“Major clean energy & economic development announcement”

Comments

1. syphax says

   April 17, 2007 at 12:46 pm

   I’m working hard to get my town to get more active on sustainable energy issues (conservation, efficiency, renewables) with mixed results to date.  The main barriers are inertia, attention, and education, not economics (the stuff we want to start with has very good paybacks).

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   State support in any capacity is welcome!

   • gary says

     April 17, 2007 at 2:59 pm

     The main barriers are inertia, attention, and education, not economics (the stuff we want to start with has very good paybacks).

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     Could you elaborate on the paybacks?

     • syphax says

       April 18, 2007 at 2:24 pm

       Compact fluorescents pay for themselves in 4-6 months- from a financial view, they really are a no brainer.  Some people don’t like the light, but there was some article I saw recently in which they were actually found to have higher-quality light than incandescents, however that was defined.

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       After that, things are very site dependent.  Insulation is a no-brainer for payback in many cases, esp. in post-war houses (my house had almost nothing in the attic when we moved in 7 years ago).  Insulating water heaters is generally a no-brainer. 

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       More efficient heating systems, etc. all have paybacks which vary.

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       Sorry not to have more numbers at my fingertips-

2. david says

   April 17, 2007 at 3:13 pm

   Governor Deval Patrick today announced that, with state assistance, Marlborough-based Evergreen Solar Inc. will build a manufacturing plant located in Westborough.  This expansion will result in 350 to 375 new jobs – more than doubling Evergreen Solar’s current Massachusetts employment.

   “I’ve said all along, if Massachusetts can get clean energy technology right, the world will be our customer,” said Governor Patrick.  “Evergreen Solar is one of the companies that’s going to help us get clean energy right.  I am proud that my economic development and energy and environmental affairs teams were able to help Evergreen Solar grow and thrive right here in Massachusetts, and give us a head start toward building a clean energy economy.”

   Also key to the development of solar power as a clean energy source and an industry in Massachusetts is a first-in-the-nation partnership between a manufacturer of solar photovoltaic products and an electricity distribution utility announced today.  Evergreen Solar and NSTAR have announced an alliance that will combine Evergreen Solar’s photovoltaic technology with NSTAR’s expertise, capabilities, and customer relationships for a new model of solar market development.  Utilities National GRID and Western Massachusetts Electric have also entered into discussions about forming similar relationships with Evergreen Solar. 

   “We are most appreciative of Governor Patrick’s efforts in creating the conditions that made sense for us to expand in the place where we got our start,” said Richard Feldt, president and chief executive officer of Evergreen Solar.  “Governor Patrick’s vision for broad scale solar adoption through an innovative solar incentive program as well as the creative financial incentive programs the state had to offer influenced our decision to expand in Massachusetts.  Finally, the Governor’s efforts to encourage utilities to use their substantial infrastructure to improve solar market delivery should help us close the gap between solar and conventional energy costs.” 

   “This program with Evergreen Solar will expand renewable energy choices for our customers by making solar installations more accessible and affordable,” said Thomas J. May, NSTAR Chairman, President and CEO.  “Customer interest in clean energy options is growing, and we are committed to offering them an increasing number of options to choose from.”

   Today’s announcement at Evergreen Solar’s Marlborough Science and Technology Center highlighted three key developments:

   * Evergreen Solar’s $150 million manufacturing plant, to be built in Westborough, adjacent to the campus of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC).  A $44 million financing package put together by the Massachusetts Office of Business Development includes $23 million in grants to the company and its host community, $17.5 million in low-interest loans from public and private entities, and $3 million in savings from a low-cost 30-year lease of state-owned land. 

   * A first-in-the-nation alliance between a solar manufacturer and an electric utility, with NSTAR agreeing to help Evergreen Solar identify prospective solar customers and to provide its customers with information on solar power, along with referrals to reputable installers and potential sources of financing.

   * A commitment by the Commonwealth to aggressive goals for installed solar power generating capacity – from roughly 2 MW today to 250 MW by the end of 2017 – by strategic use of renewable energy funds and new regulatory incentives for solar power adoption by residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

   “Today marks a major step on the road to our clean energy future,” said Governor Patrick.  “I am proud to share this day, and this road, with my friends at Evergreen Solar and NSTAR.”

3. stomv says

   April 17, 2007 at 5:27 pm

   1.  Great!  Jobs are great, skilled jobs are even better.

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   2.  What about pollution and manufacturing waste?  Generally, this is nasty stuff, but I don’t know what parts of the process will be done in Mass, and more importantly, how are we dealing with the heavy metals and other waste?

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   3.  250 MW by 2017 isn’t enough.  The increase in load during daylight hours is about 4000 MW in April (for New England).  It’s even more in July and August (about 6000 MW) in New England; it’s about 3000 MW in January.  This is important because supply must meed demand instantaneously, which means that during the day peaking plants are activated to make up the extra supply — and these peaking plants tend to pollute more (and use diesel fuel, ugh!) than baseload plants.  What’s nice about solar is that it produces the most when electricity demand is the highest, so it tends to offset the need for peaking plants.

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   That’s why 250 MW by 2017 isn’t enough.  They need to multiply that by a factor of 10.  Of course, it’s expensive and we’re at 0 now, so they’d need to be installing 250 MW per year, which ain’t going to happen.  But, they could be doing better than 25 MW per year throughout New England, that’s for sure.

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   4.  The easiest way to make (3) happen is to increase Massachusetts’ RPS and require a percentage of the makeup be solar power (or phrase it to be technology-independent by requiring a certain percentage (statistically) be generated during the peak hours, say 75% of the total).

4. jeremybthompson says

   April 18, 2007 at 6:37 am

   Is there a more comprehensive plan forthcoming?

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   Does MA Technology Collaborative, with its Renewable Energy Trust, do economic development planning? I don’t know much about it, but it seems like their focus is more on funding than on planning. Any insight?

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   Also…

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   My emphasis in that.

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   …Evergreen’s decision is welcome news, but it’s always good to take statements like the one Charley emphasizes with a grain of salt. Companies have all the reason in the world to attribute location decisions to public incentives – that’s how they keep the incentives coming. Conversely, there’s no upside to admitting that a final site selection would have made sense even without the incentive. I’m not saying this is the case here, but it is in many instances, and we’d do well to maintain a critical stance vis-à-vis any attribution of private-sector activity to public incentives.