Arlington Receives $100K Grant To Reduce Energy In 3 Town Buildings

ARLINGTON, MA — The Town of Arlington has announced that it has received a $100,000 state grant to reduce energy use in three town buildings.

The grant is part of the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Green Communities Program and will be applied to projects in the Dallin Branch Library Building, 85 Park Ave., the Jarvis House, 50 Pleasant St., and the Cyrus E. Dallin Elementary School, 185 Florence Ave., according to the town's Department of Planning and Community Development.

Town officials said the grant will cover 34 percent of the project's total cost, which is estimated at $294,653. Eversource and National Grid are providing an additional 18 percent of the project cost through energy efficiency incentive funding.

According to officials, the Dallin Branch Library building, which houses Arlington Community Media Inc. (ACMi), will receive high-efficiency air source heat pumps to replace the current gas-powered and electric resistance heating systems on the ground floor of the building.

Meanwhile, the Jarvis House, which is home to the town's Legal Department, will get insulation in the basement, attic and crawl spaces and heat pumps to efficiently cool and heat the building.

Additionally, the Cyrus Dallin Elementary School will receive new high-efficiency LED lighting fixtures in offices, hallways, stairwells and bathrooms

Officials said the projects — particularly those at the Dallin Library/ACMi building and Jarvis House, will support the continued effort in Arlington and state-wide to prioritize building electrification

Electrification refers to the reliance on an increasingly clean electric grid to power buildings and vehicles rather than fossil fuel combustion.

"In order to make progress toward our goal of net zero GHG emissions by 2050, we must make the switch to efficient, all-electric technologies to heat and cool our facilities," said Jim Feeney, Arlington Town Manager.

Feeney continued: "We are grateful to the Department of Energy Resources for this crucial funding to pursue electrification and efficiency in our facilities, and for the many years of support the Town has received through the Green Communities program."

Arlington officials said the latest grant is the 12th that the town has received from the state's Green Communities program since it began in 2010. With the new grant, Arlington now has received over $2 million in funds from the program, one of the highest totals in Massachusetts.