SPRINGFIELD — With new geothermal and solar energy projects, home energy retrofits converting from gas to electric ranges and from older heat to new heat pumps and the return of ValleyBike Share, the city will become more climate resilient. It is thanks to a $20 million, three-year federal grant announced Thursday. “It is a broad suite of projects and programs,” said Tina Quagliato-Sullivan , the city’s deputy development officer for housing, community development and neighborhoods.
The plan also includes planning more carbon-consuming street trees for shade, redoing West Street on a complete streets plan to be more bike-able land walkable, air quality monitoring, healthy homes work removing allergens, green skills training and heating, ventilation and air conditioning training as well as an update of the city’s Climate Act and Resilience Master Plan, said Sarita Hudson, senior director of strategy and development for the Public Health Institute. The geothermal projects at Springfield City Library Mason Square branch and the Kenefick Park Field House will make those facilities — often used as cooling centers during heat waves — into climate resilience hubs, Hudson said. Myles Callender, owner of K&M Enterprises and working as a contractor for Revitalize CDC in Springfield, works on an energy retrofit project.
(photo provided) The Republican “As part of this we are building a more resilient city through two geothermal projects,” Hudson said. “We need to move forward in this transition from fossil fuels to green energy. That includes removing gas stoves, electrification and a transition to heat pumps.
” The grant will also create community solar farms — the exact location is not determined — in its focus areas of Springfield’s North End, the South End and the Mason Square neighborhoods, Hudson said. Colleen Shanley-Loveless, president and CEO of Revitalize CDC, said transition to heat pumps doesn’t just make the homes more efficient but it allows homes to be air conditioned. “As we know with climate change and this oppressive summer, cooling in rental units or homes is a basic need.
It’s no longer a luxury as it was years ago,” Shanley-Loveless said. Revitalize CDC will do the home energy work, a continuation of its current programming. The grant will also have a navigator position, someone to help homeowners and renters take advantage of energy saving programs that are out there.
“It will be a cleaner environment,” Shanley-Loveless said. “And a cost savings on their energy.” Funded by the federal Inflation Reduction Act , the Community Change Grants Program is the single largest investment in environmental and climate justice in history, according to a news release from the U.
S. Environmental Protection Agency. The funding announcement today is the first wave of nearly $2 billion from the program.
“With this nearly $20 million grant, Springfield will be able to invest in safer and more resilient homes, restart its electric bikeshare program, plant hundreds of new trees, and so much more. All thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act and my 15% minimum tax on big corporations,” said U.S.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in a statement.
“Residents and advocates in Springfield are taking action to undo generations of pollution, and bringing to life a vision for the future that includes clean air to breathe, safe housing to live in, and green, renewable energy to power it all,” said U.S. Sen.
Edward J. Markey, D-Mass. “Their coalition of community organizations, local government agencies, and those most affected by environmental injustice embodies the mission of the Community Change Grant Program, coming together to get the job done.
I thank the EPA for awarding nearly $20 million from the Inflation Reduction Act, which I fought hard for in Congress, to directly enable community-led action in Western Massachusetts.”.
