EV adoption has been stalled by the lack of charging stations and unfamiliarity with the technology and now through this DOER grant we have a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate the safety and functionality of EV’s.  To learn more about the challenges, opportunities and successes of EV technology, IES hosted a tour of Control Mod Industries, in Connecticut where they manufacture ceiling mounted, retractable EV charging stations. Our group saw how the stations are made and learned about the residential and commercial benefits of the ceiling mount stations – and had the chance to charge a Chevy Volt!

EVs represent a chance to increase innovation and production at American manufacturing car plants.  The Chevy Volt was named “Car of the Year” by Motor Trend Magazine.  Ford recognized the market demand of electric vehicles and is beginning manufacture of a 2011 EV Ford Focus.  EV’s are expected to gain in popularity, supported by President Obama’s goal of 1 million vehicles on the road in the next few years.  In the near future, you or someone you know, will give EVs a test drive, buy one, or discover an interesting perspective.  We invite you to share it with IES and our online community, so that we can learn and grow from each other and make choices that benefit the planet, the people and the economic engines that drive us all.

Smart grid technologies are at the forefront of the blossoming clean tech industry. There is an increasing demand for cleaner, greener technology and companies and a growing list of countries, are taking large steps to meet this demand. It was announced in February that the new California legislation “AB 2514” passed which will initiate the implementation of smart grid technologies, increase the use of renewable energy, reduce air pollution, reduce energy costs for residents by storing energy at peak demand and create more green-collar jobs.

IES is teaming up with National Grid—the major electric and gas provider for New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts— to help propel Massachusetts as a smart grid/clean tech epicenter by employing the National Grid- Smart Grid $57 million, 15,000 home, pilot project in Worcester, MA. This project will bring smart grid technology to the public eye and will make available more sustainable and efficient options for residents.

To expand customer engagement and set a community vision for local sustainability, National Grid is hosting a “Green Today, Growth Tomorrow Summit” on September 19-20^th at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. This event seeks to leverage opportunities for Worcester to “go green,” and to advance smart grid technology and ultimately for central Massachusetts to become an innovative energy leader. This summit will promote awareness of smart grid options for residents and businesses and will encourage leadership and communications within the community to build a network of green growth.

The Smart Grid Venture Showcase, a corresponding event hosted by IES and UK based SETsquared, will be held in late September in Central Massachusetts to promote the investment of smart grid technologies. This event will bring together 12 companies from the US and UK to pitch their smart grid products to an audience of angel investors, financiers, utility companies, and potential customers and partners, in hopes of facilitating investment in smart grid technology and to help brand Massachusetts as a green energy, clean technology hub. Stay tuned for an end of July update, where selected pitching companies will be announced for our fast approaching Venture Showcase!

Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E) has indentified Holyoke, MA as a Northeast leader in renewable energy production that is due in large part to their extensive network of hydroelectric power. HG&E hosted the Holyoke Clean Energy Innovation Workshop on November 9th and 10th that brought together electric companies, clean energy companies, city/state/ national government officials, clean tech incubators, university researchers and investors. The goal was to share the momentum and lessons of clean tech leadership in Holyoke with the rest of Massachusetts.

There were over 120 attendees and vast array of speakers, who all shared a similar vision and interest in clean tech development in Massachusetts. Breakout sessions and panels provided opportunities for networking and collaboration, as well as, increased awareness of current challenges and opportunities in the clean tech sector. Particularly interesting was the diverse perspectives of clean tech leaders, such as the Mass Clean Energy Center Executive Director, Patrick Cloney and the New England Clean Energy Council Executive Director Peter Rothstein, who have been major influences in the success of Massachusetts clean technology growth and development. Patricia Hoffman, Assistant Secretary at the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability at the DOE shared a federal perspective on insights into the opportunities and successes of national regulations and programs, and how they have been specifically beneficial in Massachusetts.

The conference noted that much of the success of clean tech in Massachusetts is a combination of government grant programs-Massachusetts awarded the most grants of any state-and the density of renewable energy companies -a total of 5000 companies in MA alone! The value of networking and information sharing made available at the Holyoke conference and similar clean tech conferences throughout the Commonwealth, shows the strengths and successes of collaboration and demonstrates the increasing number of clean tech projects that are being put into place in communities throughout the State. IES was grateful to participate and looks forward to attending similar events in the near future.

Wall Street Journal, www.wsj.com

Oct. 19, 2011

BALTIMORE — Ten states from Massachusetts to Maryland are joining forces to promote electric vehicles.

The Northeast Electric Vehicle Network announced Wednesday it will work to help plan and install charging stations throughout the region as well as attract private investment in clean vehicle infrastructure.

Among the things network members will work on: the location of charging stations. Placing charging stations at commuter rail stations, for example, would allow commuters to park and plug, said Vicki Arroyo, executive director of the Georgetown Climate Center.

“You can have almost a zero emissions experience if you drive your electric vehicle to a train station and plug in while you go into town from there,” Arroyo said.

The network also will look into making sure car owners can upgrade the plugs in their garage with ease and will tackle other permitting issues, said Colin O’Mara, Delaware’s secretary of Energy and Environment.

O’Mara said the network’s goal is to “create the Northeast as the epicenter” of the electric vehicle industry by sharing what has worked and what hasn’t.

Environmentalists and others are looking to electric vehicles to help cut pollution because about 30 percent of the region’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector, which includes highway vehicles as well as airplanes, trains and shipping.

The 10 states are Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Maine is participating in the Transportation and Climate Initiative that is collaborating with the new network, but is not part of the network, said Chris Coil, a spokesman for the Georgetown Climate Center, which is helping coordinate the initiatives.

President Barack Obama has called for 1 million plug-in vehicles to be on the road nationwide by 2015, and the network hopes to account for 200,000 of those vehicles. The network is being supported by a nearly $1 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to New York’s Energy Research and Development Authority.

Marc Geller is co-founder of Plug In America, an electric vehicle advocacy group. He said the network is one of a number of regional initiatives nationwide working to develop simple, clear guidelines for installing public infrastructure.

Once that’s done, Geller said states can “turn to the real question of what can we do to get the public infrastructure in the ground as quickly as the cars arrive.”

Geller said it was important to keep the needs of the car buyer and user in mind, noting that 90 percent of charging by electric vehicle owners currently occurs at home. Public charging stations could give electric car owners the confidence to venture further from home and educate others about the technology, he said.

“For many people, the public charging infrastructure will be an opportunity to see electric cars out in the wild, so to speak,” Geller said.

Mike Tinskey, associate director of global electric vehicle infrastructure for Ford, said car manufacturers have agreed on a standard plug for all electric vehicles. The only difference now is the speed of the charging stations.

Tinskey said faster stations that can charge a car in 15 minutes are bigger and about 10 times as expensive as slower charging stations that can take about three or four hours. Ford, which has launched an electric van and plans to launch an electric Focus car later this year, believes the majority of electric vehicles that will be sold will be plug-in hybrids and fueling stations of the future will have gas pumps and faster charging stations.

Nationwide there are about 3,000 slower chargers, and the number of those charging stations is expected to rise to about 12,000 next year, Tinskey said.

“If you’re going to spend a couple of hours at a store or your work place, those kind of chargers make more sense,” Tinskey said. “They’ll be deciding what makes the most sense.”

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Online:

Georgetown Climate Center — http://www.georgetownclimate.org/tci

Dan Pheiffer, October 4, 2011

The White House Blog

This morning, Chairman Cliff Stearns, who leads the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, told NPR that “We can’t compete with China to make solar panels and wind turbines.”

This comment reflects exactly the sort of counterproductive defeatism that Energy Secretary Steven Chu warned against this weekend when he spoke to a group of America’s most promising young solar innovators:

“The United States faces a choice today: Will we sit on the sidelines and fall behind or will we play to win the clean energy race? Some say this is a race America can’t win.  They’re ready to wave the white flag and declare defeat… Others say this is a race America shouldn’t even be in. They say we can’t afford to invest in clean energy.  I say we can’t afford not to.

“It’s not enough for our country to invent clean energy technologies – we have to make them and use them too. Invented in America, made in America, and sold around the world – that’s how we’ll create good jobs and lead in the 21^st century.”

The race for clean energy jobs and industries is on – and it is a race well worth winning. The International Energy Agency projects that in the coming decades, solar power could grow to more than 20 percent of the world’s electricity. Conservatively, this means that there is an economic opportunity worth trillions of dollars for whichever countries claim the lead. The global market for wind turbines is also growing exponentially.

But it’s not just the vast potential of jobs tomorrow – these industries employ a growing number of Americanstoday. In fact, business groups estimate that America’s solar industry accounts for about 100,000 jobs and the wind industry employs 75,000. Should we simply tell those workers that we’ve given up on them?

A study released last month showed that, in spite of the intense global competition, the U.S. remains a net global exporter of solar technology – with $5.6 billion in exports and an overall positive trade balance of $1.8 billion.

It is certainly true that China is playing to win. Last year alone, China offered its solar manufacturers $30 billion in government financing, vastly exceeding the U.S. investment.  And China has overtaken the United States market share in solar power – a technology we invented.

Chairman Stearns and other members of his party in Congress believe that America cannot, or should not, try to compete for jobs in a cutting edge and rapidly growing industry.  We simply disagree:  the answer to this challenge is not to wave the white flag and give up on American workers. America has never declared defeat after a single setback – and we shouldn’t start now.

America’s entrepreneurs and innovators are still the very best in the world. Our workers are second to none – and we have never been afraid of a challenge. It’s time to do what we’ve always done in the face of a tough competitor: roll up our sleeves and recapture the lead.

As February unfolded, IES was invited to a special meeting at the British consulate in Boston, to discuss plans for our upcoming investor showcase event held in partnership with UK based SetSquared.  This event will bring together angel and clean tech investors to introduce them to some of Massachusetts’ most promising entrepreneurs, inventions and start-up companies.  These are the types of events that generated a lot of buzz around Massachusetts clean tech companies this month when the Boston Globe released a story that five MA based clean tech organizations raised a total of $95 million dollars in private investment.  This is due in part to events similar to the planned investor showcase that were hosted in Massachusetts throughout 2010.

IES has been keeping a careful eye on the number of energy and environmental grants that have been released this winter; including the EPA Environmental Justice Grant, the EPA CARE grant, the DOL Green Jobs Innovation Fund, and the DOL Pathways out of Poverty Grant.  IES attended meetings with local partners to discuss ways to collaborate on these grants.  The MA CEC hosted a Q&A concerning the Pathways out of poverty grant that IES attended and learned that this year the grants would be allocated for on the job training programs and a total of $700,000 was available statewide.  Not sure yet, if we’ll submit an application, but it is good to know that so many green jobs training programs exist.

At the beginning of the month IES created a Linkedin page and by the end of February we were already connected to over 200 industry professionals.  Be sure to send us an invite and we’ll see you out there!

The snow did not stop a storm of activity for IES and partners in the beginning of the new year.  We kicked off right from the gate with a meeting with our friends from ReStore, a Habitat for Humanity program that provides low cost recycled household and construction materials to people in the community.  They have opened a new store on West Boylston Street, Worcester MA and Debbi Moore, Executive Director, provided IES senior program advisor, Chris Noonan, a guided tour of their facilities and discussed their organization’s growth plans for the new year.  IES was able to help Debbi connect to several interns and volunteers from Clark University and WPI to help Debbi coordinate donations and promote the great work of the ReStore.

As the month progressed, IES continued meeting with partners and working toward clean energy goals in Central MA.  January closed out with meetings with Absolute Green Energy to discuss ways to expand access to solar energy in the region, with Clark University professors to discuss an ongoing research project about clean energy clusters throughout the world, with the HUD consortium to begin planning for 2011, with several emerging clean tech companies to provide guidance and support, with city and state officials to continue to align our programs with government policy and programs, and a special meeting in early January with the Central MA Regional Planning Commission about wind development and associated municipal ordinances, where IES Executive Director Vincent DeVito spoke and gave a presentation on overcoming regulatory and financial obstacles.

Toward the end of the month, IES filmed a discussion roundtable with Vincent DeVito and Mike Ryan as part of a new quarterly series, Speaking Sustainability, to discuss and highlight the latest news and trends from the Clean technology sector.  The video was filmed and edited with the help of the Clark Cable Network and is scheduled to be released in early Spring 2011, be sure to check the IES website, www.energyandsustainability.com, to view it.

The sprinkle of holiday spirit was felt in mid-December when IES sponsored a holiday luncheon, mixer, strategy session Board of Directors meeting.  With full board attendance and some honored guests, IES was able to mix and mingle over snacks and sandwiches and also lay some important ground work for 2011 during an intense and productive strategizing session.  Our Board wanted to reflect the growth and productivity it has established in the first full year of operation and set a concentrated – well defined course for our activities going forward.

 During 2010, IES hosted two large conferences; the Corporate Conference and the Weatherization Roundtable, with over 100 industry leaders at both, and keynote addresses by Congressman Jim McGovern, Lt. Governor Murray and executives from Conservation Services Group, Next Step Living and the Department of Energy.  Throughout the year, IES also applied for numerous grants and foundation requests and established strong and committed working relations with local, national and international partners.  In our first operational year, it was reassuring that our work was being captured in the media, with 12 features in Worcester and Boston outlets.  This year our Executive Director delivered several keynote addresses, including at the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Coalition’s Clean Energy Week in Boston.  Our organization hosted and/or participated in a staggering 255 meetings and conference calls throughout the year.   And most importantly, in 2010, IES received 12 solicitations for entrepreneurial/start-up assistance and advisement.

As part of our strategy to continue delivering highly effective programs and services, our Executive Director, Vincent DeVito, extended an accepted invitation to Kevin O’Sullivan, Executive Director for Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives (MBI), to present and discuss on his experiences, knowledge and professional expertise in running Central MA’s most successful incubator.  MBI has assisted 32 companies in the last decade, and in 2010 alone, these companies generated $14.8 million dollars in economic activity for the region.  MBI is providing support and services to 21 companies in 2010 that has created 379 jobs, an impressive figure in a faltering economy.  Kevin kindly shared his lessons learned, successes, his wish I could’ves, and his thoughtful, experience ridden advice at IES’ December Board meeting.

The Board processed Kevin’s presentation and lively discussion and applied it to strategies helpful to IES in creating dynamic and prolific organization.  The Board discussed the role an incubator facility could play in developing the mission of the IES, and identified a need for a world-class facility to host and grow a vibrant sector.  It was discussed how much of an impact the organization has already made through the clients it has worked with in 2010 and how we can expand the range and depth of services offered through the creation of a shared physical operating space. 

With the breadth of activity yielding to the home-made holiday meals, fresh-baked desserts, gifts and cards, optimism hung in the air for a year’s worth of honest, thoughtful, productive and impactful work and for the hopes, goals and promises of the New Year.  Talk with you in January, stay warm.