January 2025

Start 2025 with a bang!

January 06, 2025

Your latest local news on sustainability and climate change action
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IN THIS ISSUE

Featured events: Climate optimism, plugIN solar
Awesome New Year’s Eve on the Cochituate Rail Trail
Framingham Community Electricity launching in March
Tree Equity Action: Bringing trees to South Framingham
Geothermal funded to expand
Clean energy in the U.S.: Glimmers of hope
Briefs: Fast EV chargers in Hopkinton | Municipal solar: Worcester’s example
Opinion: Why do we need tariffs on solar panels?
Opinion: Spread green energy efforts from universities to K-12 classrooms
Upcoming events
In the news: Jimmy Carter’s record on climate and more

Tired of doom-and-gloom climate news? Come to this event.

Join us at the Framingham Public Library, Main Branch (49 Lexington Street), Saturday, Jan. 11, 10-11 a.m. to learn about an optimistic approach towards climate progress that will charge you with the energy needed for positive change. A group discussion will follow a brief presentation on good news to celebrate on climate action.

Thinking about adopting solar? plugIN with us!

Join Energize Framingham for an online solar webinar on Thursday, January 23, 7-8 p.m. We’ll be joined by Matt Honkonen from East Coast Solar, hear from community members about their experiences, and have your questions answered. Learn about this electric alternative to power your home and lower your climate impact! 

This event is sponsored by plugIN MetroWest in partnership with MassEnergize. Framingham is excited to be a part of this seven-town effort to help residents transform their homes into sustainable, energy-efficient, and comfortable living spaces.

A great New Year’s Eve on the CRT

EF’s Nanette Magnani awaits the crowds just before sunset.

We had a wonderful early New Year’s Eve on the Cochituate Rail Trail! Kudos to the Friends of Framingham Trails for their amazing work organizing this event and a special shout-out to Denise Zadina (also an Energize Framingham member) for her part in organizing and for the fun selfie stop.

Nanette Magnani, who helped organize EF’s presence on the trail, reports: “We had a spectacular night!  We were so busy that I never had a chance to see the rest of the trail and fire pits. We were literally non stop from about 4:45 till 7:00.”

EF’s Deb Berlin and Maria George hosted a station where kids could power a small light bulb with a lemon or potato. Nanette oversaw a table with hot chocolate donated by Zippity Do Dog as well as marshmallows and s’mores, while Larry Stoodt chatted up the public and directed them to our information table and newsletter sign-up sheet.

More photos on our Facebook page. See you on the trail next December 31!

Energize Framingham receives generous donation

We’re excited to have received a $500 donation from Green Path Strategies in recognition of our efforts to engage Framingham residents in market research around consumer adoption of electric vehicles. Green Path Strategies is a Wakefield- and Somerville-based firm doing market research on behalf of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). 

In all, 32 Framinghammers completed online surveys, and from that, five were chosen to participate in more in-depth discussions. “Everyone gave really great insight and suggestions,” reports Julie Galvin, principal and founder of Green Path Strategies. The market research will inform the Mass CEC’s education initiative to boost adoption of electric vehicles. 

Though Energize Framingham doesn’t actively solicit donations, they are always welcome at this link. Donations help offset the costs of things like printing and food and beverages at our events.

Framingham Community Electricity to launch in March

Framingham Community Electricity, a new city program, will soon begin to purchase electricity in bulk on behalf of Framingham homes and businesses. Announced last month by the city, it will offer more stable electricity costs and more electricity from renewable sources, helping Framingham reach its climate goals. More than 200 other Massachusetts cities and towns have similar programs.

The program received state regulatory approval in September 2024, and automatic enrollment for Eversource Basic Service customers will begin in March 2025. However, residents who prefer not to participate can opt out. (Please see our NOTE below for a few special cases.)

Through a supply contract the city signed with First Point Power, participants will receive two years of fixed electricity rates of 12.818¢/kWh, as compared with the Eversource residential price of 13.347¢/kWh (going into effect on February 1).

In the standard plan, Framingham Standard Green, 35 percent of the electricity will come from new renewable sources in the New England region. Residents can also sign up for two alternative options:

  • Framingham Green Plus, providing electricity from 100 percent renewable sources, for 15.418¢/kWh.

  • Framingham Basic, providing only the minimum amount from renewable sources required by law for 12.588¢/kWh. 

Eversource will remain responsible for delivering the electricity, addressing power outages, and billing.

The city will be offering informational sessions in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. More information at www.FraminghamCommunityElectricity.com or call 1-844-202-6226. See a sample bill to help you understand your options.

NOTE: Customers on a competitive supplier will not be enrolled; check your terms of service if you wish to opt into Framingham Community Electricity. Customers with a community solar subscription will be enrolled if they have basic service.

Tree Equity Action: Bringing trees to South Framingham

Tree Equity Action is a new initiative of Energize Framingham’s forestry and land use group, working to build and maintain tree canopies in South Framingham. The reason is simple: Areas with more trees are cooler and provide a better quality of life. The above map, based on data collected July 2023 by MetroWest Heat Watch, shows a dearth of trees in South Framingham compared with neighboring areas.

The Tree Equity Action group’s plan includes:

  • purchasing trees and enlisting the planting service of the Department of Public Works in support of the city's Setback Tree Planting program

  • supporting the Setback program by developing resident trainings in the care and maintenance of newly planted trees

  • offering leadership training and urban forestry workforce development

  • building a coalition of community organizations to support and implement these initiatives. 

Volunteers and partners are welcome! You can: participate in meetings; share your skills as instructors in urban forestry; visit homes, stores, and other places to engage more people in the project; distribute material about the project; or host Tree Equity Action for information sessions at your condominium, church, community, office, store, or association.

For further information, please email [email protected] or call Liliane Evangelista at 774-777-8455.

Geothermal district funded to expand

HEET, the organization partnering with Framingham and Eversource on the city’s geothermal network, has been awarded $7.8M to support the network’s expansion. The grant, from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office, will cover the construction phase of a second geothermal loop to connect to our existing one. It will likely be in the area of Flagg Drive, Warren Road, and Prindiville Avenue.

If the Department of Public Utilities approves the plans, this will be the first utility-owned community geothermal network to connect to an adjacent operational loop. It will set a standard for growing and interconnecting geothermal networks that other communities can follow.

More in HEET’s press release. And here’s a nice article on our geothermal network that we missed earlier from the Sierra Club.

Year in review: Glimmers of hope around U.S. clean energy

It’s not all gloom and doom! Sources report big progress for clean energy in 2024:

Want to hear more good news? Join us on Saturday, Jan. 11 from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Framingham Public Library, Main Branch, for the presentation and discussion “Hope for the future: Current science, climate optimism, and you.” 

BRIEFS

Fast EV chargers coming to Hopkinton

Photo: Linda Chuss, Hopkinton Sustainable Green Committee

Hopkinton’s Alltown convenience store is adding four fast electric vehicle chargers to its fueling station on West Main St., convenient for locals and travelers along Rt. 495. These chargers, once fired up by Eversource, can add about 300 miles of range to an EV in about 20 minutes. We hope this will inspire more fast chargers in other towns – including Framingham!

Municipal solar: The example of Worcester

As of 2022, Worcester had municipal solar installations on 17 city buildings or locations, including 14 schools. Check out their stats for the past year – notably the $1.8 million in revenue generated. 

Worcester also adopted regulations in 2007 and 2010 for the installation of large- and small-scale wind turbines, respectively. 

Can we be more like Worcester? Email [email protected] if you’d like to join our solar campaign!

OPINION

Why do we need a tariff on solar panels?

Source: Rawpixel

By Leo Boudreau

For years, the Chinese government has subsidized its solar panel industry to gain an unfair global advantage. A few years ago, the United States responded by adding a 10 to 20 percent tax on every panel coming from China. To circumvent this tax, China built new factories in parts of Southeast Asia where the U.S. had free trade agreements, shipping in the raw materials. Again, these panels have been heavily subsidized.

On November 29, the U.S. Department of Commerce countered by announcing tariffs on photovoltaic cells of 21 to 271 percent, set to take effect this month. So solar installers wanting to use cheaper panels from Chinese companies will now see a huge price increase. The new tariffs will also affect panels that were purchased by distributors in bulk as far back as three years ago but are not yet in use. 

Why are these tariffs needed? Companies like SunPower in the U.S., REC in Norway, Bosch in Germany, and Total in France had been making high-quality solar panels when SunTech came along from China. SunTech became the largest producer of solar panels and flooded the market with cheaply made panels with poor warranties and low efficiency. 

When countries stopped importing these panels due to their low quality, SunTech was stuck with a large inventory. It received a subsidy from the Chinese government and unloaded millions of panels in the U.S. at an even lower price, purchased by companies like SunRun, Sungevity, and SunEdison. SunTech later went bankrupt, but the Chinese government started subsidizing all the country’s solar companies. This has led companies from other countries to fold or go bankrupt, giving China a near-monopoly when it comes to solar panel sales.

I do not generally believe in tariffs, but in a free market when governments use their money to offset the cost of products, it gives these companies an unfair advantage and hurts free enterprise. That is why I feel these tariffs are needed. 

Note: The tariffs will affect panels made in Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand and Chinese-owned companies like Longi, Jinko Solar, VSun, Canadian Solar, Trina Solar, JA Solar, and BYD. Panels made in Singapore, Japan, and South Korea will be exempt. 

Leo Boudreau has been selling solar energy systems since 2010, currently with NuWatt Energy in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. He does not sell systems using panels from Chinese-owned companies. He can be reached at [email protected].

Letter: Spread green energy efforts past ivy walls to K-12 classrooms

EF/Transition Framingham member Mary Memmott published this letter in the Boston Globe on December 8. We agree with Mary! 

As a public school educator, I read with interest Sabrina Shankman’s article about how Harvard and MIT have joined with other Boston-area institutions to take on green projects (“Universities find new ways to slash carbon emissions,” Metro, Dec. 1). I wish I could report that K-12 education facilities in Massachusetts were also making strides, but while some districts have added solar panels or put some green features into new construction, there are plenty of old, heat-leaking and carbon-wasting school buildings across our Commonwealth.

With the high-stakes MCAS on the way out as a graduation requirement, maybe the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education could consider a new challenge for high school students: asking them to work with their district administrators to create practical plans for reducing the carbon footprint of their own buildings. Our local universities, especially ones with deep resources such as Harvard and MIT, could provide technical support and grants for funding.

Engaging students in solutions and giving them the tools to actually make a difference would teach them skills in a way that a test never could.

Universities need to spark action on climate beyond their walls. Partnering with K-12 students and districts would affect local communities and the next generation.

Mary Memmott
Framingham

Ed. note: Mary and others write letters to the editor with encouragement from the organization 350 Mass. They get published regularly.  Feel free to contact her at [email protected] if you’d like to join this group. See Framingham news, below, for another letter of Mary’s in the Metrowest Daily News.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Hello 2025!

Sat., Jan. 11, 10-11 a.m. Hope for the future: Current science, climate optimism, and you 
Framingham Public Library, Main Branch, 49 Lexington Street
(see Featured Events above for full description)

Wed., Jan. 15, 4-6 p.m. Jumpstart native seeds in January!
Wayland Town Building, Large Meeting Room
41 Cochituate Road, Wayland

Thurs., Jan. 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Pathways to Action: Climate Conversations at the Local Level 
Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University
100 State Street, Framingham

Presentations and discussion in conjunction with the exhibition DM Witman: Ecologies of Restoration (ends Jan. 26). Energize Framingham will be part of the discussion of actions people can take. Registration required!

Thurs., Jan. 23, 7-8 p.m. Solar webinar with East Coast Solar 
Co-sponsored by plugIN MetroWest, in partnership with MassEnergize, and Resilient Swampscott. See Announcements for full description.

IN THE NEWS

Ahead of his time: Jimmy Carter’s record on climate and more

Jimmy Carter, the president who tried to save the planet (2023) (Washington Post)
Carter, who died last month at the age of 100, installed 32 solar panels on the White House as president from 1977 to 1981. He urged Americans to turn down their thermostats, pressured Congress into putting tens of millions of acres in Alaska off limits to development, and signed a bill creating the Energy Department. He proposed $2,000 consumer tax credits for solar panels and called for renewable energy to make up 20 percent of the nation’s energy mix by 2000.

Jimmy Carter tried to fix the planet. The oil industry fought back (Los Angeles Times)
Carter implemented the first vehicle fuel-efficiency standards and ordered an ambitious study of “probable changes in the world’s population, natural resources, and environment.” The final report warned that fossil fuel combustion could cause “widespread and pervasive changes in global climatic, economic, social, and agricultural patterns.” …. After struggling to pass a tax on gas-guzzling cars, Carter wrote in his diary, “The influence of the oil and gas industry is unbelievable, and it’s impossible to arouse the public to protect themselves.”

What happened to Carter’s White House solar panels? They lived on… (New York Times)
The panels, removed under Ronald Reagan, languished in a warehouse, then found new homes at a Maine college and eventually in China. 

​​Jimmy Carter, green energy visionary (Bill McKibben in the New Yorker) 
An informative recap of green energy policy, from Carter to Reagan to Obama to Biden.

Framingham

Framingham woman wonders when we will take to heart the dangers of climate change (Metrowest Daily News)
In a letter to the editor, Mary Memmott asks when we will pay attention to climate warning signs and take action.

Massachusetts/Region

Newton City Council passes long-awaited energy and greenhouse gas ordinance  (Newton Beacon)
Adopted in a 23-0 vote, the ordinance calls for commercial buildings of more than 20,000 square feet to record and report energy use and take measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Residential buildings with more than 20,000 square feet of floor space must report energy use, though there is no greenhouse gas reduction requirement. Ed note: Reporting energy use for large buildings is now required by state law.

Massachusetts is still in a drought (Patriot Ledger) 
As of December 25, all of Massachusetts is still in a drought. Every region except the Cape is classified as in a moderate to severe drought.

Boston is slowly sinking. That doesn’t help sea level rise due to climate change (WGBH) 
A discussion with UMass Lowell professor and hydrogeologist James Heiss.

Universities find new ways to slash carbon emissions (Boston Globe)
Harvard is attacking climate change by reducing on-campus emissions and banding together with other Boston institutions to fund wind and solar farms in Texas and North Dakota.

Seagrasses Capture Carbon 35 Times Faster Than Tropical Rainforests. Scientists Are Working to Save Them (Inside Climate News)
An underwater gardening experiment along the East Coast, including the Cape Cod National Seashore, aims to restore eelgrass, a seagrass at risk of extinction due to rising sea surface temperatures. In New England, eelgrass is vital for scallop, oyster, and cod fisheries, as well as coastline protection, water quality, and carbon absorption.

Massachusetts wants to revolutionize its waste stream. Sweden has some answers. (Boston Globe)
Massachusetts now sends more than a third of its trash out of state, and its six landfills are expected to fill by 2030. A handful of city and state officials recently visited Europe to study waste reduction strategies.

New York to charge fossil fuel companies for damage from climate change (Associated Press)
The Climate Change Superfund Act, similar to a law passed in Vermont last summer, requires companies responsible for substantial greenhouse gas emissions to pay into a state fund for infrastructure projects to repair or avoid future damage from climate change. 

Faced with lawsuits, can Vermont sustain its leadership fighting climate change? (WCAX3 Vermont)
A lawsuit filed this week against the state of Vermont marks the first of an expected wave of litigation against states trying to hold the oil industry accountable for their role in climate change. 

National

‘We have been heard’: Montana youth score a major climate victory in court (Grist)
In a 6-1 ruling, the Montana Supreme Court affirmed their constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment.” Held v. Montana made history last year when it became the nation’s first constitutional climate case to go to trial.

Biden pushes out over $100 billion in clean energy grants as term winds down (Reuters) 
The administration is on track to exceed its goal of "obligating" over 80% of available IRA grant funding by the end of Biden's term.

General interest

What if Everyone Did Something to Slow Climate Change? (New York Times) 
Researchers are looking at the impact that individuals’ actions can have on reducing carbon emissions — and the best ways to get people to adopt them.

‘Rethinking, refusing, reusing, reducing’: Meet Stockholm’s Zero Waste coalition (Boston Globe) 
Stockholm is pushing the meaning of reduce and reuse to the limit.

Want government money for a heat pump? Time might be running out (NPR)
The U.S. federal government is currently offering a tax credit of up to $2,000 for homeowners buying heat pumps. These could go away under the new administration. But Massachusetts tax credits will remain.

HVAC contractors under fire after offering controversial advice about heat pumps: 'They are wrong'  (The Cool Down)
Have contractors told you heat pumps won’t work in New England?  

Warren Washington, groundbreaking climate scientist, dies at 88 (Boston Globe)
Washington helped develop one of the first computer models of the Earth's atmosphere. In 1978, he was named chief investigator of a government-funded project looking into global warming.

ABOUT US

Energize Framingham provides climate education, outreach, and advocacy to promote a healthy, equitable, and resilient community.

Have a tip for us? Email [email protected].
In case you missed it… Back issues!
Editors: Nancy Fliesler and Aimee Powelka