According to an article submitted to the Patch Network, Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray joined Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan at the Massachusetts Military Reservation in Bourne to announce $1.5 million in funding for a first-in-the-nation initiative that will include comprehensive energy audits of the state’s six military bases. An initiative of the Patrick-Murray Administration's Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Murray, the audits will build on the Commonwealth's leadership in clean energy, further align Massachusetts bases with the U.S. Department of Defense priorities and reduce energy consumption and costs.
The Military Asset and Security Strategy Task Force shares a goal with the U.S. Department of Defense, the nation’s largest user of energy, to reduce energy costs at all military installations. To do so in the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) will procure a contractor to conduct a comprehensive review of each base, including assessing each base for their energy use; establishing opportunities for renewable energy installations on site; and exploring the possibility of microgrid integration. For more information, review the full scope of work on DOER’s website, http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/doer/massachusetts-military-bases-clean-energy-background.pdf.
Funding for this program comes from the 2011 Alternative Compliance Payments (ACP) Spending Plan. ACPs are paid by electric retail suppliers if they have insufficient Renewable Energy Certificates to meet their compliance obligations under the Commonwealth’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. DOER establishes the plan for the use of those funds to support clean energy development in Massachusetts.