CEA and NSTAR canvass Cambridge businesses

Posted on July 7, 2010 by JesseGorden

CEA canvassing interns: Trevor, Laurence, Stephanie, Mira, Danit, Federico

Starting Wednesday, July 7th, a city-wide canvass will be visiting Cambridge business squares, bringing money- and planet-saving opportunities to the doors of hundreds of small businesses. Canvassers will talk with business owners about what they can do to make their businesses more energy efficient, supplying them with ample information about which programs to employ to best suit their needs. During these short interactions, businesses will have the chance to sign up for a free energy assessment, and connect with other community resources including:

The City of Cambridge Facade Improvement Program provides technical and financial assistance to property owners or tenants seeking to renovate or restore commercial building exterior facades.

The City of Cambridge Better Retail Practices Program helps Cambridge retailers and restaurant owners improve their establishments’ interior appearance, marketing, advertising, and operations.

New Generation Energy works with green-minded individuals, corporations, and foundations to develop funds to help support green energy upgrades for community nonprofit organizations.

The Sustainable Business Leader Program assists businesses in Boston and Cambridge to become more sustainable by offering technical, hands-on assistance that is affordable, actionable and practical.

In previous residential canvasses, the numbers of buildings reached has been substantial. Through the efforts from Northeastern University’s Summer Discovery Internship program as well as the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, the Cambridge Energy Alliance will reach an estimated 1,000 small businesses by the completion of the campaign– July 22nd. These students range from age 14 to 18 years of age, and have come from both nearby (Cambridge) and far (UK, China, Nicaragua, California, and New Jersey) to make a real difference in this community, while gaining experience that they will surely employ in future ventures.

This campaign is especially significant due to the nature of the target audience. Eighty percent of energy used in Cambridge goes to buildings, and 67% of energy used in Cambridge goes to commercial use. Reducing the commercial energy used by implementing efficiency measures from simply replacing incandescent lighting with CFL bulbs to improving heating and cooling systems within businesses will go a long way toward reducing Cambridge’s overall carbon footprint.

The CEA interns will be out in the field Monday-Thursday from 1pm-3:30pm. So that you may be on the lookout for their friendly faces when they’re in your area, here’s the tentative schedule:

July 7th: Inman Square & Cambridgeport

July 8th: North Cambridge

July 12th: Leslie & Porter Square

July 13th: Harvard Square & Church Street

July 14th: Mt. Auburn & Brattle Square

July 15th: Dana Hill, Bow Street, & City Hall

July 19th: Central Square & Lafayette

July 20th: Concord Ave, Huron, & Strawberry Hill

July 21st: East Cambridge

July 22nd: Kendal/Brookline/Sherman/Broadway

While Europe enters austerity, US spends on Green Energy

Posted on July 5, 2010 by nikitaob

While nations of the European Union are cutting down on spending and rolling back their budgets, the Obama administration is doing the very opposite, and pursuing renewable energy, despite the budget problems facing the US. Barack Obama told reporters yesterday that he will hand out up to 2 billion dollars in grants for the development of clean energy projects, including the construction of one of the largest solar power plants, which will provide energy to 70,000 homes and 1600 jobs. The measure is part of a broader effort that the President says is part of the economic recovery. “We’re fighting to speed up this recovery and keep the economy growing by all means possible,” he said. “It’s going to take months, even years to dig our way out.”

At the same time, European nations highly riddled with debt are increasingly cutting back from the use of alternative power due to the high maintenance. The government of Spain announced that it had reached an agreement to slash subsidies for wind and solar power producers up to 35% starting from 2013. But Spain is not the only nation to feel this trend. Cash-strapped Italy considered scrapping their alternative energy program as a whole, while the Czech Republic and Slovakia are planning large scale cuts to their energy programs. While the US is hoping that deficit spending on renewables will stimulate the ailing economy, European nations are increasingly cutting their programs out of fear of another uncontrollable Greek Crisis.

Increasing Solar Efficiency (and why its important)

Posted on June 21, 2010 by nikitaob

If there’s one clear cut hope for the future of energy, its that a completely clean and renewable source of energy, like the sun, could one day come to completely replace our current addiction to fossil fuels. Solar energy, if applied properly could provide the Earth with years of nearly endless power with virtually no environmental drawbacks. However, there are some major hurdles to clear before this dream of a sustainable future through solar energy could become a reality. Currently, the biggest drawback to solar panels is the low efficiency of these devices, even under constant sunlight. Most photovoltaics today only run at a top efficiency of 20%, making them mere complements to other energy sources, rather than complete replacements.

Despite these setbacks, new research from across the world has recently made some large leaps towards higher solar efficiency. A team working at the University of Michigan has recently begun testing the use of quantum dots made of selenide rather than silicon; their experimentation has shown that using selenide lowered the rate of heating in the semiconductor metals, thereby increasing the amount of total solar energy that is transferred into direct current. At the current rate, the team estimates that this new way of building solar panels could raise the overall efficiency up to 66% or higher. This is a very promising result,” said U of M graduate student William Tisdale. “We’ve shown that you can pull hot electrons out very quickly – before they lose their energy. This is exciting fundamental science.”

In addition to the work being done by U of M students, the Dutch government is currently planning to give out grants to prominent scientists for work in developing solar panels using nanorods, which can increase the maximum efficiency by more than 30%, and can be built in a cost-effective manner. “If the Netherlands wants to timely participate in a commercial exploitation of nanowire solar cells, there is a great urgency to get on board now.” says Jos Haverkort, one of the researchers receiving the grant. With continuing research, Haverkort hopes to be able to present a nanorod based cell with an efficiency of around 65%. If solar panels are to become a cost-effective solution to the energy crisis facing contemporary society, increasing their total electrical output will have to be a key priority. And with the rate of technological innovation moving forward at an astounding rate, the dream a renewable and sustainable energy may only be years away.

Large corporations making large investments in renewable energy

Posted on June 9, 2010 by J Lundee

21st century green initiatives are sparking life in today’s economy. Particularly, there have been a few major investments in renewable energy technologies that have positively influenced the stock market. In recent news, ProLogis, a distribution warehouse provider has made a tremendous investment in solar rooftop implementation in Southern California totaling 11.1 megawatts But what impact is this type of investment really having on our planet and economy?

The master agreement between Southern California Edison (SCE) and ProLogis has positively influenced the company’s stock. The company is able to provide such power through the direct installation of over 4 square kilometers (1.6 square miles) of rooftop panels that will effectively power the entire facility. The project is considered to be “multi-phase,” and will be a progressive installations beginning with nearly ¼ square kilometers. ProLogis currently maintains solar projects on 32 buildings throughout France, Germany, Japan, Spain and the United States.

With large size and and flat roof structure of facilities such as Prologis’, installation of solar power is a natural solution to powering the facility, and obtaining added value from the structure. Vice President of renewable energy for ProLogis states “Our partnership with SCE works well for both parties—we have flat, available roof space and local construction management expertise in place to support the growth of SCE’s renewable energy program.” This is one such example of how electric companies are working with larger organizations to promote sustainability and renewable energy. FedEx is another, earlier adopter of similar systems.

Online service giant Google recently made their biggest renewable energy investment in history. With projects beginning back in 2007, Google has pursued sustainability and renewable energy efforts as wise business investments and as a natural extension of their unofficial motto “Don’t be evil.” On May 3rd a press release went out stating Google’s 38.8 million dollar investment in two North Dakota wind farms. “On Friday we made our first direct investment in a utility-scale renewable energy project—two wind farms that generate 169.5 megawatts of power, enough to power more than 55,000 homes.” Rick Needeham, (Google’s Green Business Operations Manager), wrote within that Google is greatly interested in discovering new opportunities to invest in renewable energy projects that really ”push the envelope.” With enough energy to power nearly 55,000 homes, Google is making a tremendous impact on sustainability for our planet.

With Google’s acquisition of wind turbines in North Dakota, they are able to produce nearly 170 MW of power. Combined, this is a whopping 194.6 MW of clean energy, driven to both business and residential. With lessened maintenance costs and new job openings, these investments are major players in the welfare of our economy as well. It’s with efforts from both energy and non-energy groups that we begin to see hope for the future of our planet.

Edited by Jerrad Pierce

Drink Local, Hike Local too

Posted on June 2, 2010 by JPierce

CCTV blogger Karen Klinger has an interesting write-up of her stroll around the birthplace of your drinking water last Monday evening. Should you find the tale inspiring, you have two more chances to take part in a guided tour of the upper watershed, and three of Fresh pond. If you attend, or otherwise visit Fresh Pond check out some of the interesting 1) public 2) art versions of the watershed map:

MIT & NSTAR partner for efficiency

Posted on May 26, 2010 by JPierce

Just announced this morning:

In an effort to dramatically cut energy use at one of the country’s premier academic and research institutions, NSTAR and MIT are teaming up to launch the single most aggressive efficiency project in NSTAR history. Dubbed “MIT Efficiency Forward,” the program has a goal of cutting electricity use by 15 percent over three years through innovative programs, substantial student, faculty, and staff engagement, and the piloting of new technologies and approaches at MIT.

Read the rest of the press release.

Time to get Specific about Renewable Energy

Posted on March 17, 2010 by jrogers

In Last October’s issue of Scientific American, authors Mark Z. Jacobson and Mark A. Delucchi plan how the world could derive all of its energy through a combination of renewable wind, water, and solar resources, by 2030.

But what does this report add to the discussion on how to make real increases in world-wide renewable energy production? I think that scientists and a large portion of the energy-investment community realize there’s a lot of wind and water in the world, and that the sun shines a lot; the real questions is how to increase the replacement-rate of traditional power systems with renewable power systems. A plan to power the world with 100% renewable energy by 2030 is a nice thought experiment, but it would be nearly impossible to complete in the real-world because existing coal, gas, oil, and nuclear plants represent long-term investments that aren’t going anywhere fast.

Rather than continuing to tout the quantities of potential energy that could be derived from millions of wind-turbines, solar, and geothermal plants built across the world, I think the time has come for scientists, economists, environmentalists, and other activists to focus on regional power systems, and ask where capital investment in renewables could make real in-roads.

Thinking big-picture is wonderful, but to really grab public attention and galvanize investment, the activist community must get more specific. The Rocky Mountain Institute—which assisted in laying some of the groundwork for CEA’s formation—have published several interesting reads on the matter including Negawatt Revolution and Winning the Oil Endgame.

An example of an apparently effective strategy for increasing investment in renewable energy are very large tax incentives. The Modified Accelerated Cost-Recovery System is a depreciation tax incentive that has been on the books for 15 years, but it has not lead to sufficient levels of investment in renewable energy infrastructure. On the other hand, it could be argued that a provision in the Economic Stimulus Package of 2008 which allowed even greater depreciation rates of 50% or more in the first year helped spur the recent growth in wind deployment. Unfortunately, this capacity is largely supplementary and limited by restrictions of an aging grid. It will take even more novel incentives and considerable investment to reach the point where renewables—or efficiency—begin to displace existing power systems.

Give Those Ugly Wires Some Love

Posted on December 16, 2009 by jrogers

The U.S. electric grid–the wires that connect power-plants to homes and businesses–could use a major facelift. In general, control over the flow of electricity on the grid has not kept pace with burgeoning communication improvements made in other areas of the economy, and the National Academies of Science and Engineering have characterized the U.S. grid as an “amalgamation of outdated technologies” (America’s Energy Future: Technology and Transformation).

Implementation of “Smart Grid” technology at the distribution level could provide real-time information on electricity pricing to customers, who could then adjust electricity consumption patterns according to a varying price for electricity. On the long-distance electricity transmission end, the Co-chairs of the National Commission on Energy Policy, in an open letter to Senator Harry Reid, affirm that modernization of the long-distance electricity transmission system would encourage development of renewable wind and solar power resources.

Title IV of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act commits $4.5 billion in federal funding for stimulus projects related specifically to electricity delivery and reliability, and it is critical for government agencies to allocate these funds effectively, and follow-through with policy to encourage further investment. Wind farms and distributed generation solar panels have the potential to provide lots of clean power, but they need a robust, technologically-advanced, and well-funded electricity grid to fully connect supply with demand.

Nuclear Waste and the Future of Nuclear Power

Posted on October 14, 2009 by jrogers

Nuclear power has elicited strong controversy since its beginnings. The public first learned of the power of splitting an atom when the U.S. military devastated targets in Japan during World War II. In the midst of the nuclear power era, the public was shocked again in 1979 by the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island, in Middleton Pennsylvania, and the 1985 Chernobyl Disaster in Ukraine, which caused immediate deaths and has been linked to cancers found in local residents.

Although nuclear technology has an infamous history, today, nuclear power plants generate 20% of the the electricity produced by the U.S. electric power industry. There are currently 104 licensed to operate nuclear power plants in the United States, and the electricity sold by these reactors accounts for billions of dollars in revenue each year. Nuclear power is heavily embedded in the U.S. economy, and cutting nuclear electricity production would require massive investment in other generating technologies.

That said, there are fundamental problems with nuclear power generation that have brought construction of nuclear power plants to a halt. There are various reasons why construction of nuclear power plants has stalled – among them: availability of financing, insurance costs, state and federal regulatory hurdles, and the threat and perceived threat of a meltdown. But perhaps that most straightforward debate, and maybe the most important is that which concerns the disposal of nuclear waste. The United States doesn’t know what to do with it. By cutting funding, the Obama administration has effectively axed the Yucca Mountain project, which, up until this year, was the country’s number 1 option. Currently, most nuclear power plants keep spent nuclear fuel in temporary-storage steel-lined concrete casks…

…But is this an acceptable solution? Academics and anti-nuclear groups have questioned the ethics of temporary-storage because it places a significant burden on future generations, and also assumes some form of continued institutional control. Should we continue to generate electricity from a source of power that generates extremely hazardous waste, and for which, we have no means of disposing of? These are hard questions – especially hard since our society continues to use greater amounts of electricity – but this doesn’t seem like the time to eliminate a major source of energy.

Since passage of the Nuclear Policy Act of 1982, but U.S. goverment has failed to develop a functioning program for nuclear storage. The U.S. capitalist economy allows informed investors to decide what technologies to go forward with, but these decisions do not necessarilly coincide with long term societal interests or negative externalities. So what to do? Well, the decision on whether to increase or decrease the use of nuclear power is too big for this blog, and therefore, I open it up for debate! All readers are invited to post there opinion on this important issue, and I look forward to hearing your responses!

Let’s Bury It?

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Tara Holmes

In New Haven, West Virginia, the Mountaineer Power Plant is about to embark on the world’s first attempt to capture and bury CO₂ from a coal-fired power plant (NYTimes). As early as this week, fluid CO₂ will be pumped into sandstone 7,800 feet underground and then into dolomite 400 feet below that; the liquid carbon dioxide is 30 to 40 feet high and hundreds of yards in length. The plan is to inject 100,000 tons annually for two to five years with the possibility of capturing 90% if Congress finds the technology economically feasible.

Initially sparked by political pressure to limit the amount of CO₂ released into the atmosphere, these plants are now faced with skeptics, scientists and environmentalists alike, who are concerned about the safety and long-term impact this new process could have. Specifically, CO₂ that’s injected into the Earth can filter into the ground water increasing the levels of carbonic acid. Other skeptics are concerned about the long-term pressure that could build as a result, leading to increased earthquakes. The EPA has discounted the risk. Either way, the bigger picture amounts to our continued dependence on fossil fuels for global energy. Until Congress understands the benefit of renewable energy both as a power source and economic stimulant, we will instead be faced with daunting and frightening “solutions” to climate change—like the one taking place in New Haven, WV—which are anything but.

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