NorthWind 100

Pictured is the NorthWind 100kW turbine from Northern Power Systems

Grant summary at the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust (Round 3).

Woods Hole Research Center Receives Grant from Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust

The Woods Hole Research Center has received a grant of $273,692 from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's Green Buildings Program for the permitting and installation of a wind turbine at its new Ordway Campus. The grant will be administered in two parts - the first part earmarked for permitting the turbine and the second part, predicated upon successful completion of the first, for purchase and installation of equipment. The proposed wind turbine, to be located on the eight acre property of the Ordway Campus, would provide more than 60 percent of the building's annual power needs. In conjunction with an existing 26kWp photovoltaic array (also funded in part by the MTC) the Ordway Campus will be able to produce more energy than it uses without any onsite combustion of fossil fuels. An energy monitoring system will measure the usage of energy throughout the building and electricity production by the photovoltaic array and wind turbine. The monitoring system will serve as the centerpiece of the Center's educational efforts on renewable energy.

The Woods Hole Research Center, founded in 1985, is a world leader in addressing the great issues of environment through research, education, and public policy. The Center stands practically alone in combining acclaimed peer-reviewed scientific research with an international program in environmental policy and education. The Center works to correct the most urgent problems: global warming, the destruction of forests, and the destruction of ecosystems. Center staff were among the first to identify the urgency of global warming and were instrumental in the preparation and drafting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In keeping with its mission to combat global warming, the Center's new headquarters will rely on renewable energy for its power and heating and cooling needs.

The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the state's development agency for renewable energy, manages the $150 million Renewable Energy Trust. MTC launched the $14.6-million Green Buildings Initiative last month by making grants available on a competitive basis to spur construction of buildings that conserve energy and produce electricity from green sources.

Buildings use nearly two-thirds of all electricity consumed in the United States. Constructing green buildings will help reduce the strain on current resources and maximize the use of clean, renewable energy. The Renewable Energy Trust is an essential part of the state's strategy to reduce dependence on foreign energy sources by encouraging the use of renewable technologies.