GREENFIELD — A slate of vendors and speakers provided information on clean energy options to a full house of attendees during Greening Greenfields’ Energy Fair at the Jon Zon Community Center Monday night.

Seven vendors showcased their energy-efficient and climate friendly products, and explained available rebates and incentives through state programs like Mass Save and the new Massachusetts Community Climate Bank Home Energy Saver Loan (ESHLP) along with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits. Revise Inc., RISE Engineering, PV Squared, Greenfield Solar, Center for EcoTechnology (CET), Green Energy Consumers Alliance and Spartan Solar all had representatives on-hand to provide details on the rebate and incentive programs.

Nancy Hazard of Greening Greenfield provided background information about the vendors, and Allison Gage of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments offered a presentation on incentives and rebates for clean energy.

Gage explained the major programs that attendees were encouraged to take advantage of as they look into projects to improve their energy usage, explaining that around 30% of all emissions in the state come from residential and commercial buildings.

“I think that it’s important to a lot of us, and is driving an interest in learning more about what programs are available to decarbonize our homes,” Gage said.

Eeach vendor had an opportunity to introduce themselves before the attendees visited the tables to explore their options for a more energy-efficient home.

One of the vendors, Center for EcoTechnology, is an approved coordinator for the ESHLP from the Massachusetts Community Climate Bank that was started in 2023, and expanded to include this $20 million loan program in April of this year.

According to Gage and the information packet provided to attendees, the ESHLP allows people to access a low-interest, 20-year loan from $10,000 to $100,000 to finance home energy projects that can reduce emission by 20%.

These projects include air-source heat pumps for heating rather than propane or oil-sourced heating, solar panels for electricity, EV charging stations for electric vehicles and a variety of other clean energy projects. The interest rate will depend on a homeowner’s annual median income, and is available to one- to four-family homes that act as primary residence for the occupants. The program allows for incentives and rebates to be applied before loan payments begin.

Khrysti Barry, the CET customer relationship lead at the Energy Fair, explained its beneficial to take advantage of clean energy home improvements.

“If you’re using less resources, that ultimately will be a cost savings, even though your return on investment might be a little bit longer, depending on what your specific situation is. Another [reason] could be because it’s the thing that will eventually save the planet,” Barry said. “All our efforts added up … is going to really make a difference.”

For people who want to utilize the ESHLP in Franklin County, CET offers a free home assessment on what improvements can be made to reduce energy usage by 20%.

The Mass Save program is similar to the ESHLP, but primarily focuses on weatherization and insulation with rebates available on certain clean energy heating methods like air-pumps for heating instead of oil or propane methods. Vendors like RISE Engineering and Revise Inc. were present to offer those interested in accessing smaller-scale clean energy improvements information and guidance on the income eligibility parameters and the projects that can qualify for the Mass Save rebates, IRA tax credits and state tax credits.

Cole Payne with RISE Engineering explained that area residents are already taking advantage of the Mass Save program.

“I’m out here every week making assessments, but there’s still room and still plenty of work to do,” Payne said of the program.

As people milled around asking questions of the vendors, Hazard said she was pleased with the turnout of around 40 people and the seven vendors.

“I’m thrilled with the turnout, and I’m very hopeful that people will actually decide to do something to take action,” Hazard said at the end of the fair.

She explained that one Greening Greenfield’s goals in sponsoring the Energy Fair was to find people who would be able to offer the services and financial assistance to help local residents make improvements.

“We promote a dream, a concept, … a mission, and then these are the people who make it be real,” Hazard said. She said she hopes that people come forward to share details about any of the finished clean energy projects they complete.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.