Amherst's new energy chief rolls up her sleeves
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By NICK GRABBE Staff Writer
Amherst's streetlights could switch to energy-sipping light emitting diode (LED) technology if the town gets a state grant under the Green Communities Act.
But first town officials must meet certain requirements to receive designation as a "green community," as Shutesbury, Leverett and 84 other Massachusetts towns have. That's the job of Stephanie Ciccarello, the town's energy and sustainability coordinator since July.
Town Manager John Musante confirmed that LED streetlights would be high on his list if Amherst gets the grant money. Other projects could include converting Wildwood School from oil to natural gas and planting more street trees, he said.
There are about 700 streetlights in Amherst, and converting them to LED technology would cost about $200,000, according to Guilford Mooring, superintendent of public works. But the project would save the town a lot of money in electricity over the years, he said.
Last spring, Amherst Town Meeting agreed to mandate that all new construction be 20 percent more energy-efficient than current state building code requires. This is one of the prerequisites for applying for "green community" designation, Ciccarello said.
The town must also verify that it expedites permitting for renewable energy projects and meets vehicle fuel efficiency standards. It must also formulate a plan to reduce municipal energy use by 20 percent over five years, Ciccarello said.
"I feel I have a limitless pool of energy to work on this because I believe this is so important," she said. "More communities are moving in this direction and looking to the future and how to do things differently. That's what will foster change."
Ciccarello's 24-hour-a-week position is funded by tax money. She was the town's wetlands administrator from 2000 until her appointment as sustainability coordinator last August. The position was advertised and she was found most qualified, in part because of her role as Town Hall's liaison to the Energy Task Force and because she ran the annual Sustainability Festival, Musante said.
"This ties in clearly with the values of our community," he said. "In order to be a leader in sustainability beyond what we've been doing, we need more staff hours devoted to the effort. We need to coordinate departments to make sure that part of the conversation is occurring on road projects, capital planning or street trees."
Proactive effort
The University of Massachusetts and Amherst College have made big strides in the last 10 years to reduce their energy consumption. Ciccarello will be aiming to convince municipal officials, business owners and residents to do the same.
Her new responsibilities go well beyond the paperwork requirements of the state's Green Communities Act. She will coordinate all the town's energy efficiency efforts, organize workshops where residents and businesses can learn about funding programs, and remind people that the challenge of climate change requires more than good intentions.
"We have to be proactive, not reactive," she said. "We're not just creating a plan to respond to climate change, but also thinking how we might have to do things differently."
Last year, the national increase in weather anomalies hit home, as the Pioneer Valley experienced a tornado, a tropical storm and an October blizzard.
"We're going to see more of that, the 100-year storm happening annually," Ciccarello said. "You don't have to be a coastal community to feel the effects of climate change."
At the same time, many people are feeling what she calls "climate fatigue."
"The average person hears about it and it's so big and overwhelming that it's hard to know what to do that can have an impact," she said.
It isn't easy to convince people to change their habits, but the good news is that becoming more energy efficient does not require giving up something or radically changing lifestyles, Ciccarello said.
Efforts under way
The Amherst Regional Middle School is in the process of replacing all of its windows and doors to save energy. The town could also look at opportunities for generating electricity from the sun and adding insulation to buildings and sealing air leaks, she said.
Amherst's proposal for a large solar array at the former landfill off Belchertown Road was approved by Town Meeting last spring, but has been delayed because of a legal challenge from neighbors.
Musante said the town is continuing to negotiate a power purchase agreement with BlueWave Capital for the solar installation. This needs to be in place before any formal submissions are made to state and local permitting authorities, he said.
Musante wouldn't comment directly on the status of the lawsuit, but did say that the town is continuing to work on the aspects of the project that it can control.
"Our position remains that renewable energy is an appropriate reuse of the old landfill site and can be done in an environmentally safe manner," Musante said.
Purchasing a substantial portion of Amherst's energy through renewable sources is good for the environment and would likely mean reduced costs for the town, he said.
In February, Ciccarello will sponsor a workshop with the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce and Western Massachusetts Electric Co. to inform business owners of opportunities to improve their energy profiles.
Reporter Scott Merzbach contributed to this story.
