– Celebrate Mass Clean Energy Week, September 29th through October 4th 2025 –
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno is happy to share that he has been selected as a finalist by the Northeast Renewable Energy Coalition (NREC) for their Mayor of the Year Award during Massachusetts Clean Energy Week which will take place this year from September 29th through October 4, 2025.
The Northeast Renewable Energy Coalition (NREC), works to unite businesses, communities, policymakers, and individuals in advancing clean energy solutions, fostering collaboration, and empowering widespread adoption of renewable energy. NREC launched the inaugural Massachusetts Clean Energy Week last November. With this powerful model for clean energy advancement, Clean Energy Weeks are happening this year not only here in Massachusetts, but also in our neighboring New England states of Connecticut and Rhode Island. This year, Mayor Sarno was notified that he has been selected as a finalist for NREC’s Mayor of the Year Award during Massachusetts Clean Energy Week, taking place September 29th – October 4th, 2025.
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno is grateful for this recognition and for NREC’s advocacy toward cleaner and more resilient communities. He states, “On behalf of my dedicated city team, thank you to the Northeast Renewable Energy Coalition Executive Director Kristin Rode and all at the NREC for bringing Clean Energy Weeks to our region, and selecting me as a finalist for the Massachusetts Clean Energy Week Mayor of the Year Award. My Administration is proud of our work toward cleaner energy, improved air quality, reducing our carbon footprint, and has been tested and true when it comes to demonstrating our resilience, creativity, preparedness, and community-centered approach to responding to natural disasters and climate impacts. We have more work to do and appreciate NREC’s support toward building stronger, healthier, more vibrant communities.”
Mayor Sarno and the City of Springfield are thrilled to be part of the clean energy advancement conversation. Mayor Sarno stated “This is a critical time for cities like our Springfield to continue our efforts to reduce pollution and enhance our climate resilience, and also address environmental and climate justice challenges. Springfield has a long history of being a regional leader in successful and effective climate action and we are looking forward to continuing to build upon our resilience.”
Springfield was forced into a clear understanding of the impacts of climate change after experiencing 5 nationally declared weather disasters between 2011 and 2013, including an EF-3 tornado, a freak October snowstorm, a blizzard, a major tropical storm and a hurricane. These events served as a catalyst for a massive community-based planning process, which guided the City’s deployment of $21.9 million in Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery funds.
Springfield also successfully competed in the National Disaster Resilience Competition, being one of only 13 recipients nationwide to receive a $17 million grant award focused on building long-term sustainability and resilience, including a co-generation facility at Baystate Medical Center, a Healthy Homes pilot program, hardening of 2 high-risk dams, installation of a solar powered battery storage system at Brookings School, a construction skills job training program and a resident driven Climate Action and Resilience Plan completed in 2017.
Just before the June 2011 tornado occurred that left a 6.2-mile-long scar through the city, Springfield was one of the first municipalities to be certified by the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) as a Green Community in Massachusetts in 2010, and achieved a significant energy usage reduction for five (5) consecutive years, meeting its goals in advance of the 2022 target date the state had set for energy reduction. Springfield remains focused on continuing its leadership in energy management and efficiency.
Mayor Sarno states, “When I took office, it was crucial to take a hard look at making significant improvements to aging facilities in order to reduce both energy consumption and operating costs. We conducted a building-by-building survey of municipal facilities, and retired long-time PBRM Director Patrick Sullivan was instrumental in this undertaking. Pat had always been my ‘Green Person,’ and his tremendous work on behalf of the city to protect our environment and enhance energy efficiency earned him a Lifetime Achievement Award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. From organic lawncare and wildlife management in our fields, parks, and schools, introducing organic school gardens, refurbishing, recycling, and rehabilitating whenever possible, a significant drop in energy use in city buildings, to air quality renovations to all of our municipal buildings, including our schools – his visionary and practical leadership has not only been good for our environment, but also ‘the bottom line’ of our budget too. We have been very fortunate to continue to expand on Pat’s green vision, especially when it comes to our municipal buildings where we have been working hard to increase efficiency and improve air quality.”
Springfield’s energy projects have included installing new boilers, energy management systems, domestic hot water upgrades, replacement of motors and drives, and energy efficient lighting. These improvements have resulted in removing from the atmosphere 13,309,986 lbs. of carbon dioxide, 13,546 lbs. of nitrogen oxide, and 20,785 lbs. of sulfur dioxide annually. To put this into perspective, this is equivalent to planting 35,525 acres of trees, 6,410 cars being taken off the road, and eliminating 69,880 barrels of oil over a five-year period. The City of Springfield set a goal to reduce the City’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 80% by 2050. The City has already achieved a 26% overall reduction in municipal energy use and a 30% energy reduction for schools and municipal facilities.
Springfield has also been fortunate to partner with Siemens Technologies to improve energy efficiency, sustainability, and resilience of the community’s municipal and educational infrastructure – with an exclusive focus on the city’s K-12 schools. The result was one of the most comprehensive energy and infrastructure improvement initiatives in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
“We had schools built in the 1890s,” recalls Mayor Sarno, the city’s longest-serving mayor. “If it got too warm, you opened the windows. If it got too cold, you put on a jacket. These buildings weren’t designed for modern HVAC or air quality systems. But we knew we had to change that, and we had to do it in a way that wouldn’t burden our taxpayers. In turn, under my Administration, we’ve built new schools and rehabbed others to the tune of nearly $1 billion, the most in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
Mayor Sarno explained, “The City of Springfield has been engaged in the design, implementation, and continuous review of a successful, comprehensive energy master plan, as part of my administrations overall Climate Action and Resiliency Plan, that was initiated over ten years ago and continues to deliver remarkable results. Beginning with understanding our energy use in a clear and concise manner, learning to procure energy more cost effectively, and controlling our usage and costs, the city has been successful in delivering improvements not only in energy consumption, but also in creating healthier environments for our schools and municipal buildings. Springfield’s energy master plan is a culmination of years of hard work and it has allowed us to contribute to an eco-friendly sustainable future. We are thrilled that the city has been recognized for its accomplishments and we should all be proud of our efforts in these vital endeavors.”
Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) funds played a critical role in unlocking these improvements. The $34 million ESSER improvement project was supported by a combination of energy savings, grants, and utility rebates, so there is no impact to Springfield taxpayers.
According to Mayor Sarno, “On ESSER, we focused on long-term infrastructure investments rather than recurring costs. That’s how we’ve stayed ahead and how we’re going to keep moving forward. The long-term partnership with Siemens to upgrade our public buildings infrastructure is an important component of transforming Springfield. With many improvements already in place, we’re creating quality environments for our students, teachers, and employees in our schools and municipal buildings. When you enhance these environments, there is a domino effect in health benefits across the board. In fact, we have seen about a four percent decrease in asthma in our schools, and test scores continue to rise among our students.”
Planning for a healthier future has been central to Springfield’s success in energy efficiency and climate resilience. In 2017 the City of Springfield shared its “Strong, Healthy & Just, Climate Action and Resilience Plan.” In a recent review completed by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission it was determined that the City of Springfield had completed or undertaken over 81% of the recommendations in the plan, with 100% of the recommendations to improve urban forestry having been completed.
The climate plan calls for an increase solar power to 10 percent of the community’s energy consumption by 2022 and 50 percent by 2050. It also calls for increased access to solar for low-income residents, with a goal of signing up half of all low-income accounts to receive discounted electricity through community solar.
“Solar power is a vital component of the City of Springfield’s expanding energy mix,” said Mayor Sarno, “We remain committed to pursuing renewable energy projects that are right for our citizens and the environment.”
In contrast to utilizing a Power Purchase Agreement like most communities in Massachusetts, Springfield is among only a few communities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that built and owns and operates our own solar and battery storage system at Brookings School.
Additionally, Springfield taxpayers have saved over $284,867 since 2022 by the city partnering with Kearsarge on an offsite solar portfolio. Community solar in Massachusetts allows businesses, public entities, and residents to subscribe to an offsite solar project without placing solar directly on their property. The program enables the City of Springfield to reduce its retail electricity costs and realize immediate savings with no upfront cost while supporting clean, local energy. The city receives energy savings in a bill credit on their retail electric bill based on the amount of energy produced each month by their subscribed portion of the solar project.
Springfield has also recently been approved to administer a Community Choice Power Aggregation Program that will bring increased green energy and cost savings options to our residents. The City has developed the Aggregation Plan in compliance with Massachusetts law regarding public aggregation of electric consumers. The purpose of the voluntary program is to allow the City to procure competitive electric supply on behalf of residents and businesses to provide cost savings and price stability. It seeks to aggregate consumers in the City to negotiate rates for power supply by bringing together the buying power of more than 155,000 consumers. Furthermore, the City seeks to take greater control of its energy options, including enhancing the ability to pursue price stability, savings opportunities and the amount of renewable energy procured in support of the City’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan.
Springfield’s urban tree canopy is also a critical tool in decreasing energy usage. Trees also play a vital role in reducing air pollution. In 2010, Mayor Sarno made an executive decision to rescind the former state imposed Financial Control Board’s directive to have the Park’s Forestry Operations outsourced. In rebuilding Forestry Operations, the city has implemented a comprehensive approach in the day-to-day management of its Urban Forest. This has been augmented by City Forester Alex Sherman’s commendable management of this division.
Mayor Sarno’s Administration takes the stewardship of one of our most precious natural resources and tools for climate action and energy management seriously, and have invested in the expansion of the current tree nursery, construction of a propagation green house, a comprehensive inventory of the city’s urban forest, the brand-new state of the art Edward P. Casey Forestry Operations Center, and millions invested in the Greening the Gateway Cities program to decrease energy use through the strategic planting of trees that provide shade in the summer and windbreaks during the winter months. These tree plantings help offset the heat island effect on key commuter routes through the city.
The little things can mean a lot, and small steps toward reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and investing in multimodal infrastructure projects to improve accessibility for people walking, biking, taking transit, and using other forms of transportation lay the foundation for a healthier future. Springfield, in partnership with other municipalities in Hampden and Hampshire County started a regional ebike share program. This program was halted in aftermath of COVID and was recently re-started, which included the City of Springfield purchasing 100 brand new, state-of-the art e-bikes for residents to utilize. The program offers a discounted equity membership for low-income residents to participate. There are 17 bike stations in the city and ebikes are available in Springfield year-round. The benefit of an ebike is that as you pedal, a small electric motor adds assistance to boost momentum, making it easier to go long distances or ride up steep climb. The bikes can reach a maximum speed of 16 mph. It’s a convenient, healthy way to get around with lower impact on our environment. The City of Springfield is also exploring new on-street Electric Vehicle (EV charging) options through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) On-Street Charging Solutions Program, with support from Commonwealth Electrical Technologies and Leidos for the city to install curbside, on-street, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The goal of the program is to place chargers in residential areas that otherwise may not have access to off-street charging infrastructure. The city is engaging with Springfield residents to get their thoughts and help to choose the best locations and ensure the charging program meets the community's needs.
Mayor Sarno states, “It has been a team approach over the past 17 or so years to achieve a greener, healthier, and more efficient Springfield. With everyone working together we have achieved cost savings, reduced our carbon footprint - meeting our goal four years earlier than anticipated, and improved the quality of the air we breathe. It has been rewarding to be part of “Green Initiatives,” and to know we are making a significant impact in building a healthier environment for our city. We are grateful to our businesses and government partners as they have worked diligently with us over the years and continue to collaborate in working together for a better Springfield.”
About NREC’s Massachusetts Clean Energy Week
Massachusetts Clean Energy Week is a bold, collaborative initiative that showcases, celebrates, and accelerates clean energy innovation across the Commonwealth. This week-long series of events brings together leaders from across the energy ecosystem, including industry professionals, government officials, researchers, students, and community members. Our programming includes opening breakfasts with inspiring speakers, career recruitment fairs, startup showcases, electric vehicle demonstrations, expert panel discussions, innovation expos, behind the scenes facility tours, and our awards gala celebrating clean energy achievements.
Massachusetts Clean Energy Week: https://www.northeastrec.org/mcew