National Grid has scheduled a two-day event for dropping off old, working air conditioning units, Friday, June 9, 12:30 to 4:30 pm, and Saturday, June 10, 9 am to 1 pm, at the Town of Nantucket’s Planning & Land Use Services parking lot at 2 Fairgrounds Road (the Ferry Connector off Old South Road). For each working air conditioner received for recycling, National Grid will donate $25 to Fairwinds, the island’s only nonprofit mental health and substance abuse agency. Additionally, local appliance stores are offering $25 off new Energy Star® rated ACs to customers who recycle their old AC units.
According to Matt Chase, Associate Engineer for National Grid, “By holding this event, we are ensuring that these older AC units are off the market and recycled responsibly, which is important because these units are not as energy efficient as the Energy Star® rated units you can buy today.” Brenda Pike, National Grid’s project manager in charge of this effort noted, “National Grid has launched an energy efficiency initiative on Nantucket to reduce electricity demand, particularly in July and August when energy usage is spiking. Recycling those older units can make a significant contribution to that goal.”
Chase added, “National Grid is more than an energy company. We’re a part of the community. We are dedicated to giving back to Nantucket, so donating $25 per recycled AC unit an important cause as Fairwinds was a priority for us.” Chase also noted, “We could not have conducted this initiative without the help of the Town of Nantucket for hosting the event in the parking lot of the Town’s Planning and Land Use Services building, as well as the DPW’s assistance in coordinating the appliance recycling.”
In the last five years, Nantucket’s increase in the demand for energy has been five times greater than the state of Massachusetts. If no action is taken, this trend is projected to continue, which may accelerate the need for major costly infrastructure investments, such as a third undersea cable. Nantucket ratepayers are still contributing to the cost of the first two cables until 2026.
For details on how community members and visitors can become more energy conscious, particularly from 5 to 9 pm in July and August,visit ngrid.com/nantucket. For answers to questions about the energy awareness initiative or about this AC recycling event, contact Kim Horyn, Community Outreach Manager, 508.332.2407 or info@nantucketsavesenergy.com.