Massachusetts awarded $23 million in clean energy grants to nine public colleges and state facilities to expand geothermal systems and energy efficiency measures, including multiple University of Massachusetts campuses and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. The awards, delivered through the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources’ Leading by Example Decarbonization Implementation Program, are designed to support up to 45% of eligible project costs. State officials said the combined projects are expected to cut annual greenhouse gas emissions by 21,000 metric tons and reduce long-term costs for taxpayers. Specific investments include installing a 5-MW industrial heat pump at UMass Amherst’s central heating plant and a campuswide decarbonization plan at UMass Boston involving electric heat shift chillers replacing gas boilers. The grants also target geothermal connections at UMass Dartmouth and at the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance for Salem State University and Massachusetts Maritime Academy, signaling that campus energy planning remains a major public higher education priority under state decarbonization targets.