Plymouth has been designated a Green Community by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER). This designation comes with a grant of $270,000 and eligibility for future funding and technical assistance for projects that reduce energy use, costs, and carbon emissions.

To become a Green Community, Plymouth needed to meet five criteria, including creating a plan to reduce energy use 20% over five years, establishing bylaws for renewable energy development and generation, approving the stretch energy building code, and adopting a fuel-efficient vehicle purchasing policy. Plymouth’s designation took years of effort by the Energy Committee and Energy Officer Patrick Farah, with assistance and data provided by other municipal and school staff.

The DOER launched the Green Communities program in 2010 and since then has provided more than $160 million in grants to participating communities. Plymouth can now benefit from this program as one of 290 Massachusetts Green Communities, representing more than 89% of the state’s population.

In the past year and a half, the Town of Plymouth has taken these other important steps: it has declared a climate emergency, established the Climate Action Net Zero Committee, and hired a Climate Resiliency and Sustainability Planner, Mark Reil. With these initiatives and the new Green Community designation, Plymouth is poised to make significant strides in addressing climate change, reducing energy consumption, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.