HCC is dedicated to becoming a pioneer in sustainability through an extensive sustainability program, club, and current retrofit projects. In 2011, Holyoke Community College became one of 700 selected sites in Massachusetts to be retrofitted under the Accelerated Energy Program (AEP). AEP is a three year program designed to reduce energy consumption by 20-25% while creating about 4,000 clean energ
y jobs and saving the Commonwealth approximately $43million annually. By 2013, current efforts were only producing 22% reduction, so the Toward Zero Net Energy (TZNE) Retrofit was implemented. This means that HCC will consume roughly the same amount of energy that is produced through renewable energy sources, meaning there will be no carbon output and therefore no harmful environmental consequences adding to climate change. Visit our webpage for details about some of the projects, which include wind turbines, a photovoltaic & thermal solar collector, rainwater harvesting, etc!
