Diana McClure 2

More than half of Brookline’s residents rent their homes. As a renter, you have opportunities to save
energy, save money on utility bills, and improve the comfort of your home. Not every electrification solution will apply to every Brookline renter, so this Opportunities for Renters Guide presents a range of approaches.  

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Spring is a great time to find a contractor that can help you electrify your living space!  The Green Contractors List goes live on March 1—please check it out and share it with friends and neighbors. You can download it or print it or simply view it online.  

Brookline Mothers Out Front and Climate Action Brookline have compiled a list of neighbor-recommended Green Contractors who provide weatherization, air source heat pumps, solar panels, EV chargers, induction stoves, heat pump water heaters and dryers, and other electrical products and services. It also includes a list of local and statewide organizations offering technical assistance and consultations. 

If you have information on contractors to share, you can enter it on this form. And thanks to all who have already contributed.

Electrify Brookline is a town-wide, neighborhood-based campaign to help Brookline residents transition our buildings and our vehicles from burning fossil fuels to clean, renewable electric alternatives. A series of How-To Guides, including stories of how your neighbors have made these changes, will help Brookline renters, condo-owners, landlords and homeowners plan out the steps.

The How-To Guides are available on the Town of Brookline's website.  A guide to Financial Incentives, including state and federal rebates and tax credits is also available.

Why Is This Important

Reducing our climate-damaging emissions from burning fossil fuels is a massive task that will require federal, state and local solutions. But there are individual actions that each of us can take now to reduce our emissions while making our living spaces healthier, more comfortable and energy efficient.   Massachusetts has a climate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, and Brookline Town Meeting resolved to reach that goal locally by 2040. 

About Electrify Brookline

Electrify Brookline is a collaboration between the Town of Brookline’s Zero Emissions Advisory Board (ZEAB), Mothers Out Front Brookline and Climate Action Brookline.  Our goal is to provide clear information to guide the community on the path toward electrification — improving the energy efficiency, health and comfort of their living spaces while reducing climate-damaging emissions to preserve a livable future for all.

Are you unsure about what financial incentives exist to help you electrify where you live and how you drive? You're not alone.  We've put together a chart that summarizes the substantial financial incentives out there now and ones that are coming in 2024, to help you start thinking about financing home electrification steps, including links to online calculators and other resources to help you tailor the information to your home and income level.

Don’t leave easy money on the table!

Image from whitehouse.gov/cleanenergy/

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The Select Board's Climate Action Committee (SBCAC) was established in 2015.  In 2018, the Planning Department and the SBCAC recommended an updated Climate Action Plan (CAP) for the Town made up of six strategies for both reducing climate-changing greenhouse emissions (mitigation) and preparing for climate-change impacts (adaptation).  This is a working document that will evolve frequently as Town departments, leaders, and the community collaborate on implementation.  To read more about Brookline's Climate Action Plan, click here.

The Select Board’s Climate Action Committee recommends planning to achieve zero emissions by 2050 (no reliance on fossil fuels) Town- and community-wide. Devising this roadmap, with targets for every five years, is a priority of the CAP.