In addition, for more than a year it has devoted tremendous volunteer efforts toward building a biodiesel production facility that will convert used vegetable oil into heating fuel usable in regular oil burning furnaces. It has signed contracts for the purchase of land in Greenfield and for the purchase of recycled vegetable cooking oil.

General Massachusetts

Many Berkshire towns have earned thousands of dollars for a public renewable energy project through the Massachusetts Clean Energy ChoiceSM program. The Clean Energy Choice program has $1.25 million to distribute in matching funds to towns when residents and small businesses choose to “green up” their electricity.

Energy Policy USA Massachusetts

While the 130-turbine Cape Wind offshore generation project grapples with its new acquaintances in Washington (the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service), several land-based Cape efforts are in various stages of preparation.

General Massachusetts

As for what Orleans would get out of the deal, although the figure would have to be negotiated between the town and the developer

General Zoning/Planning Massachusetts

A group of Northeast states has postponed the announcement of a landmark agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants after Governor Mitt Romney raised objections to the pact late last week, two government sources familiar with the agreement said yesterday.

Pollution Energy Policy USA Massachusetts

Researchers seeking to make the ocean's salty brine drinkable using wind power will spend the next year using the town of Hull as a case study to help other water-needy, windswept coastal areas filter freshwater from the sea. With one wind turbine already spinning, another to be installed in January, and a third offshore turbine being considered, Hull is an ideal laboratory for modeling a desalination plant that runs off a combination of renewable energy and the electric grid, according to James Manwell, director of the Renewable Energy Research Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Technology Energy Policy USA Massachusetts

The first state-owned wind turbine could rise on windswept Taylors Point in less than six months, now that a final regulatory hurdle has been cleared.

General Massachusetts

New England is possessed of much talent but looses a considerable portion of it to other states due to the regions relative weakness in providing for a reasonable priced cost of living even though taxes do not appear to be a competitive disadvantage to New England.

General Connecticut Massachusetts Maine New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont

The proposed Cape Cod wind farm may face another hurdle because of a defense bill passed by the Senate yesterday that calls for government to study whether the windmills interfere with military radar. The proposed 130-turbine park, to be built in Nantucket Sound, is near a missile defense surveillance system.

Safety Zoning/Planning Massachusetts

GARDNER [MA] -- Mount Wachusett Community College is poised to receive $1 million in federal money to conduct tests on whether wind could be used to generate energy for local residents.

Energy Policy Massachusetts

The Cape-based group campaigning to kill the Nantucket Sound wind farm raised nearly $4.7 million in contributions in calendar year 2004, nearly tripling the amount raised the year before.

Impact on People General Massachusetts

Amherst - The federal government has awarded $100,000 to the Renewable Energy Research Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts to explore a partially wind-powered desalination plant that could turn seawater into fresh drinking water.

Energy Policy General Massachusetts

"..I urge MMS to wait until it establishes guidelines to all offshore wind projects before it acts upon an individual project, such as Cape Wind. In my opinion, the review of this project at this time would make little sense and would undermine the goal of developing comprehensive guidelines that establish the specific criteria for reviewing such projects, including those that specifically protect the interests of any state affected by the project.

Energy Policy Zoning/Planning Massachusetts

New England faces major near-term challenges in all parts of its energy infrastructure including natural gas facilities, electric transmission lines and electric power generation, according to a report released today by the New England Energy Alliance.

General Connecticut Massachusetts Maine New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont

The Hawley Wind Study Committee was established by town meeting vote and was directed to issue a report to the selectmen. Interested citizens were asked to submit a letter of interest to selectmen who then selected the committee. The committee first examined potential positive financial benefits to the town. Community based wind development was explored for a piece of town-owned land with the assistance of the UMass Renewable Energy Resource Lab. The committee determined that development of the site was not feasible. Lengthily discussions on the associated various negative impacts of wind plants followed. It was determined that our current bylaws would not require any form of local review to minimize these impacts. A report outlining the above was provided to the selectmen concluding that the appropriate course of action was to establish a wind power bylaw.

Zoning/Planning Massachusetts

The purposes of this wind-generated energy production facilities section are to: A. Protect the scenic, historic, environmental, and natural or man-made resources of the community without prohibiting alternative energy technologies to be developed. B. Provide standards and requirements for regulation, placement, construction, monitoring, design, modification and removal of wind facilities. C. Provide a procedural basis for action within a reasonable period of time for request for authorization to place, construct, operate, or modify wind facilities. D. Preserve property values. E. Locate wind facilities so that they do not have negative impacts such as, but not limited to, attractive nuisance, noise, falling objects, general safety, welfare and quality of life, wildlife and the environment in the community. F. Require owners of wind facilities to configure them so as to minimize and mitigate the adverse impact of the wind facilities.

Zoning/Planning Massachusetts

When considering local bylaws regulating wind turbine development, towns need to consider whether and to what degree they should be encouraged. The question of how much revenue they might generate for the town will be among the first issues raised. To determine this, there are many things a town with land suitable for commercial wind development needs to consider. Particular attention needs to be paid to long-term trends as well. This paper explores some of these factors and their implications.

Property Values Taxes & Subsidies Massachusetts

Energy Policy Massachusetts

This map is also available in NWW's photo gallery.

Energy Policy Massachusetts

Is it all worth it? We need to bridle our inherent optimism for emerging technology with lessons learned from the past.

Energy Policy General Impact on Landscape Zoning/Planning Massachusetts