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NECEC Congratulates Ernest Moniz on Confirmation as Energy Secretary

Jennifer Donahue — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:54:25 +0000

The New England Clean Energy Council offers its congratulations on the confirmation of Ernest Moniz as Secretary of Energy. Professor Moniz’s role leading the MIT Energy Initiative has been important to the growth of clean and renewable energy in New England. His leadership as undersecretary of energy and as associate director of the White House office of science and technology under President Clinton demonstrates his ability to move policy and innovation priorities ahead in Washington.

The role of Energy Secretary is of critical importance to the deployment of scientific and technological research conducted in the energy industry, developing a strong marketplace for new technologies and companies, supporting public-private partnerships and financing mechanisms, and developing policies that advance the U.S. energy portfolio towards a secure, cost-effective and competitive domestic energy future.

Secretary Moniz was confirmed unanimously by the Senate in a 97-0 vote. In other action Thursday, a Senate committee also sent to the floor the nomination of Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

NECEC and its members look forward to working with Secretary Moniz on issues that allow the growth of a dynamic clean energy economy and to help ensure that state, regional and national clean energy sectors thrive and advance.

RGGI will let the region thrive

Abbey Strauss — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:04:25 +0000

The following pice by Chris Meyer originally appeared on Seacoast Online on Monday, May 13th.

Back in 2008, one year into the Great Recession, I started a brand-new business.

Crazy?

Just the opposite.

My company, Yankee Thermal Imaging, makes money by helping New Englanders save money on energy. We test buildings with cutting-edge technology that zeroes in on leaks, and then send crews to fix the problems. We’ve helped scores of families and more than a dozen municipalities save what will likely turn out to be tens of thousands of dollars in energy waste.

The economic downturn raised a lot of awareness about energy costs, and how much thriftier we can be with the right up-front investments. Even as it ebbs, I doubt Americans are likely to turn back. It’s not just that we’re saving money, we’re also helping clean our air and water, and strengthening our nation by reducing our dependence on foreign oil.

All this also helps explain why I support the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, RGGI, the pioneering pact that joins New Hampshire and eight other states in a smarter regional energy strategy. In the next few weeks, our lawmakers will vote on whether to stay in the 3-year-old project. I hope they understand how much RGGI has been strengthening the state economy — and not just clean-energy businesses like mine. The pact provides major incentives for firms to improve their efficiency, which saves money for other efforts, like hiring and investing, which make our economy grow.

I vote independent; a candidate has to earn my support. And I feel the same about RGGI. The pact has bipartisan backing for good reason. Informed Republicans and Democrats alike know that cutting costs make businesses strong, which is good for all of New Hampshire.

RGGI really isn’t all that complicated. It limits pollution from electric utilities, which motivates them to invest in cleaner electricity and efficiency. The polluters must buy allowances at auction for each ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) they emit — money the state may then use for programs that benefit ratepayers.

The record shows that RGGI is an economic engine. On average, electricity prices have decreased by an average of 10 percent throughout the nine states, while adding more than $1.6 billion to the states’ economies and creating 16,000 jobs. New Hampshire has used its auction proceeds to weatherize low-income homes, train workers for new energy-efficiency jobs, and support energy audits for hundreds of buildings throughout the state.

Our lawmakers today must choose not just whether to stay the course, but whether to make RGGI stronger. The nine member-state governors have voted to lower the limit on greenhouse gas emissions, locking in gains and making progress toward the 2050 goal of reducing pollution by 80 percent below 1990 levels. It’s up to the legislators to follow or to balk.

It reminds me of my decision, five years ago, to start Yankee Thermal.

Back when I managed my property full time, my father, an engineer, would often accompany me when I was trying to decide whether to buy a new building. To determine whether a property was going to be an energy-hog or not, he would often hold up a pencil or pen, wrapped with a piece of tissue paper that would flutter in the presence of an air leak. I understood the intent, but thought: There has to be a better way.

I’ve found that better way with the thermal-imagining technology my company now uses to give owners and buyers a report card of their buildings’ energy use. And I see a parallel with RGGI. Before it began, our regional energy policies resembled my dad’s tissue paper on the pen. But as we’ve turned our minds to the value of energy thrift, we’ve developed a much more sophisticated, powerful and beneficial system. Let’s support it and strengthen it — and watch our region thrive.

Chris Meyer is founder and principal of Yankee Thermal Imaging in Dover.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130513/OPINION/305130305/-1/NEWSMAP

MA Clean Energy Day A Success!

Jennifer Donahue — Thu, 09 May 2013 19:59:32 +0000

Peter Rothstein and Representative Frank I. Smizik, recipient of 2013 Clean Energy Champion award

Today, The New England Clean Energy Council held its Second Annual Massachusetts Clean Energy Day at the State House in Boston. Numerous member companies representing a broad array of sectors joined NECEC for a day of meetings with legislators, and exhibited in the historic Grand Staircase. Awards were given to Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Rep. Frank Smizik for their leadership on clean energy policy issues.

Attendees also participated in a speaking program that featured Sen. Ben Downing and Rep. John Keenan, Co-Chairs of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. Sen. Downing told NECEC members:

This day is important, and we have more work to do, to lead by example by doing the right thing that is good for the environment, the economy, and creates jobs in these sectors, while also helping other sectors.

Barbara Kates-Garnick, MA Undersecretary of Energy, spoke about the many accomplishments of Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration and the legislature in advancing clean energy, and made special note of NECEC’s role in the process.

The Council has helped guide us as we navigate and move Massachusetts to #1 nationally and globally.

Kates-Garnick talked about the significance of policy accomplishments from the Green Communities Act to the Global Warming Solutions Act, to the extensive energy legislation passed last summer. Harvest Power CEO Paul Sellew also addressed the crowd, noting the important policy levers that are helping to build the clean energy economy in Massachusetts. After a day of meetings with key legislators and staff, NECEC hosts a reception from 5:00 – 6:00 pm in the Grand Staircase.

NH Telegraph Oped: Republicans Should Embrace RGGI

Jennifer Donahue — Mon, 06 May 2013 22:48:44 +0000

The following oped in favor of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) ran in the Nashua Telegraph in New Hampshre on Sunday, May 5. Author Charlie Niebling is a consultant and former general manager for New England Wood Pellet, a privately held renewable-energy company with 80 employees, based in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.

Many sound reasons Republicans should embrace RGGI

As an avid conservationist and a registered Republican, I say it’s time we stop letting political partisanship interfere with protecting our air and water quality and the health of our climate. Somehow over the past few years, these values got stuck in the divide between polarized Democrats and Republicans. We can’t afford to let them stay there.

In New Hampshire, we now have an excellent opportunity for a redirect.

Within the next few weeks, our legislature will vote on whether to continue participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, RGGI, a pioneering pact joining nine northeastern and mid-Atlantic states that are fighting pollution while attracting new clean- energy jobs and investments.

For the past three years, RGGI has put a limit on carbon dioxide pollution by its member states’ electric utilities. The nine participating governors recently agreed to make that limit stronger; now each state’s leaders must say yea or nay.

Allow me to offer three good reasons why staying the course makes sense for New Hampshire Rrepublicans like me.

Mainstream New Hampshire Republicans, after all, believe in conserving, which is just what this agreement does. It promotes energy thrift for the benefit of consumers, our economy, and the air and water we all share.

Since the pact began, greenhouse gas emissions by the nine states have dropped by 23 percent – equivalent to taking two million vehicles off the road for one year.

At the same time, electricity prices have decreased by an average of 10 percent across the participating states.

Mainstream New Hampshire republicans also love to grow the Granite State economy – and again, this agreement is doing just that.

While RGGI began as an effort to fight climate change, it is an economic boon for its member states, generating greater rates of growth in each participating state than would have occurred without it.

Impartial economists at the Boston-based Analysis Group conclude the pact has produced more than $1.6 billion in net value for the regional economy, while creating 16,000 new jobs.

And experts predict the stricter standard will bring even more lucrative investments in energy efficiency and clean energy.

Finally, mainstream New Hampshire republicans really like a free market – and while this isn’t precisely how RGGI has been characterized in the past – if you’ll give it some thought, you’ll see that the pact, in fact, goes far to level the playing field for energy.

For all too many years, Americans have been paying billions of dollars in subsidies for fossil fuels.

We’ve paid them directly, with taxpayer dollars that support profitable oil and coal interests with all kinds of write-offs, and indirectly, since pollution from these fuels can cause illness and premature deaths, further challenging America’s already overburdened healthcare system.

As climate change accelerates, bringing with it more extreme weather events, such as the storms that hit the east coast late last year, we taxpayers surely will have to pay for those damages as well.

RGGI is the first U.S. effort to put a mandatory price on carbon pollution, requiring those who create the pollution to shoulder their share of responsibility for the harm it causes.

That’s not only fair, but sends a clear market signal to encourage American innovators, investors, and entrepreneurs to support new technologies that will help America compete in the emerging global clean-energy economy.

While my father was a registered Democrat, I switched parties many years ago, inspired by watching how so many of New Hampshire’s then-moderate Republicans reached across the aisle to get things done.

Today, I’m heartened to see an increasing number of my Republican colleagues putting partisanship aside, recognizing common values, and supporting the RGGI pact, which makes our state a better place to live for Democrats and Republicans alike.

Like the emerald leaves of our birch trees in the spring, green is beautiful enough all by itself, without muddying it up with Blues or Reds.

Gov. Patrick: MA Solar Target Reached 4 Years Early; New Goal Set

Jennifer Donahue — Wed, 01 May 2013 20:43:39 +0000

Governor Deval Patrick today announced that the solar goal set in 2007 of 250 megawatts of residential and commercial solar energy installed in the Commonwealth has been reached four years early, and set an ambitious new goal of 1,600 MW by 2020. Gov. Patrick was joined by Energy & Environmental Affair Secretary Rick Sullivan and Sen. Ben Downing, Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. Other energy officials and industry leaders who have been key to achieving this milestone were also present at the announcement at Broadway Electric, a solar development company on Drydock Avenue in Boston.

Governor Patrick said that the Commonwealth has the second lowest installation costs in the country, and cited the 200 solar companies located in Massachusetts.

The many businesses and homeowners who have taken advantage of cost effective renewable energy installations are helping create both a safer and a more prosperous Commonwealth for the next generation.

Sen. Ben Downing talked about the significance of this accomplishment from an industry and environmental perspective:

We don’t have to choose between doing the right thing for the environment and the economy. We are advancing clean energy. We have shown that we can solve problems through innovation and be a model for the rest of country.

When the new goal is reached, 1,600 MW of installed solar will generate enough electricity to power approximately 240,000 homes annually, the equivalent of 97 percent of Boston households, and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced by about 166,000 cars.

Lowering Energy Costs In Maine – In Support of LD 1426

Abbey Strauss — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:47:08 +0000

NECEC submitted testimony in Maine yesterday in support of LD 1426, An Act to Improve Maine’s Economy and Lower Energy Costs Through Energy Efficiency.

The Act brings the benefits of greater energy efficiency to Maine’s energy consumers by encouraging Maine’s energy efficiency provider, the Efficiency Maine Trust, to procure all cost-effective, reliable and achievable energy efficiency resources and strengthening the funding mechanisms necessary to achieve energy efficiency savings.

The bill maintains an appropriate and favorable focus on investment in energy efficiency, the most cost-effective energy resource available. This focus ensures that Maine would invest in as much cost-effective efficiency as possible to achieve levels consistent with other New England states.

LD 1426 also takes advantage of allowance proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), controlled by the Efficiency Maine Trust, which would continue to provide a significant source of energy efficiency funding. Other bills being considered by the Committee would cut RGGI funding for efficiency purposes, including for the largest energy consumers.

Download the full testimony here [PDF]: http://www.cleanenergycouncil.org/files/NECEC_LD1426_Testimony_4-29-13_Final.pdf

MA Launches Innovative Dashboard to Track Emissions Reductions

Jennifer Donahue — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:40:53 +0000

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) today launched a new dashboard for Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) initiatives. Said EEA Secretary Rick Sullivan:

As we celebrate Earth Day, it is appropriate to announce a practical tool that will help us gauge our success in protecting the environment. This will allow us to assess and communicate our accomplishments and impact policy-making for generations to come.

The system will track the progress of GWSA initiatives, as Massachusetts implements the plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, by demonstrating the data associated with the emissions reductions and how that effects the Commonwealth’s environment and economy. The dashboard includes significant economic data on the growth of the clean energy economy.

Governor Patrick signed the GWSA into law in 2008, which established greenhouse gas emission reduction limits at the following levels:

25 percent below statewide 1990 GHG emission levels by 2020.
At least 80 percent below statewide 1990 GHG emission levels by 2050.

EEA subsequently released The Massachusetts Clean Energy & Climate Plan for 2020, which is a portfolio of policies that EEA is currently implementing. NECEC President Peter Rothstein serves on the GWSA Implementation Advisory Committee.

More information on GWSA can be found at: www.mass.gov/eea/gwsa.

Member Spotlight – Metabolix

Kelsey LaFreniere — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:00:50 +0000

The global demand for plastics is increasing 3-5% annually, with exponentially higher demand in developing countries. But what happens to plastic products after they are used? Even recycling results in waste that needs to end up somewhere.

Metabolix addresses these challenges with the manufacturing and production of innovative, biobased, compostable and biodegradable plastic products. Founded in 1992, the Cambridge-based company applies advanced chemical technologies, developed at MIT, to the industrial area.

Metabolix Chief Scientific Officer Oliver Peoples

Plastic is valuable first and foremost because it can serve as a barrier to water. Starches and other biologically based materials are generally poor substitutes because they absorb water, but Metabolix founders Oliver Peoples and Anthony Sinskey wondered if they could change that. They founded Metabolix after conducting research into the plastics potential of certain organic materials. Using a fermentation process with renewable resources, they were able to engineer a biopolymer with plastic properties.

Because Metabolix biopolymers are produced naturally from renewable resources, its flagship resin line, Mirel, can biodegrade in biologically active environments, like soil and water. Plastic products made out of Mirel biopolymers are thus entirely biodegradable, and will degrade within a month, and sometimes in as little as one week depending on the conditions.

As co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Oliver Peoples explained, “Before, people would talk about biodegradable products, but they didn’t really work. Our Mirel products are high performance and attractively priced; now people can have functionality and a clear conscience, too.”

Metabolix has developed several biopolymer products for different applications. The most popular product line is Mvera, which is used to produce compostable plastic film to make grocery bags. The bags look and feel just like any other grocery bag, but they are fully compostable.

Currently, the largest market for Metabolix biopolymer products is in Europe, but Peoples hopes that will change in the coming years. In many European countries, initiatives to manage waste are much stronger, and people are generally more environmentally conscious, but Peoples believes that the American market for Metabolix biodegradable products will continue to grow. “Ten years ago, this kind of technology was seen as impossible. And composting is much more cost effective than dealing with garbage. Our landfills are all getting too full, and we need to figure out what are we going to do with all this stuff? This technology can help to solve that problem.”

NECEC Urges Support for NH HB 306, RGGI Emissions Cap Reduction

Kate Epsen — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:53:57 +0000

The following letter was sent to New Hampshire leadership regarding approval of the reduction of the carbon emissions cap for states participating in RGGI – the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

Dear Chairman Prescott and Senators Bradley, Fuller Clark, Woodburn and Odell:

This week, the Committee considered HB 306, legislation to approve the reduction of the carbon emissions cap for states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) from 165 million tons down to 91 million tons (2012 levels). Business leaders as well as energy and economic experts are in strong support of this legislation. Cutting carbon emissions in New Hampshire and the other RGGI states further will help to drive new economic activity, adding to the significant economic gains the program has already demonstrated.

RGGI is the nation’s first market-based emissions reductions program and requires power plants to buy permits for each ton of CO2 they release into the atmosphere. A portion of the revenue from the sale of these permits is reinvested in clean energy programs that create economic activity in the states.

A report from the Analysis Group, an independent economic analysis firm, found the RGGI program adds $17 million in lifetime benefits to New Hampshire’s economy, which creates 458 jobs in the state.

During RGGI’s first three years, greenhouse gases have dropped by 23 percent. Utilities have been inspired to find new ways to cut pollution, from switching to natural gas and renewables to embracing efficiency. Tightening the emissions cap will encourage even more energy efficiency and more clean energy, and further boost our economy.

For example, experts from the Analysis Group suggest that resetting the cap at current emission levels (91 MMT) would mean about $3.9 billion cumulatively for the region to invest in energy efficiency and renewable programs through 2020, a significant portion of which directly benefits NH’s economy.

Lowering RGGI’s emissions cap would spur even more progress: more jobs, more revenue for energy efficiency, and a cleaner environment. Efficiency—especially in a place like New Hampshire where energy rates are among the highest in the nation—is the cheapest, cleanest way to meet the energy demands of a growing economy.

The new cap level locks in emission reductions achieved to date, and continues to drive additional reductions through 2020. Since it was launched in 2009, economic experts say the increased energy efficiency that RGGI is driving has been generating greater rates of economic growth in each participating state than would have occurred without a carbon price. As of 2011:

• The regional economy gained more than $1.6 billion in economic value added (reflecting the difference between total revenues in the overall economy, less the cost to produce goods and services);

• Customers saved nearly $1.1 billion on electricity bills, and an additional $174 million on natural gas and heating oil bills, for a total of $1.3 billion in savings over the next decade through installation of energy efficiency measures using funding from RGGI auction proceeds to date;

• More than $765 million stayed in the local economy, rather than being spent on imported fossil fuels

The bottom line is this: RGGI is working: RGGI is good for businesses and good for ratepayers. Setting a cap on greenhouse gas emissions for utilities has helped cut carbon dioxide pollution while spurring economic development and saving money for the businesses and families of the Granite State.

Tightening RGGI’s cap will keep the momentum going. That would be good for citizens, businesses and the economy in New Hampshire and throughout the region. We urge you to support HB 306.

Peter Rothstein, President and Janet Gail Besser, VP, Policy & Government Affairs

New England Clean Energy Council

Download a PDF version of the letter here: http://www.cleanenergycouncil.org/files/NECEC_NH_RGGI_Testimony_Apr2013final.pdf

The Global Clean Energy Race – New Report by the Pew Charitable Trusts

Abbey Strauss — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:44:17 +0000

This morning, the Pew Charitable Trusts released “Who’s Winning the Clean Energy Race?” a report outlining research into the global status of clean energy during 2012. Working with data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the Pew report chronicles investment both globally and among the Group of 20 (G-20) nations.

Partially due to the curtailing of incentive programs, global investment overall fell by 11 percent, but trends show investment in clean energy technologies reached over $200 billion for the third year in a row, five times the level of 2004. A record of 88 gigawatts of generating capacity was installed globally during 2012, and investment in South Africa grew from less than $30 million in 2011 to $5.5 billion in 2012. Solar technologies alone saw $126 billion invested in 2012. Renewable energy sources accounted for 49 percent of new generating capacity in the United States and 70 percent of new generating capacity in Europe.

The top 3 of the G-20 nations include China with $65.1 billion, the United States $35.6 billion and Germany with $22.8 billion.

NECEC President Peter Rothstein said of the report “The Pew report shows the challenges the clean energy industry has faced over the last year in attracting private investments. In New England, we’ve actually seen state and regional policy advancements, leading to significant increases in the number of companies and jobs created by the clean energy industry. The cleantech industry is rapidly evolving into a more competitive, maturing sector, with China out investing while the US still has great innovative and entrepreneurial activity. As the Pew study makes clear, the race is on to drive cleantech innovations to market with China accelerating on their future market positions. US leadership in cleantech needs faster, more mature business, investing and partnership models to compete.”

Read the full report from Pew Charitable Trusts.