Cambridge City Council Considers Sustainable Energy Funding in Meeting Punctuated by Protest

The Cambridge City Council discussed federal funding for public renewable energy projects funding during a Monday evening meeting that was interrupted by pro-Palestine protesters.

At the start of the meeting, more than 30 protesters — including several Harvard and MIT students — interrupted the meeting and criticized the Council for failing to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in November. Following the disturbance, the Council went into an approximately 15-minute recess before resuming.

Prince A. Williams ’25, an organizer with the African and African American Resistance Organization and a Crimson Editorial editor, said that prior to the Council meeting, a staffer approached the group and asked for a closed-door meeting with a few of the protesters and Mayor E. Denise Simmons.

“Our goal tonight was to put more pressure on Council members for an upcoming vote that’s happening on the 29th for a ceasefire resolution in Gaza,” Williams said, adding that the group planned to return for the upcoming Council meeting this Monday.

In an interview Monday night, Councilor Marc C. McGovern said the Council is likely to consider a resolution calling for a ceasefire at the upcoming meeting or shortly after.

The interruption on Monday was the latest in a series of Council meeting disturbances by demonstrators, first protesting the police killing of Massachusetts student Sayed Faisal, and recently, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“There has been a significant increase in protests and CPD has been working to provide sufficient resources to ensure the safety of protestors and public in the area,” Robert Goulston, a spokesperson for the Cambridge Police Department, wrote in an emailed statement. “While ensuring all of our citizens have a safe place to exercise their freedom of speech, we also work to assure scheduled business, like tonight’s City Council business, can continue.”

During the meeting, the Council unanimously passed a policy order requesting City Manager Yi-An Huang ’05 identify potential public renewable energy projects that could receive federal funding through Inflation Reduction Act, passed under the Biden Administration in 2022.

Under the IRA’s Direct Pay provision, governments can apply for and receive refunds for building qualifying clean energy projects.

Councilor Sumbul Siddiqui urged the city to take advantage of the maximum possible funding to “move forward with our environmental goals.”

Councilor Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler said IRA funding could support initiatives like adding solar panels to public buildings and building electric vehicle charging stations, adding that local nonprofits such as the Cambridge Housing Authority are also eligible for IRA funds.

“I just wanted to make sure that the city flagged it and also that this got on the public consciousness,” Sobrinho-Wheeler said.

The Council also debated removing a $200 permit fee for Cambridge residents to access electric vehicle charging stations on city sidewalks, which are being installed under the Electric Vehicle Charging Pilot Program.

Though many Councilors said the body should reevaluate the pilot program entirely, they agreed that because the program is in its infancy — there are currently only five participants, per Councillor Joan F. Pickett — they would revisit the discussion at a later date.

“It has been a short period of time and it would be helpful to probably give this a little bit more,” Huang said.

—Staff writer Frank S. Zhou contributed reporting.

—Staff writer Ayumi Nagatomi can be reached at ayumi.nagatomi@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @ayumi_nagatomi.