Mayor Michelle Wu Directs $60 Million for Boston Public Schools Solar and Heat Pump Retrofits

BOSTON — Mayor Michelle Wu, Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper, and the Boston City Council announced on Monday the authorization of a $60 million municipal capital appropriation under the city's Green New Deal for Public Schools to execute comprehensive clean energy retrofits—including commercial rooftop solar arrays, geothermal heat pumps, and dedicated outdoor air ventilation systems—across twenty school buildings in Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, and East Boston.

The investment targets older masonry school facilities where legacy steam boilers and inadequate ventilation have contributed to indoor air quality challenges and forced classroom closures during severe late-summer heatwaves.

Decarbonizing and Cooling Public School Classrooms The $60 million municipal package funds:

• Rooftop Solar PV Arrays: $25 million installing 8 megawatts of commercial solar panels paired with battery storage systems, supplying up to 70% of each school's annual electrical demand.
• Geothermal & Variable Refrigerant Flow Heat Pumps: $25 million replacing 40-year-old fossil fuel boilers with high-efficiency electric heat pumps providing year-round heating and continuous classroom air conditioning.
• High-Efficiency Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERV): $10 million installing continuous outdoor fresh air circulation systems equipped with MERV-13 air filtration.

"Every young person in Boston deserves a modern, healthy, and climate-resilient learning space where they can thrive, regardless of their zip code," Mayor Michelle Wu said during an announcement at an elementary school in Dorchester. "By investing $60 million in solar energy and modern heat pumps for twenty school buildings, we are lowering energy bills for taxpayers, improving indoor air quality for our kids, and proving that climate action starts in our public schools."

The Boston Teachers Union, parent advocacy groups, and local environmental justice coalitions commended the municipal funding, pointing out that providing reliable air conditioning in older schools ensures equitable learning environments across all neighborhoods.