Energy Planning
Adam Burney (508) 459-3331- aburney@cmrpc.org
The Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission (CMRPC) has identified the need to assess the region’s ability to produce and utilize renewable energy. The factors driving the urgency and importance of this need include:
- Recent studies have shown alarming rises in asthma and other lung diseases along high volume traffic corridors. In order to reduce the pollution created by mobile and stationary sources, the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990 call for cleaner fuels, cleaner vehicles
and reductions in vehicle miles of travel (VMT). The entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts is currently designated in the “serious” non-attainment category for ozone producing pollutants, while the City of Worcester has been classified in the “maintenance” category for carbon monoxide (CO) pollution levels, having been reclassified from “non-attainment” in 2002. - The 40 communities within the CMRPC region are all faced with rising municipal budgets, and many look to economic development as a means to increase their tax revenues, thereby stabilizing or even reducing the burden on residents of the rising costs of municipal services. A locally produced, predictable energy supply can encourage businesses to located and maintain employment opportunities within this region.
- Energy prices have risen drastically as energy use and standard of living continues to rise throughout the world. This situation
is exacerbated by the unstable and constantly changing political situation in the Middle East, a major oil-producing region.
As a result, the need is greater than ever to promote the local production and use of renewable energy sources. Our national energy policy calls for reducing reliance on fossil fuels and increasing the development of renewable energy sources. Action at the state and local levels will have a major impact in bringing this vision to fruition.
CMRPC intends to assess the extent of renewable energy use in Central Massachusetts, undertake educational efforts to promote greater use in the Region, and develop a specific strategy for expanding use and development of renewable energy sources in Central Massachusetts.