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We hope everyone is having a good, albeit very hot, summer so far! This month, we are sharing information and resources to help municipalities and partners navigate the recent federal rollbacks to clean energy tax credits and climate-related grants that were established through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). In the next few months to year, cities and towns can still take advantage of IRA programs and MAPC remains committed to sharing important updates, deadlines, and opportunities.
Despite this federal uncertainty, the newsletter also highlights the launch of our Climate Resilience Playbook, proposed state-level legislation to support climate mitigation and adaptation projects, and details about as well as details about new municipal energy manager roles.
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Changes to Federal Tax Credits, Grants
Signed into law on July 4, the federal FY25 Budget Reconciliation Bill eliminated or moved up the deadline for a range of federal clean energy tax credits established by the IRA and also rolled back some of the IRA's grant and loan programs. The bill rolled back tax credits for EVs, EV charging infrastructure, solar, and wind power and rescinded unallocated funds for programs including the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, Environmental Justice Block Grants, and the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants, among others. These changes may impact the timeline of planned projects and shorten the timeline for taking advantage of tax credits. Read a recent blog post by Amy Turner, Director of the Cities Climate Law Initiative at Columbia University, for an overall summary of the changes and impacts specific to municipalities and partners. The Electrification Coalition also published a helpful summary specifically outlining the new timelines for using the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Property Tax Credit, Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit, New Clean Vehicle Credit, and Used Clean Vehicle Credit.
| | | Webinar: Introducing the Climate Resilience Playbook | | Municipalities across the Commonwealth play a key role in helping their communities prepare for and respond to climate change impacts. MAPC, in partnership with the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program Team and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC), is pleased to introduce the Climate Resilience Playbook - a new online resource to help advance the implementation of municipal and community-driven climate solutions. Join us on Wednesday, September 10 from 12-1 p.m. to learn more about the Playbook and opportunities to help expand this resource. Register for the webinar and take a sneak peek at the Playbook. | | Help Shape an Upcoming Project for Stretch and Specialized Energy Code Adoption! | | |
MAPC is working with the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to accelerate the adoption of the Stretch and Specialized Energy Codes among communities across the Commonwealth.
If you have already adopted or tried to adopt the Strech or Specialized Code in your community, we want to hear from you! Your feedback will help us learn more about the challenges you’ve encountered, where you've found success, and how we can best support your community.
Please fill out the survey by this Friday, August 1.
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Legislative Update: Environmental Bond and Energy Affordability Bills
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In May and June, Governor Maura Healey filed two major bills: the Environmental Bond Bill and Energy Affordability Bill. The former authorizes $2.9 billion in funding over 5 years, a 20.8% increase over the previous environmental bond bill, that was signed into law in 2018. It would increase funding for programs like the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program, establish a resilience revolving fund, and require disclosure of residential flood risk to prospective purchasers and tenants, among other policy priorities. The latter proposes new safeguards on competitive electrical suppliers to protect consumers from exploitative practices, establishes a moratorium on utility shut offs when temperatures exceed 85 degrees for three days, and proposes changes to the Mass Save program among other policies.
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Read MAPC's summary of the Environmental Bond Bill.
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Read MAPC's summary of the Governor's Energy Affordability Bill.
| | Open Municipal Energy Manager Positions | | |
Towns and cities across Massachusetts are hiring Municipal Energy Managers, with support from the Mass Save Municipal Energy Manager (MEM) Grant. This grant helps a municipality, or a group of municipalities hire a dedicated staff member to lead efforts in managing energy use, improving energy efficiency, and reducing municipal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the pilot year of the grant, 24 energy managers will be hired to support a total of 63 municipalities and 4 regional planning commissions this summer.
Apply today to open positions or share with your network:
| | New State Climate Leaders in Municipal Buying Initiative | | The Operational Services Division (OSD) is launching a new Climate Leaders in Municipal Buying (CLIMB) Initiative. This program is designed to help municipal purchasers across Massachusetts establish climate-conscious procurement and purchasing strategies. The CLIMB Initiative will provide a dedicated space for procurement professionals, sustainability coordinators, public works directors, and other local leaders to learn from their peers, ask questions, and explore the full potential of sustainable and streamlined purchasing. The program will offer training on how to utilize statewide contracts to meet local environmental and climate goals, opportunities for peer-led learning, interactive contract discussions, and feedback on contract readiness. If you are interested in participating in the CLIMB Initiative, contact Climate Data Specialist Sophie Collins or Manager of Strategic Climate Initiatives Paul Carey. | | Webinar: People, Land, Policy: Social Ties for Climate Resilience | | |
At 2 p.m. today, the Trust for Public Land (TPL) Boston will hold a virtual event focusing on how people, land, and policy can strengthen social ties for climate resilience. The event will feature speakers from TPL, I See You Consulting, Communidades Enraizadas Community Land Trust, and Groundwork USA and focus on how grassroots leadership, land stewardship, and equitable policymaking all strengthen the fabric of communities, particularly those most vulnerable to threats.
Register to join the event!
| | Webinar: Designing Boston's Moakley Park for Flood Resilience | | |
The Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC) is hosting a webinar series about how local governments, state agencies, private developers, and other entities are addressing flooding. On Tuesday, August 19 from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., EBC will present a case study of Moakley Park and how it was designed to address coastal, groundwater, and stormwater flooding. Representatives from the Woods Hole Group, the City of Boston's Parks Department, and Nitsch Engineering will discuss technical considerations, partnerships, and more. Register.
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Building Electrification and Transformation Accelerator (BETA): Project Planning
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Application Deadline: Rolling
Award Potential: Each participating building will receive an electrification and decarbonization plan, including directions to financing options and a recommended implementation timeline.
The MassCEC BETA Project Team is actively seeking applications from building owners of small commercial, medium (4 units or more) and large multifamily, colleges and universities, big box retail or supermarkets and municipal buildings supporting waster or water management. The BETA: Project Planning is a MassCEC initiative that seeks to surface and prove the technical, implementation, and financial models that will serve as the basis for electrification and decarbonization of the commercial buildings sector. The Program will develop and pilot a decarbonization assessment process for commercial and multifamily residential buildings with 4 or more units. Visit the MassCEC Beta: Project Planning website to apply! Please contact Gregory King at TSK Energy Solutions.
| | Green Schools Works Services Technical Assistance | | |
Application Deadline: Rolling
Award Potential: $5 million available for technical assistance services, Awards up to $250,000.
As part of its Green School Works Program, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) is providing technical assistance to public K-12 schools or districts for projects that improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, or mitigate the impacts of climate change, and support decarbonization planning and prioritization. MassCEC has compiled a list of pre-approved technical assistance vendors that can deliver technical assistance. If schools have previously worked with other vendors not on the list, MassCEC can work to approve the vendors. As part of the technical assistance offered, schools or school districts can choose to receive a Comprehensive Building Assessments, a Building Decarbonization Roadmap, or a Focused Study. To be eligible, schools and school districts must serve a student population that is 40% or more low-income for one or more of the last three school years. This program complements the Green School Works Implementation Grants, which were due in the spring.
Watch a recent webinar about the program and learn more about eligibility, enrollment, and offerings.
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