Commercial Refrigeration Grants
Grants for Massachusetts food retailers, food banks and nonprofit institutions to install refrigeration using refrigerants with very low climate impact.
Esta oportunidad está disponible actualmente en inglés.
Install a refrigeration system, or fully or partly convert an existing one, using refrigerants with a global warming potential below 10. This measures a gas’s heat-trapping effect relative to carbon dioxide; examples include carbon dioxide, propane and ammonia.
The grant covers only the extra cost of the low-impact system compared with a conventional hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) system of the same capacity, including eligible equipment and installation. For example, a $150,000 low-impact system compared with a $100,000 conventional system has $50,000 of eligible extra cost.
- New facilities: up to $50,000, or $75,000 in a state-designated Environmental Justice (EJ) neighborhood.
- Existing facilities: up to $150,000, or $200,000 in an EJ neighborhood.
Each award is the lower of its ceiling and the eligible extra cost. Check the state’s Environmental Justice neighborhood maps for the project location. One applicant can receive no more than $500,000 across all locations.
Payments are reimbursements: 20% at equipment ordering, 70% at delivery, and 10% when the system is fully operational and the final report is submitted. The ordering payment requires evidence of paid invoices or deposits.
Eligibility
You must own or operate a Massachusetts retail food location, food bank or nonprofit institution that uses commercial refrigeration. Retail food locations primarily sell food directly to consumers. Refrigeration for transport, industrial processes or wholesale operations is excluded.
- Use technicians certified under EPA’s Section 608 refrigerant-handling programme who either hold a Massachusetts Refrigeration Technician License or work for a company holding a Massachusetts Refrigeration Contractor License.
- Handle and dispose of replaced refrigerants according to applicable law, obtain all required permits, and plan to finish within three years of the fully signed grant contract.
- Administration, application preparation, required reports, workforce-development activities, travel, food and unrelated costs are not funded.
- Any electricity utility territory is eligible. You may also seek other state incentives such as MassSave, but this grant cannot meet cost-sharing or other obligations under another MassDEP grant.
How to apply
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- Restricciones de la ronda
- First come, first served, with priority for distributing funds across applicants before additional projects from one applicant. Separate application per project type and location.
Complete MassDEP’s linked online application separately for each project type and location. Include equipment details, existing and proposed refrigerants and leak rates, project costs and schedule, and disclose other expected funding. Provide specifications and leak records where available or applicable. If quotes or scopes of work are not ready, submit a detailed project description with a feasibility assessment; new systems also need an estimate for an equivalent conventional system.
MassDEP considers complete, eligible applications first come, first served until funds are spent. You may apply for multiple projects, but MassDEP prioritises distributing funds across eligible applicants and projects before funding additional projects from the same applicant; those additional projects may be deprioritised despite an earlier submission. If selected, return the signed agreement within 30 days. Submit quarterly progress reports, invoices and required payment evidence, then a final report. Existing-site payment claims also need photos and documentation of proper disposal of old refrigerants and equipment.