House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi filed a mammoth clean energy bill yesterday that would provide loans and grants to municipalities to pursue renewable energy and provide a $2,000 credit for purchasers of hybrid vehicles.

The 364-page Green Communities Act would also expedite permitting for the siting of clean energy facilities, provide a $300 credit for businesses to offset the purchase of solar water heaters, and require state government to take steps to cut down on electricity use and set guidelines for energy-conscious state construction projects.

DiMasi, touting his bill as the first of its kind in the country, said that only a $1.4 million appropriation would be necessary to finance the tax credit portions of the bill and that overall the bill “is going to save an awful lot of money.”

Read more of the State House News Service story on Boston.com.