EcoBuilding Bargains: energy efficiency in Springfield

Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr.

Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

View Secretary Sullivan's Bio

The Patrick-Murray Administration has set ambitious renewable energy and energy efficiency goals for the Commonwealth.  In fact, we have adopted energy efficiency as the Commonwealth’s ‘first fuel’ to meet our energy needs. Energy efficiency locks in energy savings, reduces pollution, cuts our dependence on imported sources of energy, creates local 21st Century jobs, and is a key component for creating a cleaner and more sustainable energy future in Massachusetts.

On August 25, I was invited to Springfield to tour the EcoBuilding Bargains business center, which is a federal stimulus-funded project under construction. I was inspired by this project to transform a 100-year-old building while reducing energy costs by over 50 percent and creating local jobs. It will serve as a living example of why energy efficient building upgrades are a worthy investment.   

With community donations and $900,000 in stimulus funds allocated through the DOER’s High Performance Building initiative, this project will provide a lasting impact on energy costs and consumption. 

As a result of this upgrade, the EcoBuilding Bargains center, a branch of the Center for EcoTechnology, will double its capacity to provide low-cost recycled and surplus building materials for residential and commercial buildings. The new ‘green’ building has a committed space for training that will be used to teach residents and businesses about energy efficiency and sustainable building practices. The core mission of EcoBuilding Bargains’ staff is sustainability: they are selling it and, with these energy efficiency improvements, they are practicing it.

   

Learn more:

Energy Recovery Dollars at Work

DOER Energy Efficiency

EcoBuilding Bargains Expansion Blog

 

 

Comments

[Don Lawrence]

You are to be commended on the energy efficiencies upgrades being made. So often, the emphasis is placed on new construction fitting into the stereotypical green movement. There are so many other upfits and alterations to existing structures that not only make sense, they decrease energy consumption. Moreover, attention is focused on revamping older buildings, which often are excluded from green thinking.