massachusetts

BOSTON--When it comes to distributed energy in suburban or urban areas, solar panels do a better job of fitting in than small wind turbines.

Small wind turbines, which are increasingly being marketed to homeowners, can provide power for both grid-tied and off-grid applications, typically require a strong steady wind to meet their generating capacity, and meet estimates for annual production. To tap into a good wind resource, turbines need to be placed high and clear of obstructions, such as trees and buildings, according to experts.

By contrast, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are less fussy about placement. To make the investment … Read more

Evergreen Solar will close its Massachusetts factory, saying that the U.S. is at a disadvantage in the face of low-cost Chinese solar suppliers.

The company yesterday said that its Devens, Mass., plant, a converted military facility, will be shut down by the end of the first quarter of this year. The move will result in 800 lost jobs, leaving about 100 in its Marlborough, Mass.-based headquarters.

Evergreen Solar said it needs to close the facility to preserve its cash and remain in line with global solar panel prices. It will continue to make silicon cells in Michigan and … Read more

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--When it comes to harvesting energy from oceans and rivers, the "sink or swim" approach doesn't really work.

Getting wave and tidal power machines to actually deliver power into the grid requires multiple stages of testing, with each one a step closer toward deploying devices in open waters, according to experts at a marine energy conference here earlier this week.

Dropping these expensive and often bulky machines, be they underwater turbines or buoys, into harsh ocean conditions without a phased approach and long-range game plan is a recipe for disappointment, they said.

"We need … Read more

Few film companies are assailing piracy with the vigor of Third World Media.

Third World Media (TMW), a porn studio headquartered north of Los Angeles, filed a lawsuit two weeks ago against 1,568 unnamed individuals, accusing them of using peer-to-peer networks to unlawfully share copies of "Miss Big Ass Brazil #4," records show.

"Each of the defendant's acts of infringement have been willful, intentional, and in disregard of...the rights of plaintiff," TWM's attorneys wrote in their filing of October 4.

The suit came just two weeks after TWM filed a similar complaint against an additional 1,243 … Read more

Forested regions around the world are pursuing biomass as a renewable energy source but a study finds that the carbon footprint from burning biomass can be worse for global warming than coal.

The Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences on Thursday published the findings of a six-month study to measure the greenhouse gas impacts of using biomass, which, in many cases, does not meet claims of being "carbon neutral" over short periods of time.

The report was commissioned by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, which said it will revise its regulations in response. "We can begin the … Read more

Massachusetts has revamped its small-wind rebate program with more stringent requirements, a reflection of how important brisk wind is to small-wind turbine installations.

Dozens of companies have developed turbines designed to supply a portion of a home or business' electricity, which has fueled a surge in small-wind turbine installations over the past three years. Now, installers and consumers are being nudged toward picking only the best locations, a shift that is being aided by the emergence of better online tools.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, which administers renewable energy grants, temporarily suspended the state's small-wind program to phase in … Read more

Five state attorneys general have joined the opposition to Google's settlement with book authors and publishers, objecting to the way the settlement distributes unclaimed funds.

The attorneys general for Connecticut, Missouri, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Washington joined the chorus of opposition to the settlement this week, filing briefs with Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before the October 7 hearing to determine whether the settlement should be approved. The states involved are not pleased with the way the Books Rights Registry set up as part of the deal appears to … Read more

John Quincy Adams might not be re-tweeting Ashton Kutcher and Shaq anytime soon, but he does have a Twitter account now. The Massachusetts Historical Society has launched a Twitter account, @JQAdams_MHS, and will officially start tweeting Adams' personal diary entries on Wednesday.

Adams died in 1848, right around the time that people first started flooding the San Francisco Bay Area in search of quick money. Except then it was in the form of gold, not venture dollars from Sand Hill Road.

As an Associated Press article explained, "a high school student touring the sixth U.S. president's archives … Read more

It's been a long time since the Boston area could claim to be home to more than a handful of big high-tech companies. Now regional leaders are betting on green to restore cutting-edge luster to "the Hub."

The state already hosts a number of established green-tech companies such as Evergreen Solar and Conservation Services Group, which does building energy-efficiency retrofits. Of course, no green-tech companies have replaced former tech powerhouses like Digital Equipment (acquired by Compaq, which was in turn acquired by Hewlett-Packard) or Lotus Development (now part of IBM).

But that doesn't mean green-tech boosters … Read more