Salem Makes Carbon-Neutral Power Push With New Energy Deal

SALEM, MA — A new three-year municipal energy contract will switch 200 municipal accounts to renewable energy sources and helps push Salem toward its goal of becoming a carbon-neutral city by 2040, city officials said on Wednesday.

Officials said Salem has contracted through Freedom Energy Logistics to serve 200 accounts with renewable energy sources that it said will reduce emissions by the equivalent of 1,450 passenger cars annually or the carbon dioxide typically required to power 808 homes.

The move is part of the city's climate action plan with Beverly — Resilient Together — to reach carbon-neutral municipal operations by 2030 and carbon-neutral community emissions by 2040. Gov. Charlie Baker this past winter signed a bill that says the state must achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

The city said Salem PowerChoice — the city's municipal electrical aggregation program — has already reduced the city's carbon footprint by more than 175,000 tons of carbon dioxide, which is the equivalent of 34,527 passenger cars annually, since it was launched in 2016.

Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll added that the city is also "poised to potentially become a leader in our commonwealth and our county in offshore wind."

"Changing our nearly 200 municipal electrical accounts to renewable sources for our electricity supply is a major step toward our climate goals and reducing our local contributions to climate change," Driscoll said. "It builds on our community's past work through our municipal electrical aggregation program, the conversion of our streetlights to LED fixtures, the installation of rooftop solar on city buildings, and the ongoing transition of our municipal vehicle fleet to hybrid and electric vehicles."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)