"We could produce 19 times as much electricity as the state consumes each year from offshore wind. From solar power, we can get 47 percent of the state's electricity just by putting solar panels on every rooftop in the state - to say nothing of larger, ground-mounted installations," State Director Ben Hellerstein said.
"The potential is there. We are seeing new technologies like electric vehicles, energy storage, heat pumps, that are more than ever making it possible for us to imagine a world where 100 percent of the energy for our electric grid, heating, transportation, is coming from renewable sources."
Examples of how to do it are taking place right here in Berkshire, Hellerstein said. He was joined by Michael Canales, North Adams administrative officer, James Koleslar, assistant to the president for community and government affairs at Williams College, and Tory Hanna, who is heading a feasibility study to develop a downtown microgrid in Pittsfield.
"There is quite a bit that North Adams has been doing along with Pittsfield. The two cities have been really trying to lead the way in what solar, wind, and other renewable sources that are available and what we can do to promote," Canales said.
Canales highlighted the city's solar 3.5-megawatt solar project, purchasing power from other solar arrays, converting streetlights to LED, energy efficiency projects at City Hall and the skating rink. The city also joined with 11 other towns on a municipal aggregation project which provides electricity to homes from renewable sources at a lower cost than National Grid would on its own. The city is designated a Green Community and has weatherization projects lined up at the library and senior center.
Pittsfield has embarked on a number of similar energy projects and the most recent is that the city was chosen as one of 14 municipalities across the state to have a feasibility study done on an urban microgrid.
"Pittsfield is really a bastion for renewable energy projects. We have six solar farms online already. There are a number of green energy initiatives we've taken on - our Green Commission and Mayor [Linda] Tyer," Hanna said.
Hanna said just last week the study for a microgrid kicked off to develop a grid in downtown Pittsfield, providing and storing renewable power to key places such as the hospital, police and fire stations, and City Hall. The project is funded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center at a cost of $75,000.
"We just received funds two months ago and the consultant we secured - the Microgrid Institute out of Minneapolis - began their kick-off meeting last week. In the end, the proposed findings or report is due in February of 2019," Hanna said.
In Williamstown, Williams College helped finance a solar project at the landfill. Kolesar said the college set a goal of having gas emissions 35 percent less than it had in the 1990s and be carbon neutral by 2020. The college spent $3.5 million on the solar project and a private investor chipping in $1.5 million.
"It is one that everybody wins. The town gets a greatly reduced rate of electricity, gets to lock in that rate for a long time for budgetary purposes, gets the knowledge that is completely renewable, and moves the state towards its goals, the town toward its goals, and the college toward its gas emissions goals too," Kolesar said.
Those are the type of projects and collaborations Environment Massachusetts wants to see happen all across the state. It was just in March when the organization set the goal and held summit meetings with stakeholders about how to get there. The focus was on rolling out energy efficient technology, replacing fossible fuel plants with solar and wind, and developing ways to power heating and transportation.
"We've been working steadily to build consensus both on the grassroots level as well as from key civic leaders across Massachusetts that 100 percent renewable is the direction we need to go in. We took a huge step forward in June when the Massachusetts Senate passed a bill that would put us on a path for 100 percent renewable electricity by 2050," Hellerstein said.
Hellerstein said he'd like Massachusetts' electricity to be 100 percent by 2035 and transportation and heating to follow by 2050.
"We think Massachusetts could be at 100 percent renewable energy as soon as 2035. We want to see by 2050, the entire state, not just electricity but heating, transportation, all the other ways we use energy are also being powered by renewables," Hellerstein said.
The advocacy group is calling on the state to "go big on clean energy," but that has been somewhat of a hold upon recent years, Hellerstein said. While Environment Massachusetts supports eliminating the cap on net metering, government officials have been incrementally raising the cap. That has led a number of towns to hit that cap, thus halting future solar projects.
Hellerstein said the state Senate bill passed in June is a "big step" because it sets a goal of 100 percent renewable electricity by 2050. That bill eliminates the solar net metering cap and increases the renewable energy portfolio. That still hasn't been passed by the entire legislature and there is less than a week left in the session.
"We're hoping officials come to an agreement before the end of the session on July 31 because these issues are very urgent," Hellerstein said.
Beyond that, there is a gubernatorial election coming up and Hellerstein is urging whoever is elected to follow the blueprint Environment Massachusetts has laid out to adopt policies which support clean energy.
"Whoever it is in the governor's office in January, our hope is they can take this list of recommendations and really run with it," Hellerstein said.
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Berkshire United Way to Massachusetts: Early-Learning Educators Need Better Wages
By Katherine von Haefen Guest Column
As reported in iBerkshires, state education officials met with Western Massachusetts childcare and early education advocates at Berkshire Community College recently. I had the opportunity to share the following testimony on behalf of Berkshire United Way and our community partners.
Early childhood education provides tremendous benefits to our region. High-quality child care dramatically influences brain development and the future health and success for children in school and life, as well as provides a safe and secure space for our youngest community members so their parents or caregivers can work and provide for their families.
Berkshire United Way has invested in improving early childhood development opportunities in the Berkshires for decades. We fund high-quality nonprofit child-care centers that provide slots for income-constrained families. We also support the sector by co-hosting monthly child-care director meetings to work on shared challenges and collectively propose solutions. We advocate for early childhood education and have a great partner in this work, state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier.
Staffing is a key component of high-quality care. The research shows that skilled and consistent educators in a classroom create long-lasting change for children. However, wages are stagnant and frequently do not provide educators with basic financial stability. We often hear that educators have left the field because they are unable to make their finances work. Wages need to improve to better reflect the expertise and indelible impact teachers have in the field.
When we look specifically at our region, our data is concerning.
As Berkshire County emerges from the pandemic, we are struggling with transportation, affordable housing and lack of mental health resources, much like the rest of the state. We are also seeing a rise in economically challenged households.
After nearly 10 years of decline, Berkshire County has experienced a significant jump in income inequality, now exceeding the state and national trends and far above comparable counties, according to the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. Over half of our population are "economically challenged," meaning they are working but struggling to make ends meet. A single parent with a school-aged child needs between $70,000 and $80,000 in income and public benefits just to meet their basic needs.
The game-winning rally started when Pittsfield junior Jack Abel led off by crushing a 1-1 pitch to left-center and racing all the way to third base, sliding in just ahead of the tag to give the Generals a sterling scoring opportunity. click for more
The Pittsfield baseball team Saturday rallied for five runs in the top of the sixth inning to break a 5-5 tie and went on to a 12-5 win over Clinton in the quarter-finals of the Division 4 State Tournament. click for more
Amanda Pou was named the most valuable player of the regional final after striking out four and walking none in a complete-game effort in the circle. She also ripped a two-run double in Pittsfield’s four-run fourth-inning rally to break open a scoreless game. click for more