Innovator

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) CEO Alicia Barton today announced MySunBuddy as the grand prize winner of the Fourth Annual Boston Cleanweb Hackathon, earning the team $5,000 for their digital solution that creates a new market for solar net metering credits.

Held this past weekend at WeWork South Station in Boston in partnership with Greentown Labs, the Hackathon brought together students, programmers, software developers, entrepreneurs and energy experts and to develop user-friendly, web-based applications to help consumers and businesses use energy and natural resources more efficiently. 

”Massachusetts is a hub of innovation and the Boston Cleanweb Hackathon is a shining example,” said CEO Barton. “Watching innovators create inventive solutions to real-world environmental challenges over a single weekend never ceases to amaze me.”

"The teams, ideas, and potential are as a dynamic as when we launched this annual tradition four years ago," said Mark Vasu, Executive Vice President of Greentown Labs and co-founder of the event. "Once again, it's exciting to see new energy-focused companies emerge from whiteboards and laptops." 

For over 30 hours, nearly 70 participants from across the energy and technology sectors competed for $11,000 in cash prizes, creating 16 innovative new projects.   The weekend-long event was sponsored by Microsoft New England, National Grid, EnerNOC, the Energy Innovation Centre and Posternak.

The trio at MySunBuddy – Andrew Belden, Kathryn Wright and Brandon Bass – developed a new online marketplace aimed at simplifying the sale of solar energy through net metering credits. Rather than asking buyers and sellers to navigate the web of regulations and taxes applicable to solar trading, MySunBuddy connects them, allows them to agree on a price, and streamlines the complex paperwork and verification processes for them.

“It feels incredible,” Belden said about winning the competition. “We see a lot of potential for this business model, and we think it could play a big role in the multi-billion-dollar solar industry.”

Taking home the $3,500 second place prize was GRDN, a digital marketplace where users can find, list and book green spaces – from traditional backyards, to greenhouses, to vertical rooftop gardens – around Boston. In third place and winning $1,500 was AdaptiveAlgo Analytics, which offers innovative new pricing tools that incentivize energy customers to save energy during peak load time, enabling companies to better predict consumer behavior and improve demand forecasting accuracy. Receiving the $1,000 Crowd Favorite prize was RECLAIM3D, a team of Northeastern University freshmen that developed a business model for collecting and recycling 3D printing materials that would otherwise be discarded. 

The competition judges were MassCEC CEO Barton; Austin Blackmon, Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space for the City of Boston; David Miller, Founder and Executive Managing Director of the Clean Energy Venture Group; Vinit Nijhawan, Managing Director of the Boston University Office of Technology Development; Mark Vasu, Executive Vice President, Greentown Labs; and Christopher Scranton, Senior Manager for Big Data and Technology Initiatives at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

An additional prize competition, the Haccelerator (formerly known as the Data Jam) launched during the Hackathon this weekend. A two-month-long mini-business accelerator program, the Haccelerator allows Hackathon teams to go beyond the initial competition, developing their ideas to build actual products and to launch real companies. The Haccelerator will begin in April and award a $5,000 prize to the winner in June.

Haccelerator entries include MySunBuddy, MyLight, Eat Aware, Naturegy, WoodTable, RECLAIM3D, Footprint Power, flexGrid, Demand Director, EnerScore, AdaptiveAlgo Analytics.

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) CEO Alicia Barton today announced $450,000 in funding for the first two awardees under the AmplifyMass program, which provides matching funding to awardees of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E).

“These grants have helped to leverage nearly $7 million in federal support for the innovative technologies being developed and pioneered here in the Commonwealth,” said Barton. “By supporting these promising technologies we can ensure that Massachusetts continues to lead the nation in fostering home-grown clean energy innovations."

Receiving AmplifyMass funding are:

• INFINIUM (Natick) - $300,000 - INFINIUM is developing an energy-efficient method to produce aluminum and other metals that eliminates carbon dioxide emissions, a major contributor to climate change. The energy savings translate into significant cost savings as well, which can motivate industry adoption of this technology. The company recently received $3,980,000 in ARPA-E funding.
• Xilectric (Fall River) - $150,000 – Xilectric is developing a low-cost, rechargeable battery that can be manufactured with widely available materials. This battery will be used in both electric vehicle and grid-scale applications.  The company recently received $2,971,744 in ARPA-E funding.

“Innovative clean tech companies like Infinium are driving economic growth in MetroWest and across the Commonwealth,” said Sen. Karen Spilka, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, who also chairs the Legislature’s Technology Caucus. “This round of grants is another example of how the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center continues to support the Massachusetts clean energy workforce and creative energy technologies that can have a significant impact on our economy and our environment.”

“INFINIUM is proud to be one of the first awardee under MassCEC’s new AmplifyMass program. This funding will be critical in supporting our ARPA-E award under the METALS program, giving us essential working capital that we need to successfully execute on the project and progress towards expanding our workforce in Massachusetts,” said INFINIUM CEO Steve Derezinski.

“Xilectric is excited to be selected as an awardee of the new MassCEC AmplifyMass program. ARPA-E funds only the best new energy technologies. The AmplifyMass program helps early stage companies like Xilectric win and execute on projects supported by the Department of Energy’s prestigious ARPA-E Agency. This program will make Massachusetts based applications more competitive by helping new companies meet the funding obligations of the ARPA-E program,” said Xilectric CEO Steve Weiss.

The AmplifyMass program, launched in October 2014, was created to support Massachusetts-based companies and university teams that are innovating in the clean technology sector, and aims to increase competitiveness of Massachusetts teams applying for ARPA-E funding. The program provides up to 10 percent of a company’s total project budget, with a cap of $300,000, and up to 5 percent for university awardees, with a cap of $100,000.

In the last five years, MassCEC has provided over $2.75 million in matching funds to Massachusetts-based ARPA-E winners, who have in turn boosted the clean energy workforce by hiring over 280 employees to join their teams, and raised over $290 million in additional funding.

In October, MassCEC and ARPA-E signed a partnership agreement to increase support for the research, development, demonstration and deployment of clean energy technologies in the Commonwealth.

In January, ARPA-E opened its latest Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), OPEN 2015, which is offering $125 million to companies developing “potentially disruptive new technologies across the full spectrum of energy applications.” The submission deadline for Notices of Intent is 5 p.m. on Feb. 20.

AmplifyMass applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) today announced the end of the successful Commonwealth Solar II program, which will have provided rebates for more than 13,000 solar electric systems at homes, public buildings, and small businesses across the Commonwealth since 2010.

“The Commonwealth Solar II program has enabled thousands of individuals the ability to produce their own electricity while taking control of their energy futures, and I commend the homeowners and small businesses that were able to take advantage of this rebate program,” said Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton.

Under the life of the Commonwealth Solar II program, installation prices for small-scale solar systems have dropped dramatically, falling nearly 30 percent since the program’s inception.

“This program was launched to help drive down the price of small solar electric systems in Massachusetts, and with prices dropping significantly over the past several years, the time is right to phase out this successful program,” said Barton. “This program has met its ambitious goals of increasing the adoption of solar electricity and creating high-quality local jobs.”

Created to stimulate adoption of small-scale solar systems, the rebate program was funded by MassCEC and the Department of Energy Resources (DOER).  Small scale solar systems have stimulated expansion of the Massachusetts solar industry, creating high-quality jobs.  The Massachusetts solar industry now employs more than 12,000 workers, including installers, salespeople and innovators. 

“Thanks to programs like this and DOER’s Solar Carve-out Program, we have experienced significant growth in solar installations across Massachusetts,” said Acting DOER Commissioner Dan Burgess. “Residents and businesses in every corner of the Commonwealth are taking their energy future into their own hands by investing in solar, reducing emissions and creating jobs along the way.”

Solar prices have been shown to drop an additional nearly 20 percent in communities that have participated in another MassCEC and DOER program, Solarize Mass, a coordinated outreach and group purchasing program in which the savings go up as more people sign contracts for solar electric systems.

Corresponding to these falling prices, MassCEC has scaled back rebate levels over time, from an average of 20 percent of project costs in the program’s first funding block to an average of 5 percent of project costs in the program’s last funding block. The Commonwealth Solar II program will have provided $36 million in rebates, helping to facilitate an investment of more than $407 million in in solar electric systems across Massachusetts.

Through efforts like the rebate program and Solarize Mass, more and more homeowners in Massachusetts have installed solar. Today there are over 10,500 residential solar systems installed in the state.  There are 715 megawatts of installed solar capacity, enough to power more than 100,000 Massachusetts homes.

“The residential solar sector has seen remarkable growth in Massachusetts due to smart policies and programs like the Commonwealth Solar II,” said New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC) President Peter Rothstein. “This program and others have allowed the Massachusetts solar industry to grow and thrive into one that supports thousands of jobs and is helping lower energy bills for thousands of residents and businesses in Massachusetts.”

“This program has been a huge success driving down the cost of residential solar in Massachusetts and should serve as a model for other states to follow,” said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).  “Solar continues to thrive in Massachusetts because innovative programs like this one are delivering on the promise to bring down the price of solar systems, benefitting homeowners, businesses and government entities.  They are also allowing the solar industry in the Commonwealth to grow quickly, creating thousands of good-paying jobs and providing a big boost to the state and local economies.”

MassCEC is partnering with DOER to launch Mass Solar Loan, a new program set to open this spring and focused on connecting homeowners who install solar electric systems with low-interest loans to help finance the projects. 

The Patrick Administration today announced the final design of a $30 million residential solar loan program to complement the nation-leading solar market in Massachusetts.  The Mass Solar Loan program, designed to make it easier for homeowners to finance solar electric projects on their homes, will work with banks and credit unions to expand borrowing options through lower interest rate loans and encourage loans for homeowners with lower income or lower credit scores.

“Solar installations provide important economic and environmental benefits to Massachusetts,” said Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Maeve Bartlett. “The Mass Solar Loan will provide opportunities for homeowners to control and reduce their energy costs and for local banks and credit unions to offer a new business product”.

The Mass Solar Loan program, which has been in development since early 2014, follows a Department of Energy Resources (DOER) study that demonstrates lifetime net benefits to homeowners ten times greater for direct solar ownership relative to third-party ownership. Beginning in early 2015, local lenders will be able to sign up to participate in the program, which is scheduled to begin providing loans in the spring of 2015.

“Massachusetts has seen incredible growth in the solar market, with installations in 350 of the Commonwealth’s 351 cities and towns,” said DOER Commissioner Meg Lusardi. “The Mass Solar Loan program will ensure that this growth continues at the local level, increasing opportunities for homeowners to take their energy future into their own hands.”

The Solar Carve-Out Program administered by DOER has, in partnership with other programs, led to solar installations growing from just 3 MW to 715 MW during the Patrick Administration.  There are nearly 20,000 systems installed in the Commonwealth, with the vast majority of these installed on homes.  DOER anticipates Mass Solar Loan will support $135 million of loans to 6,000 homeowners and 30 MW of new capacity, and launch a loan product that lenders will continue to offer after the DOER credit enhancements expire.

Mass Solar Loan will be launched in partnership with the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) which will serve as the program’s central administrator.  

The launch of Mass Solar Loan coincides with the planned sunset of MassCEC’s successful Commonwealth Solar II rebate program, which has provided rebates for more than 10,500 small-scale solar electric projects at homes and businesses across Massachusetts since 2010.

“With the price of residential solar dropping steadily over the past few years, there has never been a better time to adopt solar energy,” said MassCEC CEO Alicia Barton. ”The launch of Mass Solar Loan will make it even easier for even more residents to tap into the economic and environmental benefits of solar electricity, while creating more local jobs.”

Mass Solar Loan will be available for solar installations on single family homes and on residential buildings up to three units, as well as for participants with an ownership stake in community shared solar projects.  It will provide greater credit enhancement for moderate income customers and those with lower credit scores to encourage lenders to serve these customers. 

"This program will help homeowners maximize the economic benefits of going solar. I am thrilled to see it move forward and look forward to it working in tandem with private programs to advance our shared goals," said State Senator Benjamin B. Downing.

“Consumer energy efficiency and renewable energy investments are an excellent choice for our members and their customers. The Massachusetts Bankers Association believes that the DOER residential solar loan program is a helpful support mechanism for these investments. We are happy to promote participation in solar lending to Massachusetts banks that have a lot to gain from this new program and its related business opportunities,” said David Floreen, Senior Vice President, Massachusetts Bankers Association.

“Credit Unions around Massachusetts are very excited about this program and the opportunity to work in their local communities to bring this exciting technology and loan product to their members,” said Paul Gentile, President of the Massachusetts Credit Union League. “We and our member credit unions have worked as stakeholders with DOER to establish an attractive program design.  We look forward to working with our members to encourage participation.”

The funding committed to the program comes from Alternative Compliance Payments (ACP). ACP funds are paid by electric retail suppliers if they have insufficient Renewable or Alternative Energy Certificates to meet their compliance obligations under the Renewable and Alternative Portfolio Standard programs.

Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Maeve Vallely Bartlett today announced that the communities of Provincetown, Quincy, Plainfield, Ashfield and Buckland will participate in the latest round of Solarize Massachusetts (Solarize Mass®), a grassroots solar energy marketing, education and group-buying program.

Secretary Bartlett also announced that Mass Energy, a non-profit group comprised of 20,000 members, will participate in the inaugural round of Mass Solar Connect, a program similar to Solarize Mass, but focused on driving solar adoption among members of non-profit organizations.

“The more people learn about the economic and environmental benefits of solar energy, the more excited they are to adopt the technology at their homes and businesses,” said Secretary Bartlett. “Governor Patrick’s policies are driving clean energy adoption and creating local jobs across the Commonwealth, these programs are helping more communities and organizations to participate.”

Solarize Mass – administered by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) – is designed to increase the adoption of solar energy across the state, while reducing the overall cost of solar power and offering residents and businesses discounted pricing for solar systems. The program lowers energy costs by offering residents a five-tiered pricing structure, where the savings increase as more people sign contracts.

The five communities participating in this round of Solarize Mass are Provincetown, Quincy, Plainfield, Ashfield and Buckland, with the latter three participating as a group.

“Solarize Mass has been a driving force for solar adoption in participating communities over the years,” said MassCEC CEO Alicia Barton. “I’m sure these five communities will add to this history of success.”

“Thanks to the Governor Patrick’s leadership, Massachusetts is leading the nation in solar energy. With more than 16,000 solar installations – a more than twenty-fold increase from 2008 – every corner of the Commonwealth is taking their energy future into their own hands by investing in solar, creating jobs and reducing emissions along the way,” said DOER Commissioner Meg Lusardi.

Four of the five communities are Green Communities (Ashfield, Buckland, Provincetown and Quincy) – a designation made by DOER to cities and towns that meet five clean energy requirements, including a commitment to reduce energy use by 20 percent within five years as well as a streamlined process of responsible siting of renewable energy such as solar electricity.

MassCEC and DOER will work with community volunteers and municipal representatives from each community to select a designated solar installer through a competitive bidding process.

Since the program’s inception in 2011, Solarize Mass has been responsible for more than 2,400 solar contracts in 46 communities across the state which amounts to 16 total megawatts of electricity capacity.

A new program administered by MassCEC, Mass Solar Connect, will capitalize on the success of Solarize Mass by bringing the education and group-buying benefits to members of non-profit organizations, regardless of the members’ geographic location. MassCEC will work with the non-profit to select a designated installer or group of installers through a competitive bidding process.

“Mass Energy Consumers Alliance really believes in the group purchasing model.  We used it successfully on solar energy over 10 years ago, but the Solar Connect program has many great features and now is a perfect time to go solar,” said Larry Chretien, Executive Director of Mass Energy. “We are excited to be working with the Mass Clean Energy Center and solar companies to deliver an excellent deal for our members.”

The solar industry is booming in Massachusetts, with the Commonwealth meeting Governor Patrick’s ambitious goal of installing 250 megawatts of solar electricity capacity by 2017 four years early. Governor Patrick set a new goal of 1,600 megawatts of installed solar capacity by 2020, and the Commonwealth is well on its way to meeting this mark, with more than 680 megawatts already installed – enough to power more than 100,000 average Massachusetts homes.

In addition to reducing the Commonwealth’s dependence on dirty fossil fuels, the solar industry is also creating thousands of local jobs, with more than 12,000 people already employed in the growing sector, according to the 2014 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Report.

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) CEO Alicia Barton today announced MassCEC’s Clean Energy Internship Program won two national awards: the State Leadership in Clean Energy (SLICE) Award from the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) and the National 3iAwards State and Local Project Award from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC).

“This recognition highlights the Patrick Administration’s commitment to growing the Commonwealth’s clean energy economy now and for future generations” said Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Maeve Vallely Bartlett, Chair of the MassCEC board. “Giving students an internship experience in the cleantech sector prepares them for the Massachusetts workforce.”

The MassCEC Clean Energy Internship Program connects students and recent graduates with Massachusetts clean energy companies. MassCEC provides companies with a talented pool of young professionals and stipends to pay interns during fall, spring and summer sessions. In turn, the companies provide interns with real-world work experience. Since its inception in 2011, the internship program has placed 952 students or recent graduates at clean energy companies across the Commonwealth, with more than 70 of those interns receiving job opportunities at their host companies.

“Massachusetts’ $10 billion clean energy industry is booming and needs skilled workers,” said Barton. “We’re proud that this program has been successful in providing students with a career path while staffing clean energy companies with high-quality talent to fuel their growth.”

The program aims to prepare the next generation of clean energy workers to work in Massachusetts’ clean energy industry, which employs 88,000 workers and is projected to reach 100,000 workers by 2015. The Massachusetts clean energy industry has grown by 47 percent since 2010.

On Nov. 17 in Annapolis, Md., CESA announced the winners of the 2014 SLICE Awards, which recognized eight outstanding state programs and projects. CESA, a nonprofit coalition of public agencies working together to advance clean energy, established these biennial awards to highlight model programs and projects that have accelerated the adoption of clean energy technologies and strengthened clean energy markets. The recipients of the awards were chosen by an independent panel of five distinguished judges, each with years of experience in clean energy.

“These award winners illustrate the tremendous creativity and commitment being shown by state agencies across the country in implementing clean energy,” said CESA Executive Director Warren Leon. “With eight very different programs highlighting diverse technologies including solar PV, wind, energy storage, hydropower, anaerobic digesters, microgrids, and combined heat and power, the 2014 State Leadership in Clean Energy award winners demonstrate that clean energy can create jobs, clean up the environment, and benefit local economies. These are programs to emulate.”

The “State and Local Project of the Year” Award of the 3iAwards recognizes one clean energy program that is setting the standard for the type of projects that will encourage the growth of the clean energy industry into the future. Voted on for the first time by online voters, the award was presented to the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center on Oct. 21, 2014 during an awards ceremony at the Solar Power International conference in Las Vegas.

"We recognize innovative solutions to solving tough problems; we salute the ingenuity of those developing novel concepts and implementing new ideas that advance the use of clean energy; and we thank those who inspire others to make a difference”, said IREC Board Chair David Warner during the ceremony.

The spring session of MassCEC’s internship program is now open for enrollment. For more information visit: www.masscec.com/intern.

The Patrick Administration’s ambitious clean energy initiatives have made Massachusetts a leader in energy efficiency, renewable energy and emissions reductions. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) recently named Massachusetts number one in the nation for energy efficiency for the fourth consecutive year. In 2007, Massachusetts had just over 3 megawatts each of solar and wind capacity installed. Today, there are 687 megawatts of solar installed, with a goal of 1,600 megawatts by 2020. The Commonwealth has installed 107 megawatts of land-based wind, and is poised to be home to the nation’s first offshore wind farm.