To keep entry price of wind power lower for local businesses and consumers in Massachusetts, Aeronautica Windpower builds and refurbishes new and used mid-scale commercial and industrial wind turbines ranging from 65 to 750 kilowatts. The manufacturing and marketing company even plans to power their production plant with their very own wind turbines.

We've all been awed by news of the mega wind farm projects with their colossal turbines, but a modest company right here in Massachusetts is quietly making a revolution of its own by focusing on mid-scale markets more appropriate for schools and municipalities

National Grid
939 Southbridge St
Worcester, MA 01610
(508) 860-6000
http://www.nationalgridus.com/aboutus/a3-1_news2.asp?document=4003

In an effort to alleviate the alarming energy infrastructure problems plaguing much of the United States, National Grid and the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities plan to develop New England's first and largest "smart-grid" in Worcester, MA. Smart grids have numerous points of energy distribution that are able to adequately supply all parts of the grid, dynamically diverting energy and resources to areas of higher demand. 

The initial pilot project will serve approximately 15,000 customers, leading Worcester's energy infrastructure closer to:

• Optimum energy transfer efficiency
• Less centralized dependence on operations and power sources
• Easy client access to grids for both energy consumption and perseonal generation for distribution (through solar, wind, geothermal)
• Decreased vulnerability to national energy security threats

Using large amounts of organic based waste, primarily landfill-bound waste wood from commercial construction sites, Ze-Gen has developed a closed loop, single step gasification system that turns carbon based wastes into synthetic gas products, or Syngas. This Syngas is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas, which can be easily converted into diesel fuel. Syngas is an ideal, cleaner burning replacement for fossil fuels in conventional combined heat & power units and power generation systems.

Upon further funding and commercial scale production the low input energy Syngas will be a cost effective and more ecologically friendly alternative to current wasteful biofuel industries.

In an attempt to use nature to improve the quality of life in Boston, Boston's Urban Tree Canopy Initiative is dedicated to increasing its tree cover 20% by the year 2020.  By planting approximately 100,000 trees, Mayor Thomas Menino and the Boston Urban Forest Coalition hope to improve the health and well being of Boston's residents and visitors and reduce Boston's contribution to global warming.  Recent studies demonstrate that urban forests can help cities meet important environmental and public health challenges, including improving air quality, maximizing energy-efficiency, and calming crime spots.

• In 2006, the first ever inventory of Boston's urban forest was completed
• Boston has 34,497 street trees, 26,527 of which are in "good condition"
• Overall, Boston features 29% canopy cover (including all trees in parks, private yards, and along streets) but they are now unevenly distributed across the city's neighborhoods

Boston has become the first city in the United States to implement a green building code that affects both public and private construction.  In an initiative successfully recommended to Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino by his Green Building Roundtable, the Boston Zoning Commission approved various amendments to the citywide zoning code that place green building requirements on all new development projects larger than 50,000 square feet.  Each project must conform to the baseline requirements of the US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.  The points-based rating system will allow Boston to effectively enforce its green building requirements, while at the same time allowing for flexibility in building design.

• The LEED rating system provides the building industry with consistent, credible standards for what constitutes green building
• Each new Boston building project must earn at least 26 points on the LEED rating system

Originally designed to increase the percentage of renewable energy used in Massachusetts, the Renewable Energy Trust is now funded through a small per capita charge on energy bills and is one of the nation's leading examples of state support for the fledgling renewable energy industry. The Trust seeks to maximize environmental and economic benefits for the Commonwealth's citizens by pioneering and promoting clean energy technologies and fostering the emergence of sustainable markets for electricity generated from renewable sources. Trust programs include:

• Clean Energy Program - Increases both the supply of and demand for renewable energy
• Green Buildings and Infrastructure Program - Promotes the use of renewable energy technologies in all types of buildings and other distributed applications. Projects includes housing, schools, and other major construction projects as well as subsidies for home systems
• Industrial Support Program - Accelerates job growth, economic development, and technological innovation in the Massachusetts renewable energy industry
• Policy Unit - The policy arm of the Trust collaborates with interested stakeholders to address market and regulatory barriers that block the increased availability, use, and affordability of renewable energy

The Spanish city of Seville is renowned for its bullfights, but now a new spectacle is in town - and it packs a punch.  Just outside the city are the world's first two commercially operational solar power towers.  The first power tower was opened in 2007 and produces 11 MW of power.  The new power tower, initially tested in March 2009, doubled that output to 20 MW.  At the core of the power tower systems is a 40-story, futuristic monolith that gathers the focused heat from 600 reflecting mirrors around it.  The intense heat is converted to steam which powers a turbine.  The solar tower is just one of several technologies employed at the facility, which, when complete in 2013 will generate 300 Megawatts of power, enough for approximately 180,000 homes. 

• With solar radiation taken into consideration, estimates speculate a 20-year useful life for the plant
• Seville PV will prevent the emission of 37,440 tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere

ETI Bioinformatics has created The World Biodiversity Database, the first data collection effort of its kind with the goal of creating, maintaining, and growing a detailed taxonomic database of the world’s species and organisms. The 21 species banks are accessible through the WBD and offer taxonomic information, species names, synonyms, descriptions, illustrations, and literature references, as well as online identification keys and interactive geographical information systems.

• The WBD currently includes 25,493 unique taxa, plus 4,149 synonyms

In electronics, the holy grail is getting as much computing power as possible on a single chip; in wind power, it's getting as much electricity as possible from a single turbine.  The German turbine manufacturer ENERCON has just raised the bar to a new level with their E-126 model.  With a capacity of up to 7 MW, this is now the world's most powerful wind turbine, which on its own could generate enough electricity for 1,700 American homes.

• As of November 2008, Enercon has installed more than 13,000 wind turbines, with a total power generating capacity exceeding 15.5 GW

Using the intense, year-round sun of the Mojave desert, BrightSource Energy is developing the largest solar array in the United States. The Ivanpah Solar Power Complex will be located in Ivanpah, approximately 50 miles northwest of Needles, California, and about five miles from the California-Nevada border. The complex will be a 5 square-mile facility (3,900 acres) within the 25,000 square-mile Mojave Desert and will generate enough electricity to power 140,000 homes and reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by more than 500,000 tons per year.

The Ivanpah Solar Complex has begun development in 2009 and is slated to be completed in three phases with the first phase being completed by 2011.

• The Ivanpah Solar Power Complex will nearly double the amount of solar thermal electricity produced today in the US
• A 100 megawatt solar thermal plant utilizes approximately 50,000 heliostats

By looking at the environment as a series of interconnected systems, Holistic Management is changing how we think about soil, climate, and carbon mitigation with the implementation of grassland restoration. Using low tech and ecologically viable methods, tens of millions of acres of degraded soils around the world are being restored to healthy, biodiverse ecosystems by modifying grazing patterns on fragile land. By accessing degraded lands for selective livestock grazing, Holistic Management is also helping to sequester carbon, hold water, and create sustainable economies for local farmers.

• 30 million acres of land worldwide currently benefit from Holistic Management practices
• By restoring biodiversity, Holistic Management is reversing the desertification of dry, brittle land throughout the world

With the Million Solar Roofs Initiative, California has embarked on the path to creating a mainstream solar energy market.  Since the California Energy Crisis of 2000/2001, demand for solar power has increased by nearly 30-fold.  Yet despite this progress, solar power today makes up less than one-half of one percent of the state’s electricity supply.  Although the third largest market for solar power in the world, following Japan and Germany, solar power in California remains a small and highly specialized market.  The California Solar Initiative, along with the Million Solar Roofs bill established in 2006, sets up a statewide program to build a million solar roofs within 10 years with the goal of making solar power cost-competitive with fossil-fuel-generated electricity. The Million Solar Roofs Initiative sets out to accomplish the following:

• Install solar systems on a million rooftops, including new and existing homes, businesses, industry, farms and schools
• Install 3,000 megawatts (MW) of solar power capacity on rooftops throughout the state. This capacity would equal approximately 3-5% of the state's peak electricity demands. For reference, a typical coal-fired power plant is 500 MW
• Build half of all new homes with solar power within thirteen years. Currently, less than 5% of California's new homes come with solar power

In a Persian Gulf country known for its oil wealth, the stage is being set for an innovative and ambitious attempt to prepare for the new future of energy.  Abu Dhabi, one of the world's largest and wealthiest oil producers, is looking to become a leader in renewable energy. The Masdar Initiative, launched in 2006, is an all-encompassing program that aims to persuade companies, individuals, universities, and governments to develop and commercialize new "green" energy innovations.  As part of the initiative's first projects, a 100-megawatt solar power plant will be built in the area and a partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will help develop a graduate teaching and research institute dedicated to advancements in clean energy technology.  The Masdar Initiative has also just recently announced plans to create a zero-carbon, zero-waste city with the first phase intended to be open for tenants and business this year, 2009.

• The Masdar Initiative began with $250 million "clean technology fund"
• The initiative includes the construction of a special economic zone for the advanced-energy industry
• The special economic zone looks to attract investment in renewable energy technology through tax-based incentives