Harvard has applied for a state grant to help fund a major upgrade to the public library’s aging heating and cooling system, a project that would significantly reduce the building’s reliance on fossil fuels while also saving the town money.
The municipal energy manager, Andres Correa, has requested $196,687 in state funding to purchase an air-source heat pump for the public library. If awarded, this grant would cover the cost of the heat pump, making a significant contribution to the overall cost of updating the library’s HVAC system.
Correa submitted the grant application on behalf of the town at the end of October, vying for a competitive grant through the Massachusetts Green Communities program. He discussed the details of the grant at the Select Board meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 21, and the Select Board members voted unanimously to approve the application.
The total cost of the renovation, Correa said, is estimated at $344,250. He explained that, in addition to the $196,687 in requested grant funding, the project will also be covered in part by a $61,500 National Grid utility incentive and $86,063 in town-allocated funds. Forrest Hodgkins, an Energy Advisory Committee member, clarified that the town’s financial contribution will come out of the $200,000 that was allocated by a vote at the 2024 Spring Town Meeting for replacing the library HVAC system.
The estimated costs and utility rebates are based on a report conducted earlier this year by the RISE Engineering firm and funded by National Grid, Hodgkins said. The report suggested several options for electrifying the library’s HVAC system, he said, and the hybrid approach of installing an air-source heat pump but keeping the gas boiler for backup makes the most financial sense for the town while still reducing greenhouse gases.
Hodgkins told the Select Board that the heating and cooling system in the public library is aging and currently relies on a gas boiler. Updating that system through a partial retrofitting to include an air-source heat pump as the main energy source would “dramatically reduce the load on the gas boiler” and contribute to town decarbonization efforts, Hodgkins said. He described the project as a “hybrid greenhouse-gas-elimination project.”
As a state-designated Green Community since 2010, Harvard has committed to meeting a set of core requirements that promote energy efficiency, which includes taking concrete steps toward decarbonization and reducing energy use in municipal buildings. Updating and electrifying the HVAC system in the public library is one such step.
“If we were able to successfully obtain this grant from the state, that would allow us to … get this project done in a little bit more greenhouse-gas-conscious way with actually even less money spent by the town,” Hodgkins said.
Correa said that if Harvard is not awarded the Green Communities grant at this time, there will be another opportunity to apply again in a later round of funding, but if that’s the case, he said, it would delay progress for other energy projects. For instance, in addition to updating the HVAC system at the public library, Correa is also prioritizing the same project for the Bromfield School––which recently received a grant from the Massachusetts School Building Authority that will cover about half the cost of replacing the HVAC system at Bromfield.
As the regional energy manager for the towns of Harvard, Groton, Ayer, and Shirley, Correa’s job entails expediting energy-related projects for these towns, helping them to implement plans for decarbonization and increased energy efficiency. Correa, who started his position at the end of August, will work as the energy manager across the four towns over the course of a three-year contract, funded entirely by a shared grant awarded through Mass Save. And as a first step toward achieving municipal energy goals, Correa is assisting Harvard and the other towns with submitting state grant applications such as this one.
In an interview with the Press during his first week working in Harvard, Correa discussed his priorities for the town, and explained that weatherizing and electrifying municipal buildings is particularly important for managing the town’s energy use. Since the school buildings (Bromfield especially) have the highest energy consumption rates across Harvard’s municipal buildings, tackling energy reduction for the schools will be his highest priority, Correa said, but added that he also hopes to secure funding for other improvements, like this library project, in addition to securing funding for them.
