By Alana MacKay-Kao
ARTS EDITOR
The Andover Green Advisory Board: unseen superheroes working tirelessly to make Andover a greener place, they are a group of volunteers appointed by the town manager. Their role is “to advise the town on how to make projects more environmentally sustainable,” according to Melanie Cutler, science teacher at AHS and member of the Andover Green Advisory Board. Cutler and Janet Nicosia, director of Facilities of the Town of Andover, shared some of the green victories in Andover, which can be seen summarized below.
Municipal Preparedness Program
The largest threats due to climate change have been identified and there are plans in place to reduce these threats.
First Ever LEED Neighborhood Certification for the new Town Yard Parcel Development
LEED stands for “Leader in Energy Efficiency Design,” and the LEED certification is awarded by the Green Building Council, a “coalition spanning the entire building industry.” (https://www.usgbc.org/about/brand) As its name suggests, this certification means that the recipient is energy efficient. But for a whole neighborhood, it means that it has mixed development (in part, this means that there is lots of open space, and it is easy to walk or bike through the area).The town is currently waiting for developers to submit proposals for what they would do with the Old Town Yard Parcel. All of these proposals must fulfill certain requirements in order to keep the area a LEED certified neighborhood.
100% LED Streetlights
Originally replaced to lower costs and to allow streetlights that had been turned off, an attempt from a few years ago to save on electricity costs), to be relit. Every single street light in Andover had to be mapped, lights had to be bought from National Grid, and the entire town was redesigned with which wattages should go where. The result is better walkability, less glare for drivers, lights without any hazardous materials, and over $100K every year saved in costs compared to the old cost of street lighting.
Green Communities Energy Efficiency Awards
Andover was one of the first communities, in 2010, to be designated a Green Community. Nicosia explained, “In order to obtain this designation the Town had to pass some legislation to zone for renewable energy, to track energy data and commit to energy reduction, to agree to purchase more efficient vehicles, and we have to report every year what we are doing, and our annual usage by building for all utilities, electric, natural gas, oil, and gasoline.” Being designated
12 Buildings Powered Entirely by Solar Power from Palmer, MA
Andover High School, High Plain/Wood Hill, Doherty Middle, West Elementary, West Middle, Shawsheen Elementary, Public Safety Center, Memorial Hall Library, Cormier Youth Center, West Andover Fire Station, Red Spring Road Shop, and the Town House are all in the electricity zone solar credits are applied to. In other words, these 12 buildings receive electricity solely from a solar panel field in Palmer.
Energy Star Rating
AHS has Energy Star certification. This means that it is running above the 75th percentile of similar buildings in the area. “This involved hiring an engineer to perform a peer review of all systems, invoices for energy, and best practices. We are extremely proud that a quite old school building could out-perform 75% of all high schools in our region,” Nicosia said.
400 Discounted Earth Machine Bins for Backyard Composting
The Town of Andover’s Department of Public Works offered Earth Machine compost bins to Andover residents at a reduced price to promote composting. When food waste products wind up in landfills, they produce methane because they do not have access to enough oxygen when they get buried. This causes the food waste to perform anaerobic decomposition which results in the methane gas, a greenhouse gas which contributes to climate change. Andover’s waste goes to an incinerator in Haverhill which releases CO2 as it disposes of the waste, another greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Composting can result in healthier soil and fewer of these greenhouse gases.
Passage of the First Solar Bylaw
There are now rules for how solar panels can be installed — location, size, number, etc. The zoning bylaw amendment, written by Harry Voorhees, was passed in April 2020 (Article P38) and encourages solar power while protecting the aesthetics of Andover.
Energy Efficient Plans for New West El
West Elementary and Shawsheen preschool are being combined into a new building. Said building is being designed to be net-zero-ready (net zero carbon emissions, energy, etc.), meaning it will produce as much as it consumes. When the building is first off the ground it will not be net zero as the cost is too high, but the design will allow for easy solar panel installation and other additions. Not only will it have the capability of being net zero as more pieces are added, it will be using one-third of the energy the current West Elementary building uses. The town will save two-thirds of the cost even before going net zero.
Andover is a SolSmart Bronze Town
SolSmart is a U.S. Department of Energy funded recognition program which acknowledges that the communities it awards have removed barriers to solar development and installations. Andover had to submit a lot of information about the solar application process, the guidelines in place to install solar panels, and the zoning relief that makes solar energy in Andover possible.
Rooftop Solar Panels for Sanborn
The town is looking into the feasibility of putting solar panels on Sanborn Elementary’s roof.
