Politics & Government

Lynnfield Selected For New Energy Program

Town is one of eight selected to work on long-term energy efficiency and clean energy projects.

The following is an announcement from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council:

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) today announced that Lynnfield has been selected to participate in MAPC’s new Local Energy Action Program (LEAP).

Through LEAP, which is funded with support from the Barr Foundation, MAPC will be working with Marlborough, Medford, Medway, Stoughton, and the towns served by the Reading Municipal Light Department – Lynnfield, North Reading, Reading, and Wilmington – to plan for long-range energy efficiency and renewable energy work.

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“We are thrilled to be announcing that Lynnfield was selected to participate in the LEAP program,” said Marc Draisen, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.  “Lynnfield and these seven other municipalities stand to save millions of dollars in energy costs by working in collaboration through this program, and we look forward to helping our member municipalities to make upgrades and become more energy efficient.”

In collaboration with the Reading Municipal Light Department, Lynnfield, North Reading, Reading, and Wilmington submitted a joint application to LEAP to support both local and regional energy efforts.

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“North Reading is excited and grateful to have been selected by MAPC to develop a regional long term energy sustainability plan. Energy efficiency is a key component for any community as both residents and businesses alike will only benefit. What's most encouraging is that MAPC not only will help us adopt a plan with realistic goals and objectives, but will give us the direction, guidance and tools needed to help our community implement these important measures, “ said Heidi Griffin, North Reading Community Planning Administrator.

“This plan won't be a book on a shelf that gets tucked away or forgotten; it will become an action plan with success that can be achievable. We are thrilled to be the lead applicant on a regional joint venture with Reading, Lynnfield and Wilmington that will promote regional continuity, smart growth and energy efficiency.”

MAPC received 21 applications to the program and used a comprehensive selection process to choose a diverse group of MAPC member municipalities to participate in the first round of LEAP. MAPC will solicit a second round of LEAP applications from its member municipalities in the Summer or Fall of 2012.

The selected communities will receive technical assistance from MAPC to plan for and launch innovative and financially-sustainable projects that reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the municipal, residential, and commercial sectors. Both a public engagement process and the efforts of a municipal working group will be used to meet the unique needs and abilities of each participating city or town.

LEAP will have a multi-stage process. In the first stage, MAPC staff will work with municipal officials and key stakeholders to create a Local Energy Action Plan, which will include a baseline of energy use across municipal, commercial and residential sectors, energy reduction goals for each sector, and short- and long-term strategies to achieve these goals. Once the plan is created, MAPC will work with each community to design and launch their program, including identifying financing mechanisms and funding sources to support local projects. After two years of MAPC support, each community will have the capacity and knowledge to sustain its energy efforts moving forward.

For more information, contact MAPC Energy Planner Erin Brandt at ebrandt@mapc.org or 617-451-2770 ext. 2044. Or, visit www.mapc.org/clean-energy.


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