Massachusetts Accelerates Renewable Energy Industries

[skids]

Clean energy industry poised to become 10th largest in the state.
Boston, Massachusetts


The clean energy sector, which Governor Deval Patrick has identified as a key emerging industry for Massachusetts, is about to overtake textiles as the 10th largest in the Commonwealth, according to a "census" of the clean energy cluster released today by the Patrick Administration and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC).

The census, prepared by Global Insight of Lexington for MTC's Renewable Energy Trust, identified 556 entities engaged in renewable energy; energy efficiency and demand response; consulting and support; and university research related to clean energy. Employment in these firms, most of which are young and small, was estimated at 14,400.

Massachusetts is an incubator for clean energy start-ups, with 116 companies founded since 2001. Nearly half of clean energy companies have less than five employees; 68 percent of firms have less than $10 million in annual revenues, 41 percent below $1 million.

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Also, a survey of 255 firm leaders conducted as part of the census found that clean energy executives were most worried about capital funding and revenue growth. To address this concern, in part, MTC recently launched a $15 million Business Expansion Initiative, which will provide secured loans to expansion-stage companies that produce renewable energy products.

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Government incentives and regulatory barriers were the next biggest concerns for the clean energy companies. Executives identified California, with policies, regulatory structures and financial incentives that are geared toward driving demand for energy conservation, demand response and renewable energy, as most supportive for the clean energy industry\u2014and as Massachusetts' top competitor for clean energy entrepreneurs.

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=49613

[NNadir]

1. Massachusetts renewable energy is nearly 200 years old. At one time...

access to renewable energy made Massachusetts one of the most important manufacturing centers in the world.

One hopes that the "new" renewable energy industry in Massachusetts will not leave a legacy like the old Massachusetts renewable energy industry left for current generations:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/18/massachusetts.dam/index.html

In absolute energy terms, the amount of non-hydro renewable electrical energy produced in Massachusetts peaked in 2000 declining by 17% as of 2005.

Nuclear energy has remained constant in energy output (with one reactor) having fallen below double the amount of electricity produced by all non-hydro renewables (nhr) (including trash burners) only in 1997, when it produced 198% of combined nhr, 1998, 194% of nhr, and 2000, 188% of nhr. In 2005, nuclear produced 231% of nhr.

By far, nuclear is the largest single greenhouse gas free form of energy produced in Massachusetts. Mindless activists want to destroy nuclear energy in Massachusetts for arbitrary reasons, probably in alliance with dangerous natural gas companies.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/st_profiles/sept04ma.xls

Dangerous natural gas use which produces dangerous fossil fuel waste has almost tripled in Massachusetts and now provides the largest single source of electricity in Massachusetts.

Overall the use of dangerous fossil fuels which release unregulated quantities of dangerous fossil fuel wastes has increased from 72.0% to 79.4% in the period between 1990 and 2005.

Great energy industry you have up there.