Massachusetts awards nearly $2.9 million in grants for renewable heating fuels

In Massachusetts, the Commonwealth has awarded five grants totaling $2,889,285 to Massachusetts businesses to fund infrastructure projects to increase the availability of low-carbon, renewable heating fuels. The grants, funded by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER), are part of the Renewable Thermal Infrastructure Grant Program, an initiative focused on expanding the availability of renewable thermal technologies in Massachusetts.

Grant awardees are required to match at least 50 percent of the project costs, which will result in approximately $6 million dollars of infrastructure upgrades across the Commonwealth. Funded projects include woody biomass processing and delivery equipment, testing of modern wood heating and emission control devices to current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards and the installation of a tank to blend eligible biofuels with conventional heating oils.

With updates to the Alternative Portfolio Standard (APS) regulations encouraging greater use of renewable thermal technologies, both residents and businesses in the Commonwealth are now able to earn incentives for meeting their heating needs with renewable energy.  New renewable thermal technologies included in the APS include air and ground-source heat pumps, modern wood heating, liquid biofuels, biogas and solar hot water.