One way to move towards a cleaner, more diverse energy supply is to support the development of new renewable energy facilities. Individuals and organizations can do just that by opting to pay a small monthly or one-time premium to support renewable energy. In addition, through the Clean Energy Choice^® program, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative matches customers' voluntary payments in two ways:

In this issue of Clean Energy Times, we explore how these Clean Energy Choice grants are helping to bring renewable energy to communities and low-income organizations. You can read about how Clean Energy Choice funds are paying for solar panels on schools on Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, solar trash compactors for several towns, four new solar power installations benefitting low-income organizations, and much more.
 

Cape Towns Use Community Matching Grants to Solarize Their Schools

Twenty-one towns on Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard will soon have 2kW solar photovoltaic (PV) systems installed on schools and public buildings, thanks to Cape Light Compact's "Solarize our Schools!" campaign.

About 3,000 Cape Light Compact ratepayers raised the funds for this initiative by selecting Cape Light Compact Green^SM, a Clean Energy Choice qualified offering from the Compact. For every contribution made by customers to Cape Light Compact Green, MTC provided matching funds which were designated for installing solar panels on schools and public buildings. In addition, 19 of the 21 towns were able to meet the target goal of 3% of residential households enrolled and thereby earn a Clean Energy Choice Bonus Matching Grant.

All of the Clean Energy Choice grants earned by each town were pooled together, so that all 21 towns will receive a 2kW solar PV system. KW Management of Nashua, New Hampshire will install the PV arrays throughout the summer and early fall. It is anticipated that the installations will save each school or town building an average of $400 - $500 per year in energy costs and earn additional funds for each town through the sale of Renewable Energy Certificates produced. These certificates will be sold to the Cape Light Compact.

Compact administrator Maggie Downey says, "At the Compact, we recognize that almost everyone wants to see more solar energy.  We're responding to that desire and capturing the benefits of doing a single purchase for 21 towns.  By working together, we do much better than by reinventing 21 different wheels."

In addition to saving towns money, the solar panels will provide educational opportunities to thousands of students. Data acquisition systems, connected to each installation, will enable the students to access such information as electric output, environmental benefits data, and data from other sites on the Cape and Vineyard.  Schools will also receive educational solar PV kits and teaching materials to help students learn more about solar energy.  Kits will be provided by the Compact through the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED).

Annie Bassett, Chatham Middle School teacher, says, "This is a cutting-edge opportunity for middle school students to learn about the power of solar energy.  We are looking forward to the educational opportunities that are provided by the photovoltaic panel that will be on our school."

Three Towns Purchase Solar Trash Compactors with
Community Matching Grants

Newton, Gloucester, and Manchester-by-the-Sea are using their Clean Energy Choice community matching grants to purchase BigBelly^® solar trash compactors. Using the power of the sun, the BigBelly^® system automatically compacts trash and reduces collection trips by four times or more.  In addition to cutting collection costs, they reduce fuel consumption and diesel exhaust emissions.

City and town officials are looking to the solar compaction system to help keep their communities cleaner, to educate the public about practical and cost-effective solar energy applications, and to save time and fuel through more efficient trash collection operations.

Gloucester Mayor John Bell plans to put the unit on the City’s harbor-side Boardwalk, near the famous fisherman statue, where keeping up with trash is often an issue. The area is popular with residents and tourists alike, and is especially busy in the summer months when nearby ice cream shops and street vendors create high volumes of waste. "Since this area is a major tourist attraction, it is a wonderful place to showcase the BigBelly^® and to cut down on litter strewn about by seagulls," Mayor Bell noted, pointing out that the shoreline is a very eco-sensitive area.
The solar compactors are made in Massachusetts. Other cities and towns that have purchased BigBelly^® solar compactors include Boston (which recently ordered 45 units), Worcester, Needham and Spencer. More information about the BigBelly^® solar trash compaction system can be found at www.seahorsepower.com.

Northampton and Williamstown Plan Solar Projects with
Community Matching Grants

Two exciting new projects are being installed in the Western Massachusetts towns of Northampton and Williamstown. These two towns are both using Clean Energy Choice community matching grants to install solar panels on public buildings.

Northampton is purchasing a 10 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system for John F. Kennedy Middle School. To increase educational opportunities, the system will also include a data acquisition system with an active computer display on which students can observe the operation of the solar panels and the environmental impacts of its performance.

The total cost of the project is $92,665, of which $53,000 will come from Clean Energy Choice community matching grants. The city will apply for MTC's Small Renewables Initiative to help cover the rest of the costs. The town has contracted with SolarWorks to install the PV system and construction should begin soon.

The town of Williamstown recently installed a 2.4 kW solar array on the David and Joyce Milne Public Library and the panels began generating power in early August. The system will eventually include a Soltrex web interface which will display energy data from the solar panels on the library website.

The total cost of the project was around $25,821, of which the town plans to use $10,621 of Clean Energy Choice community matching grants. Additional funding for the project came from MTC's Small Renewables Initiative and a grant from the Center for Ecological Technology. The system was installed by Berkshire PhotoVoltaic Services of Adams, MA. You can learn more about it at the municipal seminar "Solar Energy for Your Town" on October 18th at 10 a.m. at the library.

MTC Awards $458,000 in Low Income Matching Grants

In June, 2006 the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative awarded the first round of Clean Energy Choice low-income matching grants. Through Clean Energy Choice, MTC matches up to 100% of the clean energy premiums paid by electricity consumers throughout the state and awards these funds to low-income organizations.

To date, participating ratepayers have triggered over $700,000 of low-income matching grants. After soliciting and reviewing proposals from all over the Commonwealth, MTC selected three organizations serving low-income populations to receive a total of $458,000 in grants.  These funds will pay for both energy efficiency measures and renewable energy systems. These grants will help these organizations to reduce their energy costs and thus direct more of their budgets towards improving conditions for low-income citizens.

The three organizations are:

The Food Bank of Western Mass, Hatfield
This project will benefit 70,000 to 90,000 low-income residents of Western Massachusetts by installing a 30 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system and improving refrigeration energy efficiency at the Food Bank's headquarters. The grant will also help pay for a monitoring system for the PV installation and an educational display in the lobby to inform visitors about the benefits of renewable energy.

Boys and Girls Club of Roxbury
This organization will install a 7 kW solar PV system and improve energy efficiency enough to reduce the building's electricity needs by 16%. Over 2,700 low-income youth will be able to learn about renewable energy through an educational display which shows the energy generated from the PV system in real time.

This newsletter and past newsletters are on the web at http://www.CleanEnergyChoice.org/learn_more.htm.