Central MA Green Schools are Producing Big Savings for Taxpayers

Millville and Blackstone, Massachusetts are very small towns just south of Uxbridge MA and bordering Smithfield RI. They were once on the map 100 years ago or so for Mill employment but since have been in a kind of commercial decline.

So the question is how did they do it?

Well it’s all about the money School Administrators and town people need to appreciate that for anything to happen. Governor Patrick came on TV just today saying the state and the towns are in worse fiscal shape than he had anticipated, making this greening of schools a key priority.

Case in point, for Millville Elementary , as it is for many school districts across Massachusetts, the budget reality  means cuts in instructional supplies, general supplies, and if the deficit is large enough, personnel. The stress of that situation puts pressure on the entire faculty and staff and would not go unnoticed by students. 

Through the help of a local energy consultant the school went through   a whole building assessment. The assessment showed that Millville Elementary could save $36,000 a year if it spent $140,000 on infrastructure improvements, which included replacing the school’s boiler and lights.

“Saving that much money is hard to even imagine, it is half of a teacher’s salary and then some.” said the local Energy consultant.

National Grid picked up $70,000 of the improvement cost and International Power America of Blackstone picked up the remaining half of that expense.

National Grid was so impressed by Millville’s Power to Save campaign that they made it a template other elementary schools can use — free of charge — to get their students thinking green.

Not exactly Central MA, but Melrose MA came to the same conclusion.

Melrose Middle School

Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School was verified as a green school under MA-CHPS in 2005 and has a 32.5 kW (Photovoltaic Solar System) PV system.   When the line-item budget was reviewed you realize how severe it is. It is difficult when costs stay the same or go up. If the budget doesn’t increase, that money has to come from somewhere, and sustainable energy was the answer.

Worcester State College Worcester MA

Ironically Worcester State College has been preparing Central MA teachers for over 150 years, now under the guidance of good advice and support from the state and alumni association they have installed solar panels on the roof of the Learning Resource Center.

Worcester State Colleges Sustainability Projects

The College’s commitment to sustainability was evident in several important projects completed or initiated over the past year. Five hundred and forty solar panels were installed on the roof of the Learning Resource Center, the largest photovoltaic installation on any college campus in the state, and the largest in Central MA. The array will generate over 140,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. The solar panels will annual generate enough electricity to supply 20 homes.  Of about 2,800 square feet each. The photovoltaic array is funded by IRS Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBS) and the grant from the MASS Technology Collaborative.

The single stream recycling program remains on the track, averaging approximately 80 tons of recycled material each year. Organic recycling was implemented last November by forming a partnership with a local pig farm. To date, nearly six tons of food waste from the campus dining services has been diverted from the municipal solid waste stream.

Conservation efforts in the dining area included the elimination of cafeteria trays and the installation of high efficiency valves, reducing hot water used in dish-washing by 166,000 gallons a year. In addition, a recently purchased bio-diesel processor will begin converting waste cooking oil to fuel this fall.

College purchasing now requires recycled content in paper products, trash bags, paper clips and staples. The recycled content in paper office supplies has been increased from 30% to 100% and the toilet paper and paper towels are Green Seal certified.

The College received a $57,000 grant from the Massachusetts Lead by Example program to perform energy audits on campus buildings and to upgrade bathroom fixtures to those that use less waste.

Image via Wikipedia