Forum Follow-up from Cleantech Open

Hope you made it to our Forum this week. We had a great line-up lead by Ali Addler Northeast Director of the Cleantech Open. Big bonus was the testimony of three fast-moving cleantech companies who had participated in the CTO's accelerator program -- with subsequent successes in capital funding and development to show for it.

Panelists: John Gingrich, Energy Sage; Dave Berman, NSIV/Vecarius; Alexandra Adler, Cleantech Open; Paul Laslow, Save Energy Systems

Here's Ali's follow-up as promised:

Thank you for being a part of the North Shore Tech Council Sustainability Forum featuring Cleantech Open Northeast! This is a very exciting time for the Cleantech Open Northeast with an unprecedented number of applicants at this stage in the program and the largest geographical extent in our region's history. We are looking forward to a great year, and we hope you'll be a part of it! The best part about Cleantech Open is that there are so many ways to get involved. 

First stay in touch! Sign up to receive our newsletter, follow @CleantechOpenNE on twitter, like us on Facebook, and follow our blog to keep up with current news and upcoming events! If you indicated in the event registration form that you want to receive our newsletter, you have already been added to our recipient list.

Applying for the accelerator? Applications are open and due by May 1! Contact Bryan Russett, Applicant Recruitment Co-Chair with any questions. APPLY HERE!

Want to mentor a team? Mentor applications are open now too! Sign up to mentor here and contact Lisa London, Mentor Outreach Chair, with any questions.

Interested in volunteering? It's a great way to support an important cause and to network in the industry. Volunteers can apply here!

Finally, please help us spread the word about the opportunity to get involved!

We hope to hear from you or see you soon!

2nd Annual Forum with Cleantech Open

Just a friendly reminder. Yes, we have deviated from our usual "First Wednesday" schedule this month. But it'll be worth it. It's our second annual Forum with Cleantech Open and some very sharp new start-ups. 
This promises to be a big networking opportunity for all of you who are looking to get in on the business of cleantech innovation. 
Next Wednesday, April 10, at 8 am
More of the details we posted earlier are Here.
See you Wednesday. All welcome.

Forum Follow-Up: Gloucester Wind Energy

Here’s a great follow-up to our February Sustainability Forum with Rick Johnson of Varian/Applied Materials. That was when Rick gave us a thorough, behind-the-scenes perspective on their wind energy strategy.

Last Thursday night 300 Cape Ann residents heard from a panel of experts that included Rick as well as: Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk; Tom Michelman of Boreal RenewableEnergy Development in Arlington, who presented turbine study highlights; and Sumul Shah, CEO of Solaya Energy, who discussed turbine construction and operation.

The headline from the Gloucester Times sums it up nicely:

March 30, 2013
 

Turbines spark quick $60K city savings

By Gail McCarthy
Staff Writer

 — The towering wind turbines rising above Blackburn Industrial Park have already translated into revenue with the city, clearing $60,000 in the first three months, according to Mayor Carolyn Kirk.

That was just one element of information shared Thursday night by Kirk and three experts at a wind energy panel discussion that prompted more than 300 Gloucester and Rockport residents to flock to the Sawyer Free Library for a panel discussion on wind energy.

Within three months worth of performance, Kirk said this year’s revenue projection for this calendar year will be $430,000. The only reason that is below the $450,000 estimate is that in the first few months of operation, there were glitches that needed to be addressed and required the turbines to be turned off. Once the operation is in full swing, Kirk said the city will be on track to meet its savings projections.

The city benefits because it partnered with Equity Industrial Turbines LLC, which erected the two turbines at Gloucester Engineering at Blackburn Industrial Park. The turbines were erected in November and put into operation on Dec. 31.

“They did all the work, took all the risk, and financed the two turbines for $10 million, and we collect the check,” said Kirk. “The more they spin, the more we get.”

Varian Semiconductors/Applied Materials, the city’s largest employer, paved the way in the permitting process by being the first to start the process of installing a wind turbine in Gloucester. Varian has the largest of the three. The motivation for both projects was their large consumption of electricity and a move to enter the realm of clean energy. 

Read the whole story here.

A Local Perspective on World Water Day

This is a good day to give you a heads-up on our Wednesday, May 1, Sustainability Forum. Today is World WaterDay 2013.

As you probably know, there’s a global water crisis. It’s not just about simple supply and demand. It’s an issue with broad implications related to women’s rights, global development, pollution and preventable deaths.
It’s more dire, of course, in other parts of the world.  More than 3.4 million people die each year from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes. Nearly all deaths, 99 percent, occur in the developing world.
As the world population swells to over 7 billion people, and the demand for fresh water continues to grow with it, global leaders have called for greater innovation, advocacy and solutions.
To get your head around that, it helps to have a local perspective.
Take the Ipswich River watershed, for instance.  It’s home to about 160,000 of us here and includes about 21 towns here on the North Shore. It  provides drinking water to 335,000 people and thousands of businesses in 14 communities here. It’s a vital resource to us.
Did you know that in 1997 the Ipswich River was designated as one of the “20 Most Threatened Rivers in America”? In 2003 that designation was upgraded to one of the “10 Most Endangered Rivers in America” due to worsening flow conditions. The Ipswich is still considered a “stressed basin” under the hydrologic criteria developed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Commission.

The Ipswich is a critical resource. It’s also one of the most beautiful features of our region. And that’s saying a lot.
Considering all that, we’re very happy to announce that our Forum on May 1 will feature Wayne Castonguay, Executive Director of the Ipswich River Watershed Association. While we spend some time on cleantech (see April 10 Forum with Cleantech Open!), we think it’s important sometimes to step back and appreciate what we have here. Water is not just an issue some place else.
P.S.  The Sustainability Forum is working to set up a canoe outing on the Ipswich River sometime in May. It’ll be a great opportunity to get you and your family out on the river for a couple of hours. Please let us know if you’re interested.

Special Forum: The Cleantech Open

Be sure to join us at our special Forum, Wed., April 10:

Cleantech Open – Helping Entrepreneurs Accelerate Innovation in Sustainability

This promises to be a great gathering of speakers and attendees. We’ll learn more about this successful accelerator program, which has fueled more than $90M in funding in the Northeast alone. We’ll hear success stories from prior participants and plug-in to resources and opportunities.

Guest speakers include:

Alexandra Adler
Northeast Regional Director

CleantechOpen

Paul Laskow

President and Founder

SaveEnergy Systems

John Gingrich

Head of Corporate Development

EnergySage

Terrific opportunity to network and get involved. This annual Forum always attracts a good crowd.

About Cleantech Open:

Cleantech Open is the oldest and largest cleantech startup accelerator program, with the mission to find, fund, and foster entrepreneurs with ideas to solve our greatest environmental and energy challenges.

Time: 8:00 am – 10:30 am Wednesday April 10, 2013 (note: 2^nd Wednesday in April)

Place: 100 Cummings Center, Conference Room 221E, Beverly, MA (1 mile south of Route 128 on Route 62, close to Beverly train station).

Free to members of North Shore Technology Council. Others $10.

Reserve your spot here at NSTC.