Green School Works Grants

MassCEC / High Performance Buildings / Funding / Green School Works Grants

The Challenge: Decarbonize Public Schools, Round 3

21.OCT.2026, Wednesday

Round 3 of Green School Works is anticipated to launch in January 2027.  Applicants must have completed a Comprehensive Building Assessment through MassSave (or equivalent study) before submitting an application and are encouraged to connect with MassSave (info@masssave.com) to begin that process.

Massachusetts’ approximately 1,800 public school buildings are responsible for about 880,000 metric tons of carbon every year. Electrifying and decarbonizing these buildings represents a significant opportunity for the state to reach its goal of net zero emissions by 2050. However, with the increased costs of construction and competing capital needs, districts need additional resources for the installation and upgrades of clean energy infrastructure.

About Green School Works Grants

Green School Works grants provide K-12 public schools with funding to implement projects that improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, or mitigate the impacts of climate change. Up to 15% of an award's total funds can be used for project “soft costs,” such as design or project management.  To date, Green School Works has committed over $70M to Massachusetts schools; $52M in Round 1, and $19M in Round 2.

Round 3 will make up to $25 million available to schools for this round of funding. Awards will be available from one of two pools of funding:

• $10M in non-recoverable grants for clean energy projects
• $12M in recoverable grants for geothermal and storage projects, with up to $500K in non-recoverable funding per project to help enable

More information will be published as part of the anticipated RFP opening on January 18, 2027.

More general information about the program to date can be found at: https://www.masscec.com/accelerating-decarbonization/high-performance-buildings/green-school-works.

Who's Eligible

For this funding, the project site must be a public K-12 school, or multiple public K-12 schools, in Massachusetts.

Projects must also have completed a MassSave Comprehensive Building Assessment or equivalent for the project before submitting an application.

New build schools receiving MSBA CORE funding, and schools who received funding in the prior GSW round will not be eligible.

Eligible non-Mass Save Applicants can access equivalent technical assistance through the Green School Works technical assistance program. MassCEC recommends the completion of a CBA or equivalent building study for all projects, regardless of budget.