Commonwealth Conversations: Energy Smarts

Putting Clean Energy Interns to Work

Tamika Jacques

Director of Workforce Development at Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC)

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The 2013 Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) Internship Program will again provide opportunities this spring for college students and recent graduates to intern with interested clean energy companies based in Massachusetts.

Not only do interns earn a paycheck but they gain meaningful employment experiences including networking opportunities, mentoring, and hands-on training. For companies – including early-stage companies without the resources to employ a large staff – the students provide a steady and engaged workforce to help them get their projects off the ground.

I was lucky enough to join Governor Deval Patrick when he spoke last month at the 2012 Global Cleantech Meet-up and announced the expansion of the program to include 10-week internship sessions in the fall and spring, as well as traditional the 10-week summer program.

University of Massachusetts Amherst chemical engineering graduate student QuynhAnh Tran and Boston University energy and environmental analysis major Amanda Colby were there too (pictured left to right with the governor). Both of them were hired as full-time employees after their internships.

They are two of the 38 students who gained full-time and part-time employment over the past two summers when the program placed more than 262 students and recent graduates at more than 77 clean energy companies across the state.

This program, co-sponsored by the New England Clean Energy Council, is a natural fit for us at MassCEC’s Workforce Development Program, which is dedicated to connecting Massachusetts’ talented workers with emerging and established Massachusetts clean energy companies, growing Massachusetts’ clean energy ecosystem.

Space in this program is limited, so we invite you to apply today.

Seven Clean Tech Bay State Companies Hit The Top 100

Alicia Barton McDevitt

CEO and Executive Director at Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC)

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Earlier this month we received independent confirmation for something we’ve known around these parts for some time – Massachusetts’ clean technology firms are among the best in the world.

Seven firms headquartered right here in Massachusetts were named to the 2012 Global Cleantech 100 list put out the San Francisco-based think tank The Cleantech Group.

These companies – Joule in Bedford, Digital Lumens in Boston, FRX Polymers in Chelmsford, FirstFuel Software in Lexington, 1366 Technologies in North Lexington, Harvest Power in Waltham and Boston-Power in Westborough – have demonstrated that they are among the most successful private clean tech firms in the nation.

I’m very excited to see so many local firms represented on this prestigious list, which is compiled through judging from hundreds of individuals in the clean tech community who know exactly what makes a company successful.

Sitting at the end of the traditional energy pipeline, Massachusetts lacks indigenous supplies of coal, natural gas and oil. Of the $22 billion Massachusetts spends annually on energy, $18 billion of that goes to out-of-state and foreign sources.

There are firms across our state developing new technology every day to increase our energy independence, keep our energy dollars at home and create local jobs in the process.

The success of Massachusetts firms on this independent list also shows that the investments the state has made in the clean energy sector are paying off on a global scale. As Governor Deval Patrick has said before, Massachusetts is the heart of the clean energy revolution and if Massachusetts gets it right, the world will be our customer; and seeing local firms among the best in the world solidifies this belief.

The ranking is further proof Massachusetts clean tech firms are among the best in the world.

Step-by-Step Guide to Solarize

Alicia Barton McDevitt

CEO and Executive Director at Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC)

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You only have until October 31 to take advantage of the economic and environmental benefits of the Solarize Massachusetts Program. 

Solarize Massachusetts allows residents and small businesses to access discounts on rooftop solar installations through a group-buying program. It is simple for residents and businesses in the 17 Green Communities participating in the program.

Just follow the steps detailed in these photos and you too can get your home Solarized.

One Month Left to “Go Solar” at Discounted Rates

Alicia Barton McDevitt

CEO and Executive Director at Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC)

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With a couple of weeks left before this program’s new October 31 deadline, I’m excited to tell you that our solar bulk purchasing program – Solarize Mass – is already a huge success.
Residents from 17 communities across Massachusetts have signed contracts for more than 288 roof-top solar systems that will produce 1.9 megawatts of clean, renewable energy and cut energy costs below traditional sources of electricity. This is enough to power the equivalent of 312 homes each year and cut the greenhouse gas emissions equal to those of 212 cars.

These numbers are incredible.

My favorite part of the Solarize Mass program is the way it brings so many people together.
Our dedicated solar coaches, who are community volunteers, are working with municipal officials, residents, and businesses in their cities and towns to make sure people have the information and tools they need to participate in the program. Our program partners in the private sector – eight solar installers across the state – are working with communities and individuals to adopt this renewable source and drive down the cost of energy.

Administered by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and funded by the state Department of Energy Resources’ Green Communities Division, Solarize Mass builds on the enthusiasm and local know-how of these community representatives, residents, and businesses.

The hard work by all of these players has paid off; more than 4,000 residents have already expressed interest in the program, leading to more than 1,700 site visits completed. There are hundreds more scheduled for the coming days and weeks.

This interest is no small thing. Solar power will help the state decrease its dependence on outside energy sources and create local jobs in the process. Massachusetts spends $22 billion a year on energy, whether it’s to heat our homes or power our vehicles. Of that total, $18 billion is sent out of the state, out of the region, and out of the country.

Programs like Solarize Mass and others that promote the expansion of renewable energy are already keeping more of these dollars here in the Commonwealth, improving the state’s economy as a whole.

But we’re not done yet.

There’s still time for residents of the 17 Solarize communities – Acton, Arlington, Boston, Hopkinton, Melrose, Mendon, Millbury, Montague, Newburyport, Palmer, Pittsfield, Lenox, Shirley, Sutton, Wayland, Sudbury and Lincoln – to sign up to take part in this exciting program.

Interested? Head to the Solarize Mass website and get started!

New Trees Grow in Springfield

Ted Dobbin

Clean Energy Fellow, Department of Energy Resources (DOER)

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Following the devastation of last year’s tornadoes, which destroyed an estimated 4,000 trees, Springfield residents decided to step up to the plate and rebuild their neighborhoods. ReGreen Springfield created the Tree Planting Initiative, which has made tremendous progress in its efforts to restore vibrancy to Springfield, Massachusetts.  During the project’s initial phase, there were over 800 trees planted in tornado affected neighborhoods using $385,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds directed by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER). Due to the initiative’s incredible success, DOER allocated an additional $125,000 of ARRA funding to expand efforts as part of its ReBuild Western Massachusetts program. This allowed for a total of 300 more plantings, bumping up the total to 1,140 trees.

Trees provide far more than a respite from the mid-afternoon sun. From off-setting carbon emissions, to reducing the Heat Island Effect (a build-up of thermal energy in urban spaces), trees are a multi-faceted tool for remedying environmental problems. Trees trap carbon dioxide, one of the major contributing greenhouse gases, and release oxygen into the environment. They can help to reduce urban runoff and erosion, absorb sound and noise pollution, and reduce airborne dust levels. During the summer months, the shade created by healthy trees can help to decrease cooling demands in nearby households and reduce ambient air temperature across neighborhoods. Alternatively, trees can serve as windbreaks for buildings during the winter months and help cut home heating costs for affected homeowners.

These inherent traits are all well and good, but dare I say it, the personal significance of trees should not be overlooked. Whether it’s the maple tree in the front yard whose branches you swung through as a child or the giant oak that you carved your initials in, a tree is more than a carbon dioxide sponge. For many of us, they represent the idea of “home,” or a time in one’s life. A time when everything was simpler, and it felt safe to catch fireflies in the backyard beneath that old apple tree on a balmy summer evening. 

Springfield’s Tree Planting Initiative has helped replace some of these anchors of time and memory lost in the storms of last summer. Excuse the sappiness (and this pun), but I hope these newly planted trees will provide the families of Springfield with a lifetime of new memories.

ReGreen Springfield's efforts are profiled on its Facebook page.

Meet me at the Meet-Up

Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr.

Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

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The strength of the Massachusetts clean energy ecosystem is a testament to the work we’ve done together from town to town and business to business and in homes across the Commonwealth to adopt and champion clean energy.

The number of clean energy workers in Massachusetts – 72,000 and counting – has increased 11.2 percent over the past year. It’s a remarkable development that’s due to deliberate, progressive state clean energy policy, Massachusetts’ high-quality workforce, healthy investment environment, and innovation communities.

This strength is apparent from one end of the clean energy economy to the other. Clean energy firms forge partnerships among innovators, researchers, and utilities to grow business relationships. International clean tech companies look here for leadership.  Companies from abroad simply want to do business here, and emerging companies want to grow here.

In Massachusetts, opportunities abound for businesses that want to lower energy bills by working with companies right in the same zip code – and many of our corporations and institutions with energy-intensive facilities are entering into these partnerships. More and more homeowners recognize that not only is clean energy good for the environment, it’s a good home improvement investment.

We are dedicated to maintaining this momentum by fostering new connections that expand markets, push technology forward, and forge meaningful partnerships from our own backyard to across the nation and around the globe.

Now is your chance to join us in celebrating this growth and advancing the clean energy economy at the Global Cleantech Meet-up held in Boston and Cambridge from October 15 to 18.  The event is brought to you by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center, Fraunhofer Ventures, and the New England Clean Energy Council. (Early bird discounts end Thursday, September 6.)

Representatives from the Commonwealth’s clean energy team look forward to meeting you at the Meet-up – let’s grow your clean energy business in Massachusetts!

We hope to see you there.

Massachusetts clean energy sector grows by 11.2 percent

Alicia Barton McDevitt

CEO and Executive Director at Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC)

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It was such a thrill to come on board at MassCEC on the heels of our recent announcement that Massachusetts has seen more than 11 percent job growth in the state’s clean energy sector. Surrounded by students who participate in our clean energy training programs at the State House in Boston, Secretary Sullivan announced the results of our 2012 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Report, and I was honored to be there with him.

2012 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Report

Clean jobs are growing in the state at a rate nearly 10 times that of the state economy as a whole, and these results shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has been following the clean energy revolution underway in Massachusetts.

This job growth is not an accident. It’s by design.

What we’re seeing now is the direct result of the hard work and dedication of the Patrick-Murray Administration, the Legislature, energy industry representatives, environmental groups, municipal leaders and the residents of the Commonwealth who have all come together to commit to clean energy. The Green Jobs Act and the Green Communities Act, both passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Patrick in 2008, have played an instrumental role in accelerating the development and deployment of clean energy technologies in Massachusetts, in turn creating high-quality jobs and reducing the Commonwealth’s dependence on traditional fossil-fuel based energy supplies.

Focusing on clean energy also allows us to focus on home-grown energy.  Did you know Massachusetts spends $22 billion on energy annually? Since Massachusetts has no native sources of traditional energy, $18 billion of that money is spent in other regions of the United States and in South America, Canada and the Middle East. Investing in renewable energy keeps those dollars here.

Responses from employers surveyed as part of the report show our policies are working. Below are some highlights.

Nearly two-thirds of the state’s 4,995 clean energy firms employ 10 or fewer workers, meaning this revolution is truly being built from the ground up at the small business level.

Manufacturing and assembly jobs within the clean energy sector grew by 37 percent over the past year, now employing more than 11,000 people across the state. These jobs provide a new industry in which seasoned workers can thrive. 

And one final number – 12.4 percent.

That’s the projected growth in the clean energy sector that employers are predicting for the next 12 months. If this estimate holds true, that’s nearly 9,000 more people who will have jobs in the industry by this time next year.

That’s truly something to get excited about.  I am happy to be joining MassCEC at this significant moment in our energy history. I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and start working with the team at MassCEC – and with our many partners – to build Massachusetts’ clean energy future. 

Spartan’s solar story

Christie Howe

Project Manager, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

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Greenfield is a hotbed of sustainable action, including its designation as a Green Community, numerous residential and commercial-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, and more recently a great deal of solar thermal activity. 

As manager of MassCEC’s Commonwealth Solar Hot Water program, I recently spoke to a resident and homeowner in Greenfield, Spartan Giordano, who has found a way to take advantage of the area’s increased interest in solar.

Spartan began his career as a mathematics teacher at Hadley High School, but always had a keen interest in working with high efficiency buildings and solar technologies and “getting his hands dirty.”

He became a volunteer with Co-Op Power, a consumer-owned renewable energy cooperative, where he helped install six solar thermal systems. He was then hired by Co-op Power to direct the 2009 Sustainable Energy Summit. After participating in Greenfield Community College’s (GCC) Renewable Energy Program, under a Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund grant administered by Commonwealth Corporation, Spartan completed classes on solar thermal systems, passive solar and green building design.

Armed with experience and a supreme solar thermal skill set, Spartan embarked on a personal project: the design of his home. With encouragement from his wife Hannah and his friend Adam, he purchased land in Greenfield to build their own passive solar, super-insulated house! Spartan attributes much of his design and construction knowledge to the Renewable Energy Program. Not only were the GCC professors always available to help with design, but many of Spartan’s classmates lent a hand with construction. After two years, Spartan and Hannah are now living in their new, beautiful home with a fully functioning roof-mounted solar thermal system. You can read a month-by-month account of the building process on their blog, including the installation of the two-collector solar thermal system—funded with a Commonwealth Solar Hot Water rebate—that works in combination with an electric water heater to provide 75% of the family’s domestic water heating needs.

Spartan and Adam are currently installing solar thermal systems for Greenfield-based Sandri Energy, which offers a full array of energy related products and services throughout the Northeast. I’m looking forward to seeing the completion of their latest project, a thirty-two collector solar thermal system at the Pittsfield Boys & Girls Club that was funded through MassCEC’s Low Income Solar Thermal Program.

 

Hats off to Massachusetts’ 103 Green Communities!

Mark Sylvia

Commissioner, Department of Energy Resources (DOER)

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Coming to the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) in 2009 after more than a decade in Plymouth town government, including four years as town manager, I saw great promise in the budding new Green Communities Designation and Grant Program.  I believed then as I do now that the best decisions are made at the local level, and saw the Green Communities program as a catalyst for energy leadership by cities and towns.  But, appointed as the first Director of the DOER’s newly-minted Green Communities Division, I consciously tempered my expectations – aware that the mandatory benchmarks spelled out in the Green Communities Act of 2008 set a high bar for municipalities seeking the designation. How many would be able to meet these benchmarks?

As it turned out, the cities and towns of Massachusetts were more than up to the challenge.  An impressive 35 cities and towns applied for and earned Green Communities status in our first designation round in 2010 – compelling many of us in state government to revise our expectations of the program.  Fast forward two years and we have just surpassed the 100 mark, with the designation of 17 new Green Communities and a celebration with Governor Patrick and Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary.  With 103 cities and towns designated, 44 percent of Massachusetts residents now reside in a community that decided to buck the energy status quo and embrace energy efficiency and renewable power. 

All told, the 103 Green Communities have committed to reduce the energy they use by an amount equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 13,358 homes. In greenhouse gas emission reduction terms, this equates to taking 22,556 cars off the road.

 

EEA Secretary Rick Sullivan, officials from the Town of Scituate, and DOER Commissioner Mark Sylvia

Becoming a Green Community requires bold vision and hard work. The milestone reached this week is a testament to the eagerness with which cities and towns, large and small, have rolled up their sleeves in support of a clean energy future. By investing in home-grown renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, the 103 Green Communities are supporting local jobs and growing local economies, while ensuring steady progress toward the Commonwealth’s nation-leading clean energy goals.  As a former municipal official, the former director of this program, and a member of the Patrick-Murray Administration’s clean energy team, I could not be prouder of this diverse set of cities and towns.

 

Visit our flickr page to view more Green Communites photos. 

Patriots of the clean energy revolution cutting greenhouse gasses

Secretary Richard K. Sullivan Jr.

Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

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With new science emerging on the health impacts of fossil fuel consumption and increases in extreme weather and storm events relating to climate change, it’s clear that we need to do all that we can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It’s important because we are a coastal state, we have a vibrant agricultural industry and because we rely on imported energy for our electricity needs. Under the leadership of Governor Patrick, the Commonwealth has risen to the challenge of creating bold long-term goals to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

As a result of the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA), signed by Governor Patrick in August 2008, Massachusetts has greenhouse gas emissions limits of an 80 percent reduction of 1990 levels by 2050. In December 2010, our office released a the 2020 Clean Energy and Climate Plan plan that set the ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.

We’ve already made great progress on greenhouse gas reductions over a short period of time. We recognize the plan has to be dynamic but the investments we’ve made in solar, wind, electric vehicles and energy efficiency are already at work reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

New solar array in Westford, MA.

With the implementation of the Green Communities Act, also signed in 2008, we now have 42 percent of Massachusetts residents (or 2.7 million people) living in Green Communities. All 86 Green Communities  have committed to reducing their municipal energy consumption by 20 percent.  This commitment by these patriots of our Massachusetts clean energy revolution equates to the annual energy consumption of more than 13,000 Massachusetts homes and the greenhouse gases emissions from more than 16,800 cars. 

We have the most aggressive goals in the country and we know that means we have a lot of hard work ahead of us. This Administration has an absolute commitment to obtain those goals. I’ve assigned Undersecretary of Energy Barbara Kates-Garnick and Environment Undersecretary Phil Griffiths to oversee this ambitious plan with focus on transportation, buildings, energy generation, non-energy emissions and climate adaptation.  We’ve got our team in place and a plan to engage with stakeholders. We are also unveiling an online tool to track our progress in May.

It will take all of us to meet these revolutionary clean energy goals. I hope you will join us.