w England
Cleaner Environment Through
Energy Efficiency
Clean Energy
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency New England
September 21IIW-
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An Introduction
Residents of New England will en/oy
o healthier, safer environment when
the Region uses less energy and
cleaner energy. Across these six
northeastern states, businesses,
towns and cities, nonprofit groups
and schools are reducing their
energy use, the threat of climate
change and improving our air quality
and water quality.
Here at EPA New England, we have
made energy a priority, supporting
programs that cut energy use and
reduce its impact on our en-
vironment. EPA New England has
formed an Energy Team whose
members focus on energy's impact
on air quality and public health. This
small group of senior staff guides
energy-related policies and
programs meant to encourage
energy efficiency and renewable
power. Conservation efforts com-
plement cleaner energy sources to
help New England meet the energy
demands of a productive region
while also maintaining a healthy
environment.
Appliances, buildings and motor
vehicles that use less energy cut our
energy needs without changing the
quality of our lives. Renewable
energy, such as wind power, and
decentralized sources of energy,
such as fuel cells, help reduce our
reliance on foreign supplies. In this
brochure we recognize the chal-
lenges New England faces and the
accomplishments of organizations
and businesses dedicated to cutting
energy use in this region.
Cities and towns across New England have found they can save money
at the same time that they respond to increased citizen interest in less
polluting energy sources. Communities as big as Boston and as small
as Pou/fney, VT are saving millions of dollars each year with new energy
efficiency programs and by using cleaner, renewable energy sources.
Among the highlights:
Energy Efficiency
t Fa/rf/e/d, CT, has saved more than $1 million on
energy bills through energy efficiency improvements at 24
municipal and school buildings, as well as the town's wastewater
plant. The work has been done through a Performance Contract. A
performance contract allows
an energy services company
to do energy upgrades for
free up front, and then collects
its fee from the money saved
in energy costs over the years.
> In Somerv///e, MA, the
new Michael E. Capuano
School is using 43 percent less
electricity and 24 percent less
natural gas due to energy
efficiency measures expected
to save the city $60,000.
> Manchester, NH, is
saving nearly $100,000 a
year on its energy bills by
replacing more than 3,000
traffic lights with energy-
efficient light emitting diode
(LED) traffic lamps. These
lamps, which are certified
under the ENERGY STAR'5'
program, use 80 to 90
percent less energy and last
three to four years longer.
Energy-saving fraffic lights in Manchester, NH
Robert W. Varney
Regional Administrator
EPA New England
t New Hampshire's Department of Justice building uses 37
percent less energy than average for a building its size, preventing annual
greenhouse gas emissions equal to 200 vehicles while saving more than
$24,000 a year. Built in 1 955, this state building is one of 74 buildings
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Cities and Towns
in New Hampshire that received extensive upgrades as part of the state's Building Energy
Conservation Initiative. Together these upgrades save New Hampshire taxpayers
more than $1.1 million in annual energy bills.
Ill
> The Maine Public Utilities Commission Building in Augusta was the first office building
in the state to earn the ENERGY STAR" label. It uses 35 percent less energy than average for a building its size. Built in
1942, the PUC building received several upgrades, including efficient lighting and a solar hot air wall-mounted panel
system. New operating practices reduced energy use further while improving indoor air quality and ventilation.
> The CT Department of Environmental Protection building in Hartford earned an ENERGY STAR" label after
scoring 90 out of 100 on ENERGY STAR 's National Energy Performance Rating scale. Built in 1930 and renovated in
1 995, it proves that older buildings can be energy efficient. The DEP building uses one third less energy than average for
a building that size —saving taxpayers more than $400,000 each year. It is one of more than 20 buildings upgraded by
the State Building Energy Conservation Program that together saves taxpayers millions of dollars.
> Medford City Hall was the first city or town hall building in Massachusetts to earn the ENERGY STAR' label.
Completed in 1937, Medford City Hall has new lighting and controls, solar panels for electricity, more efficient
heating, and water conserving plumbing fixtures. Medford City Hall uses 28 percent less energy than average for a
building its size.
> Manchester, VT, recently replaced more than 40,000 incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient compact
fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) that use less than a third the energy. The town completed this in under six months. Over the
lifetime of the bulbs, the project will save $1.7 million and 13,184 megawatt-hours of energy, enough to power nearly
1,600 Vermont households for a year. It will also prevent 7,772 tons of CO, emissions - the equivalent of taking 1,345
vehicles off the road.
> The Somersworf/i, NH, Housing Authority saves more than $45,000 a year on energy bills, thanks to energy-
saving lighting and other energy improvements at its 169 housing units. The energy upgrades were done through a
performance contract with an energy services company that guaranteed the town $540,000 in savings over 12 years.
Transporfaf/on
> The Town of Natick, MA, worked with General Growth, the
contractor involved in the expansion of the Natick Mall that began in
2005, to require the use of advanced pollution control technology and low sulfur
diesel fuel and to enforce state idling regulations for construction vehicles involved in the
project.
> The City of Boston has equipped all 35 diesel tourist trolleys operating in the city
with diesel oxidation catalysts using a grant from EPA's National Voluntary Diesel Retrofit
Program. The city has also begun using a blend of biodiesel and ultra low sulfur diesel
for the 450 diesel vehicles in its fleet, and as of 2006, any new vehicles purchased by
the city must be a hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle, whenever possible.
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Clean Energy
t In Hull, MA, a second wind turbine was built on
the site of the town's old landfill, saving the town's ratepayers
$400,000 a year on their electric bills. The first wind turbine
has already cut the town's electric bill by about $140,000 annually.
In Durham, NH, the University of New Hampshire's cogeneration
plant will use natural gas from a nearby landfill starting in 2007. The
plant will provide electricity, steam and heat to the campus using methane,
a greenhouse gas that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere.
From energy efficiency to renewable power, New
England states are national leaders. These six
states made commitments through the New
England Governors and Eastern Canadian
Premiers' Climate Change Action Plan to put in
place policies that are among the most aggressive
in the nation.
New England states together have committed
more than $250 million a year to energy efficiency.
These investments combined with aggressive
efficiency standards for home appliances are
recognized as among the leading efficiency
programs in the US.
In addition, EPA's ENERGY STAR" program, which
encourages businesses to reduce energy use, has
led dozens of building managers to use EPA
software that measures energy consumption and
helps managers cut demand in their buildings. This
approach has been adopted by hospitals, schools,
hotels and commercial office buildings throughout
the region.
When it comes fo renewable energy, New
England is a/so showing leadership. Connecticut,
Massachusetts and Rhode Island have enacted
standards requiring increasing amounts of
electricity sold in each state to be generated from
renewable resources such as wind, hydro and solar
power. In addition, those states also have funds
that spend more than $25 million a year to advance
renewable energy technologies and businesses in
their states.
Finally, many commercial, institutional and municipal
energy users are requiring that more of the energy
they buy come from renewable resources. EPA
recognizes these efforts through its Green Power
Partnership. The City of Boston, Whole Foods
Market, Staples and Interface Fabrics Corporation
are among more than 30 partners in New England.
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Cities and Towns cont'd
I Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne, MA, and the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union in Dorchesfer,
MA, built on-site wind turbines to provide electricity to their facilities.
* Portsmouth Abbey School in Portsmoufh, Rl, built the first large
wind turbine in the state. The 660-kilowatt turbine will save the school
more than $100,000 a year in electricity costs and will be used to
teach students about energy as part of their science curriculum.
> In Vermont, 25 schools are using wood instead of oil to heat
their facilities. In 2004, these heating systems saved the schools more
than $370,000 and the equivalent of 700,000 gallons of fuel oil.
> In New Haven, CT, a 200-kilowatt fuel cell at the city's
wastewater treatment plant is saving the city nearly $700,000 a
year in electric bills, while also supplying the heat to run an
expanded fats/oil/grease processing facility. This
expanded facility also pays the city $200,000 in usage
fees each year. Fuel cells produce heat and electricity
by combining hydrogen and water in an
emission-free electrochemical process.
> Burlington Electric Department in
Burlington, VT, has signed a 20-year contract
to buy electricity from a proposed nine-
megawatt wind farm on Little Equinox Mountain
in Manchester. The wind project, slated to
provide 7 percent of the city's electricity, is a
major boost to the city's goal of reducing
greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent by 2010.
EPA NE a
National Leader
on Energy
Efficiency
EPA's New England Office also takes
energy efficiency seriously. The agency's
new regional laboratory in North
Che/msrbra1, MA is a showcase for energy
efficient building. The vehicle fleet
has been upgraded to reduce
emissions, and high
efficiency systems and
green building features
have been incorporated
into new office space in
Posf Office Square,
r Bosfon, that EPA New
England expects to
occupy in 2009.
EPANew England's regional fab
/M North Cne/msfoid, MA A
t Essex Junction, VT, has installed a high efficiency
microturbine to provide heat and electricity to its wastewater plant.
This system will provide about 40 percent of the plant's electricity
needs, saving the city some $30,000 a year in electricity costs. The
turbine runs on natural gas, but in this case, the fuel is a renewable
by-product of the wastewater treatment process. This system will cut
the plant's greenhouse gas emissions by more than 250 tons a year
the equivalent of taking 42 cars off the road.
^ Brockton, MA, hosts New England's largest solar energy park
on an abandoned Brownfields site. The "Brightfield" project, which
received major funding from EPA and the Massachusetts Technology
Collaborative, will include as many as 6,720 solar panels connected
in "strings" that span the 27-acre site.
North Che/msford lob
fos fhe firsf EPA building in
the country to get the highest
oting from the U.S. Green Building
Council. The 1.0 Gold Rating LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) was given through their rating
system designed to encourage more
sustainable buildings.
EPA New England's motor vehicle fleet
has been transformed from one that was
reliant on SUVs and large low-mileage
sedans into a modern fleet with several
hybrid vehicles and many compact cars
for regional travel. This overhaul of the
fleet has saved taxpayers thousands of
dollars a year in fuel costs.
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Bringing Energy
Efficiency to
New England's
Lodging Industry
EPA has partnered with trade associations,
leading owners, and utilities to bring the message
of energy efficiency to New England's lodging
industry. Nationwide, hotels spend almost $4
billion on energy every year, and are among the
most energy intensive commercial buildings.
EPA is collaborating with lodging industry
associations throughout New England to help
hotel owners adopt a strategic approach to
energy management. EPA has presented at two
training sessions hosted by the New Hampshire
Lodging and Restaurant Association, and is also
training New Hampshire utility staff to coordinate
energy efficiency incentive program offerings
with a strategic energy management approach.
In Massachusetts, EPA is partnering with Boston
Green Tourism (BGJ) to train dozens of area hotel
owners in strategic energy management. BGT
members are already taking the first step
toward strategic energy management-
assessing or "benchmarking" their current
energy performance using the ENERGY STAR*
Portfolio Manager benchmarking tool. EPA will
work with BGT and its members to track and
recognize energy efficiency improvements at
these facilities. EPA also /oined Massachusetts
utilities, energy service companies, and the
Sounders Hotel Group—-2005 ENERGY STAR®
Partner of the Year—in addressing the
Massachusetts Lodging Association during the
opening session of their 2006 annual meeting.
Businesses across New England have also learned that
cutting energy use is one of fhe easiesf, mosf cost-
effective ways to control costs. Companies also find they
can be more independent and predict costs with more
accuracy by buying more of their power from clean,
renewable energy sources. Among the examples across
the region:
Energy Efficiency
> The Sounders Hotel Group is a
national leader when it comes to energy and
environmental performance—earning them ENERGY
STAR^'s highest award, "Partner of the Year." Two Sounders
hotels built a century apart, the historic Lenox Hotel in
Boston and the Comfort Inn at Logan Airport, both earned
ENERGY STAR* labels. The Sounders Hotel Group
achieved these impressive results using a wide range of
technologies and practices, including: an advanced ozone
laundry system to minimize the use of hot water and
chlorine, water conserving fixtures and equipment, energy
efficient lighting and heating, and good management
practices.
> Massachusetts-based Tufts Health Plan's Watertown
headquarters facility uses almost one-third less energy
than an average performing building—saving hundreds
of thousands of dollars in annual energy bills. A
comprehensive energy management strategy helped the
building earn an ENERGY STAR" label in 2006. Key
features of the energy strategy include: aligning lighting
and air conditioning operations closely with work
schedules, lighting occupancy sensors, and computer
monitor power management software.
^ The Raytheon Corp. of Tewksbury received a national
ENERGY STAR" award for its successful lighting efficiency
program, which saves the company more than $250,000
a year. With upgrades only partially completed, Raytheon
has cut lighting costs by an average of 82 percent.
> After launching an energy program in 2000,
Cambridge Savings Banlc in Cambridge, MA reduced
its energy use by 22 percent between 2001 and 2002,
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even though it added two new branches during this period. The
company's energy efficiency program saves the bank more than
$60,000 a year. Two Cambridge Savings Bank buildings earned
the ENERGY STAR' label in 2003 and seven buildings, including
five branches, received the label in 2004.
> Working with Efficiency Maine, Toy/or Farm in St. Albans, ME
installed nine large energy efficient fans in its dairy barn instead of
1 1 9 conventional fans.
In addition to expected
energy savings of more
than $20,000 a year,
the variable speed drive
units produce a more
even flow of cool air that
is better for milk pro-
duction: it keeps the
farm's 500 cows from
bunching around the
smaller fans.
New solar panels at Shaw's
Supermarket in Burlington, MA
t The Genzyme
Corp. has built a new
1 2-story headquarters in
Cambridge, MA that
will reduce energy use
by about 42 percent,
saving the company
about $460,000 a
year. The building's
sustainable design also
includes waterless ur-
inals and low-flow
fixtures that will reduce
potable water use by
nearly a third, or about
500,000 gallons a year,
and a vegetative roof and rainwater collection system that will reduce
stormwater runoff.
> Mellon Bank's 375,000 square foot processing facility in
Everett, MA, was the first facility in New England to earn ENERGY
STAR' labels five years in a row. Mellon has achieved substantial
reductions in energy use primarily through better management. The
bank improved its energy performance rating score from 54 to 87
(out of 100) in just four years. Energy use has been cut by more
than 1 5 percent and total cost savings exceed half a million dollars.
7
Bringing "Green
Principles to
Shipping
The US Environmental Protection
Agency and the freight industry are
working together through the
SmartWay Transport Partnership to both
make our country more secure and
significantly reduce air pollution and
greenhouse gases. The partnership
challenges shipping companies and
truck and rail carriers that deliver
products to minimize the pollution
caused by their operations.
By 2012, this initiative aims to eliminate
33 to 66 million metric tons of carbon
dioxide emissions and up fo 200,000
tons of nitrogen oxide emissions each
year. At the same fime, the initiative will
reduce fuel use by up to 150 million
barrels of oil a year. The program, with
more than 365 partners, is developing
new tools like low-interest loan
programs to help finance upgrades on
vehicles. EPA New England works to
encourage trade associations, truck
and rail carriers, shippers, ports, and
state/regional agencies to loin the
effort. The agency promotes related
technologies and infrastructure, and
explores ways different modes of
transportation can work together.
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A Beacon of
Energy Efficiency:
The John Hancock
Tower
One of fhe mosf prominent buildings in
Boston's skyline is now o/so o symbol of
energy efficiency. Boston's John Hancock
Tower, an icon of modern architecture
owned and managed by an affiliate of
Beacon Capital Partners, has earned EPA's
ENERGY STAR" label. Beacon Capital
Partners also earned an ENERGY STAR
label for two other landmark buildings in
the John Hancock Tower Complex in
2005—buildings at 200 Berkeley St. and
1 97 Clarendon St. made significant energy
efficiency improvements.
Designed by I.M. Pei and completed in
1976, the 2.2 million square foot John
Hancock Tower, at more than 60 stories and
790 feet tall, is the tallest building in New
England. It scored an impressive 77 out of
100 on ENERGY STAR"'s national
performance rating system. Together with
200 Berkeley and 197 Clarendon, the John
Hancock Tower Complex comprises nearly
3.2 million square feet of space.
Compared to similar buildings with average
energy performance, EPA estimates that the
John Hancock Tower used almost one-third
less energy, saving more than $3.5 million
each year in energy bills. When a building
uses less energy, it generates less pollution.
Commercial buildings account for more
than 17 percent of our nation's greenhouse
gas emissions. EPA estimates that the John
Hancock Tower avoided more than 30
million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions
in 2005, and conserved enough energy to
power more than 1,700 homes for a year.
Like the Hancock Tower in the Boston
skyline, the ENERGY STAR' label is easy
to find. And ENERGY STAR" helps
everyone—consumers, homeowners and
bus/nesses —cut energy demand, save
money and improve the environment. In
2005 alone, ENERGY STAR" helped
Americans save more than $ 12 billion on
their energy bills and prevent greenhouse
gas emissions equivalent to those from 23
million vehicles.
t Progressive Plastics saves nearly $18,000 a year with energy
efficient hydraulic injection molding machines at its Williamstown, VT,
plant. In addition to cutting electricity use by 160,000 kilowatt hours
a year, the more efficient machines reduced the company's scrap rate
from 5 percent to nearly zero and eliminated the labor and
environmental costs of dealing with hydraulic fluids in the old machines.
> The Green Co., a home builder in Newton, MA, has built hundreds
of ENERGY STAR'-qualified homes, including 80 in Plymouth, MA,
that earned the company a "2004 ENERGY STAR' for Homes
Outstanding Achievement Award."
> Gregory's Supply, a building supply and hardware store in
Burlington, VT, saves $10,000 a year through energy efficient
equipment and practices at its 24,300-square-foot store.
Transportation
^ IBM in Cambridge, MA, joined
EPA New England's list of Best Workplaces for
Commuters in 2006. To help employees reduce air pollution from
their commutes, IBM offers an outstanding commuter benefits package,
including a transit subsidy, emergency ride home program and a
significant telecommuting program.
> PlanetTran of Cambridge, MA, is the first auto service in the
country to exclusively use ultra fuel efficient hybrid vehicles.
^ In addition to offering its employees $65 a month for transit subsidies,
the People's Bank in Bridgeport, CT, gives employees $1 a day when
two employees commute together and $1.50 a day when three or
more employees ride together. People's Bank joined EPA's Best
Workplaces for Commuters list in 2003.
Clean Energy
The Bus/ness Council of Fairiield Counfy and
its member companies have embraced energy efficiency
to save money, reduce air pollution and improve reliability of the
region's antiquated and overburdened electric system. The council and
EPA together developed an innovative program to improve energy
efficiency in large office buildings that were adopted by the Connecticut
8
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Public Utilities Commission and put in place by Northeast Utilities and United
Illuminating. In the first round of the program, participating companies received
comprehensive energy upgrades in a total of about 8 million square feet of office
space. This saved them hundreds
of thousands of dollars and
significantly reduced energy use. The pilot
was so successful it was expanded to address other
buildings in a second round.
> In 2004, Cranmore Mountain in North Conway,
NH, became the first ski resort on the East Coast to use
biodiesel fuel to power its snow grooming machines. The
project is a collaboration of the NH Department of
Environmental Services and the Granite State Clean Cities
Coalition, a statewide partnership aimed at increasing
the use of alternative fuels across New Hampshire.
> National Grid, a major electricity supplier in
Massachusetts and Rhode Island, now offers a
renewable energy choice program called GreenUp. This
program gives residential and small business customers
in Massachusetts and Rhode Island several options for
getting electricity from renewable energy sources, such
as wind, solar, biomass and small hydroelectric. The
program, the first of its kind in New England, has already
attracted more than 1,000 Rhode Island customers. A
typical residential customer will pay between $6 and
$12.50 more a month, depending on the renewable
source selected.
¥ Interface Fabrics Group, a commercial fabric
manufacturer with facilities in Massachusetts and Maine,
is buying 2.5 million kw hours of wind power a year -
enough electricity to weave one million yards of Interface's
environmentally conscious fabric known as Terratex. The
cost of the energy certificates to support the wind power
is more than offset by the new business generated from good publicity and resulting good will.
> Public Service Co. of New Hampshire is set to bring on line in late 2006 a new wood fired
boiler to replace a 50-megawatt coal-fired unit at its Schiller Station in Portsmouth, NH. The new wood-
fired boiler will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 75 percent, sulfur dioxide emissions by 95 percent
and mercury emissions by 90 percent.
> New England Confecf/onary's manufacturing facility in Revere, MA, is powered by a six-megawatt
combined heat and power plant. This plant operates at 68 percent efficiency compared to a national
average of 33 percent for conventional generation. The plant saves the company about $750,000 a
year in utility costs while cutting emissions of carbon dioxide by 32 percent, nitrogen oxides by 39
percent and sulfur dioxide by 97 percent per ton of candy produced.
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Nonprofit groups can educate and inspire New Englanders obouf the wide range of possibilities for
creating "green" buildings with energy-saving features and renewable energy. All across the region
from parish halls in Massachusetts, to land conservation groups in New Hampshire—nonprof/fs are
using new green building designs to showcase fechno/ogies fhaf are available and to demonstrate
their own environmental commitment.
Energy Efficiency
t Given Mark Twain's fascination with technology, it
only makes sense that the new Museum Center at the
Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT, would include cutting-
edge 'green' technologies. The 33,000-square-foot building that
opened in 2005 uses geothermal wells as the primary heating and
cooling source and various other energy-saving systems that are
expected to cut energy use by nearly 30 percent.
The Mark Twain Museum Center in
Hartford, CT is fhe first LEED-certified
museum in fhe country.
¥ By installing photovoltaic solar panels and a renewable wood-chip
heating system, Society for Protection of New Hampshire
Forests has cut energy bills at its Concord, NH, headquarters by 23
percent. The nonprofit group has also opened a new 1 1,400-square-
foot wing built with native green-certified lumber and a super-insulated
airtight exterior shell that uses 60 percent less energy than comparably-sized buildings.
> Through upgrades and other energy-saving measures, Ail Saints Parish of Brookline, MA, has reduced
its utility bills by nearly $5,000 a year, despite an increase in operating hours. All Saints Parish is a member
Fostering Clean and Renewable Energy
EPA New England is working closely with state
and federal agencies to increase fhe supply of
cleaner and renewable energy resources in the
region. EPA New England is working on Cape
Cod with the Minerals Management Service ana*
fhe US Foresf Service on Deerfie/d wind projects
to ensure they are developed to minimize any
potential environmental damage and to comply
with environmental regulations.
The newer, cleaner natural gas power plants that
replaced oil and older natural gas plants have
helped improve the region's air quality. However,
that switch has made fhe New England region
rely more on natural gas and could lead to
shortages. To meef fhis increased demand,
private developers have proposed several
Liquefied Natural Gas (ING) import terminals
for the region. EPA New England is working with
other federal and state agencies to review
proposals and minimize environmental damage
caused by any new LNG terminals.
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Nonprofits
of the Massachusetts
Interfaith Power and
Electric initiative,
which has helped
dozens of other
congregations reduce
energy consumption
and promote
renewable energy.
> Roof-mounted
photovoltaic panels,
composting toilets
and two 1 ,500-foot
geothermal wells used
for heating and cooling
are just a few of the "green" attributes of The Trustees of The
Reservations' new Doyle Conservation Center in
Leominster, MA. The 1 8,000-square-foot building has cut
its energy bill by 61 percent, or about $6,000 a year.
> Massachusetts Audubon's Boston Nature
Center in Mattapan, MA, includes photovoltaic
shingles that convert the sun's energy into
electricity and a ground-source geothermal
heat pump system that takes advantage of the
solar energy stored in the earth to provide
efficient heating and cooling. The 10,150-
square-foot building uses 30 to 35 percent less
energy than other similarly sized buildings.
Bike commuting is catching
on in Burlington, VT
Transportation
The Boston office of fnv/ronmenfa/
Defense, a national environmental advocacy group,
joined EPA New England's list of Best Workplaces for Commuters
in 2005. ED located its Boston office near a transit stop,
encouraging employees and visitors to take public transportation.
ED offers a substantial telecommuting program, which results in
more than 20 percent of employees working from an alternative
location at least one day a week.
continued*
Best Workplaces
for Commuters
EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation
have teamed up to honor companies and
organizations that offer superior commuter
benefits, such as public transit subsidies, robust
telecommuting programs and carpool
matching services. Employers that participate
are included on New England's list of
"Best Workplaces for Commuters."
The list is publicized annually
through the media and at
special events across New
England.
L~"~^M
The 2006 list includes
144 employers from
around New England
representing nearly
190,000 employees in the
region. The New England list
represents the full range of
employers in New England and
includes IBM Cambridge; national
consulting firm Abt Associates; Oracle; Basis
Technology; People's Bank; the University of
New Hampshire; Seventh Generation in
Burlington, VT; Kent Hospital in Rhode Island
and EMC Corporation.
In 2002, EPA's New England office in Boston
became the first government agency in the
region to join the program. More than 90
percent of the agency's Boston employees use
public transit, vanpools or bicycles in their daily
commutes.
1 I
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The Northeast Diesel
Collaborative
Emissions from diesel engines are a primary
source of air pollution in New England and can
aggravate respiratory problems. Two counties
in Connecticut fail to meet air quality standards
for fine particles, and cities across New England
narrowly meet the standard. The northeastern
states have some of the highest asthma rates
in the nation, including a childhood asthma rofe
above JO percent in each New England state.
Although EPA has taken steps to ensure that
diesel engines in the future are cleaner than
those operating today, older models of these
engines that are still being used could pose
health and environmental risks for decades.
EPA New England, aware of the value of work-
ing together to combat emissions, has joined
with EPA Region 2, the Northeast States for
Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM)
and the governments of the eight northeastern
states to establish the Northeast Diesel
Collaborative. This group focuses on key causes
of diesel emissions from motor vehicles,
construction equipment, boats and trains. The
goals of the collaborative are to retrofit and
replace engines; reduce engine idling by trucks
and buses; and promote cleaner fuels.
The NEDC is joining other organizations in New
England to help with local efforts to reduce
diesel emissions. One such initiative is Greater
Boston Breathes Better, which involves
government, businesses, schools and non-profit
organizations working to reduce air pollution
from transportation sources in and around
Boston. Greater Boston Breathes Better (GB3)
provides a range of options to companies or
institutions that want to reduce air pollution and
air toxics from motor vehicles, trains and planes.
Boston Coach, for instance, has created an
anti-idling program for all of its buses and limos.
Shuttle buses serving the Longwood Medical
area have been equipped with diesel particulate
matter filters and run on ultra low sulfur diesel
fuel, reducing emissions by more than 90
percent. And Harvard University runs all its
diesel vehicles on biodiesel fuel. In the past year,
nine Boston-area employers have been added
to ERA's Best Workplaces for Commuters list,
bringing the Greater Boston area total to 78.
> The Consensus Building Institute, a nonprofit in
Cambridge, joined EPA New England's Best Workplaces for
Commuters list in 2005. The institute offers outstanding
commuter benefits, including a telecommuting program that
reduces 7.5 percent of employee trips per month. Benefits
also include a transit subsidy and a guaranteed ride home
program.
Clean Energy
The Artists for Humanity Epicenter
in Boston includes the largest photovoltaic
system in New England's largest city. The 49-
kilowatt, 1 60-panel
solar array supplies
a more than 80 percent
Hof the building's
| electricity. The project,
a LEED Platinum
certified building, also
includes enhanced
natural light, panel
fans and an unusual
ventilation tower that
eliminates the need
for air conditioning.
The LEED (Leadership
in Energy and
Environmental Design)
Green Building Rating
System is a voluntary,
consensus-based
national standard for
developing high-
performance,
sustainable buildings.
SSSBi .
The Artists for Humanity Epicenter
includes a glass curtain wall for
daylighting benefits.
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Colleges & Universities
University campuses, where student idealism is combined with cost conscious
planning, are ideal for setting the bar high on energy efficiency and clean energy.
That's certainly been the case in New England, where dozens of universities and
colleges are working to reduce their energy consumption and are buying renewable
energy at unprecedented levels. And the impetus is coming from all levels—from ground-
level student activists such as CT College's Renewable Energy Club to high-level administrators.
Energy Efficiency
> Yale University's Energy Program in New Haven
includes a novel energy conservation website (http://
java.facilities.yale.edu/cmp/energy.jsp) that supports the
program's effort to improve efficiency of power plants, update buildings, encourage emerging
technologies and find clean energy alternatives. The web site focuses on the habits and daily life
of members of the campus community. Visitors can view in real time the amount of energy that has been saved
since January 1, 2005 at various Yale buildings. For instance, between that date and May 2006, the school
reduced its use of natural gas by 272,000 million cubic feet, cut its oil use by 47,000 barrels and avoided
21,200 metric tons of carbon equivalent emissions through conservation measures and new technologies. An
energy scorecard encourages students to compete with each other by showing the relative energy reductions
accomplished by various dormitories.
> The University of New Hampshire earned the first ENERGY
STAR"' label for college residence halls in the nation for three buildings
on its Durham campus. The halls were recognized for superior energy
performance - they use about 40 percent less energy than average for
buildings of similar sizes. This saves the university almost $80,000 a
year while preventing thousands of pounds of air pollution from entering
the atmosphere. UNH's long-standing commitment to energy efficiency
in the design and operation of campus buildings is saving the University
$4 million a year in energy compared to the national average for
comparable buildings. Specific measures include: lighting change-outs,
new motors, revamped building control systems, and energy education
for the maintenance and operations staff, students and faculty.
> In 2005, Tufrs University was among only 1 7 individuals and organizations to receive EPA's prestigious
Climate Protection Award for the Tufts Climate Initiative. The University now includes current and historical
greenhouse gas emissions figures for all building types in its three schools in an annual Tufts University Fact
Book prepared by the University's Office of Institutional Research.
> The Middlebury College Change-A-Light campaign, launched by a student organization, encourages
students to trade incandescent light bulbs with screw-based compact fluorescent light bulbs. The college's
facility department offered to pay for 2,000 lamps. Efficiency Vermont offered to pay $2 per lamp. The student
group went door to door in all dorms promoting the more energy-efficient bulbs. In less than six months, 1 ,400
bulbs were swapped out, which saving more than 65,000 kilowatt-hours per year. Based on the success of this
effort, Efficiency Vermont, in partnership with Vermont Campus Energy Group, EPA and ENERGY STAR" began
planning an Inter-Collegiate Change-A-Light competition to involve ail colleges in Vermont to participate in
campus-wide Change-A-Light program." , „
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> Since publishing a ground-breaking environmental report card of campus operations, the University of
Vermont's Environmental Council has developed many projects to enhance energy efficiency and smarter energy
use on campus. Among the "smart projects:" Cooling system upgrades at the heating plant have reduced
annual energy bills by $40,000 and annual water use by 690,000 cubic feet. New on-campus washing
machines consume 50 percent less water and 40 percent less electricity. Occupancy sensors, light emitting
diode exit signs and Sleep Mode software for computers are used in all campus buildings. The University's
Environmental Council encourages environmental entrepreneurship by offering small grants to support the planning
and/or implementation of innovative projects that reduce LJVM's ecological footprint.
> In the fall of 2005, Smith, Mount Holyoke and Amherst colleges challenged their students to join the
Million Monitor Drive, EPA's ENERGY STAR' program challenging computer users nationwide to activate their
monitor power management features and thereby dramatically reduce electricity use. The goal was 75 percent
participation for each school. Just over 75 percent of Mount Holyoke and Smith students and 55 percent of
Amherst students participated. These efforts will save the schools up to 961,000 kilowatt hours a year and $82,000
and offset 690 tons of carbon dioxide per year. A full 75 percent participation rate would save the three schools
enough power to pay for enough green energy to run all the student computers for a year.
Transportation
> The University of Vermont in Burlington has joined the
"yellow bike" craze that's starting to roll out at colleges across
the region and country. Under the program,
used bikes are fixed up, painted yellow and made available for free for students'
use on campus. "Yellow bike" cooperative programs offer an easy alternative to
driving. The UVM program stems from a student thesis done for an environmental studies
course and was supported with a $1,000 mini-grant from UVM's Environmental Council.
Other schools in New England with "yellow bike" programs include, the University of New
Hampshire, Hampshire College in Massachusetts and Middlebury College in Vermont.
> The Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences gives its employees
a 60 percent subsidy for using public transportation or vanpools. The college also participates
in the Medical Academic and Scientific Community Organization's Commuter Incentive
Program, which provides up to $200 for outdoor gear to commuters who bike, walk, or
rollerblade to work at least two days a week for six months.
Clean Energy
A wind turbine
being built in the
Midwest will supply
renewable power
for the College
of the Atlantic
in Maine
^ The Community Solar Power
Initiative at MIT installed 25 advanced
solar photovoltaic systems on campus and
in the community. Supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Technology
Collaborative, the project involved local home owners, institutional leaders,
and a host of local solar engineers, entrepreneurs, and installers to add more than 74
kilowatts of solar energy capacity to the area. This generated enough electricity to light more than 60 homes with
no greenhouse gas emissions or other harmful emissions. The three systems on MIT's campus mark an important
milestone: the first large-scale renewable power systems inter-connected to MIT's power grid. The project shows
that MIT can bring innovative and renewable power to its campus in a way that is practical and reliable.
14
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Colleges & Universities
> Colby College in Woterville, ME, no longer relies on fossil fuels for electricity
thanks to a contract that has all of the college's electricity coming from renewable
energy sources. Half of the college's power is coming from Maine hydro-power, the
other half from Maine biomass wood waste such as wood chips and saw dust. By
eliminating its past reliance on coal for 70 percent of its power, Colby has cut its smog-
causing nitrogen oxide emissions by 41 percent and acid rain-causing sulfur dioxide emissions by 98 percent.
> In April 2004, the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, ME, became the nation's first college to make a
multi-year commitment to purchase 100 percent of its electricity from new renewable wind-power sources. To
achieve this goal, the college signed two contracts - a short-term contract to buy renewable energy credits, or
'green tags/ from Native Energy LLC in Charlotte, VT, and a long-term contract with the Endless Energy Corp.
which is developing wind power facilities in Maine.
> Connecticut College, a founding member of EPA's Green Power Partnership, recently doubled its support
for the generation of green power by buying wind power energy certificates equal to six megawatts, or about 44
percent of the college's annual electric consumption. The effort began when students in the college's Renewable
Energy Club won approval to raise student fees to pay the extra costs for the renewable power.
> Under a two-year contract, EAD Environmental, a green power marketer from New York, is supplying the
University of Southern Maine in Portland with 1.5 million kilowatt hours of Green-e™ certified renewable
energy certificates from wind energy facilities to offset electricity needs of a new campus building.
> The Central Utility Plant at MIT is hosting an algae colony upon its roof as part of a pollution control
technology being developed by an energy firm in Cambridge. This unit uses a fraction of the carbon dioxide being
emitted from the power plant's emission stream while also removing polluting nitrogen oxide emissions. As the
algae feeds on the CO2 and other pollutants, it grows and gives off oxygen and nitrogen, producing biomass that
can be converted into biofuels, including biodiesel. MIT is considering expanding its collaboration with the energy
firm to process the algae on campus into biodiesel for possible use on campus. The installation has proven that
this technology is feasible and as a result efforts are underway to build large-scale industrial applications.
NE and Eastern Canadian Universities
Charting New Energy Paths
More than 100 New England college and university
presidents and chancellors representing 67,000
students, faculty and staff have agreed to support
the goals of the New England Governors'/Eastern
Canadian Premiers' Regional Climate Action Plan.
Many set greenhouse gas reduction goals for their
campuses, and all of them are taking on a wide range
of energy efficiency, renewable and clean energy
and smart transportation projects that help control
rising electricity and fuel costs and reduce air pollution.
A new professional development network of college
and university professionals who are working
to"green" campuses across New England has
formed the Northeast Campus Sustainability
Consortium. These "sustainability coordinators" work
to make their campuses sustainable through energy-
related projects such os projects to reduce energy
use, projects using renewable and clean energy
systems, environmentally-responsible construction
practices, buying green power and energy efficient
products, buying more energy efficient and
alternatively-fueled vehicles, and programs to reduce
vehicle traffic.
Green campus coordinators networks also have been
formed for regions, including Connecticut, Maine,
Boston and western Massachusetts.
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EPA New England
Energy Team
Contacts:
Energy Efficiency
William White
617-918-1333
white.william@epa.gov
Renewable Energy/
Clean Technologies
. John Moskal
617-918-1826
moskal.john@epa.gov
Transportation
Lucy Edmondson
617-918-1004
edmondson.lucy@epa.gov
SmarfWay Transporf
Parfnersn/p
Abby Swaine
617-918-1841
swaine.abby@epa.gov
Global Climate Change/
Energy
Norman Willard
617-918-1812
willard.norman@epa.gov
> Web links to EPA's Energy Programs
ENERGY STAR®—www.energystar.gov/
Green Power Partnership—www.epa.gov/greenpower/
Combined Heat and Power Partnership—
www.epa.gov/chp/
Best Workplaces for Commuters—
www.bwc.gov/
SmartWay Transport Partnership—
www.epa.gov/smartway/
Climate Leaders—www.epa.gov/climateleaders/
Climate—www.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf
> Web links to EPA New England Energy Programs
Energy & New England's Environment—
www.epa.gov/ne/eco/energy/index.html
EPA NE's 'Green' Regional Laboratory—
www.epa.gov/ne/lab/greenbuilding/index.html
> Related Links
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships—
www.neep.org/
t> Web links to New England State Energy Programs
Connecticut—www.ctclimatechange.com
Maine—www.maine.gov/dep/air/globalwarming/index.htm
Massachusetts—www.mass.gov/ocd/climate.html
New Hampshire—
www.des.state, nh.us/ard/climatechange/i ndex.html
Rhode Island—www.dem.ri.gov/climate/
Vermont—www.anr. state, vt. us/a ir/Planning/htm/cli mate
change.htm
Credits
Editor- Amy Miller 617-918-1042
'-'n'tec' States
Environmental Protection
Agency New England
EPA#901-K-06-004
September 2006
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