solar energy – Belmont Citizens Forum

Belmont Creates Clean-Energy Corridor

Climate Change, March/April 2026, Solar Power Comments Off

Feb 202026

Sustainable infrastructure has fiscal, environmental benefits By Peter Dizikes Belmont is entering a new era of local energy production. Today, renewable energy capacity is becoming a normal component of our public buildings and even the town’s vehicle fleet because clean energy offers both fiscal savings and environmental benefits. Consider the flurry of recent building activity on lower Concord Avenue. Over the past five years, the town opened the new Belmont Public Library, the Belmont Sports Complex, Home of the Skip Viglirolo Rink, and the Belmont Middle and High School, all heavily powered by renewable energy. Together, these structures are turning [READ MORE]

Book Review: Here Comes the Sun by Bill McKibben

Climate Change, November/December 2025, Solar Power Comments Off

Oct 312025

Book Review: Here Comes the Sun by Bill McKibben

By Jeffrey North with assistance from Roger Wrubel In his latest book, Here Comes the Sun, environmental writer and activist Bill McKibben offers a compelling case for why solar energy may be the most hopeful—and practical—path forward in the fight against climate change. McKibben, who has long been a voice for climate action and grassroots mobilization, weaves together history, science, and policy to argue that solar power is not only technologically viable but also socially transformative. McKibben begins by tracing the origins of the modern solar movement, reminding readers that the technology is hardly new. What has changed, he notes, [READ MORE]

Belmont Carbon Emissions Down 14%

Climate Change, Environment, July/August 2024, Solar Power Comments Off

Jun 252024

By Roger Wrubel, Brian Kopperl, and James Booth According to the Belmont Energy Committee’s most recent inventory, the town’s carbon emissions dropped from 177,000 tons to 150,000 tons per year between 2014 and 2021. The drop, which measures emissions from gasoline, natural gas, fuel oil, and electricity, results from residents shifting away from home heating oil to other energy sources, driving more fuel-efficient vehicles, and drawing their electricity from a cleaner New England grid. Except for the shift away from fuel oil, none of these reductions are happening at a pace sufficient to reach zero emissions by 2050. The committee [READ MORE]

Opinion: Belmont needs to get serious about climate goals

March/April 2023 Comments Off

Mar 012023

Opinion: Belmont needs to get serious about climate goals

By Brian Iler While providing $290,633 to BMHS Building Committee to complete the full solar array is an encouraging development from both a fiscal and environmental perspective, this observer is discouraged by the fact that the Select Board’s deliberations never included a mention of the climate-positive effect of the scheme. Instead, it was a 100% fiscal argument that carried the day. There are obvious reasons for this. Everyone can agree with a proposal that saves the town money. It’s a political no-brainer. What’s not clear is whether the town shares a sense of its moral responsibility to decrease its contribution [READ MORE]

Could Town Buildings Generate Solar Power?

Climate Change, Environment, January/February 2023, Newsletter, Solar Power Comments Off

Jan 032023

Could Town Buildings Generate Solar Power?

By Aditya Jain and Vincent Stanton, Jr. Imagine a project that would produce a new recurring revenue stream for Belmont without any upfront cost, utilizing only town-owned land and buildings, while lowering electricity costs and helping the town achieve its green energy goals. That could be the payoff for installing photovoltaic (PV) panels on town properties. Suitable town-owned sites include non-historic buildings with large flat rooftops, parking lots, and open ground including the former incinerator site along Concord Avenue. Adding PV arrays on privately owned rooftops and parking lots could significantly expand the network of arrays and improve the economics. [READ MORE]

Town Plans Sustainable Library

Newsletter, Open Space, Parking, Sept/Oct 2022 Comments Off

Sep 092022

By Marty Bitner and Clair Colburn The proposed new library, designed by Oudens Ello Architecture, is an all-electric, highly sustainable building, but what are those sustainable features? What is the process of designing a holistically sustainable building? Right-Sizing Buildings contribute to 40% of global energy consumption and 33% of greenhouse gas emissions. Since heating buildings is the largest source of carbon emissions in Belmont, the first goal in sustainability is to make sure that our new library is no larger than it needs to be. Having the right size building means that space is not being unnecessarily heated and cooled [READ MORE]

Belmont Path Solar Array – Full Version

July-August 2022, Newsletter, Solar Power Comments Off

Jun 202022

Electrifying Belmont: Could the Community Path Anchor a PV Solar Array? By Vincent Stanton, Jr. A condensed version of this article appeared in the July//August 2022 BCF Newsletter – Ed. The settlement of Belmont was shaped by the opening of the Fitchburg Railroad in 1843. Today, 179 years later, the Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line, now owned by the MBTA, would be recognizable to a Belmont resident of 1843. Though the 19th-century stations are gone, and at-grade crossings in Belmont Center and Waverley Square were replaced in 1907 and 1952 by a bridge and a trench, respectively, the basic infrastructure (steel [READ MORE]