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In this issue:
Special Rebates for Homeowners through Commonwealth Solar
The "moderate income adder" has two tiers of eligibility based on gross household income (as defined by the IRS):
To qualify, the applicant must consent to make household income data available to an independent third party to verify eligibility. The program's "moderate home value adder" of $1.25 per watt (above the $2.00 per watt base incentive) also applies to many homeowners. To qualify, the assessed home value (land and building) of the applicant’s primary
residence must be less than or equal to the
following for the appropriate county of residence:
Visit the Commonwealth Solar website to find out if solar electricity is right for you.
New Wind Energy for Chelsea and the Cape Forbes Park in Chelsea installs 600-kilowatt wind turbineGreen condominium development Forbes Park has recently completed the installation of a 600-kilowatt wind turbine on the site. The turbine, which will provide a significant share of the electricity for the complex, is partially funded with a $500,000 design and construction grant from the Trust's Large Onsite Renewables Initiative. The development boasts numerous other green features, including reuse of existing brick walls and concrete floors; oversized windows for passive heating and cooling; shared electric cars powered by excess electricity from the wind turbine; and preservation of 12 acres on the property for wildlife habitat. Learn more at http://forbeslofts.com/vision.htm. Cape Cod Community College approves $2.433 million Trust grant towards wind turbineSenate President Murray and Senator O'Leary congratulate the college As announced in a press release from Senate President Therese Murray and Senator Robert O'Leary, Cape Cod Community College (CCCC) has received a grant of $2,433,000 from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to install a 600 kW wind turbine at the College’s campus in Barnstable. MTC is funding the entire installation through our Low Income Initiative because both CCCC and the Massachusetts Low-income Energy Affordability Network (LEAN) will benefit from this project for twenty years. CCCC will operate and maintain the turbine and pay a discounted rate for the electricity produced by the wind turbine. CCCC’s electricity payment will pass to LEAN which will use the funds for the installation of residential-scale, alternative energy solutions and for home repairs that allow low income clients to be eligible for weatherization programs. MTC will also sell the project’s renewable energy certificates and pass this revenue onto LEAN to support the same programs.
MIT-Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems Announced A partnership of the Patrick Administration, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and MTC has helped the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the largest organization for applied research in Europe, decide to locate its new U.S. center in Massachusetts. The MIT-Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems was announced during a two-day energy conference at MIT by President Susan Hockfield, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles, Fraunhofer USA Vice President William Hartman, and Dr. Karl Weiss, Chairman of MTC's Board of Directors. The center will reinforce Massachusetts' position as a center for clean energy research and will be an important building block of a growing clean energy cluster. A grant of $5 million over four years from the Renewable Energy Trust was essential to securing this center for Massachusetts. 35 New Large Onsite Renewables Awards Approved Twenty-one new feasibility study awards and 14 new design and construction awards have recently been approved through the Large Onsite Renewables Initiative. The projects include wind turbines, biomass / biogas systems, and hydroelectric systems. Projects awarded design and construction grants total 7.7 megawatts in future capacity.
In a press release, State Sen. Benjamin B. Downing and state Reps. Daniel E. Bosley and Denis E. Guyer praised two of these projects located in Franklin County. One is a $40,000 feasibility study for Berkshire East Ski Resort of Charlemont to investigate wind energy; the other is a $400,000 design and construction award for Roberts Brothers Lumber Co. Inc. to install a biomass CHP gasification unit to heat and power its sawmill in Ashfield. "This is a major infusion of state dollars into our companies which will allow us to advance two innovative local projects," said Downing. "Renewable energy technologies are drivers of the new economy, and once again western Massachusetts is on the forefront, planning to make the best use out of these new technologies." Bosley said, "I am pleased that MTC is continuing to support the development of renewable, clean energy in the western part of the state. Wind power at ski resorts has been tested in Western Massachusetts and has proven to serve great benefits to the mountain, surrounding communities, and the environment. I applaud Berkshire East for their initiative on this issue." “I am very pleased to see that MTC had selected Roberts Brothers Lumber Co. for this grant. Robert Brothers is a small business but sees the big picture in the emerging renewable energy field and had developed a project that will convert timber waste into energy to power its sawmill. This is a great initiative and an example for other mills to follow,” said Guyer. Three New SEED Awards to Clean Energy Companies in Mass. Natural Currents New England, LLC, of New Bedford; ReGen Power Systems of New Salem; and FloDesign Wind Turbine Corp. of Wilbraham have each been awarded convertible loans from the Trust's Sustainable Energy Economic Development (SEED) Initiative.
ReGen is the developer of a high-efficiency Stirling engine that can deliver industrial-scale power by operating on low-temperature industrial waste heat, which represents a multi-billion dollar market opportunity that is currently unaddressed by commercially available technologies. In addition, ReGen has a pilot customer in place to demonstrate its commercial scale engine system. The technology has potential applicability to solar thermal and biomass electricity generation technologies as well. Commercialization of ReGen’s modified Stirling engine technology will lead to multiple economic development, cluster development, and environmental benefits for Massachusetts. The company will use its $500,000 SEED award as working capital to help it complete its bench-scale model and test the commercial scale system in Massachusetts. FloDesign Wind Turbine Corp. has been created to commercialize a new shrouded wind turbine design. The design has the potential of increasing efficiency of wind energy generation and reducing the cost of electricity produced, as compared with horizontal-axis wind turbines of similar capacity. With its $500,000 SEED award, FloDesign will conduct proof-of-concept analysis and sub-scale testing as well as pursue additional intellectual property protection. Read Mass High Tech story on FloDesign>> UMass Dartmouth launching an ocean power center with MTC, federal funding MIT, German firm join forces MTC awards FloDesign $500K for new turbine concept Aiming to put fuel cells to work So did the computers. The power source: two fuel cells, each about the size of a refrigerator. Read more>> Tidal energy firm gets development grant Natural Currents New England LLC received the grant from the SEED program, an initiative of the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, that supports the growth and commercialization of renewable energy related product development and facilitates companies' access to private capital. Read more>> To unsubscribe from Watts News, please email wattsnews@masstech.org. For additional free subscriptions to the newsletter and other periodic announcements from the Trust, please email that address or visit our registration page. |
