North American Windpower: Massachusetts Agencies Launch Pilot Program To Spur Clean Energy

Massachusetts Agencies Launch Pilot Program To Spur Clean Energy

by NAW Staff on Monday 18 February 2013

A pair of Massachusetts agencies are partnering on a $500,000 pilot program to help local communities identify renewable energy and energy efficiency strategies.

The Community Energy Strategies Pilot Program, sponsored by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources' Green Communities Division, will provide technical and financial assistance to help identify and enable clean energy strategies and incentives.

Massachusetts lies at the end of the energy pipeline, lacking indigenous supplies of traditional energy resources. As a result, Massachusetts has some of the highest energy costs in the nation, the agencies note. Of the $22 billion Massachusetts spends annually on energy, $18 billion of that goes to out-of-state and foreign sources.

According to the MassCEC, the pilot program is designed to help communities assess and evaluate clean energy investments ranging from high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment and insulation to wind turbines and solar electricity systems.

The following communities/planning agencies are participating in the pilot program:

Northampton;
Watertown;
Newburyport;
Franklin Regional Council of Governments (Greenfield, Montague, Buckland and Shelburne);
Metropolitan Area Planning Council (Hamilton, Wenham, Salem and Swampscott); and
Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (Amherst, Hadley, Holyoke, Easthampton and East Longmeadow).

Latest Top Stories

Study: How Northwest Wind Can Play With Energy Storage And Provide Operational Flexibility

Researchers have identified two possible sites in eastern Washington to build compressed-air energy-storage facilities that could temporarily store the Northwest’s abundant wind resources.

Wind Consortium Deploys Nacelle-Mounted LIDAR At Offshore Site In Irish Sea

In an important development for performance verification for offshore wind sites, a group of companies have deployed a nacelle-mounted LIDAR at DONG Energy's 367 MW Walney Wind Farm.

As U.S. DOJ Investigates, Duke Works Adaptive Management Plan

With previous golden eagle fatalities reported at two company-owned wind farms in Wyoming, Duke Energy Renewables is going to great lengths to protect raptors.

DOE To Recast Landmark 20% Wind Energy Report; Study Looks Back, Ahead

The U.S. Department of Energy will update its 20% Wind Energy By 2030 report, which indicated increased levels of wind penetration for the U.S. is not only possible but feasible.

Wind Energy Procurement Top Of Mind For Big-Name Companies

With greater frequency, top-tier companies are discovering the economic and environmental power of wind energy and upping their investments in the resource.