How a Green Mills Rotating Fund Can Reclaim Valley Cities and Re-brand the Region
By Seth Itzkan

["Conceptualized mill roof with wind turbines. Photo and mockup by Seth J. Itzkan."]

‘The mills of the Merrrimack Valley led one industrial revolution, now they can lead another.” - Quincy Vale
Quincy Vale, CEO of Lawrence-based PowerHouse Enterprises and former Director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) Green Buildings Program, is speaking about the emerging idea of a Green Mills Campaign that would provide funding for ecological restoration of mill space throughout the Merrimack Valley.
“The Merrimack Valley is an ideal location for this initiative”, states Vale. “The region is blessed with splendid examples of historic mill buildings located near the center of communities with abundant access to sunlight, Valley wind resources and sometimes hydropower… Financing for these renovations could come through a rotating fund that provided loan guarantees to enable the redevelopment of mills in a green manner, providing that they meet energy performance standards.”
“The indigenous assets of the mill buildings need to be unlocked”, continued Vale. “We need to bring them back to life.”
It’s not such a radical idea. Just north of Boston, the Cambridge Energy Alliance operates a $100M fund to help residents and businesses retrofit for efficiency. Loans are structured so that anticipated energy savings will cover the loan payments, thus, as energy costs go up, the savings to the customers greatly increase. Additionally, the alliance is unique in that it provides a one-stop shop for auditing and contracting, as well as financing services. They have negotiated plans with contractors, utilities, and banks to provide a unique package of services that is unparallel for energy retrofitting.
The Cambridge Energy Alliance is supported in part through private foundations, and the same could be true here in the Merrimack Valley.

“The region is blessed with splendid examples of historic mill buildings located near the center of communities with abundant access to sunlight, Valley wind resources and sometimes hydropower… "

The idea of the Green Mills Campaign for the Merrimack Valley emerged through discussion with Quincy Vale and others at a meeting hosted by the Merrimack Valley Economic Development Council. The objective of the meeting was to help define a branding campaign for the Merrimack Valley that could capitalize on many of its green initiatives and strengths.
The region is already known around the world as a mill district, so that branding isn’t about to change. However, something that could harness that and move it into the modern era could be a winning strategy. Thus, in a subsequent discussion between Quincy Vale and myself, the idea of a Green Mill Region was born, and we believe that an innovative funding scheme, like what is being done in Cambridge, could provide the kick to get it started.
To get a sense of the potential magnitude of the initiative, just consider that the estimated “under utilized” mill space in Lawrence alone is between 10 and 13 million square feet. Assuming that the buildings are on average 5 stories, that yields over 2 million square feet of urban rooftop space available for solar arrays, wind turbines, urban gardens, and other energy generating or community enhancing services. Of course, that is just Lawrence; what is the footprint (or actually, roof print) for the whole region? Whatever the number, we know that one of the first steps is to get a proper census of the available space. These are assets that must be utilized and their value can’t be overstated.
“We are already at a pretty good starting point”, says Shaw Rosen, Chief Operating Officer for Mass Innovation Inc, the company behind the Monarch Lofts development on Merrimack Street in Lawrence, “Sal has the solar array at the River Walk, and our building will have geothermal heating and cooling, plus other sustainable features.”
“The very idea of redevelopment is a sustainable practice”, continues Rosen, “because you are reusing buildings and materials.”