Page 8 - BusinessWest May 12, 2021

to the city, with more on the way. And as compa- nies of all kinds look to reduce their carbon foot- prints, embrace clean energy, and perhaps escape the high lease rates of major urban areas, HG&E and its drive to a carbon-free energy system could bring more businesses to the Paper City.
“We have a ‘green team’ here that does a lot of our advanced planning on carbon-footprint management, but we also have everyone involved in some way, shape, or form in this effort.
Our team is really engaged, and it’s good to see how passionate people are about working toward this objective and how creative they are.”
But while the utility has made great progress in the broad realm of clean energy, it acknowledges there will be stern challenges as it continues down this road.
“With this climate bill ... if everyone’s going
to convert their gas and oil and propane — their inefficient systems — to cleaner electric systems,
that’s going to put a huge demand on our electric capacity,” Lavelle said. “So what we’re forecasting is that we could potentially see a tripling of our electric kilowatt-hour sales by 2050, depending on how we navigate from here to there.
“And even today, we’re seeing that, in certain neighborhoods, all it takes is one resident to put in an electric vehicle, and it taxes the transformer that’s serving that neighborhood,” he went on, adding that upgrading these transformers, built for a different time, will be just one of the many
The Mount Tom Solar facility is the largest community solar project in the Commonwealth.
tests awaiting a utility that is committed to being ready for whatever the future brings. And that’s another reason why it’s one of just 10 utilities on SEPA’s short list.
For this issue, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at Holyoke G&E’s ongoing efforts — and true leadership — with regard to clean-energy
40 UNDER FORTY CLASS OF 2021
Best wishes to the 40 business and civic leaders in this year’s 40 under forty class.
We celebrate your career achievements and service to our Western Massachusetts community.
8 MAY 12, 2021
FEATURE
BusinessWest