Climate Change has made an appearance in the Massachusetts Special Election to replace the late Ted Kennedy. As reported in the Boston Globe on December 17th, Republican candidate Scott Brown casts climate change as an economic issue (without agreeing that it’s happening or that human activity is driving it), and opposes taking action because it [...]
If the Jewish sage Hillel were alive today, he might aptly apply his famous line to the climate change conference in Copenhagen. The activities there could, and may, fill volumes. Much of what happens, or is said, will be analyzed and dissected afterward, some of what happens quickly forgotten. But one can argue that there [...]
The Massachusetts DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) has a state-wide energy management pilot program underway to reduce the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities. Initiated in December 2007, the program’s intent is to reduce the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of the facilities by 20%. The energy [...]
2 600kW wind turbines were installed at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s Deer Island facility in August, 2009. The 2 turbines are expected to generate 2 million kWh of electricity each year, a savings of about $250,000 to the MWRA ratepayers. Water treatment, especially on the scale of Deer Island, is a hugely resource intensive [...]
In presentations and conversations, I make a point of distinguishing between energy efficiency and energy conservation. In many ways, energy is similar to money in that it can be considered a store of value or a medium of exchange. The value to the end user is not in the thing itself, but it what can [...]
A 1.5 MW Fuhrlander FL-1500 wind turbine was dedicated at the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod in early November, 2009. It is the 2nd largest wind turbine installed in Massachusetts, and the largest installed since 2007. (A 1.65 MW turbine is coming on line in Falmouth shortly.) The turbine was installed to reduce the [...]
The $151 million in ARPA-E grants announced on October 26th are targeted at some of the key energy and sustainability challenges facing the United States. ARPA-E’s mission is to support transformational research – disruptive, game-changing research – which by definition is high-risk, but also high-reward if it succeeds. That said, the projects are not blue-sky, [...]
6 of the 37 projects awarded funding in the first round of ARPA-E grants on October 26, 2009 were led by Massachusetts companies or institutions. These projects were awarded $33.3 million of the total $151 million announced. Awards were made to: MIT FastCAP Systems Agrivida I366 Technologies FloDesign Wind Turbine Sun Catalytix The areas of [...]
