Governor Announces Support of 'Greener' Commercial Refrigeration

Print Story | Email Story
BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced that more than $581,000 in Commercial Refrigeration Grant Program funding has been awarded to eight retail food businesses and a food bank in Western Massachusetts. 
 
The grant program, administered by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), will support the use of climate-friendly refrigerants in commercial refrigeration equipment.
 
Many commercial refrigeration systems use potent greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), with global warming potential up to thousands of times that of carbon dioxide (CO2). These harmful refrigerants leak into the atmosphere over time, contributing to climate change.
 
"To meet our climate goals, we need to help our local organizations and businesses transition to more climate-friendly operations," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. "This grant program not only puts us on a path of sustainability, but it also expands the market for new clean technologies. We are proud to continue our nation-leading efforts of providing a cleaner and healthier Massachusetts."
 
This grant is the first awarded under MassDEP's Commercial Refrigeration Grant Program. The funding aims to increase the voluntary adoption of low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants in commercial refrigeration equipment and to install permanent refrigerant leak detection systems on existing equipment using high GWP refrigerants. The awarded funding will cover a range of projects, including technology that will retrofit existing stores to use climate-friendly refrigerants.
 
"Commercial refrigeration accounts for a high level of emissions in Massachusetts. It is the largest single contributor of a potent greenhouse gas referred to as HFCs," said MassDEP Commissioner Bonnie Heiple. "Because of the climate potency of these particular compounds, these grants will give taxpayers a tremendous return on investment in terms of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions."
 
The Commercial Refrigeration Grant Program awardees are:
 
Fruit Life, Inc. – $200,000 for a new CO2 system at an existing store in Chicopee
 
Souper Sweet Sandwich Shop, Inc. – $18,179 for a propane retrofit and system expansion at an existing store in Springfield
 
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts – $50,000 to switch to a CO2 system in Hadley
 
Big Y Foods, Inc. – $238,507 for five system retrofits for lower GWP refrigerants and improved leak detection in supermarkets in Northampton, Palmer, Springfield (2), and Wilbraham
 
ALDI, Inc. – $75,000 for a new CO2 system at a new store in Northampton
 
All awarded projects are encouraged to share relevant information about the impact and effectiveness of their new low-GWP systems with the retail food industry, refrigeration trade associations, and other interested groups.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pittsfield to Consider Speeding Cameras

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Will Pittsfield have speeding cameras in 2026? That is to be decided.

Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren would like the city to consider traffic cameras for speeding enforcement. The City Council referred his petition to Mayor Peter Marchetti last week. 

"Obviously, the mayor's got to consider it, consider whether it's something we are willing to do, something that we are willing to pay for," he said.

Warren suggested the use of speed safety cameras to deal with the city's almost "epidemic" speeding problems.

"Safety dictates that we expand our arsenal in the fight for speed mitigation in order to foster safe streets," he wrote to fellow councilors.

Gov. Maura Healey's $62 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 includes a provision to legalize the traffic cameras starting in July of next year. Before this, state law did not allow for them.

"As people may remember, I petitioned for this before, but at the time the state law — and I did not realize that, I made a mistake — the state law didn't allow it," Warren explained.

"…This would allow tickets to be issued by a stationary camera so it would supplement our police."

He said councilors often hear requests for police officers to monitor streets where cars tend to speed but there is not always the workforce to meet those needs.

"It might be very helpful and cost-effective, but it's something that the mayor should look at and then we can go from there," he said.

Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey recalled his time living in Colorado and wondered why Massachusetts didn't use the cameras. He voted in opposition to the petition, as the cameras will illegal in the state for more than a year — should the Legislature pass the bill. 

View Full Story

More Pittsfield Stories