Category Archives: Utilities

CEA and NSTAR canvass Cambridge businesses

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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:

  • 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

Large corporations making large investments in renewable energy

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Money doesn't grow on tree ! But investing in them is the best way to capture the Carbon by pfala 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

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Stonybrook State Park by Harvest ZhangCCTV 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:

Map of the Cambridge drinking water watershed

MIT & NSTAR partner for efficiency

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Earth as MIT's Great Dome 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.

Let’s Bury It?

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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.

Smart Meters to be Part of Stimulus Package

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A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about a test program of ‘smart’ meters installed to monitor electricity use in Michigan homes. Now, as details of last week’s  stimulus package are unveiled, it seems that smart meter usage within America’s homes will soon go way beyond the prototype stage.

This will provide consumers with immediate feedback on their energy use, and show the effect of turning off lights when they leave the room, or using cold water to wash their clothes.

Making energy costs visible

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The Citizen Patriot newspaper in Jackson, Michigan ran a story yesterday about the new ‘smart’ meters Consumers Energy customers will start seeing in their homes. It’s actually a visual display panel that will allow their customers to see-and control–energy usage in their homes.

When prices peak, special thermostats could automatically dial down or shut off air conditioning. Lights, appliances and electronics could also be controlled through display panels or connections to home computers that show energy usage or notify customers of high energy costs.

Consumers Energy will be installing units in 6,000 homes over the next year. Sounds like a great program, and judging by the comments this article has attracted, Consumers Energy needs all the good PR they can get. Warm Home Cool Planet is happy to help!