BOSTON — Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) CEO Alicia Barton has announced a $30 million, five-year commitment to increase the use of clean, cost-effective heating and cooling systems in households and businesses across the state.

“This funding will offer many Massachusetts residents access to efficient, clean options for heating and cooling which will in turn help the environment and provide consumers with the opportunity to save on energy costs,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton. “The Clean Heating and Cooling program also supports our growing clean energy industry and will help the state reach its ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals.”

The Clean Heating and Cooling program, run by MassCEC in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER), provides rebates between $750 and $12,500 to home and business owners who install high-efficiency clean heating and cooling systems. These systems include air- and ground-source heat pumps, which use air or ground temperatures to heat and cool buildings, and central biomass boilers, which burn renewable organic material like wood pellets or chips rather than traditional fossil fuels.

“Over the life of the systems, clean energy technologies like heat pumps can result in significant energy cost savings for consumers, making them an attractive investment. MassCEC is putting this funding commitment in place to allow more consumers access to these technologies to reduce their carbon footprint at lower upfront costs,” said Barton.

In addition to helping consumers save on energy costs, this five-year commitment will help the state reach its goals set out in the Global Warming Solutions Act, which calls for a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

“MassCEC’s five-year commitment to renewable heating and cooling technology will broaden the choices available for homes and businesses,” said Massachusetts DOER Commissioner Judith Judson. “Soon DOER will also expand incentives for renewable thermal by adding these technologies to its regulation that provides market-valued certificates, as is currently provided for combined heat and power systems and renewable electricity.”

Depending on technology type and system size, consumers are eligible for rebates ranging from $750 for a single-room air-source heat pump to $12,500 for ground-source heat pumps that heat an entire building.

For more information, visit www.masscec.com.

Publication date: 9/22/2015

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