Batista backs new electrification building code; activists push faster action

WORCESTER – City Manager Eric Batista is expected to recommend Worcester adopt a new state building code that calls for electrification of new construction, and he prefers that it take effect on Jan. 1, 2025. Some environmental activists feel that's too long to wait, and prefer the city adopt the code a year earlier on Jan. 1.

Tuesday's City Council agenda includes a letter signed by Batista that recommends the council consider adopting the specialized stretch code. Doing so aligns with the city's demonstrated efforts to fight climate change, the letter reads.

Batista recommended 2025 because of additional demands the specialized stretch code will put on Worcester's code enforcement officials. The city also needs to explore funding sources to meet increased administrative and enforcement expenses tied to the new code.

The code essentially requires electrification for new construction, both residential and commercial, instead of using fossil fuels for heating and other needs. In many cases, new construction that uses fossil fuels must be wired for a future switch to full electric. Plus, have on-site solar where feasible.

"Buildings contribute 65% of total carbon emissions in the city," said John Odell, the city's chief sustainability officer, in a letter to Batista that was attached to Tuesday's council agenda. "Incorporating the SSC (specialized stretch code) will not only reduce future carbon emissions associated with the operation of these new buildings, but will also reduce energy costs, improve indoor air quality (and thus human health), and increase comfort of the users and/or building occupants of those buildings."

Communities must opt-in to the code, which means a vote by a city council or select board. Meeting a state law that requires Massachusetts to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is the driving force behind the new code.

Prior to the release of Batista's recommendation to the council, City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj used social media to call on Batista to not delay and bring the new code up for a vote. New construction will spew harmful carbon emissions that contribute to global warming if the city doesn’t move on this code, states Haxhiaj’s online posts.

So far 18 communities have adopted the code, including Boston and Cambridge, but none in Central Massachusetts.

One Worcester activist wants vote, with no delays

Worcester resident Paul Popinchalk is a member of 350 Central Mass, an all-volunteer climate-action organization, and he opposes any delay to vote on the specialized stretch code. Including waiting until 2025 to adopt it.

It's time to do what's right for the environment, and for Popinchalk that means a vote by the City Council, sooner rather than later.

Popinchalk is a grandfather who is concerned about the world his grandchildren will inherit. He noted several disturbing climate change developments, including the warming of oceans connected to unsettling weather patterns and rising sea levels that some scientists will eventually flood the coasts.

“Not to do everything that we can (to stop climate change) is a travesty and dishonor to future generations,” said Popinchalk.

Worcester Chamber on board with Batista

The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce supports the new code, and agrees with Batista that Jan. 1, 2025, is the time to adopt it.

The chamber's thinking is that many parties, including the city, real estate developers, and National Grid — Worcester’s electricity supplier — need months to fully understand the code and how best to implement it.

“The city needs this transitional period of at least a year to ramp up the necessary infrastructure for electrifying the building stock,” said a Chamber statement on the specialized stretch code. “There are several limitations to implementing the specialized code that Worcester must overcome, and changes that already must take place to catch up on implementing the stretch code.”

That last reference is to the state stretch code, with its own set of energy-efficiency regulations that Worcester adopted in 2010.

Changes needed in Worcester

The Chamber believes several changes must happen before Worcester is ready for both the stretch and specialized stretch codes. They include ramping up training for building and fire department inspectors to enforce the codes; contractors need time to adjust to ordering and installing new energy-efficient materials like heat pumps; and property owners must first understand the costs and incentives available to defray expenses.

Some developers previously told the Telegram and Gazette that upfront electrification costs must result in cost savings on the back end to make it work. 

The state Department of Energy Resources said there will be significant cuts in emissions and considerable cost savings for developers:

• The prior stretch and specialized stretch codes will cut 500,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, along with $21 billion in operations and construction cost savings over the life of the buildings.

• Mass Save rebates and federal tax credits for different building sizes will more than cover added costs for all electric buildings. The Department of Energy Resources estimates approximately $600 million in Mass Save incentives for new construction over the next decade. That amount includes projects that fall under the state's base energy code and in communities that adopted the stretch code and the specialized stretch code.

What about Worcester's aging power grid?

This is an issue raised by the Chamber and others who keep a close eye on the city's power needs. They want to know if the grid can handle the increased demand for electricity that the new code will place on it. The Chamber noted more time is needed for the city and National Grid to work on that aspect.

Meanwhile, David Sullivan, the Chamber's director of economic development and business recruitment, believes that jumping the gun on the specialized stretch code could result in unintended negative consequences.

He cited a recent report by MIT, Wentworth Institute of Technology and the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Massachusetts that concluded the code will increase housing construction costs by 1.8% to 3.8%. Those costs could be passed on to first-time homebuyers and low-income renters who can least afford them.

Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter: @henrytelegram.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester City Manager Eric Batista electrification building code