Commonwealth Wind

State officials and alternative energy advocates and contractors clustered on a windswept mountaintop Thursday to dedicate a project 13 years in the making that will double the state's wind energy output.
The Berkshire Wind Power Project of 10 GE wind-turbines along the Taconic ridgeline between Routes 7 and 43 will generate enough energy to power 6,000 homes.
It's a long way from the single coal stove that heated the family farm decades ago, said Meredith Cochran, who owns part of the land on which the wind turbines were built.
"All the way from 19th-century charcoal to 21st-century wind, the farm still remains an income- producing farm," said Cochran, as the turbine on the highest point on Brodie Mountain swung more than 200 feet above her. She spoke of her parents' commitment to the environment and the organic practices she and her husband had continued. "My parents would have loved it, utilizing new technologies with an existing resource — wind. New products to support the farm and help diminish our country's dependency on corporate energy sources."
The project began in 1998 as a private venture but moved in fits and starts as it was bogged down by funding problems and appeals by environmentalists; the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co., a public utility serving municipal utilities in 14 towns and cities, bought the assets in 2008. After a eight-month setback because of a federal lawsuit by adjoining Silverleaf Resorts Inc., which is building condominiums on the former Brodie ski area, the newly created Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corp. issued a $65 million bond in 2010 to complete the 15 megawatt project. 
Only one turbine was spinning on Thursday but the other nine are expected to come online by the end of the month, inching the state closer to Gov. Deval Patrick's goal of 2,000 megawatts of wind and 150 Mw of solar energy being produced in the state. Brodie is considered a prime inland location for wind power, rating 6 on a scale of 7 with a 40 percent capacity.
"I'm excited about this project; I'm excited about what it portends for the future," said Patrick, who spoke during an oddly calm break in the blustery air. "There are opportunities here for us to show a whole new level of environmental stewardship, opportunities here for us to generate our own power and to free ourselves not just from the dependence on foreign oil and gas but from the price spikes that are an inherent part of that market."
Richard K. Sullivan, secretary of Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said the state spends more than $20 billion every year in energy and 80 percent, or $18 billion, not only goes outside the state, it goes outside the country. Projects such as Berkshire Wind are creating a home-grown market for energy needs, he said, adding that Patrick was the only governor with "the vision to put energy and environment in the same secretariat, understanding that good clean energy decisions were also good environmental decisions." 
Later, Patrick reiterated a point made by Sullivan on the 65 percent in job growth in green energy over the last few years. "Because we have made a point of cultivating that industry and it's an industry that makes a lot of sense in Massachusetts because of the concentration of brainpower and our tradition of innovation and invention," he said. "It builds on technology and technicial capability that we have here right now."
Berkshire Wind is currently the largest completed wind project. Two others, both private, have also been years in development and have had difficulty overcoming zoning, permitting, appeals and lawsuits. The Minuteman Project is at a standstill over wetlands permitting and buyers for its power; Hoosac Wind in Florida and Monroe has begun construction after seven years and, when completed, will be double the size of Berkshire Wind.
Patrick said it was important to pass a wind power siting bill currently in the Legislature. "We need the wind siting bill ... you know they said this project is 13 years in the making. It shouldn't take 13 years — that adds to costs. It means we are that much longer in breaking ourselves of dependency on oil and gas and we need alternatives," he said. "We can have wind siting reform that respects local interests and local control and that's what we're trying to get."
Cochran, whose family was battered by lawsuits and calls for boycotts of their Christmas tree farm, said landowners should have a "predictable and reasonable number of permitting and hoops and hurdles." 
The towns of Lanesborough and Hancock were very supportive of the project, said Ronald C. DeCurzio, chief executive officer of MMWEC, but added that being a public concern had advantages in permitting and pushing through projects of this nature. 
"Public power does have the ability to act quickly, to get financing quickly, and they are on the forefront of reducing our carbon footprint," he said. Two of the participating municipalities, Hull and Leverett, began pursuing wind power as early as 1985.  
Sullivan asked Lanesborough and Hancock to continue to lead the way by showing renewable energy "can be developed safely and responsibly." 

BY: LEANNE O'BRIEN

PHOTOGRAPHS BY: LEANNE O'BRIEN

http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/News-and-Features/Online-exclusives/2011/Spring/Turbine-testing-facility-opens-in-Charlestown.aspx

THE HUGE BUILDING next to the lot holding imported cars in Charlestown looks a lot like a warehouse, but it’s actually part of an effort by Massachusetts to attract cutting-edge renewable energy technology to the state.

“To the untrained eye this may look like any other building, but it is actually a machine -- a sophisticated, intricate machine,” Patrick Cloney, executive director of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, said yesterday at the unveiling of the nation’s first large-scale wind turbine testing facility.

The building dwarfs the 48-meter Clipper Windpower blade that it houses, the first wind turbine blade to be tested at the one-of-a-kind facility. The Wind Technology Testing Center will offer third-party testing of prototype wind turbine blades developed by manufacturers.

The facility, which has the capacity to test blades nearly a football field long, will simulate 20 years of wear over a period of just a few months. From their third floor control room, operators can also subject blades to intense stress by using equipment to pull them in opposite directions.

The construction of the facility was financed with $24.7 million in federal stimulus funds, a $2 million federal National Renewable Energy Lab grant, and $13.2 million in grants and loans from the state’s Clean Energy Center.

For Gov. Deval Patrick, the testing facility is a long-awaited step towards his vision of Massachusetts as a clean energy hub. “I was thinking when we were here to break ground, I better win re-election so I can be here to cut the ribbon." Patrick said.

US Rep. Michael Capuano credited the stimulus package with the creation of 300 construction jobs at the site and attracting new industries to the state. “You know that big, bad bill that everybody hated so much? It created this facility. It created these jobs,” he said.

Another supporter of the project, US Rep. Ed Markey said that he looks forward to a future of energy self-sufficiency in which the state “will be telling OPEC that we don’t need their oil any more than we need their sand.”

Craig Christenson, senior vice president of Clipper Windpower, the wind turbine testing facility’s first customer, said the center will enable his company to introduce new products to the market more quickly. Previously, the company had been forced to outsource the testing of their turbine blades to European companies. Christenson said the new facility means the US has “regained a leadership position” in the field of wind technology after years of European dominance.

Officials said customers of the facility will be charged fees that vary depending on the scope of the testing project. Revenues will flow to the Clean Energy Center, a state authority that invests in renewable energy projects and companies. Cloney said the facility is booked solid for the next 18 months, attracting domestic and foreign blade manufacturers, even some that have their own testing facilities.

Governor Deval Patrick today joined state and federal officials and wind industry leaders in Charlestown to celebrate the opening of the first facility in the United States capable of testing large-scale wind turbine blades up to 90 meters in length.
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s (MassCEC) Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC) will serve as a critical component in the wind energy industry, speeding deployment of the next generation of wind blades into the marketplace, attracting companies to design, manufacture and test their blades in the United States and catalyzing growth in the American wind turbine supply chain.
"To win the clean energy future, our nation and state must enthusiastically embrace the use of large-scale wind turbines in onshore and offshore wind farms," said Governor Patrick. "The Wind Technology Testing Center will help achieve that goal, by doing business with companies from around the world, and advancing the next generation of blade technology." 
Approximately 300 construction and engineering jobs were created in transforming an empty parking lot into the world-class wind blade testing facility. The WTTC is already attracting global wind blade manufacturing to Massachusetts. Last fall, global wind blade manufacturer TPI Composites opened a wind blade R&D, and prototype manufacturing facility in Fall River, and is currently working on building its first prototype wind blades. TPI will be a customer of the WTTC, and has cited it as a key driver in its decision to set up shop in Massachusetts.
“New England winds have tested the wills of sailors and citizens for centuries. Now we will be taking the lead in testing and developing the wind turbines that will help power our nation in the 21st Century. This new clean energy facility will help ensure that the Bay State has a front row seat for the clean energy revolution,” said Congressman Ed Markey.
“I am pleased to be here today celebrating the opening of the Wind Technology Testing Center, which created hundreds of jobs during a difficult economy. With the work done at this facility developing the next generation of wind turbines, Massachusetts is leading the way in advancing clean energy initiatives,” said Congressman Michael Capuano.
“The Wind Technology Testing Center will not only strengthen the status of Boston and the Commonwealth as a world leader in wind development, but as a leader in clean tech innovation,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino.  “I commend Governor Patrick and the Obama Administration for their collaborative efforts to nurture the clean tech economy. If we continue working together, I have no doubt that we can lead the way on economic and environmental gains that will make a difference at home and around the world.”
“Massachusetts has made huge strides in wind power since the Patrick-Murray administration took office – moving from an installed capacity of 3.1 megawatts to an expected 90 megawatts installed or in construction and design by the end of this year,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr., who chairs the MassCEC board. “Today, we hit another significant milestone – providing the U.S. with the first facility capable of testing the next-generation utility-scale turbines."
“The Wind Technology Testing Center is more proof that Massachusetts is leading the clean energy innovation revolution,” said MassCEC Executive Director Patrick Cloney. “Our clean energy future will require large-scale wind turbines to support wind projects both on land and offshore, and the WTTC will be at the forefront of developing those turbines.”
In June 2007, Massachusetts won a competitive $2 million federal NREL grant, plus in-kind technical and operating assistance, to help outfit and run a new wind blade testing center. In May 2009, the WTTC was awarded $24.7 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to accelerate development of the WTTC. MassCEC provided $13.2 million in grants and loans for design and initial development expenses for the project, which will be the first commercial large blade test facility in the nation, testing commercial-sized wind turbine blades to help reduce cost, improving technical advancements and expediting the deployment of the next generation of wind turbine blades into the marketplace.
MassCEC, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) National Wind Technology Center (NWTC,) broke ground on the WTTC in Charlestown in October 2009. The WTTC is uniquely positioned on an existing deep water port and near interstate highways, close to numerous world-class clean energy research and academic centers in the Boston area. The blades will be shipped to the facility primarily by water, with shorter blades shipped by road, if required.
The WTTC will provide three test stands (providing ability to test three blades simultaneously), 100 tons of overhead bridge crane capacity and a full suite of certification tests for turbine blades up to 90 meters in length, including static and fatigue testing, blade material testing, dual axis static or fatigue testing, and quality testing. In addition as part of its effort to help the wind industry deploy the next generation of onshore and offshore wind turbine technologies, the WTTC will offer the latest wind turbine blade testing and prototype development methodologies, research and development partnerships, blade repair capabilities and hands-on workforce training. The facility will be able to test three blades at a time.
As part of an effort to be a first adopter of clean energy technologies produced by Massachusetts clean energy companies, MassCEC selected an intelligent lighting system from Boston-based Digital Lumens to light the WTTC. The system was chosen based on several factors including using 66 percent less energy than traditional lighting alternatives, the ability to provide required light levels from the 80-foot ceiling heights of the facility, an integrated networking and intelligence system that will help maximize energy savings, and the elimination of maintenance and re-lamping associated with other lighting sources.
“Clipper Windpower is delighted to be the first company to utilize the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s new WTTC. In the past, the wind energy industry has relied upon European blade test laboratories to qualify new blade designs. As a U.S. company, the ability to conduct ultimate strength and fatigue durability tests on the world’s largest, next-generation size rotor blades right here in America will accelerate our ability to finalize designs and get our products to market,” said Clipper Wind Senior Vice President of Engineering Craig Christenson. “With a state-of-the-art, world-class blade test center, America has strengthened its capability to compete in the global wind energy sector. Investments like the WTTC support our nation’s green energy future and bring us closer to having what it takes to compete as a world leader in the global energy sector, a market forecast to exceed $96 billion and deliver 1.92% of the world’s electricity in 2011.”
“This project created thousands of hours of work for Local 7 Ironworker members during difficult economic times,” said Local 7 Ironworker Business Agent Paul Lynch. “All phases of this project were a unique opportunity for our team, and I’m proud to see this outstanding facility come to fruition. My hat goes off to all the Ironworkers who worked on this project, as well as the Patrick-Murray Administration, Mayor Menino, Turner Construction Company, and Local 7 Ironworker contractors Francis Harvey & Sons, Daniel Marr & Sons and Ipswich Bay Glass Co. Inc.”    
Earlier this month, Governor Patrick traveled to the Berkshires to cut the ribbon on the new ten-turbine Berkshire Wind Project, the state’s first utility scale onshore wind farm, with the capacity to generate enough renewable electricity to power approximately 6,000 homes in the region. This Spring, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar traveled to Massachusetts to green light the construction plan for Cape Wind, which will be the nation's first offshore wind farm. 10 developers have recently expressed interest in additional offshore wind developments in the federal waters south of Martha’s Vineyard.

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

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), in partnership with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), announced today that it is awarding contracts to the New England Aquarium and the College of Staten Island to collect migratory and habitat usage data on marine wildlife to help the Commonwealth and federal agencies evaluate sites for future wind energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Massachusetts.
“This research advances our parallel goals of developing Massachusetts’ tremendous offshore clean energy potential while protecting our environmental resources,” said EEA Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr., who chairs the MassCEC Board of Directors.  
“These studies will assure the Commonwealth and the federal government that offshore wind sites that move forward in these waters are in the best locations and configurations with respect to marine wildlife species,” said MassCEC Executive Director Patrick Cloney.   
MassCEC issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to conduct the field survey work for a full year. Data will be collected for birds, North Atlantic right whales and other large whales, and sea turtles in federal waters off the coasts of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.  MassCEC has awarded $570,000 to The New England Aquarium Corporation for field survey of large whales and sea turtles, and $330,000 to the College of Staten Island for field survey of birds. 
“The Aquarium’s research staff is excited to do marine wildlife surveys of the waters south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket for large whales and sea turtles,” said New England Aquarium President and CEO Bud Ris. “This will be an important step in providing systematic scientific data that can be used to minimize conflicts between marine life and offshore energy development.” 
“As a senior college of The City University of New York, the College of Staten Island is deeply committed to supporting the advancement of faculty research with partner organizations dedicated to our mutual goals of preserving and protecting the environment while advancing the pursuit of renewable energy,” said College of Staten Island President Dr. Tomás D. Morales.  “Dr. Richard Veit is uniquely qualified to conduct these surveys based upon his proven track record of developing detailed and temporally intensive datasets on marine bird abundance, and his long-term experience in the area.”
This RFP follows the recent announcement of a federal leasing process for development of offshore wind energy in federal waters off the Massachusetts coast.  In December 2010 the US Department of Interior’s Bureau of Offshore Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) issued a Request for Interest (RFI) to measure the offshore wind industry’s interest in developing projects within a 3,000 (2,224 nautical) square mile expanse of federal waters off the Massachusetts coast, beginning approximately 13.8 (12 nautical) miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The Massachusetts Renewable Energy Task Force – an interagency group of federal, state, tribal, and local elected officials – partnered with BOEMRE to draw the boundaries of the RFI area, which has excellent wind resources and water depths able to accommodate current and near-term wind power technologies.  Based upon consultations with commercial fishermen, fisheries scientists, and other maritime users and interests, the Patrick-Murray Administration recommended removing the eastern portion of the RFI because of its importance to the Commonwealth’s fishing industry and to marine fauna.  BOEMRE subsequently accepted the state’s recommendation.  MassCEC and EEA will continue to collaborate with the Task Force, as well as federal and state fisheries and wildlife agencies, as the field survey work is developed and conducted.

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) CEO Alicia Barton McDevitt today announced a grant of up to $260,000 to help strengthen and grow the research capacity of the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Wind Energy Research Group.
The grant includes $115,000 for a graduate student program in conjunction with MassCEC’s Wind Technology Testing Center in Charlestown. The grant also provides $100,000 to support the continued development of an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for which UMass Lowell is seeking funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). If the NSF funds the center, the grant provides an additonal $45,000 for MassCEC’s membership in the center.
“The research center will further strengthen the wind energy research cluster here in Massachusetts by bringing together the university and private developers to reach a common goal,” said Barton McDevitt. “Training the next generation of researchers will accelerate the development of the next generation of high-performance wind energy technologies designed to generate even more clean power from a single turbine.”
"UMass Lowell's expertise in wind blade technology is helping the nation expand its supply of alternative, clean energy sources. Our partnership with the Wind Technology Testing Center and MassCEC will help ensure that Massachusetts is a center for advances in the industry,” said UMass Lowell Chancellor Marty Meehan. “We are grateful to the MassCEC for their support of the important research being conducted by UMass Lowell faculty.”
“As our country faces new energy challenges, the need for renewable, domestic sources of energy has become a national priority. Wind power, one of the cleanest renewable fuels, is an important part of solving the energy puzzle,” said U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas. “MassCEC is a real asset in helping to make the Commonwealth a leader in clean energy research and development, and the center's partnership with UMass Lowell is a benefit to our entire region. This grant will enable UML to continue expanding into one of our region’s premier innovation, technology and research centers, and lend its remarkable resources to the search for clean energy solutions.”
“This is exciting news for UMass Lowell and for the city of Lowell itself,” said state Rep. Thomas Golden Jr. “UMass Lowell students are extremely fortunate to be able to participate and work in a first-class research facility. MassCEC’s grant will also bring excellent researchers and developers to the Lowell community and the UMass Lowell Campus and provide our students with amazing future career opportunities.  As the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center continues to develop and thrive, I look forward to watching students from our own community excel in the field of clean air technology and become the next innovative researchers.”
“I am encouraged when I see public-private partnerships centered around innovative ideas, like this one,” said state Rep. David Nangle. “Lowell has been historically involved in cutting edge technology.  This and other local projects like it, remind us that Lowell can be a player in the innovation economy of the future.”
“We all have a role to play in promoting clean energy,” said state Sen. Eileen Donoghue. “Securing the funding for expanded research is an important part of this equation. I’m certain that this grant from MassCEC will allow UMass Lowell to continue their leadership in wind energy research.”
More than 50 wind technology companies have expressed interest in joining the research center, which will serve to bring together those in the industry with the students and professors of UMass Lowell. The center will also further strengthen the university’s ability to attract and graduate students in disciplines that support the Commonwealth’s wind energy cluster.
As part of comprehensive statewide policies to further the development and adoption of clean energy, Governor Patrick has set an ambitious, but achievable, goal of having 2,000 megawatts of wind energy installed in Massachusetts by 2020.
The Patrick-Murray administration has focused on growing the state’s clean energy sector as a way to create local jobs and keep more energy dollars here in the Massachusetts economy.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), in partnership with the City of New Bedford, will host an informational public meeting regarding the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. Once constructed, the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal will be the first facility in the nation designed to support the construction, assembly, and deployment of offshore wind projects. The terminal will also provide the Port of New Bedford new capacity to handle high-volume bulk and container shipping, as well as large specialty marine cargo. As part of construction, the project includes the dredging and removal of approximately 250,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment, a significant environmental benefit to the City of New Bedford. The first of its kind in North America, the terminal has been engineered to sustain mobile crane and storage loads that rival the highest capacity ports in the world.
The public meeting will include a presentation regarding construction and a question and answer session.
WHAT:
Informational public meeting on the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal
WHO:
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, in partnership with the City of New Bedford and the New Bedford Economic Development Council
WHEN:
Tuesday, April 2, 2013, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
WHERE:
New Bedford Public Library,
613 Pleasant St., Third Floor
New Bedford, MA 02740