On May 1, 2013 the Nantucket Board of Selectmen unanimously endorsed a set of energy policy recommendations to guide the Town's role in energy-related matters. The recommendations are the culmination of a year-long process that also involved development of a draft set of guidelines, and solicitation of comments and views from survey respondents and other interested stakeholders.
For simplicity, as suggested by one respondent, the policy recommendations are divided into three categories: energy efficiency, renewable energy and general planning and administration. In each case, a general policy recommendation is followed by detailed measures for implementation.
Why not a "Green Community"?
1. Provide as-of-right siting in designated locations for renewable/alternative generation, research and development, or manufacturing facilities.
2. Adopt an expedited application and permit process for as-of-right energy facilities.
3. Establish an energy use baseline and develop a plan to reduce energy use by twenty percent (20%) within five years.
4. Purchase only fuel-efficient vehicles.
5. Adopt the Stretch Code or otherwise set requirements to minimize life-cycle energy costs for new construction.
Green Communities are rewarded by becoming eligible for state funding under the MassEOEA's Green Communities Designation and Grant Award Program. More information on the Green Communities program is available at the MassEOEA website at: http://www.mass.gov/eea/energy-utilities-clean-tech/green-communities/gc-grant-program/.
Regarding the first criterion, at the 2011 Town Meeting, the Town put forth a warrant article to provide as-of-right siting for wind turbines in a new overlay district to be located at the landfill (Article 46). The article was ultimately not called, then moved to take no action by unanimous voice vote.
Regarding the second criterion, at the 2009 Town Meeting, the Town put forth a warrant article to expedite permitting of solar PV facilities by requiring the Historic District Commission (the HDC) to (a) treat solar collectors as a structure on which it could not impose unreasonable limitations or costs (Article 51); and (b) adopt a written policy supporting and encouraging solar energy systems to the maximum extent feasible without having a significant adverse impact upon its purpose (Article 57). Neither of these articles was adopted.
Regarding the third criterion, the Town has accumulated sufficient information on its energy consumption to establish an energy use baseline, but the Board of Selectmen have neither adopted the energy plan that was submitted in 2010 nor adopted any other written energy plan that would satisfy this criterion.
Regarding the fourth criterion, the Town owns and operates approximately 200 vehicles. Nearly are 80 pick-up trucks or utility vehicles. Most of the rest are specialty transportation vehicles, construction vehicles, fire apparatus or police cruisers. Only three of the Town vehicles (other than the police cruisers) are sedans. To this point, the Town has not enforced a policy for purchasing energy-efficient vehicles, nor has it monitored vehicle mileage or the efficiency of vehicle use.
Regarding the fifth criterion, at the 2011 Town Meeting, the Town put forth a warrant article to amend the Town Building Code to adopt the Stretch Code (Article 71). The warrant was removed from the warrant and moved to take no action by unanimous voice vote.
In other words, to get Green Community status, Nantucket would need to reverse several prior Town Meeting votes. The Energy Office supports certain elements of the Green Community program. But believe the package, as a whole, is not the right next step for Nantucket in terms of reducing island-wide energy consumption and costs. Instead, we recommend the Town focus on dedicating resources to continue reducing energy consumption and costs in Nantucket-appropriate ways.