Business

MassCEC provides rebates and other incentives to businesses that are looking to adopt clean energy at their place of business.

Incentives offered by MassCEC include rebate programs for solar electricity and solar hot water and technical assistance with other technologies such as wind.

Celebrating the Next Generation of Clean Energy Workers

It was an honor Thursday to join Sec. Rick Sullivan in celebrating the accomplishments of the students and clean energy companies who have participated in our Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program.

I was so excited to see so many young clean energy workers and their companies take time out of their days to join us at Roxbury Community College to talk about their experiences in the clean energy sector this summer, and to hear their success stories first-hand.  Leading companies like Harvest Power, EnerNOC, and Free Flow Power were all on hand to celebrate the conclusion of this summer’s program.  It’s clear that something as simple a summer internship is having a significant impact on the both the young workers and the growing sector that employs them.

The internship program has been a favorite of mine since I started here at MassCEC last year because you can immediately see the results of MassCEC’s funding.  Since 2011, the internship program, a partnership between MassCEC and the New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC), has provided job placements for 328 interns at more than 110 companies across Massachusetts. During this summer’s internship round, a record number of 125 companies and 956 interns applied to the program. To date, 41 students gained full or part-time employment—and from what I heard at today’s event, I am certain we will see that number grow.

Patrick Administration Launches Community Wind Energy Initiative

Subtitle: 
As Commonwealth surpasses 100 MW of wind energy installed, initiative will help communities manage appropriate siting of wind energy projects
Announcement Date: 
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Location: 
BOSTON

Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard Sullivan today announced an inter-agency initiative for state energy and environmental agencies to provide support and guidance to municipalities, developers and stakeholders for land-based wind projects.

“Wind energy is growing fast in the Commonwealth and this inter-agency initiative will enhance our capacity to provide the best technical and policy support to the many communities across the Commonwealth hosting, reviewing, or considering wind energy projects,” said Secretary Sullivan. “As a former mayor, I understand the municipal concerns of siting wind energy projects. Our goal is to use all the tools at our disposal at the state level to help communities appropriately site wind energy.”

The Community Wind Outreach Initiative will include a coordinated community wind working group, with representatives from EEA, the Department of Energy Resource (DOER), the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB). MassDEP will also convene a technical advisory group of experts to solicit input on wind turbine sound policy.

In order to promote science-based information related to wind turbine siting decisions, the major components of the initiative include:

  • Municipal Support: enhanced state-level support led by DOER’s Green Communities Division to communities that have operating wind energy projects or that are reviewing new wind development proposals.
  • Acoustic Policy: a technical advisory group to consider changes to MassDEP regulations and noise policy as it applies to wind energy turbines.
  • Comprehensive Siting Guidance: the state’s EFSB will research wind siting practices around the country and internationally and establish wind energy turbine siting best practices for Massachusetts.
  • Monitoring: the MassCEC will continue to support assessment and reporting on the impacts of operating wind projects through its Commonwealth Wind funding program.

The acoustic advisory group process will be informed by the 2012 Wind Turbine Health Impacts Study, the ongoing MassCEC Research Study on Wind Turbine Acoustics, and other relevant data identified by MassDEP and technical advisory group members. Topics to be discussed will include potential MassDEP permitting requirements for wind projects, and technical issues related to the unique characteristics of wind turbine sound, including predicting, measuring and analyzing acoustic impacts. MassDEP anticipates that the advisory group process will identify recommended changes to MassDEP noise regulations and policy as they apply to wind turbine noise. 

DOER’s Green Community’s division will expand its already extensive outreach and ongoing engagement with communities hosting wind energy projects, and MassCEC will increase monitoring of wind projects in order to provide more valuable technical guidance on enhanced wind energy siting. The EFSB has begun collecting and reviewing siting standards and guidance from across the nation and beyond, and plans on releasing enhanced comprehensive siting guidance later this year.

In 2009, Governor Patrick announced a wind energy goal of 2,000 megawatts (MW) by 2020, assuming that land-based wind would account for approximately 25 percent of this goal. Installing wind capacity of 2,000 MW would provide enough electricity for 800,000 homes and meet an estimated 10 percent of the state’s current electric load with clean, renewable wind power. By displacing electricity generated by fossil fuels, use of wind turbines on this scale would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3.1 million tons, or roughly 12 percent of emissions from power plants today and reduce millions of gallons of water currently used to cool fossil fuel plants.

Massachusetts has experienced one of the fastest wind energy growth rates in the nation, going from just 3 MW and three turbines installed in 2007 to more than 100 MW and dozens of turbines installed now throughout the Commonwealth. This EEA Community Wind Outreach Initiative builds upon the Patrick Administration’s focus on responsibly sited wind energy projects.

MassCEC Announces New Financing Model for Affordable Housing Clean Energy Retrofits

Announcement Date: 
Monday, July 22, 2013
Location: 
LOWELL

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) CEO Alicia Barton today announced $1 million to support energy-efficient retrofits for affordable multi-family housing developments across the Commonwealth with a focus on Gateway Cities.

The MassCEC funding will leverage federal grant money and support Boston-based WinnDevelopment’s Open Market Energy Services Company in completing weatherization and energy-efficient upgrades. Projects will include replacing hot water systems, installing solar arrays, and LED lighting, with the goal of reducing energy costs at selected properties by at least 20 percent.

“With more than 100,000 privately-owned affordable housing units in Massachusetts, it makes sense that we do whatever we can to make these developments as efficient and reliant on renewable energy as possible,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan, who chairs the MassCEC Board of Directors.

The first-of-its-kind financing model will allow owners and developers of affordable, multifamily housing the opportunity to make their facilities more energy-efficient and install renewable energy projects without taking on new debt or incurring significant upfront costs. Instead, project costs are covered by savings in energy expenses.

“This program creates an entirely new model to finance these cost-effective projects, allowing low- and moderate-income families across the Commonwealth to enjoy the benefits of clean energy and energy-efficiency,” said Barton.

The program will focus on developments in communities designated by the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development as Gateway Communities.

“This is an exciting new initiative that will advance energy efficiency efforts in affordable housing across the state and will provide tremendous benefits for low- and moderate- income tenants at the same time,” said Aaron Gornstein, Undersecretary for the Department of Housing and Community Development.

In 2012, WinnDevelopment received a $5.25 million grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs to promote the Open Market ESCO program in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York City.

“We are looking forward to spearheading a program that is the first-of-its-kind in the industry and also for us as a company,” said Darien Crimmin, vice president of energy and sustainability at WinnDevelopment. “Winn has long been committed to improving the energy efficiency of affordable housing communities and this grant provides us with an incredible opportunity to take our work a step further.”

Patrick Administration Announces Plan to Ban Disposal of Commercial Food Waste

Subtitle: 
$4M in grants, low-interest loans available for converting organics to renewable energy
Announcement Date: 
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Location: 
BOSTON

Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) officials today announced a proposed commercial food waste ban and funding to support anaerobic digestion (AD), a process that converts food waste into renewable energy.

“Banning commercial food waste and supporting the development of AD facilities across the Commonwealth is critical to achieving our aggressive waste disposal reduction goals,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan. “These policies and programs will continue the Patrick Administration’s commitment to growing the clean energy sector in Massachusetts, creating jobs and reducing emissions.”

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has proposed a commercial food waste ban, to take effect by July 1, 2014, that would require any entity that disposes of at least one ton of organic waste per week to donate or re-purpose the useable food. Any remaining food waste would be required to be shipped to an AD facility, a composting operation or an animal-feed operation. Residential food waste is not included in the ban.

To harness the energy in organic waste, the Patrick Administration has made $3 million in low-interest loans available to private companies building AD facilities. The low-interest loans will be administered by BCD Capital through MassDEP’s Recycling Loan Fund, with monies provided by the Department of Energy Resources (DOER).

“Many grocery stores and environmentally conscious businesses across the state currently divert their food waste, saving money in the process,” said MassDEP Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell. “Diverting food waste to AD facilities creates value by reducing the waste stream, tapping into the energy within food wastes, reducing greenhouse gases, and producing a byproduct that can be resold as fertilizer or animal bedding.”

 “Anaerobic digestion is yet another proven clean energy technology that supports the Patrick Administration’s energy goals,” said DOER Commissioner Mark Sylvia.  “By working together and leading by example, we are building the infrastructure to support clean, renewable energy generation and address a challenging organics waste issue with a solution that meets multiple economic and environmental goals.”

DOER is also making $1 million available in grants for anaerobic digestion to public entities through MassDEP’s Sustainable Materials Recovery Grant Program. MassDEP and DOER have awarded the first AD grant of $100,000 to the Massachusetts Water Resources Agency (MWRA) for its wastewater treatment plant at Deer Island plant. The MWRA currently digests sludge in 12 large chambers to help run the plant. A pilot project will introduce food waste into one of the chambers to determine the effects of co-digestion on operations and biogas production.

“The legislature and the regulatory agencies in Massachusetts have taken important steps to create a positive environment for private companies such as ours to make significant investments in the development of anaerobic digestion projects,” said Tony Callendrello, Chief Operating Officer of NEO Energy.

“I am pleased to see Massachusetts continue to make investments in recycling and in the reduction of waste in our landfills,” said Sen. Marc R. Pacheco, Chair of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture. “As the Commonwealth continues to lead the rest of the country in our green policies and practices, this commercial food waste ban provides one more example of the cost savings and environmental benefits that are available when we set a clean energy target and innovate solutions to achieve it.”

“I appreciate the efforts of the Patrick administration in being open to technologies that will pave the way for more innovation, opportunities for new businesses and a funding source for dealing with food waste, which has become a growing environmental issue,” Rep. Anne Gobi, Chair of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.

"Thanks to the Patrick Administration, Secretary Rick Sullivan, and MassDEP Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell, the Commonwealth is taking the lead in the nation in innovation through a commercial food waste ban and by funding energy-producing anaerobic digestion facilities,” said Sen. Gale D. Candaras, Chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. "Through these dual initiatives, the Commonwealth is paving the way for public-private partnerships to develop a new, environmentally-friendly, renewable energy-producing industry which will not only keep our communities clean but also create jobs and revenue."

Food waste and organics make up 20-25 percent of the current waste stream going to landfills and incinerators. The proposed food waste ban would help the Commonwealth reach its goals to reduce the waste stream by 30 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. To ensure that there will be sufficient facilities in Massachusetts to handle the waste resulting from the ban, MassDEP is working with the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to conduct feasibility studies to build AD facilities on state-owned land.

AD facilities have become more popular in Massachusetts in recent years at facilities such as dairy farms, municipal landfills and wastewater treatment plants. Over the past year, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) has awarded 18 grants worth $2.3 million to study, design and construct AD and other organics-to-energy facilities across the Commonwealth.

“Massachusetts companies are again leading the way in the deployment of this exciting technology, which, in addition to producing environmental benefits, will create quality jobs in the already-booming clean energy sector,” said MassCEC CEO Alicia Barton.

This DOER funding comes from the 2010 and 2011 Alternative Compliance Payment (ACP) Spending Plan.  ACPs are paid by electric retail suppliers if they have insufficient Renewable Energy Certificates to meet their compliance obligations under the Renewable Portfolio Standard programs. DOER establishes the plan for use of these funds to support clean energy development in the Commonwealth.

AD is a process that puts food and yard wastes, and other organics, into an enclosed chamber with no oxygen. Microbes inside the chamber break down the organics and produce a biogas that can produce electricity and heat. The electricity and heat is used in place of fossil fuels, reducing emissions. For more information about AD, visit MassDEP’s website: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/service/energy/anaerobic-digestion/

MassCEC Awards $200,000 in Clean Energy Research Grants to Massachusetts Cleantech Innovators

Announcement Date: 
Wednesday, July 03, 2013
Location: 
BOSTON

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center (MTTC) today announced $200,000 in grants to Massachusetts entrepreneurs as part of their commitment to NECEC Institute’s Cleantech Innovations New England program.

“The clean energy innovations developed in Massachusetts are driving the clean energy sector forward,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan, who chairs the MassCEC Board of Directors. “There are 5,000 clean energy companies in Massachusetts and these types of programs help support and grow this bustling industry.”

“Massachusetts innovators are working hard to address global energy and water challenges and this program will help advance the next generation of solutions,” said MassCEC CEO Alicia Barton.

The MassCEC Catalyst Program, which is funded by MassCEC and managed by MTTC, awards early-stage researchers grant awards up to $40,000 to help demonstrate the commercial viability of clean energy technology developed at startup companies or spun out of research institutions.

“This funding is truly catalytic in helping to build entrepreneurial ventures in Massachusetts. A major initial hurdle for researchers is commercialization. These small grants take technologies from the idea to prototype to demonstrate that technologies work, helping entrepreneurs attract additional funding,” said Abigail Barrow, director of the MTTC.

Recipients must use funding for projects that move their technologies towards commercialization.

“Catalyst provides valuable support to cleantech entrepreneurs and innovators in the earliest stages of development, providing them with timely and critical resources that help them validate their technologies,” said Peter Rothstein, President of the New England Clean Energy Council and the NECEC Institute. "NECEC and the NECEC Institute congratulate and welcome this new round of awardees into the regional cleantech innovation community."

The following researchers will each receive $40,000 grants:

  • Steve Casey, Vecarius, Inc. (MIT) – Vecarius is developing a low-cost heat recovery system that generates electricity from engine exhaust heat and reduces fuel consumption and emission of vehicles by 5 to 10 percent. The system will help relieve vehicle fleet operations from high fuel costs and help vehicle manufacturers meet fuel economy and emissions regulations.
  • Olga Sachs, Ph.D., Alison Greenlee, and Christoph Sachs, Ph.D. , SachSiSolar Inc. (MIT) – SachSiSolar’s objective is to develop technology to reduce the costs of solar panels. The company provides manufacturers with an inexpensive retrofit for their production lines to increase the efficiency of solar panels. The technology will drive down the cost of high-efficiency photovoltaics and enable high-technology manufacturing in Massachusetts.
  • Miguel Galvez, B.S. and Joanna Wong, Ph.D.,  NBD Nanotechnologies, Inc. (Boston University) – NBD Nanotechnologies’s objective is to improve the efficiency of HVAC, heat exchangers, steam power condensers, desalination plants and dehumidifiers by encouraging rapid water condensation using an advanced materials coating. NBD Nanotechnologies will use the funding for equipment purchases. (This award was previously announced at the Symposium on Water Innovation in Massachusetts event on June 19 in Boston.)
  • Ravindra Datta, Ph.D.,  (Worcester Polytechnic Institute) – Datta will conduct initial experiments into a new biomass-to-energy process using molten salts that may be more efficient and cost-effective at producing renewable liquid fuels and chemicals than current solutions. Datta will use the funds to complete a laboratory study.
  • Latika Menon, Ph.D., Eugen Panaitescu, Ph.D., (Northeastern University) – Menon is a researcher investigating an advanced filtration material that could increase the efficiency of processes to separate water from oil and other complex solutions with immediate applications in the treatment of oil-contaiminated water produced from oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing. (This award was previously announced at the Symposium on Water Innovation In Massachusetts event on June 19 in Boston.)

The goal of the MassCEC Catalyst Program is to help technologies progress along the development curve to a point where additional commercialization funding can be obtained.

Massachusetts No. 2 in Clean Energy

Add it to the list - this month Massachusetts was ranked No. 2 in the nation for clean tech in Clean Edge Inc.’s 2013 Clean Tech Leadership Index, joining the numerous other accolades the state has been racking up in recognition of the enormous strides we have made in staking a claim towards global leadership in clean technology. 

Across the state, business owners put solar panels on their roofs, like this photo here of a homeowner in Hopkinton, who installed solar panels through the Solarize Mass program. Cities and towns committed to making municipal buildings more energy efficient. Investors put money into clean technology startups. Meanwhile, state, federal and local governments offered incentives and crafted policies to nurture this rapidly-growing industry.

It was this all-hands-on-deck approach that gave Massachusetts a perfect score in the public policy category, which scored states on transportation policies, building codes, climate change targets and renewable energy adoption rates. Massachusetts was also ranked No. 1 in capital category, which analyzed private venture capital investments and higher education and research.

MassCEC Announces "Pathways Out of Poverty" Green Collar Job Training Grants

Short Title: 
"Pathways Out of Poverty" Green Collar Job Training Grants
Announcement Date: 
Friday, June 03, 2011
Location: 
Boston

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) today announced four grants totaling $734,000 green job training programs that will help train unemployed and underemployed people for jobs in the clean energy community.
“MassCEC’s Pathways Out of Poverty grants program has a proven track record – with many of those trained through our initial 2009 grant round either placed in full time employment, continuing their training at community colleges, or starting their own “green” businesses,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr., who chairs the MassCEC board of directors.  “The program is a true win-win for the Commonwealth’s economic and clean energy future, and we are pleased to be awarding this new round of grants.” 
“The Pathways Out of Poverty grants will help further the Commonwealth’s dedicated workforce, which is a key asset in our clean energy community,” said MassCEC Executive Director Patrick Cloney. “By ensuring that people throughout the Commonwealth have access to clean energy job training and real-world learning we are strengthening our leadership in clean energy and our economy.”  
Authorized by the Act Relative to Clean Energy signed into law by Governor Patrick in November 2009, MassCEC’s Pathways out of Poverty Program is designed to jumpstart training in clean energy careers for low- and moderate-income residents.  In February 2011, MassCEC solicited proposals from organizations to develop projects that include on-the-job-training (OJT) models that serve the target population and provide targeted services and activities that address employer workforce needs and optimize opportunities for participant learning, career development and economic advancement within the clean energy industry. 
Funding for the Pathways Out of Poverty program includes $600,000 from MassCEC, and $134,000 from the Commonwealth’s State Energy Sector Partnership grant, awarded to the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Funds provided through the State Energy Sector Partnership are provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 
“This investment expands on the ongoing work of the State Energy Sector Partnership, a $5.973 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration that is supporting programs to prepare Massachusetts residents for jobs in the clean energy sector,” said Commonwealth Corporation President and CEO Nancy Snyder. “Leveraging these funds with funds from the Clean Energy Center will help us to serve more residents who need significant assistance in building their skills if they are to benefit from clean energy job opportunities.”
"The clean energy sector is one of the strongest and fastest growing in Massachusetts. These grants will help ensure that every resident can enjoy the opportunities that are created as we transition to a clean energy economy," said Senator Benjamin B. Downing.  
“We are proud to partner with the Clean Energy Center to create the Metro Boston Green On-the-Job Training Collaborative,” said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.  “This innovative initiative will bring together Boston’s most dynamic employers with the untapped talent of our underemployed workforce, creating pathways out of poverty and into our growing clean tech economy.”
MassCEC awarded funds to the following projects: 
Co-op Power
Franklin County, Pioneer Valley and Boston
$175,000
Co-op Power is a consumer-owned cooperative with chapters in Boston and Western Massachusetts. Co-op provides residential and small commercial energy efficiency and renewable energy services. In addition to professional services, Co-op offers neighbor-to-neighbor weatherization and solar installation programs in which people help each other make energy improvements under the supervision and guidance of trained energy auditors, efficiency contractors, and renewable energy system installers. Through its Good Green Jobs Project, Co-op and its partners will target unemployed and underemployed young adults, high school drop-outs, long term unemployed and dislocated workers in Dorchester, Roxbury, Holyoke, Springfield, Orange, Franklin County and Pittsfield. Co-ops program funded by this grant will provide on-the-job training at companies such as Energia and Spirit Solar. Trainees will learn skills in energy efficiency, solar hot water installations and green energy marketing.
Economic Development and Industrial Corporation
Greater Boston
$200,000
The Economic Development and Industrial Corporation will lead the Metro Boston Green On-the-Job Training (GOJT) Collaborative, a partnership of clean energy employers, municipalities, workforce boards, career centers and training providers that will train and place underemployed and unemployed residents from the 64 communities in the Metro-Boston region in on-the-job training experiences leading to full-time permanent employment. Partners include Next Step Living, FastCAP Systems, SatCon, Maloney Properties, Lime Energy Co. and Sagewell.  The GOJT Collaborative will target five specific sectors: facilities maintenance, HVAC/R, renewable energy component manufacturing, clean energy company customer support, and weatherization.
Massachusetts Manufacturing Advancement Center 
Central Mass.
$194,000
The Manufacturing Advancement Center (MAC) is a non-profit organization founded to create a conduit between today’s evolving workforce, entry level and advanced skills training, and job opportunities. The MAC collaborates with employers and educational institutions to develop and maintain a well-trained, flexible workforce. The MAC will work closely with the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership to  implement its Mobile Outreach Skills Training Program and provide on-the-job training for low income individuals, dislocated workers, youth that are out of work or school, and veterans in entry level manufacturing at contract manufacturers in the clean energy supply chain.  
South Middlesex Opportunity Council
MetroWest
$165,000
South Middlesex Opportunity Council, Inc. (SMOC) is a private, nonprofit corporation committed to mobilizing and utilizing private resources to advocate for and to improve the quality of life for low-income people. SMOC’s Energy Conservation Services (ECS) has 32 years of experience in the weatherization industry. Through their work with contractors, ECS has identified a significant gap in the availability of qualified weatherization workers in the regional labor force.  In 2009 SMOC established a Green Jobs Academy (GJA) to offer career ladder training in the weatherization industry for low-income, under/unemployed, and incumbent workers and to utilize the expertise of ECS. Through its grant, SMOC will work more as many as 25 weatherization and energy efficiency contractors to provide on-the-job training for low-income participants as weatherization installers and will also provide career ladder opportunities for new crew chief and home auditors. 
In 2009, the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, in collaboration with MassCEC, issued the nation’s first state-funded Pathways Out of Poverty program. Based on the requirements of the 2008 Green Jobs Act, $1 million was awarded to five grantees in Lowell, Brockton, Worcester, Springfield/Holyoke and Pittsfield to expand the clean energy workforce by boosting skills of low-income workers. The five projects trained 196 individuals in clean energy skill programs. Of those trained, 108 were either placed in full time employment, began their own businesses or decided to continue with school by matriculating into for-credit community college programs. Results equate to an average placement rate of approximately 60 percent across the training programs.  The program also resulted in more than 340 industry-recognized certificates and credentials being awarded to trainees, which will assist trainees in building a career pathway and make them more competitive candidates for jobs.

Land-based Wind Energy: A Guide to Understanding the Issues and Making Informed Decisions

Short Title: 
Land-based Wind Energy: A Guide to Understanding the Issues and Making Informed Decisions
Announcement Date: 
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Location: 
Boston

In partnership with CLF Ventures, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) provides a guide to land-based wind energy issues that we hope  will help decision-makers navigate the complex issues involved in siting land-based wind energy. 
Click Here to Read the Guidebook 
Topics covered in this resource include:

  • How to make sense of information about wind energy
  • Why are Massachusetts and its communities considering wind energy?
  • Economics
  • Visual Impacts and Health
  • Sound and Health
  • Birds, Bats, and Wind Power
  • Property  Values
  • Public Engagement in the Siting Process

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