According to a recent EPA news release, a coalition of New England states, including Massachusetts, is the recipient of an anticipated award of $450 million in climate pollution reduction grants for a heat pump accelerator program across the region. The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources was one of five New England states making up the coalition in the grant application. Other New England states sharing in the grant funds include lead-applicant Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
Selection Summary
The coalition application described the roadmap for the New England Heat Pump Accelerator, which will leverage the power of a multi-state market to rapidly accelerate the adoption of cold-climate air-source heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and ground source heat pumps in single-family and multifamily residential buildings across the region. The accelerator will be designed to achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions long-term by overcoming systemic barriers to residential building electrification and making heat pumps standard practice in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and water heating industries.
The five-state coalition will collaborate to rapidly scale the adoption of heat pump technologies suited for New England’s cold climate and older housing units by filling gaps in funding and coverage that prevent the full activation of the supply chain of manufacturers, distributors, and contractors, and address barriers to access for low-income and disadvantaged communities.
Key Things to Know
Based on information provided by the applicant, the selected project will deliver the following benefits to reduce GHGs and support communities:
- Install nearly 580,000 electric heat pumps with the goal of heat pumps reaching at least 65% of residential-scale heating, air conditioning, and water heating sales by 2030 and 90% by 2040.
- Provide training for contractors to integrate electricity into existing manufacturer and distributor training and ensure quality installation of electric heat pumps.
- Improve indoor and outdoor air quality, lower energy costs and energy burden, improve housing quality and comfort, and create local well-paying jobs.
- Allocate 40% of funding to low-income and disadvantaged communities.
- Provide incentives at the distributor level in an attempt to create a greater shift in market behavior.
Activities in the selection application reflect measures in Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Priority Climate Action Plan (pdf) (2.9 KB), Maine Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future Priority Climate Action Plan (pdf) (1.9 MB), Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Priority Climate Action Plan (pdf) (7 MB), New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services’ Priority Climate Action Plan (pdf) (4.6 MB), and Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s Priority Climate Action Plan (pdf) (2.1 MB).
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