cleantech

The Massachusetts legislature ended its 2018 session with a slate of bills related to tech-based economic development. Legislation for general economic development, life sciences industry, and green communities created new authorizations and provided for more than $1 billion in bond funding authority, with a substantial portion allocation to innovation-related activities. From broadband access to SBIR support to workforce development, the bills created a host of new opportunities for TBED in the Bay State.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the Zero Energy Districts Accelerator, an initiative to develop best practices for establishing commercial districts that have net-neutral energy consumption. The accelerator is now one of 12 listed under the Better Buildings Initiative, which also includes dedicated programming for community and manufacturing initiatives.

An increase in electricity generation from renewable energy sources and policies driving a shift to clean energy are revealed in a new report from the Georgetown Climate Center that highlights 19 states’ progress toward a cleaner and more efficient electricity system. Progress includes a 40 percent increase in wind energy capacity nationally, and a 577 percent increase in solar capacity growth between 2011 and 2014.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has launched the third round of the Small Business Vouchers (SBVs) pilot program.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) released a notice of intent to establish and sustain a Clean Energy
Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Reducing Embodied-Energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) in materials manufacturing. The $70 million funding opportunity
will be released in June to enable the development and widespread deployment of key industrial platform technologies that will dramatically reduce life-cycle

A bipartisan group of 17 governors signed the Governors’ Accord for a New Energy Future – a joint commitment to support the deployment of renewable, cleaner and more efficient energy technologies and other solutions to make the U.S. economy more productive and resilient as well as spur job creation in member states.

While considerable attention has been paid to the growing role of cleantech jobs in the American economy, there has been less of a focus on the skills it takes to pursue these careers.

During a Clean Energy Investment Summit, the White House announced a $4 billion commitment by major foundations, institutional investors, and others to fund innovative solutions to help fight climate change, including technologies with breakthrough potential to reduce carbon pollution. The commitment of $4 billion doubled the initial $2 billion goal set at the launch of the administration’s Clean Energy Investment Initiative last February.

Hawai’i Gov. David Ige signed into law a bill (HB 623) that would increases the state’s renewable portfolio standards to 30 percent by the end of 2020; 70 percent by the end of 2040; and, 100 percent by the end of 2045. With the passage of the new renewable energy mandate, the state became the first in the country to have a statewide renewable goal of 100 percent. This marks a drastic shift from the state’s current distinction as the country’s most oil-dependent state.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced that it will combine three existing programs (Incubator, SolarMat, and SUNPATH) into the Sunshot Technology to Market Program – a new funding program to support startups and other for-profit organizations as they bring disruptive solar innovations to the market place. Historically, the three programs that comprise the new program were separated by stage of technology development.