Cambridge College to Host “Fighting Energy Vampires” Event

The Cambridge Energy Alliance donated the efficiency lighting supplies—bulbs initially provided by TCP, Inc.—and resources for the Area 4 exchange. In addition, Whole Foods donated food for the community volunteers and EFI provided discounts for the purchase of efficiency materials used in the community barnraisings. The communities of Reading, Boston, Waltham, Arlington, and Maynard will continue the spirit of the International Day of Action with weatherization barnraisings scheduled for the next 30 days. The buildings included homes for mentally disabled adults and a church. In addition, many houses of worship around the world and in Cambridge rang their bells 350 times on Saturday in a call for climate action. “We’re ringing our church bell because climate justice is a religious issue,” explained Rev. Fred Small, Senior Minister of First Parish in Cambridge (Unitarian Universalist). “The eighth commandment says, 'Thou shall not steal,’ and global warming steals from our own children and grandchildren. It harms most the poorest and most vulnerable people on earth, who are least responsible for causing it.” Many of the eastern Massachusetts community events ended the day by joining the Boston 350 Under Water Festival. Hundreds of citizens gathered en masse in downtown Boston's Christopher Columbus Park and engaged in positive attention-getting and imagination-catching activities. The Boston 350 event used the iconic image of sea level rise to draw attention to the threat of global climate change.

Swap ‘N Go Many residents of Peabody Terrace did something unusual as they prepared to leave their apartment on the morning of March 6, 2010 – they unscrewed their incandescent light bulbs. Sound like an odd thing to do? Not for participants in Peabody Terrace’s first Bulb Swap. An incandescent bulb was their ticket to a better planet and free prizes. Residents received one free compact fluorescent light (CFL) for every incandescent bulb they turned in. During the swap, residents also learned about other ways to reduce their home carbon emissions and could sign up for a two-month long competition to see who can reduce the most. Winners are eligible for several enticing prizes including Smart Strips, credit at Zip Car, gift certificates from the Clear Conscience Café, and gift cards donated by Shaw’s and Harvest Co-op Market. Maximizing Partnerships The concept of this event arose through discussions between HRES’ sustainability team and two local grassroots organizations: the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) and the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA). A planning team consisting of personnel from HRES and the two community groups coordinated the event in a little under a month’s time. HEET recruited volunteers for the swap, and both HEET and CEA obtained prizes from local businesses. HRES managed event promotion and purchased bulbs to supplement those donated by CEA. Site-Specific Strategy Peabody Terrace, an HRES property comprising 495 units, is unique because residents provide their own room lighting fixtures, and electricity data is available for individual units. This offered a rare opportunity to implement an occupant engagement project with quantifiable results. The planning team adapted the HEET model for neighborhood energy efficiency events to fit the unique parameters of an apartment complex. Posters, emails, and door tags were distributed to promote the event. On the big day, participants could go to any of four stations around the complex to exchange bulbs and learn energy tips. Volunteers at each station offered to demonstrate how to change computer power settings, how to use a Kill-a-Watt meter, and how to use a power strip as a central shut off for multiple devices. Competition results will be monitored for two months, with a mid-way progress report to residents by email. Preliminary Results By the end of the swap, 84 apartments had registered for the competition and over 200 efficient CFLs found new homes. “We were surprised at how many 100 Watt bulbs were turned in,” said Audrey Schulman, HEET President. “Going from a 100 Watt incandescent to a 13 Watt CFL makes the carbon reduction even better than we’d hoped.” The new light bulbs could avoid up to 5.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCDE) each year. Justin Stratman, Assistant Director of Property Operations at HRES, is also hopeful. “If the results are good, we could see doing this kind of event at some of our other properties,” he said. HRES already provides one CFL in a welcome bag for new residents each year, but a concerted effort to engage occupants through a swap paired with a competition might unlock even more greenhouse gas reductions.

City of Cambridge officials, with the ringing endorsement of state and business leaders including Governor Deval Patrick, today launched the Cambridge Energy Alliance. This new non-profit organization will design, market, finance, manage, and document unprecedented efficiency improvements in the use of energy, water, and transportation. Overall, the Cambridge Energy Alliance initiatives will lead to a substantial reduction in the carbon emissions of the City of Cambridge. Specifically, the Cambridge Energy Alliance aims to: reduce electricity demand by 50MW, a 15% peak load reduction; reduce annual electricity and water consumption by 10% city-wide; achieve a participation rate of 50% in each sector (e.g. municipal, commercial, residential); and reduce annual GHG emissions from the city by 150,000 tons (10%) by 2011. Also, Governor Patrick announced the creation of MassEfficiency, a $2 million revolving loan fund that will finance start-up costs for replicating this energy initiative in five more Massachusetts cities. The City of Boston will be the first to take the lessons learned from the Cambridge Energy Alliance and apply them on a larger scale. “The Cambridge Energy Alliance is pioneering a new model for energy efficiency that should be replicated by communities across the Commonwealth,” said Governor Deval Patrick. “MassEfficiency will help make that happen.” The Cambridge Energy Alliance will carry out a $100+ million massive energy efficiency implementation effort, while also installing, where feasible, new renewable and clean energy generation, and technologies that curb electricity use during peak demand periods. NSTAR is a key partner in achieving the project’s goals. If the entire state followed Cambridge's lead over the next half decade, the commonwealth would save the equivalent of two coal-fired power plants in electric demand reduction. The tagline of the program, which will also target ransportation, water use and heating efficiencies, is Saving Money and the Planet. Start-up support for this project has been provided by the Henry P. Kendall Foundation, the Barr Foundation and The Chorus Foundation. “All the foundations involved are very excited about the project’s potential impacts and are committed to the project’s success,” said Rob Pratt, Senior Vice-President of the Henry P. Kendall Foundation. “As a foundation focused on climate change solutions, we view cities as the most promising areas for near-term success in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In city environments, buildings represent 65-80% of the emissions, so a targeted energy efficiency approach is a clear win-win – reduced emissions and lower energy bills.” A critical project component is the collaboration of stakeholders including Cambridge Health Alliance and city officials, NSTAR, members of the corporate community, university and civic leaders, energy suppliers, and regulators. New efficiency opportunities are being identified and planned for implementation. “The Cambridge Energy Alliance will make the community a better place economically and environmentally,” said Robert W. Healy, Cambridge City Manager. “This very innovative approach that brings together unique financing, the latest in energy and building technology, and a broad outreach program will allow us to reach a much larger number of households and businesses than past efforts. With this approach the city will be able to make big strides toward its goal to reduce global warming pollution and at the same time make our households, businesses, and institutions more resilient against rising energy prices. I'm very pleased that the Kendall Foundation has chosen the City of Cambridge to be its partner in pioneering this new approach that we can share with other communities throughout the region and beyond.” Cities naturally aggregate both needs and services and therefore can support the design of a unique, but replicable financial mechanism – a Revolving Fund for Energy Efficiency – as proposed by the Cambridge Energy Alliance. By sponsoring and then aggregating reductions of both energy consumption and peak demand within its borders, Cambridge Energy Alliance, in conjunction with its many collaborative stakeholders can participate in all markets that value such reductions. Once the Revolving Fund is in place, the project is expected to become fully selfsustaining. “We are very excited to be part of a team that is creating an energy model for the future," said Thomas J. May, NSTAR Chairman, President and CEO. "The Cambridge Energy Alliance has designed an approach to energy efficiency that is focused on customer-based solutions that involve the whole community. This forward-thinking initiative will complement and enhance our existing efforts to help our customers save money and energy today, resulting in a cleaner, healthier environment for tomorrow.” The project incorporates innovative financing techniques which could be used to develop similar energy efficiency projects in other Massachusetts communities as well as those across New England. Approximately 80% of the financing will come from private sources, without obligation to Cambridge or the state, resulting in an approach which should be highly attractive to cash strapped cities and towns. The remaining 20% will generally come from a number of electrical utility incentive programs that were established in part to promote energy efficiency. As a result, energy savings and clean energy installations will in most cases be paid for by the project financing and be repaid from future energy savings of the companies, Cambridge city facilities, universities, hospitals, small businesses and residents. No upfront costs will be required for such installations, and there will be no cost to Cambridge or state taxpayers.

Number of Household Members	Income Eligible Annual Household Income	Enhanced Residential Annual Household Income	Standard Offers Annual Household Income
1	Up to $45,392	$45,393 – $91,200	$91,201 and higher
2	Up to $59,359	$59,360 - $104,200	$104,201 and higher
3	Up to $73,326	$73,327 - $117,250	$117,251 and higher
4	Up to $87,294	$87,295 - $130,250	$130,251 and higher
5	Up to $101,261	$101,262 - $140,700	$140,701 and higher

Local community groups part of International Day of Climate Action

Peabody Terrace residents green their lighting with help from CEA and HEET

City of Cambridge Partners with State, Businesses, Community Organizations and Residents, to Create Energy Initiative