$5 million will elevate clean energy efficiency at 2 Cape Cod schools

• Two Cape Cod schools received part of a $19 million state grant for energy efficiency projects.
• The grants are part of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s Green School Works program.

Two Cape schools were included in a $19 million state grant that is poised to make public schools energy efficient.

On May 14, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s Green School Works program awarded Falmouth Public Schools with $5 million; and Truro Central School with $320,000.

Falmouth’s funding will be used to help support a new ground-source heat pump system; and Truro Central School will use money to build a solar carport.

The carport will help reduce energy costs for the school and will also work toward providing backup power during outages, said Truro Climate Action Committee Coordinator Chris Palmer.

“Projects like these demonstrate that Truro and the state is taking the next generation, and the future of the planet seriously,” said Palmer in an email to the Times on Monday.

This is the Green School Works’s second round of grant funding. The program awarded roughly $52 million to 18 schools in the state in 2025.

State grant will entirely fund car port in Truro

According to Palmer, the state grant will fully fund the carport, which will be built on the upper staff parking lot at Truro Central School.

There is no groundbreaking timeline yet, said Palmer, and the town will be focused on planning.

The Climate Action Committee, according to its website, investigates, studies, and makes recommendations to the Select Board about the town’s carbon footprint. The group also helps the town understand its vulnerability to climate change.

The committee also works with the Truro Energy Committee and has collaborated with other climate organizations across Barnstable Country and with the state.

What is the Green School Works program?

The Green School Works program is funded by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The program helps the roughly 1,800 state public school buildings ease the financial burden of replacing aging energy infrastructure, according to a state press release, freeing up money that can go toward teaching and learning.

Nine school districts were included in the 2026 round of funding and included six districts where half of the students came from low-income backgrounds.

“Every student deserves a safe, healthy and modern place to learn,” said Gov. Maura Healey, in the release. “These investments are good for our schools, good for our communities and good for our clean energy future.”

Staff writer Rachael Devaney can be reached at rdevaney@capecodonline.com.

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