Medford, MA

Background

Medford Massachusetts is a medium-sized city of 56,000 people located just 5 miles northwest of Boston. Medford is a MA Green Community and has many energy firsts including the First Municipal Climate Action Plan in Massachusetts and the first municipal scale wind turbine in the Commonwealth.

Medford is a city that continually seeks to improve its energy efficiency and increase energy independence. The City is committed evaluating the efficiency of municipal buildings and working with the local electric and gas utility to fund and implement cost-effective projects. The City has a commitment to renewable energy. In addition to its 100kW municipal wind turbine, the City is pursuing installing solar PV on municipal buildings.

The City of Medford is committed to reducing its building energy usage 20% by 2020. In addition, they City has made a commitment to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reduce its energy use across all sectors by 20% by 2014 (based 2009 baseline measurements). Projects currently in the pipeline to aid in this commitment include lighting, HVAC and weatherization projects at Medford High School, a 500,000 square foot facility. Additionally, the City has approved funding to upgrade the heating systems at all 5 of the City’s Fire Stations, and the City is working with the State Department of Conservation and Recreation to install a low-e ceiling in the City-managed ice rink.