases of asthma in Massachusetts, according to a recent study. Another study found that children living in homes with gas cooking stoves have a 42 percent higher risk of current asthma.
It will help prevent climate change: Burning of fossil fuels to heat buildings accounts for an estimated 35 percent of Massachusetts greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
It would qualify Framingham for more flexible state funding through the Climate Leaders program.
It’s safer. Gas leaks don’t only lead to explosions; they also kill trees and emit large amounts of greenhouse gasses. In 2021, 11,624 new gas leaks across Massachusetts emitted nearly 7,000 metric tons of methane — equal to an estimated 600,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Why should we act now?
Government incentives for builders are available now, making net zero or net-zero-ready construction more affordable. That includes incentives for builders of multifamily housing and commercial buildings. (More on contractor incentives and training.)
Acting now saves money in the long run. The state has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by at least 50 percent by 2030, and 100 percent by 2050. Every home built today with fossil fuels and gas appliances must eventually be retrofit to meet the state mandate, before the equipment has reached the end of its useful life. It’s much cheaper to build electric now, or pre-wire buildings at the time of construction, than to retrofit obsolete buildings later.
What you can do
Watch for our March newsletter, where we present The Specialized Code: Myth versus Fact.
Stay tuned: The Framingham Sustainability Committee is planning to host a speaker to learn more about the Specialized Code later this year.
In the future, we may invite you to write letters and/or attend city meetings to voice your support. Watch for announcements later this year!
Hear, hear! Students offer climate suggestions to the city
As part of McAuliffe Charter School’s “Start Local, Think Global” event in December, highlighted in our January issue, eighth grade students wrote letters to Framingham’s Mayor and City Council. Below are a few of their suggestions for combating climate change.
Writing to Councilor Leora Mallach (District 7), Audrey Briggs urged making it easier to bike in Framingham by building speed bumps to make roads safer and introducing the bike-sharing program BlueBikes.
“It’s the government's responsibility to educate us on climate change and help us switch over to more environmentally friendly things,” she wrote. “If Framingham gave discounts/free passes to areas and families that are struggling it will make it easier for the whole of Framingham to switch.”
“We would appreciate it if you could help us with trying to keep the air cleaner,” Rachelle Arias wrote to Councilor Michael Cannon (District 4). “A solution to this problem could be if Framingham gives people who own electric vehicles a break on their car excise taxes. …Another solution could be planting more trees that will remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.”
“I propose that Framingham invests in and supports wind energy,” wrote Samuel Emerson Brown to the full CIty Council. “Based on my research, offshore wind energy has the lowest emissions of any renewable energy source followed closely by land wind energy. When the town finishes applying for community choice aggregation it can encourage its residents to have the companies provide them with green energy and get the consumers to buy wind power.”
BRIEFS
Funding available for municipal clean energy, sustainable buildings
Attention city leaders! These two programs would reimburse city sustainability measures:
Elective Pay program for solar, EVs and EV chargers
A new IRS program under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Elective Pay program, helps municipalities get reimbursed for clean energy infrastructure projects. It’s designed for tax-exempt and governmental entities that can’t use tax credits. Eligible projects include investing in and constructing clean energy (wind, solar, green hydrogen, etc.), transitioning government vehicle fleets to EVs, placement of EV infrastructure, and rooftop solar.
Learn more about the program:
Reimbursement for sustainable schools
The Massachusetts School Building Association recently modified its policy to provide an additional 3 percent reimbursement for new schools built to Opt-In Specialized Code standards (more about the Specialized Code above). Energize Framingham hopes our new building committee will pursue this for the new South side school.
Community Preservation projects under review
The Framingham Community Preservation Committee (CPC) is in the process of reviewing 15 applications for funding consideration in FY2024. Applicants are presenting their proposals from February to early March. The CPC will hold a public hearing in March (check the Public Meeting Calendar for dates) and then submit its recommendations to the City Council.
Proposed projects include several open space/recreational projects:
Lake Waushakum water quality restoration
Construction of an accessible boardwalk for the Carol Getchell trail
Adding fencing and storage to the Pratt Street Community Garden
Construction of a playground at Reardon Park in Saxonville
Ecological restoration on the Cochituate Rail Trail
Documents related to all the applications can be found here.
Climate support group forms
Coping with Climate Change: Moving from Anxiety to Action and Adaptation is a new Tuesday (12-1 p.m.) support group for adults who want to develop and maintain personal goals related to climate action, work through immobilizing feelings of anxiety, learn about meaningful steps to lessen their carbon footprint, and work with other community programs to support advocacy efforts.
The group will be a space to process the emotional and existential aspects of climate change and cultivate and maintain hope while committing to personal goals and action steps. All are welcome to participate until the group reaches full capacity. Commitment to attend 80 percent or more of the sessions is requested. More info
Mayor highlights trails, parks, splash pads, composting
Read the full text of Mayor Sisitsky’s State of the City address here.
Mary Dennison Park cleanup agreement
Mayor Sisitsky told the City Council on January 16 that an agreement had been reached with Avery Dennison Company to share in the cleanup of Mary Dennison Park. Avery Dennison had agreed to pay for 83 percent of the cost of the cleanup of the contamination.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Thurs., Feb. 22, 7-8:30 p.m. Energize Framingham meetings: 4th Thursdays of the month
Join us monthly for a discussion and updates from Energize Framingham’s working groups. RSVP for Zoom link.
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Thurs., Feb. 8, 7-8 p.m. Electric Cars Coming Soon
Webinar hosted by the Green Energy Consumers Alliance
Tues., Feb. 13, 12-1 p.m. Coping with Climate Change: Moving from Anxiety to Action and Adaptation
Kickoff of a new support group. Information on the group and how to join at the link.
Wed., Feb. 21, 6-7:30 p.m. Framingham Sustainability Committee meeting
Please find the zoom link, agenda and all meeting materials on the City's Public Meeting Calendar.
Sat., Feb. 24, 2-5 p.m. Framingham Repair Cafe
First Parish Church, Scott Hall at 24 Vernon Street
Volunteers needed who can sharpen knives (or want to learn how!) and fix sewing machines; sign up at: tinyurl.com/FramFixVolunteer if you can help!
Tues., Feb. 27, 7-8 p.m. plugIN to Clean Energy: Heat Pumps for Home Heating and Cooling (virtual talk)
Thurs., Mar. 7, 6-8 p.m. 350 Mass MetroWest Node Meeting
Tues. Mar. 26 or Thurs. Mar, 28, 6-8 p.m. (TBD). Happy Hour with Energize Framingham. Stay tuned!
SAVE THE DATES!
Sat., Apr. 20: Earth Day Festival
Sat., Apr. 27: Science on State Street
Sat., Apr. 27: Cooler Communities Fair
IN THE NEWS
Local/Regional
After months of delays, new EV chargers have arrived on the Mass Pike (South Shore Buzz)
Brookline Department of Public Works to Relaunch Composting Incentive Program (Town of Brookline press release)
Boston’s first geothermal heating system to replace gas in public housing (Mass Live)
National Grid chose Franklin Field Apartments in Dorchester for its Networked Geothermal Demonstration Program. National Grid broke ground on another networked geothermal project in Lowell last year.
Wanted: More green for a greener Worcester (Worcester Telegram)
The Green Worcester Advisory Committee urged the city to pump more staff and money into the Department of Sustainability and Resilience.
National
Biden-Harris Administration announces nearly $1B in awards for clean school buses across the nation as part of Investing in America Agenda (press release)
The latest round of 67 districts awarded include Boston (50 buses), Worcester (15 buses), Fall River (10 buses), and New Bedford (10 buses).
For truckers driving EVs, there’s no going back (Washington Post)
Biden Administration Pauses Approvals of New Gas Export Terminals (New York Times)
"The president said the government would analyze impacts on climate, the economy and national security before approving new projects.
ABOUT US
Energize Framingham provides climate education, outreach, and advocacy to promote a healthy, equitable, and resilient community.
Editors: Nancy Fliesler and Aimee Powelka
Have a tip for us? Email [email protected]
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