Harvard, MA, made a bold promise to fully electrify municipal operations by 2050. But turning that commitment into a credible, state-compliant plan required more than good intentions. It required the right partner.
The Organization
Harvard's Energy Advisory Committee (EAC) is a fully volunteer body advising the Select Board on energy and emissions across all municipal operations. They manage the town's Green Communities and Climate Leaders programs, pursuing grants, running energy reduction projects, and keeping Harvard on track toward its 2050 electrification goal.
PowerOptions' guidance helped us secure additional funding through a technical assistance grant after receiving the Climate Leaders designation. Their expertise strengthened our application and helped make the process successful." - Brian Smit, Chair, Energy Advisory Committee, Town of Harvard
The Challenge
To earn the Climate Leaders designation from Department of Energy Resources, Harvard needed a current, compliant decarbonization plan, and they needed it by a hard June 30th deadline. While some information existed from a previous plan, building a new one would have required significant time and expertise that simply wasn't available. Like many small towns, Harvard runs entirely on volunteer effort with no dedicated staff to drive initiatives like this forward. Without the right outside support, the risk of producing a non-compliant plan — and losing critical time was too great. They needed a partner who understood exactly what DOER required and could provide the expertise and structure to get it done right.
We were pressed for time and didn't have the luxury of figuring it out ourselves. We wanted to make sure it met DOER requirements, and if we'd run into issues on our own, we could have missed the deadline entirely. Having PowerOptions do it was the best decision we ever made." - Brian Smit, Chair, Energy Advisory Committee, Town of Harvard
Why PowerOptions - and Working Through it Together
Harvard's relationship with PowerOptions predated this project. The town had already leaned on PowerOptions' competitive RFP process to select a solar developer for its Hildreth Elementary school and Council on Aging buildings. That track record of trust made the choice easy when DOER offered Climate Leaders assistance.
Hurdles - and How They got Resolved
- Data gaps across town departments - Gathering complete equipment info required chasing contacts across multiple facilities, which would have been time-consuming. PowerOptions worked with what was available, applied reasonable assumptions, and kept the project moving without stalling.
- Collaborative Support - PowerOptions supported the Town of Harvard throughout the project with consistent coordination, regular check-ins, and a disciplined schedule that kept the project on track and resulted in delivery ahead of the deadline.