Cambridge Council Backs IRA Clean Energy Funds and Gaslight Building Purchase Study

CAMBRIDGE — January 22, 2024 — Cambridge City Council unanimously backed IRA clean energy direct-pay funding and directed staff to evaluate purchasing the historic Gaslight Building at 727 Massachusetts Avenue. The council voted 9-0 to adopt Policy Order 2024-3, directing City Manager Yi-An Huang to identify municipal renewable energy projects — solar panels, heat pumps, EV charging infrastructure — eligible for federal subsidies of up to 60 percent of project costs under the Inflation Reduction Act's direct-pay provisions, which run through 2032 but could be curtailed by a change in federal administration. Mayor E. Denise Simmons introduced a companion 9-0 order asking staff to evaluate acquiring the 1885-era Gaslight Building, which a developer had previously sought to convert to a hotel, as potential swing space or city office space in Central Square. A policy order to eliminate the $200 annual fee for the city's across-sidewalk EV charging permit pilot — which has attracted only five applicants since launching last summer — was referred to the Transportation Committee after councilors debated whether the fee, rather than the program's half-mile proximity rule for public chargers, is the actual barrier to wider use. City staff also briefed the council on the first of five MBTA Red Line shutdowns, running February 5 through February 14, with shuttle buses replacing service from Alewife to Park Street each day.