Becket Energy Commission Plan

THE BEC PLAN

The Town of Becket took its first steps towards implementing a more dedicated plan of energy reduction and greater use of renewable energy by becoming a Commonwealth Green Community on May 10, 2010. As a result of this effort, the Town was awarded $141,326 to undertake the following projects: i) energy audits to identify energy usage and energy efficiency measures of the Town Hall and the Highway Garage, ii) installation of a high EER/SEER central air conditioning system and occupancy sensors in all rooms in the Town Hall and iii) building improvements including insulation, repair of and sealing of overhead garage doors and a programmable thermostat in the Highway Garage. The Town looked at a total of seven municipal facilities for potential energy upgrades: Becket Town Hall; Fire Station #1; Fire Station #2 and Ambulance Garage; the Becket Highway Department Garage; the Becket Washington School, which is managed by the Central Berkshire Regional School District; and the Mullen House and the Becket Arts Center. Using federal Green Communities grant funding, stimulus funds, town funds and Community Preservation Act funds, the following projects were implemented:

Fire Station #2 and Ambulance Garage - energy retrofit with a new Viesseman Propane Boiler, sprayed-on open and closed insulation, and reconfigured the space for energy conservation. Since completion in July 2011, the retrofit has achieved approximately 121 million Btus of energy savings.

  • Town Hall – installed occupancy sensors and air sealed the attic.
  • Highway Garage – Sealed the building envelope, installed overhead doors, new insulation and resided the building.
  • Mullen House – installed new insulation, a programmable thermostat and high efficiency water heater, and repaired the foundation.
  • Town Hall upgrades – Roof replacement, attic insulation, and new entrance doors.  
  • Green Community Initiative – Achieved the next milestone effective July 2016 for 20% reduction in Municipal Energy usage. This was accomplished with a combination of oil, gas, electricity, and propane usage. 

The BEC will continue this effort as required under our charge and will work to provide the Town, its residents and businesses with the resources needed to make informed decisions about reducing their energy consumption and carbon footprint.

We have established several goals as follows:

Short Term Goals (Within One Year):

  • Provide a broad list of information resources and tools via the website herein.
  • Work with adjacent townships to consider membership into applicable programs.  
  • Schedule workshops and seminars for residents (residential and commercial) focused on energy efficiency, renewable energy resources, permitting processes, and other relevant topics.
  • Examine state and regionally-based programs and proposals to see if there is a potential to offer such programs to residents and businesses of Becket to reduce their energy consumption.  
  • Assist Town commercial businesses to identify and implement energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
  • Determine viability through a Request For Proposal program of Town-owned renewable energy projects such as commercial scale solar and wind, waste-to-energy, geothermal, small-scale hydro or other potential resources on landfills.

HISTORY OF TOWN ENERGY RELATED ACCOMPLISHMENTS

September 9, 2017

Information Session

October 15, 2016

Information Session

June 20, 2015

Information Session

June 21, 2014

Information Session

March 31, 2014

BEC launches website

October 23, 2013

Board of Selectman establishes Becket Energy Committee

August 2013

Town completes highway garage energy efficiency project

May 20, 2010

Town initiates energy efficiency projects

May 10, 2010

Becket is designated a Green Community