Less than a month after Mayor Michelle Wu announced a new pilot program to increase solar panel usage in East Boston, Zumix was inspired to ‘Go Green’.
Madeleine Steczynski, co-founder and executive director of Zumix, said at the end of last month the popular music and performing arts nonprofit took the next step in its sustainable journey with the installation of a set of solar panels on the roof of Zumix’s Firehouse–which received Gold LEED Certification after renovations were completed in 2009.
energy to help expand the amount of available renewable energy in Eastie.
In early May the city launched the ‘Solarize Eastie’ pilot program aimed at increasing solar panel installation and onsite battery storage in the neighborhood. The program is designed to bring more renewable and affordable energy options to Eastie residents. The city partnered with GreenRoots and picked ACE Solar and Resonant Energy to lead the installation process for Solarize Eastie.
Steczynski said Zumix’s panels and their installation were made possible by a grant from the Tern Foundation’s TernSOLAR challenge grant program. The program, like Solarize Eastie, provides funding assistance for solar panel system installations to nonprofit organizations that engage creatively and strengthen the communities they serve.
The foundation offers grants to dynamic nonprofits that also consider future generations and the natural environment in their strategic priorities and sustainability planning. Two private donors, Peter Glick and Jared Bartok, also made significant contributions to the project.
“ZUMIX is excited to take the next step toward sustainability with our new solar panels,” said Steczynski. “We hope our adoption of this green technology will help inspire our neighbors to follow suit, and to keep working together toward a better future for ourselves and our planet.”
Steczynski said the panels, now operational, will capture and convert solar energy to help expand the amount of available renewable energy in Eastie.
Like the city’s pilot program in the neighborhood, ZUMIX decided to partner with ACE Solar and Resonant Energy for the installation process. ACE Solar has been ranked as the top residential solar contractor in Massachusetts for five years in a row, and is among the top solar contractors in the country. Resonant Energy, based in Dorchester, specializes in bringing accessible solar options to communities with limited resources, affordable housing units, and nonprofit organizations throughout Massachusetts.
Zumix’s Director of Finance and Administration, Chrissy Holt, said she hopes that Zumix’s move to solar energy will inspire neighbors and residents to take advantage of the city’s Solarize Eastie program.
“We’re thrilled to be a part of Eastie going greener,” said Holt. “We hope our solar panels will encourage neighbors to ask questions and possibly pursue their own solar projects, especially once they see how simple it can be.”
For decades solar panels installed on homes have been a proven way to generate clean, renewable energy,, reduce energy costs, and increase energy resilience.
The Solarize Eastie program will offer a variety of payment support, including a 15 percent discount below the average cost of solar installation, up-front subsidies for income-eligible building owners, and no-cost options. The city will work with GreenRoots throughout the year to increase access to affordable and renewable energy for Eastie residents while helping them reduce their energy cost burden.
Eastie is already an Environmental Justice Community and hosts an international airport, three harbor tunnels, a major highway and is one of a handful of Boston neighborhoods that will be heavily impacted by climate change and sea level rise.
Bringing renewable energy to more homes and businesses in Eastie may mitigate some of the environmental impacts and burdens the neighborhood has faced for decades with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.