“The town should be in a better position when and if energy prices rise again,” predicted Harvard Energy Advisory Committee (HEAC) Chairman Brian Smith when HEAC presented a six-month update to the Board of Selectman last week.
Smith outlined more than $750,000 in energy-related projects that have been completed, are in progress, or are in the planning stage. HEAC estimates they will save the town $150,000 in annual energy costs.
The replacement of aged burners and boilers at the Bromfield School and the Harvard Elementary School and the conversion of the elementary school’s heating from oil to gas carry a $170,000 price tag that will be paid from direct capital outlays. The other $580,000 for energy-related programs has or will come from grants, rebates, and town funding, and average 60 per cent funding from outside sources and 40 per cent from the town.
If its share of the costs remains at 40 per cent, the town could recoup its expenses for projects other than the school burners and boilers in less than two years.
The $580,000 in projects includes $285,000 in mechanical upgrades to both schools at a town cost of $147,500—and an estimated annual savings of $84,000—and $178,000 in lighting efficiency upgrades, which will cost the town $70,000 and save $29,700 annually.
A $50,000-solar panel array for Bromfield (see story on page 9) will be paid from Harvard’s Clean Energy Choice account through National Grid and matching funds from Commonwealth Solar, with no cost to the town budget.
HEAC is hoping block grants from the state Department of Energy Resources (DOER) will make the remaining priority improvements possible. These include heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and energy management system upgrades at the police station; burner and boiler replacements at the central fire station; and insulation, heating controls, and lighting efficiency upgrades at other town buildings. Other DOER funding may also be available if Harvard achieves Green Community status from the state’s Green Communities program.
With help from National Grid and DOER, energy audits for all of the major town buildings have been completed, as well as lighting efficiency upgrades at Bromfield.
