Last year, the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) announced a new program that builds on the Green Communities designation and grant program. The Climate Leader Communities program will support municipalities seeking to meet their own greenhouse gas reduction targets with a focus on emissions reduction for municipal operations and the wider community.

Communities designated as “Climate Leaders” will have access to tools and resources to help reduce emissions through electrification as well as maximizing efficiency of buildings and transportation. That will open doors to grant funding to support all or portions of costs for: siting activities and construction of renewable energy generating facilities on municipal property; adoption of energy efficiency policies; procurement of energy management services; and the study, design, construction and implementation of energy efficiency activities, measures and projects.

In other words, this funding opportunity is much greater than anything previously offered by the Green Communities program in the past.

Amherst and other communities seeking certification must meet six criteria, four of which Amherst has already completed, according to Sustainability Director Stephanie Ciccarello. The deadlines for applications for FY 2025 are July 25 and Dec. 31, and then annually thereafter.

The four criteria Amherst has completed include being a DOER Green Community in good standing: having a local body that advises the municipality on clean energy/climate initiatives (Amherst’s Energy and Climate Action Committee); adopting the specialized opt-in building code (adopted by the Town Council in 2023); and committing to eliminate on-site fossil fuel use in municipal buildings and operations by 2050 through a resolution, climate action plan, or CMO affirmation. Amherst is committed in our Climate Action and Resilience Plan to carbon neutrality by 2050. Eliminating fossil fuel use in our municipal buildings is a strategy to get there.

The two criteria Amherst has not yet completed include adopting a zero-emission-vehicle-first policy and creating a municipal decarbonization roadmap. Creating a fleet inventory and transition plan has been in the town manager’s goals for a few years now. There are ARPA funds dedicated to completing it that were allocated in the first round of funding.

The sustainability director has reported that a UNH Sustainability Institute Fellow will be working on completing a greenhouse gas emissions fleet vehicle inventory with a timeline for transitioning the municipal fleet to zero-emissions vehicles. It is hoped that the town and the schools will commit to the zero-emission vehicle policy. Major grant funding for EV charging infrastructure is available through the Inflation Reduction Act.

The required decarbonization roadmap must outline how Amherst will decarbonize town and school buildings, drinking water and wastewater treatment plants, pumping stations, open spaces and vehicles. The roadmap is required to address “trigger events” for electrification or the installation of solar and storage opportunities — such as substantial renovations, replacement of equipment or roofs, or changes of use. Our current Climate Action and Resilience Plan doesn’t fulfill this requirement because it doesn’t address some of the required criteria.

The sustainability director explained at a recent Energy and Climate Action Committee that the town will partner with Ben Weil, and Lauren Mattison clean energy building experts from the UMass Clean Energy Extension to work on completing the Amherst decarbonization roadmap.

The Climate Leader Communities program guidance and eligibility criteria is posted on the program’s website. The DOER held an introductory webinar on Oct. 17, and the slideshow presentation is available online.

Let’s root for Amherst to be a climate leader with all the funding and benefits that come with it!

Darcy DuMont is a former town councilor and sponsor of the legislation creating the Amherst Energy and Climate Action Committee. She is a founding member of Zero Waste Amherst, Local Energy Advocates of Western MA, and the Amherst Climate Justice Alliance and a non-voting member of Valley Green Energy Working Group. She can be contacted at dumint140@gmail.com.