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Welcome
MISSION
To promote and advocate for “green” design, construction, and development practices in the City of Lowell, through research, identification, and implementation of policies, programs, and education that will increase the sustainability and reduce the environmental impacts of building activity.
EVENTS
- National Grid will provide significant financial incentives in 2010 through 2012 for deep energy retrofit demonstration projects involving super-insulation upgrades and other measures in conjunction with customer planned projects such as re-siding or roofing. This program is available to many Lowell residents and may be elegible for up to $42,000 incentive to implement energy reduction measures. For more information go to National Grid's program web page.
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The Green Building Commission will be hosting in partnership with the City of Lowell and ICF International a public information session on the Stretch Code scheduled March 18, at 6:00PM at the Mayor's Reception Room in Lowell City Hall (375 Merrimack Street). An associate from ICF International, working on behalf of the Massachusetts New Homes with ENERGY STAR Program will present an overview of the Stretch Code and be available to answer questions. The session will focus on the technical elements of the Stretch Code and its application in the Lowell context. The Stretch Code is an appendix to the Massachusetts State Building Code (780 CMR 120.AA) that provides Massachusetts Cities and Towns the option to implement higher energy efficiency standards than the existing base code. Following is a link to a summary of the Stretch Code that details how it applies to the construction of various building types. Incentives Available to Meet the Stretch Code is a resource that provides a brief overview of existing incentives that will assist in meeting the stretch code stanadard.
On-going Stretch Code Training Opportunities: The Board of Building Regulations (BBRS) and Department of Energy Resources (DOER) are sponsoring a number of energy code training sessions throughout the Commonwealth to provide a deeper understanding of the Stretch Code. These training sessions are designed to be a resource for Energy Committee Members, Building Inspectors, Builders, Architects, and Concerned Citizens. The training series will address both the base energy code and the stretch code, and are broken up into separate sessions covering residential and commercial construction. Follow this link for the Energy Codes Training flyer. To view a calendar of upcoming training sessions and location follow the link to the Center for Ecological Technology; another training sessions is scheduled in Lowell with a specific date and time to be determined in April.
NEWS
- The City of Lowell announced it will install Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels on five City owned or operated buildings in the next year. The total power rating of the installation reaches 342 Kilowatts (KW) and is expected to produce 429,000 kilowatt hours (Kwh) annually. The City in partnership with Amaresco, an energy services company, identified City buildings that showed the most promise for Solar PV installation during a detailed energy audit of all City buildings. Follow this - link - to a presentation for more information about the Solar project and the broader energy efficiency initiative that is expected to reduce energy needs, reduce opeartional costs, and greenhouse gas emissions.