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Mass. green‑communities grants and new portal: Eco One Stop open, deadline extended
Summary
State program staff said the Eco One Stop portal is open for MVP action grants and other EEA climate grants, with the portal deadline extended to noon Friday, March 27; Green Communities competitive grants and Climate Leader accelerator awards were detailed, including typical caps and program eligibility.
Carolyn Orkowitz, Greater Boston regional coordinator for the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant program, said the state has opened the new Eco One Stop portal for applying to MVP action grants and six other EEA climate grants and extended the portal deadline to noon on Friday, March 27. "Due to some technical issues earlier this week, we have extended the deadline to Friday, March 27th," Orkowitz said.
Joanne Bassetta, director of the Green Communities Division at the Department of Energy Resources (DOER), described two primary Green Communities funding pathways: a competitive Green Communities grant and a Climate Leader accelerator grant. Bassetta said most competitive projects carry a maximum award of $250,000, a special decarbonization grant is capped at $500,000, and veteran "high cumulative award" communities face a $125,000 limit unless applying for the decarbonization funding. "We have a special decarbonization grant where that award is $500,000," she said.
Bassetta said the program previously focused on energy efficiency but now supports some on‑site solar and battery energy storage when projects also participate in demand‑response or other cost‑mitigation mechanisms. She cited two previously funded battery projects — in Orange and Chelsea — and said the Chelsea project is integrated into a microgrid to support black‑start capabilities and peak shaving.
On Climate Leader eligibility, Bassetta said communities that adopt stronger municipal decarbonization commitments (including zero‑emission vehicle‑first policies and a specialized energy code) become eligible for larger technical and implementation support, including accelerator grants. "Once you become a Climate Leader, you're eligible for over $1,000,000 of grants, technical studies, if you need additional engineering scoping things like that," she said. Bassetta also said the program currently has about $60 million set aside for the Climate Leader program.
The webinar included resources for applicants: an online Climate Resilience Playbook developed with regional planning agencies and a consolidated Resilient Mass homepage with links to program guidance and a grant viewer map. Orkowitz reminded attendees to contact their regional coordinator with questions about timelines and program cycles.
The Green Communities Division said it will maintain a consistent set of eligible project types across application blocks to help municipalities and vendors plan, with application windows coming in April and October cycles going forward. Bassetta encouraged communities to account for prevailing‑wage requirements and the potential complexity of projects that pair resilience with decarbonization.
The webinar closed with an offer to follow up by email for applicants requesting more detailed budget or program coordination guidance.
