SOUTH HADLEY —  South Hadley is the last community in Hampshire County to receive the green community designation from Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources.

On Nov. 22, the Healey-Driscoll Administration announced three new communities and corresponding grant money, bringing the total municipalities with the title to 298 of Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns. As part of the designation, South Hadley received $180,350 to jump-start heating, ventilation and cooling system renovations at Middle E. Smith Middle School and South Hadley High School.

“It was a great team effort to pull this off and we especially benefited from having our Director of Building Operations Scott Moore go through this process before,” Lisa Wong wrote in an email to the Gazette. “We have a number of weatherization, energy, vehicle, and mechanical projects across town departments, and will now be able to apply for grants in future years to work on these projects.”

South Hadley has been working towards the designation since 2017, but Wong said the process really accelerated when Moore was hired in 2023.

The Green Community Designation and Grant Program incentivizes municipalities to adopt climate mitigation goals and increase access to renewable energy and electric vehicles. DOER has awarded communities more than $185 million in grant funding through designation and competitive grants since the program began in 2009.

“We are proud to welcome the three newest Green Communities, and value our partnerships with cities and towns as they tackle their clean energy goals and lower their dependence on expensive fossil fuels,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper.

In order to qualify for the program, a municipality must plan a roadmap to reduce municipal energy usage by 20% in five years. Four other criteria include ensuring clean energy facilities can be permitted efficiently, allowing renewable energy as-of-right in certain zones, increasing access to EV charging stations and reducing energy required to build new buildings and homes.

The three new communities committed to energy savings that represent a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 2,465 tons, the equivalent of taking 519 gasoline-powered cars off the road.