Peabody Considers Green Community Status

Peabody is seeking designation as a Green Community. Green Communities receive state grants for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. The Peabody Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy subcommittee provided recommendations to the City Council, which must vote to become a Green Community prior to the formal request to the state for approval.

The following criteria must be met for Green Community Designation:

• Pass zoning in designated locations for the as-of-right siting of renewable or alternative energy generating facilities, research and development facilities, or manufacturing facilities.
• Adopt an expedited application and permitting of one year at most, under which facilities interested in locating their facility in a designated renewable zone may be sited within the municipality.
• Establish an energy use baseline inventory for municipal buildings and facilities.
• Adopt an Energy Reduction Plan (ERP) demonstrating a reduction of 20 percent of energy use after five years of implementation.
• Adopt a Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Policy requiring all municipal departments and divisions to purchase fuel-efficient vehicles.
• Develop and maintain a vehicle inventory for all four-wheeled vehicles.
• Provide a plan for replacing non-exempt vehicles with vehicles that meet specified fuel efficiency ratings.
• Minimize the life-cycle cost of all newly constructed homes and buildings. DOER recommends communities do this by adopting the Stretch Code (225 CMR 22 and 23). Buildings constructed to the Stretch Code use significantly less energy than buildings built to other current and previous building codes.

Peabody city staff believe that the city currently meets the criteria. Updates will be posted on the NSR blog.