|
New Energy Solutions In the NewsWorcester Telegram & Gazette - 9/19/2007
Mayor, councilor highlight solar project (new window)
Mayor, councilor highlight solar project on Kilby Street WORCESTER—
Environmental groups supported by city politicians released a report
yesterday calling on Massachusetts to begin curbing its energy
appetite, while standing in front of a Kilby Street duplex where
workers are installing a bank of 48 large solar panels on the roof.
But the lower power bills and Earth-friendly energy comes at a steep cost: the 24 solar panels needed to power one side of a duplex cost about $20,000, including installation. With that hefty price tag, recouping the cost of the system in reduced electricity bills could take a decade. Even so, Mrs. Lukes, a longtime renewable energy advocate, said she isn’t discouraged by the cost of the Main South CDC solar energy project. She said after a brief press conference that the she expects the cost of solar panels, wind turbines and other green energy generating technologies to fall as the market grows and more companies jump into the business. Mrs. Lukes, who sees soaring energy costs as a major component of the high cost of living that is driving residents and businesses out of Massachusetts, said the city needs to be more aggressive in pushing private developers to build energy-efficient buildings. To that end, she supports overhauling city building codes to require more energy-efficient homes and buildings, she said. “The argument we have to contend with is that green technology is too expensive. We’ll hear, ‘Oh, the cost of building is going to go up,’ and, ‘Developers won’t invest here,’ ” Mrs. Lukes said, later adding, “I think that’s shortsighted. As a policymaker, I have to be able to see beyond my nose.” Oil prices topping $80 a barrel have inflicted enough pocketbook pain on consumers to make some trade in their SUVs for more fuel efficient sedans, but things will have to get a lot worse or the cost of green energy will have to drop precipitously before the average Worcester family begins bolting solar panels on the roof, she said. “The pain is there, but it is something we can adjust to. When we can’t adjust, you’ll see the marketplace change,” Ms. Lukes said. District 4 Councilor Barbara G. Haller, in whose district the Main South CDC solar panels are being installed, also called on the city and its residents to move aggressively toward achieving energy sustainability. “It’s in our vernacular now. We are talking about it,” Ms. Haller said. The 43-page “Tomorrow’s Energy Today” report released by Environmental Massachusetts and the Clean Water Fund yesterday argues that New England could cut energy use by at least 18 percent and slash carbon dioxide pollution by at least 20 percent by using renewable energy technologies available today. Meanwhile, roughly 90 percent of Massachusetts’ energy comes from sources deemed by Environmental Massachusetts as “dirty and dangerous,” such as coal-fired power plants around Boston and the nuclear power station in Plymouth. The report posits that New England could replace 10 percent of its energy with green alternatives by taking advantage of only a small portion of the renewable resources available to the region. The environmental groups suggest several possible scenarios in the report, including building five offshore wind energy facilities, installing more than 1,800 land-based wind turbines or solar panels on less than one-half percent of New England homes. “Massachusetts has the power of the wind and the power of the sun,” said Diana G. Connett of Environmental Massachusetts, later adding, “The path is not only feasible, but necessary for Massachusetts.” |