To the editor:
I am writing in support of the Light Board voting to levy the renewable energy surcharge, which is required for the town of Marblehead to become a Green Community”. (See The Current’s Sept. 9 edition, page 2).
Green Community designation will make the town eligible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy conservation grants for municipal projects, a year. The renewable energy surcharge will be a charge of 1/20 of a cent/kWh a month. This will amount to between 30 cents a month, if your electric use is 600 kWh/month, or 60 cents a month if your electric use is 1200 kWh/month.
I want to highlight three items that make this the right decision:
1) The town Community Development and Planning Department has spent hours of staff time preparing reports and policies to meet the criteria to become a Green Community. They have presented to the Select Board twice for each policy, allowing time for discussion, a Zero Emission Vehicle First Plan and an Energy Reduction Plan. This shows impressive commitment by the Select Board and Community Development and Planning Department to get us ready to become a Green Community.
2) The Tier 3 override which passed in June, 2026, permanently funded, by the annual tax levy, a Community Development and Planning Department, including a director, a town planner, an energy and land use planner (responsible for energy conservation projects) and a grant writer/manager position.
3) The Select Board at its most recent meeting on Aug. 26, voted unanimously to support the Light Board in taking the remaining steps to apply for Green Community designation.
All in all, this means that the town’s commitment to obtaining and utilizing Green Communities grants will continue, because now they have a department and staffing levels guaranteed going forward in perpetuity by the tax levy. This means that there will be town of Marblehead staff to write, obtain, manage and complete grants, and to write reports on grants received, so residents can be assured that the renewable energy surcharge will have brought in money to the town.
Also, there are many “shovel-ready” projects. The Energy Reduction Plan, written by the Community Development and Planning Department and adopted by the Select Board, identifies energy efficiency projects that will save the town money on energy costs. These projects are already prioritized with approximate costs and savings estimated, so the town will be able to choose projects off this list each year to submit for Green Community funding.
Very importantly, once a Green Community grant has been completed and energy conservation measures are installed in a town building, that building will cost the town and the taxpayers less, in gas or electricity costs, so there are huge future savings of the town in energy costs every year, in addition to the grant income, from becoming a Green Community.
This is a unique moment: I hope MMLB will build on this moment, and vote to levy the renewable energy surcharge, to become members of the Mass Clean Energy Center. This will allow Marblehead to become a Green Community, access the grants available for many energy saving projects, and then save money on municipal energy costs for years to come.
Eileen Haley Mathieu
Longview Drive
Chair, Sustainable Marblehead’s Clean Energy and Public Policy working group
