State Representative Jeffrey N. Roy (D-Franklin) was among those honored at the 2024 Mass Save Climate Leaders ceremony held at the State House on Tuesday, January 21st.
The annual event, co-hosted by the Sponsors of Mass Save (National Grid, Eversource, Until, Berkshire Gas, Liberty, and the Cape Light Compact), celebrated 19 “Climate Leaders” across a range of industries for partnering with Mass Save to make substantial and innovative energy efficiency investments. Representative Roy also received an award honoring him for his unwavering commitment to advancing energy efficiency in Massachusetts.
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| (L-R) Katherine Peters, Director of Residential Energy Efficiency at Eversource, Rep Roy and Chris Porter from National Grid, Director of Customer Energy Management at National Grid |
Collectively, the Mass Save Climate Leaders avoided 47,500 metric tons of CO2, which is equivalent to the amount of energy used by over 6,300 homes in one year. The awardees represented industries across a wide array of sectors such as healthcare; municipalities; community organizations; cultural institutions; hospitality; industrial & agricultural energy efficiency; post-secondary education; developers; the food industry; and school districts.
Among those honored was the Acton Boxborough Regional School District (ABRSD). ABRSD Superintendent Peter Light, formerly Principal at Franklin High School, was at the ceremony on behalf of the district to receive the award.
The ABRSD was honored for their work as one of the first-ever U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools awardees. Their Boardwalk Campus is a newly constructed, fully electric project that relocated two separate elementary schools into one energy efficient building. With the help of their Mass Save partner Eversource, the project exceeded an Energy Use Intensity goal and installed energy-efficient measures such as ground-source heat pumps, enhanced insulation, demand-control ventilation, energy recovery, as well as a commercial-scale electric kitchen.
Representative Roy spoke at the awards ceremony along with Elizabeth Mahony, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, as well as leaders from Eversource and National Grid, each a Mass Save sponsor.
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| Representative Roy speaking |
“I applaud the 2024 Mass Save Climate Leaders for undertaking innovative, climate-driven solutions to reduce their energy use and carbon footprint,” said State Representative Jeffrey N. Roy (D-Franklin). “I especially want to thank the Mass Save Sponsors for honoring me with an award and for their strong partnerships with entities across the Commonwealth to facilitate tangible, measurable, and impactful climate action that moves Massachusetts forward into its clean energy future.”
“I’m happy to be here to celebrate the Mass Save Climate Leaders and their good work to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and lower energy use through efficiency measures,” said Elizabeth Mahony, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. “The 2024 Climate Leaders are undertaking impressive projects including electrification, energy efficient upgrades, sustainable building projects, energy conservation, net zero buildings, and two all-electric geothermal schools.”
“It is our pleasure to recognize the 2024 Mass Save Climate Leaders, all of whom have distinguished themselves as true leaders in our collective missions to help Massachusetts achieve a net zero future,” said Tilak Subrahmanian, Vice President of Energy Efficiency at Eversource. “The impact each has had – individually and collectively – cannot be overstated.”
“Thank you, honorees, for being leaders not just in your industries, but for the entire Commonwealth,” said Christopher Porter, Director of Customer Energy Management at National Grid. “Your commitment to innovation, sustainability, and climate action is a testament to what can be achieved when we all work together towards a common goal.”
In recent years, the Legislature has taken significant steps to help decarbonize the Commonwealth while maintaining affordability and energy reliability.
In 2021, the Legislature set bold goals to reduce emissions with the Next Generation Roadmap Law, which required clean energy and climate “roadmap” plans every five years through 2050 to ensure the Bay State stayed on track.
In 2022, they built on this work by creating clean energy policies and programs to help meet these limits.
Recently, in 2024, the Legislature passed a climate bill which makes historic changes that streamline the state’s siting and permitting processes for clean energy infrastructure projects, and promotes clean energy, battery storage, and electric vehicle policies to build a robust charging network, among many other reforms.
They also passed a climatetech bill which provides significant levels of funding and tax incentives to support the growth of the climatetech industry, making the Commonwealth a competitive hub for this innovative and critical sector. This bill was modeled after legislation that helped launch the successful life sciences industry in Massachusetts.
