Tag Archives: Massachusetts

Why Insiders are Bullish on Microgrid   Microgrids are coming to the US, but they face some significant roadblocks. What’s driving the sudden upswing in their development? And what’s getting in the way? A panel of microgrid experts tackled these questions last week at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) BuildingEnergy 14 conference in Boston. Ed Krapels, founder of Anbaric …

Combined heat and power, or CHP, continues to be one of those great ideas that can’t seem to get traction. In fact, the technology has lost ground, according to a recent energy efficiency report. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found that CHP installations fell 1.5 percent at industrial facilities from 2010 to 2011 in the July 2, 2013 …

U.S. Solar Market Grows 76% in 2012; Now an Increasingly-Competitive Energy Source for Millions of Americans Today GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA®) today released U.S. Solar Market Insight: Year-in-Review 2012, the definitive analysis of solar power markets in the U.S. With another record-breaking year, solar is the fastest growing energy source in the U.S., powering homes, …

As Residential Solar Leases Become Available in Fourteen U.S. States, GTM Research Releases the Market’s First Complete Vendor Analysis Third-party financing of solar PV has become the predominant business model in some of the largest residential markets in the U.S.; today, third-party financed residential installations comprise greater than 50 percent of new residential solar capacity in California, Arizona, Colorado and …

SUPERMARKET DISTRIBUTION CENTER POWERS UP IN QUEENS, NEW YORK WITH NEW ROOFTOP SOLAR ARRAY ~ Matspeth Community Welcomes a Completed Renewable Energy Power Plant Project for the Kam Man Food Corporation, Featuring Latest German-Engineered Panels and Cutting Edge Mounting System ~ The Matspeth Community announces the completion of a solar energy system on top of the distribution center for Kam …

How to grow a solar energy garden By Elisa Wood Getting energy from the sun is a great idea. However, installing solar panels house-by-house is slow, costly and cumbersome, and downright inefficient if the goal is to bring solar to the masses. This problem troubled Paul Spencer after he built his own uber-efficient, custom solar home near Aspen, Colorado in …

By Elisa Wood Why do some states avoid creating policies that encourage consumers and businesses to save energy? What’s the psychology of the laggards? A new report by the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy sheds some insight as it examines the states that consistently fall behind in the organization’s annual energy efficiency ranking. The bottom states are: Alabama, …

You have to check out this new development in the wind energy field. Altaeros Energy has come up with a blimp that is tethered to the group and can be raised from 300-1500 ft in the air to capture wind energy which is then transmitted to the ground via the tether. From their press release: Altaeros Energies, a wind energy …

$30,000 Lemelson-MIT Collegiate Student Prizes Awarded to Inventive Students at Three Leading Universities CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (March 7, 2012) – Miles C. Barr today received the prestigious $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for his innovative solar technologies and creativity. Barr received his Ph.D. from the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2012 and a Master of …

Catching a nasty virus certainly isn’t on anyone’s holiday wish list, but for solar power it might be just what the doctor ordered. With the help of a genetically modified virus, materials researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a way to boost the efficiency of one type of thin-film photovoltaic cell by 30 percent. For years, engineers …

By: Dr. Michael T. Gamble So much sound and fury over the Higgs Boson, signifying what? A complete understanding of the fundamental constituents of the world in which we live? Of the universe of which we are an integral part? No … and yes. High-energy physicists at CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research, announced this week they are closer …

First Solyndra, then Beacon Power Corp. Both alternative energy companies declared bankruptcy this year after receiving millions in federal job stimulus dollars. It’s just what the United States does not need right now, says nuclear scientist Michael T. Gamble, an alternative energy researcher and investment-banking analyst. The public backlash to ill-spent tax dollars could hurt a vital emerging industry – …

This is an interesting post about a recent conference where scientists are reporting on their efforts to mimic photosynthesis in order to extract cheap and efficient energy sources to power the world in the future. One of them in particular has to do with creating a synthetic leaf which absorbs sunlight and then converts it into fuel which can be …

First Solyndra, then Beacon Power Corp. Both alternative energy companies declared bankruptcy this year after receiving millions in federal job stimulus dollars. It’s just what the United States does not need right now, says nuclear scientist Michael T. Gamble, an alternative energy researcher and investment-banking analyst. The public backlash to ill-spent tax dollars could hurt a vital emerging industry – …

Seven of the 19 Houses Built by Student Competitors Produced More Energy Than They Consumed Under Mostly Cloudy Skies WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 concluded this weekend on the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C. Approximately 4,000 collegiate students from five countries on four continents invested countless hours of time and tireless …

Prestigious Clean Energy Competition Open for Final Weekend WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the winners of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 at the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C. The University of Maryland won top honors overall by designing, building, and operating the most cost effective, energy efficient and attractive …

Global Competition Begins at National Mall’s West Potomac Park WASHINGTON, DC – Collegiate teams featuring over 4,000 students from around the world have descended on the National Mall’s West Potomac Park to showcase the highly energy efficient solar-powered houses they created for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011. Today’s opening ceremony kicks off the biennial competition that challenges …

Energy Department Finalizes $150 Million Loan Guarantee to 1366 Technologies that Could Drive Down Manufacturing Costs and Make American Solar More Competitive Game-Changing Manufacturing Process Could Cut Production Costs of Silicon Wafers in Half Washington D.C. – U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today finalized a $150 million loan guarantee to 1366 Technologies, Inc. for the development of a multicrystalline wafer …

The study used publicly-available data in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The analysis, entitled “Toxic Power: How Power Plants Contaminate Our Air and States” was jointly released today by NRDC and Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR).

HouseResourceOrg asked: The Grass is Greener: The Future of Biofuels – Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming – 2007-10-24 – Edward J. Markey, Chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence held a hearing entitled “The Gas is Greener: The Future of Biofuels.” The Hearing took place on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 9:30 AM in 2175 Rayburn …