CIREnews - Cape & Islands Renewable Energy News

CiREnews
Cape & Islands Renewable Energy News

• CIGoGreen workshops on 10/31 in Wellfleet and 11/3 in East Falmouth (10.16.07)
• May 18 workshop: Going green for towns and schools (05.08.07)
• Randy Udall inspires Cape Codders at April 26 meeting (04.27.07)
• Growing interest in biofuels addressed at February 21 meeting (02.27.07)
• Stakeholders define goals for the energy future, recommend actions for Patrick-Murray administration (12.17.06)
• Consumers help 21 town buildings go green (12.13.06)
• CIREC workshop addresses land-based wind projects and issues (11.17.06)
• October 18 CIREC meeting features Malcolm Brown, leader behind Hull Wind (10.20.06)
• “Voting Energy” candidate survey shows consensus on regional issues (10.01.06)
• Cape Light Compact buries renewable energy resolutions (09.18.06)
• Solar visionary Steven Strong to speak at September 21 CIREC meeting (09.22.06)
• Initial "Solarize Our Schools" installations raise flags (09.13.06)
• Green buildings open at Wellfleet Audubon, Cape Cod Community College (09.08.06)
• Electricity and renewables indicators released for Cape Cod (08.15.06)

This page features news and informed opinion from Chris Powicki, principal of Water Energy & Ecology Information Services (WEEinfo) and president of Cape & Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative. To receive email announcements regarding updated content, sign up here. For old news, click here.

CIGoGreen workshops help consumers take action
Upcoming "CIGoGreen" workshops will help local consumers go green at home, on the road, and at the office. The workshops, which focus on conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy, will feature presentations designed to help reduce electricity and fuel bills, improve quality of life, and protect local environments.

On October 31, a workshop will be held at Wellfleet Bay Audubon Sanctuary from 9 am to 3 pm (form). On November 3, a workshop will be held at Waquoit Bay Reserve (form). Topics will inclue an overview of how energy is supplied to the Cape, energy efficiency measures, transportation tips, and solar and wind energy systems. Both workshops will conclude with tours of on-site, clean and green energy systems. Registration preferred - please download the forms above for more information and contacts!

May 18 workshop: Going green for towns and schools
CIREC, the Massachusetts Coastal Training Program (CTP), and other local organizations are cosponsoring a workshop to provide town and school officials with inspiration, motivation, and guidance for implementing clean energy projects, programs, and policies in their own communities.

“Clean Energy for Towns and Schools: Save Money and Go Green” is being held on May 18 at Cape Cod Community College on Route 132 in Barnstable, with registration beginning at 8:30 am and presentations and interactive sessions running until 4 pm. Both the workshop and lunch are free, courtesy of cosponsors. (Click here for a conference program and registration form.) Participants will gain practical knowledge on how to reduce energy bills, increase energy efficiency, green up buildings and vehicle fleets, harness renewable energy, and control greenhouse gas emissions associated with municipal and school operations.

The workshop will begin with announcement of a Renewable Energy Action Plan for Cape & Islands communities developed through CIREC. Rep. Matt Patrick will offer a brief update on energy policy activity at the state level. Officials from off-Cape communities will review their experiences with going green, and an experienced practitioner will offer guidance on implementing green building projects and on recommissioning existing buildings. The afternoon session will include panel discussion on clean and green vehicle and heating technologies and on incentives and project financing options.

The workshop is designed to deliver useful information to town administrators; select board and council members; finance, energy, and building committee members; school administrators and board members; fleet and facility managers; and public works officials. In addition to the expert presentations and panel discussions, there will be a tour of the college’s green building, a vendor’s fair, and opportunities to view alternative fleet vehicles up close.

Joining CIREC and CTP as cosponsors are the following organizations: Americorps-Cape Cod, Cape and Islands Self-Reliance, Cape Cod Commission, Cape Cod Community College, Cape Cod Economic Development Council of Barnstable County, Cape Cod Renewable Fuels Partnership, Cape Light Compact, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and Water Energy & Ecology Information Services.

Randy Udall inspires Cape Codders at April 26 meeting
Randy Udall, director of the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) in western Colorado, was the featured speaker at the April 26 CIREC/NESEA chapter meeting at Cape Cod Community College (CCCC). The meeting was cosponsored by the CCCC "Students for Sustainability" club.

Randy is one of the nation’s leading activists and innovators in promoting energy sustainability at the local level. CORE's partnerships with individuals, governments, and businesses have led to some remarkable accomplishments, including the nation’s first solar energy incentive program, the world's first Renewable Energy Mitigation Program, and some of the most aggressive and progressive green power purchasing programs in the country. Click here for information.

As CIREC’s featured speaker on April 26, he reviewed the current energy situation around the globe and in the United States—addressing issues such as energy security, peak oil and gas, and climate change. Randy also provided perspective on the importance of energy-related action at the local level, given the absence of effective leadership in Washington, DC.

Growing interest in biofuels addressed at February 21 meeting
Biofuels expert and advocate Allen Giles spoke at a February 21 meeting cosponsored by CIREC and the Cape Cod Renewable Fuels Partnership (CCRFP). The meeting, held at the Harwich Community Center, featured an announcement of plans to site a biofuels manufacturing facility on Cape Cod.

Allen Giles is president of Amelot Holdings, Inc., a diversified company focused on supply and distribution opportunities in the renewable fuels sector. He offered perspective on the growing national interest in fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol as options for reducing dependence on foreign oil, as well as emissions of greenhouse gases. He also discussed the emerging New England biofuels sector, current local applications for biodiesel as a home heating and transportation fuel, and future opportunities - including local production of renewable fuels.

The meeting was targeted for members of the general public—as well as municipal officials—interested in exploring sustainable energy options and addressing climate change. Representatives from stakeholder groups and local communities participating in CIREC and the CCRFP were on hand to answer questions.

The CCRFP was formed in 2005, bringing together representatives from federal, state, county, and local government and other major stakeholder groups to identify potential renewable fuel markets and infrastructure needs and to take collaborative action to maximize economic, environmental, and social benefits in local communities.

Stakeholders define goals for region's energy future, recommend actions to Gov. Patrick (12.19.06)
At a December 1st "Beyond Cape Wind" stakeholder process meeting, representatives from environmental organizations, advocacy groups, business associations, state and regional agencies, and businesses convened to kickoff the development of a Cape & Islands Renewable Energy Action Plan (CI REAP). They also created recommendations for the Patrick-Murray Transition Team, which were subsequently fleshed out in a policy paper and delivered to the team's Energy & Environment Working Group by Wendy Northcross, head of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce and a participant in the visioning session.

The meeting was facilitated by John Abrams of South Mountain Co. I gave a brief overview of CIREC and of key findings from previous "Beyond Cape Wind" stakeholder processes, and then breakout sessions were held on the topics of Energy & Environment, Energy & Economy, and Energy & Well-Being. The 18 attendees then came back together in a group session to delineate high-level goals and milestones to be pursued in the CI REAP. as well as "recommendations for Deval." The regional goals, milestones, and priority actions are listed here, while a meeting summary, recommendations, and CIREC activities are detailed in this policy paper.

The following optimistic vision of the energy future captures the consensus goals, milestones, and actions:

Cape & Islands stakeholders are pursuing energy independence to strengthen our economy, protect our environment, and improve our present and future. By 2020, we plan to be using 50% less fossil fuel than in 2006, we plan to be relying on renewable resources to meet 100% of net electricity demand, and we will have a much smaller carbon footprint.

Our immediate objectives are to emphasize conservation, efficiency, and distributed applications of renewables and other clean technologies across the electricity, heating, and transportation sectors. We also plan to implement community-based processes leading to policy frameworks, institutional structures, and offshore energy projects that accelerate progress toward independence while supporting sustainability objectives, maximizing local benefits, and minimizing adverse impacts.

We will seek to designate energy enterprise zones encouraging use of green practices, high-performance construction, distributed renewables, and cogeneration in growth centers. We will continue and strengthen community outreach, public involvement, consumer education, workforce development, and practitioner training activities, and we will create a regional energy incubator to organize, support, and stimulate economic activity and public-private investment. We also will build a locally owned cooperative/utility structure to promote efficiency, deliver clean and affordable energy services, keep dollars local, and concentrate the benefits of renewables development on local communities.

Recommendations delivered to the incoming Patrick-Murray administration included the following:

Develop an Energy Strategy to Guide Comprehensive Restructuring of Energy Policies and Agencies
Commit to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Immediately
Introduce Carbon Pricing to the Transportation Sector By Basing the Vehicle Excise Tax on Fuel Efficiency
Restructure Ratepayer-Funded Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Programs
Support Creation of Regional Energy Incubators to Stimulate Economic Activity
Enact and Amend Policies and Regulations to Promote Community-Based Siting, Development, and/or Ownership of Renewable Energy Projects
Support Community-Based Processes to Facilitate Development of Offshore Energy Projects
Set an Example by Employing Green Practices in All New State Construction and Major Renovation Projects

Follow-on meetings and other activities are planned for early 2007 to engage stakeholders and communities in developing the CI REAP.

Consumers help 21 town buildings go green (12.13.06)
If you purchased green power through the Cape Light Compact's "Solarize Our Schools" campaign in early 2006, congratulations! You've made a very tangible contribution to the region's energy future: Your purchases helped fund 21 recently completed installations of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems on public buildings - 15 on the mainland and six on the Vineyard.

Most of the systems are providing local schools with green power, giving teachers and students first-hand exposure to PV technology and to the environmental benefits of renewable energy. The others were installed at a library and fire station.

The new PV units were deployed by KW Management, an off-Cape contractor working under the supervision of the Compact's Deb Fitton. A key part of the job was performed by Fat Spaniel, which supplied data monitoring, recording, and reporting devices. These devices track energy production and emissions reductions on a real-time basis.

Web-based tools created by Fat Spaniel offer access to both real-time and cumulative data from each new Cape and Vineyard site. To check out data from a nearby PV system, click here and scroll down to "Cape Light Compact/KW Management," where you can find generation and emissions data from all the recently installed Cape and Vineyard systems. The site also provides access to data from renewable technologies deployed at locations around North America. Click here for more information on the "Solarize Our Schools" campaign, including a list of all the host sites.

CIREC workshop addresses land-based wind projects and issues (11.17.06)
Local benefits, financing options, and turbine availability were among the issues discussed at a community wind workshop on November 17 at the Cape & Islands Association of Realtors Conference Center in Yarmouth. Presentations were geared toward municipal officials and others interested in installing large-scale wind turbines.

"Large Wind: How to Buy It & Where to Find It" was part of a continuing series of workshops supported by the Massachusetts Coastal Training Program and organized by participants in the Cape & Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative (CIREC). This one also was supported in part by a grant from Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC). (Program/Registration Form)

The workshop began with a "Wind 101" presentation by Richard Lawrence of Cape & Islands Self-Reliance, who offered an entertaining look at today's wind technology and refuted some common misconceptions. In collaboration with Joan Muller from Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Megan Amsler from Self-Reliance, I then described CIREC's strategic planning activities, including five questions to be asked of each local community in early 2007:

How much energy did you use in 2006?
How much did you spend on energy in 2006?
What have you done so far, what are you working on now, and what are you planning to do to conserve energy, increase efficiency, and harness renewables?
What are your goals relating to conservation, efficiency, renewables, affordability, and climate change?
How can CIREC help you achieve your goals?

Attendees representing individual communities were asked to give an update on municipal wind projects, and Ken Valley of Midwest Wind Energy Finance and John Harper of Birch Tree Capital then discussed their experiences with financing wind projects. Maggie Downey of Cape Light Compact gave some insight on the ongoing study of energy cooperative models, noting their potential advantages for facilitating municipal wind projects. However, Maggie avoided mentioning lost opportunities and possible adverse impacts that might be felt by residential and business consumers not allowed to participate in the Compact's preferred municipal cooperative structure.

Diedre Matthews of MTC announced another new MTC program for providing municipalities pursuing wind initiatives with technical and financial assistance. After lunch, a panel discussion featured turbine manufacturers, installers, and others, and the workshop concluded with a brainstorming session.

10/18 CIREC meeting features Malcolm Brown, leader behind Hull Wind (10.05.06)
Malcolm Brown, driving force behind the town of Hull's wind energy development initiatives, was the featured speaker at CIREC's October 18 meeting at Upper Cape Cod Technical High School in Bourne. The meeting was attended by about 35 people, who also got a close look at the school's 10-kW wind turbine installed in May under the direction of Tom Wineman of Clean Energy Design.

Malcolm serves on the board of the Hull Municipal Light Plant and has been a leading advocate for the town's increasing reliance on wind energy. His presentation described cost savings, emissions reductions, and other positive impressions associated with Hull's two land-based turbines: Hull Wind I, the first modern, large-scale turbine installed in Massachusetts; and Hull Wind II, the first machine sited on top of a capped landfill. He also described the town's plans to move offshore, with the goals being to meet 100% of the community's electricity demand (on a net basis) and to host the first ocean-based installation in the United States. For more information on Hull's wind projects click here.

Hull's ability to reap benefits from the wind and spread them around within its borders has been greatly facilitated by the existence of its municipal utility. Notwithstanding the muni in Gosnold, Cape & Islands communities and consumers are not as well positioned at present - but the Cape Light Compact's ongoing study of an energy cooperative suggests promising directions for the future. Click here for background and status information for municipal projects being pursued in local communities.

CIREC's 10/18 meeting was sponsored in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.

“Voting Energy” candidate survey shows consensus on regional issues (10.01.06)
Initial results from a “Beyond Cape Wind” survey of candidates for county, state, and federal office show impressive – and encouraging – agreement on adverse impacts associated with current energy supply and use practices and on opportunities for renewables development and energy independence in the Cape & Islands region.

The survey was issued to address a shortcoming of the 2006 campaign season: Public dialogue focused largely on the candidates' opinions on the wind project proposed for Nantucket Sound

The "Voting Energy" survey helped identify differences and points of consensus among candidates on additional energy-related challenges and opportunities. Initial results were compiled based on responses received in advance of the Massachusetts primary. A total of 12 candidates had responded by then, spanning the races and parties. Predictably, candidates expressed divergent opinions on the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm, as well as on the wind project proposed for Buzzards Bay, the proposed license renewal for the Pilgrim Nuclear Station in Plymouth, and options for expanding the supply of natural gas within New England.

Importantly, initial findings show consensus in critical areas:

Every candidate agreed that fossil fuel reliance harms the economy and damages the environment in the Cape & Islands, and that climate change poses substantial threats to the region’s future.

Every candidate agreed that local communities should be “working aggressively” toward energy independence and pledged support for community-based processes to guide large-scale ocean energy development – including offshore wind, wave, and/or tidal projects – while maximizing local benefits and minimizing adverse impacts.

“We believe that progressive opinions expressed by candidates are largely representative of those held by the public,” said Megan Amsler, executive director of Cape & Islands Self-Reliance. “The challenge is in engaging policymakers, stakeholders, and the public in increasing energy efficiency, expanding the use of renewable energy, and shaping the region’s energy future."

The survey was developed and administered by WEEinfo in conjunction with Self-Reliance. To support development of a Voting Energy Guide, responses from additional candidates were analyzed. The survey and initial findings are available here.

Cape Light Compact buries renewable energy resolutions (09.15.06)
At a September 13 meeting, the Cape Light Compact's Governing Board opted to not even vote on whether to adopt a proactive stance toward the development of regionally abundant renewable energy resources. Compact officials instead decided to table a resolution, moved by Edgartown representative Kitt Johnson, that read as follows:

"The Cape Light Compact recognizes that the increased use of clean renewable energy would better serve the economic, security and environmental needs of the residents of Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard than the current practice of relying heavily on imported fossil fuels for our energy needs. It is the Compact’s policy to support, consistent with our resources, commitments and mission, the development and implementation of clean renewable energy in all its forms, including, but not limited to, photovoltaics, wind energy turbines, tidal systems, geothermal energy systems, and others that may emerge, provided however, that these are appropriately sited and the developers and owners of such facilities comply with all local, state and federal laws, regulations and ordinances. The resolution is not to be construed as the Compact supporting any particular development, contractor, service provider, corporation or business endeavor."

Because the Compact is supposed to protect the interests of Cape and Vineyard consumers, the procedural rejection of this generic statement of support for renewables was met with consternation by several of Governing Board members, as well as with amazement among others in attendance at the meeting. Board members active in quashing the resolution cited political concerns as motivation for their refusal to make a positive, "Beyond Cape Wind" statement about the benefits of renewable energy for local communities.

Before voting to bury the issue, Board members did agree to adopt the above language as an alternative to a resolution by Eastham representative Fred Fenlon that had been advanced in June in the wake of presentations from Jim Gordon of Cape Wind and Audra Parker of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. Fred's resolution incorporated verbiage reaffirming the Compact's neutral stance on individual projects, but it also offered support for both land-based and offshore wind projects.

I had drafted an alternative resolution, available for download here, and delivered it to Board members in July to address concerns they'd expressed about Fred's resolution. It was not even considered by Compact officials (at least during public hearings), perhaps because it was drafted to be actionable: It reaffirmed the Compact's fiduciary duty to explore the possibility of securing long-term, fixed-price power supply agreements with any and all renewable energy projects; and it acknowledged the Compact's responsibility to make decisions through open and transparent processes.

(Ultimately, a slightly amended version of the resolution presented above was rejected by Compact officials at their November board meeting.)

For more information on the Compact's decision-making processes, click here or read my recent op-ed piece. For more information on the Compact, click here.

Solar visionary Steven Strong speaks at September 21 CIREC meeting (09.22.06)
About 80 people heard Steven Strong, President of Solar Design Associates, speak at a CIREC meeting at the new Lorusso Applied Technology Building at Cape Cod Community College (CCCC) in West Barnstable on Thursday, September 21. Beforehand, CCCC's Stephanie Brady led a tour of this high-performance green building.

Strong gave a highly visual (and perhaps overly long) presentation—Sunlight is Life: The Path Toward a Sustainable Future. It included a world overview of solar photovoltaic (PV) architecture using the best examples of residential and commercial buildings from Europe, Japan and the US. It wove technology, politics and social policy together with humor to demonstrate that the end of cheap oil is upon us and that renewable energy is ready here and now to help define the path to a sustainable future. According to Strong, today’s building-integrated PV systems provide a window into a coming era of environmentally responsive, energy-producing structures where elegant, life-affirming technologies become commonplace.

Strong’s firm designed the PV array on CCCC’s new building. Not only is this system the largest in the region, but also it covers the building's entire roof.

Initial "Solarize Our Schools" installations raise flags (09.13.06)
New solar photovoltaic (PV) systems at schools in Brewster, Harwich, and Chatham were not only the first of 21 installations planned on the Cape and Vineyard under the "Solarize Our Schools" campaign, but also they raised eyebrows among building inspectors and local renewable energy practitioners: The Cape Light Compact's contractor, KW Management, did not pull permits or give local students an opportunity to contribute to the installations, as had been promised.

Under the "Solarize Our Schools" initiative launched about this time last year, Cape and Vineyard consumers who signed up to buy green power from the Cape Light Compact by 12.31.05 secured "bonus" matching funds for their communities from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. All 21 Cape and Vineyard communities generated sufficient funding to support the siting of a 2-kW PV system on a local school or other public building. Systems are scheduled to be up and running by the end of November 2006, substantially increasing both the number and capacity of the local installation base while expanding the visibility of this emissions-free generating option (details on market penetration of PV systems on Cape Cod are available here).

Richard Lawrence of Cape & Islands Self-Reliance highlighted problems with the initial installations during public comment at the Compact's Governing Board meeting on September 13. He noted that the failure to pull permits undermines years of effort by local organizations to install solar, wind, and other clean energy systems "by the book" and to otherwise create goodwill among building, electrical, and plumbing inspectors throughout the region.

He also reviewed the collaborative education and training programs available through Cape Cod Tech in Harwich, Upper Cape Tech in Bourne, Cape Cod Community College, and other CIREC participants. Many previous solar PV, solar thermal, and wind energy installations on the Cape have been tied in with these programs in order to provide students with hands-on experience. According to Richard, allowing additional 'Solarize Our Schools' installations to proceed without engaging students would translate into additional lost educational opportunities.

The situation was remediated after a late September meeting, and CIREC participants plan to continue advocating for ratepayer-funded renewables and efficiency programs to be used in helping cultivate a a regional clean energy cluster. Click here for more information on the "Solarize Our Schools" campaign.

Green buildings open at Wellfleet Audubon, 4Cs (09.06.06)
The roster of high-performance institutional buildings on the Cape recently expanded with the dedication of the remodeled nature center at Wellfleet Bay Audubon Sanctuary and the new Lorusso Applied Technology Building at Cape Cod Community College. Both integrate an educational mission with advanced energy science and technology while setting examples for other organizations and institutions.

The Wellfleet Bay Audubon Nature Center incorporates state-of-the-art efficiency technologies, water conservation measures, passive solar features, and both solar thermal and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. It was dedicated on August 11. For more information, click here.

The 4Cs building will be the first publicly owned building in Massachusetts to garner a Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification. It was formally dedicated on September 8. Building-integrated PV features include a whole-roof, flat-mounted array, as well as "solar shades" that reduce cooling loads in the summer, reduce heating loads in the winter, and generate power year-round. Water conservation features include an 8000-gallon rainwater collection and landscape irrigation system. The building is expected to use 35% less energy than a comparable one, as well as 85% less water. For a snazzy brochure, click here.

Renewables, electricity indicators released for Cape Cod (08.10.06)
A set of sustainability indicators analyzing electricity supply and use and and existing and proposed renewable energy projects on Cape Cod was released at an August 10 briefing at which CIREC participants encouraged all energy stakeholders to work together toward a common and eminently achievable goal: electricity independence. A grant award to CIREC from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) was also announced.

The indicators were prepared in support of the Cape Cod Sustainability Indicators Project based on data available from public sources and provided by Cape Light Compact and MTC. They highlight the skyrocketing prices local consumers have recently experienced, as well as the emissions footprints associated with continued reliance on fossil fuels. They also demonstrate the growing use of and interest in renewable energy and the clear potential for electricity independence in the Cape & Islands region.

Conclusions from the seven new indicators are summarized briefly below. The full set of indicators—including charts, detailed analyses of the data, and their implications for local consumers and communities—may be downloaded here.

Consumption: Growing Demand
Metered electricity consumption on Cape Cod is increasing steadily. Residential and total demand in Barnstable County each rose by more than 20% from 1998-2004, and per capita consumption increased to more than 8 megawatt-hours/year.

Fuel Sources: Dirty Mix
Cape Cod depends largely on fossil-fueled plants such as the Canal Station in Sandwich to generate its electricity. In 2004, gas-, oil-, and coal-fired units produced more than 60% of the power purchased by local consumers.

Power Supply Costs: Rising Rates
The price of each kilowatt-hour purchased from the Cape's primary power suppliers has more than doubled in recent years. In 2006, residents and businesses served by the Cape Light Compact have been enduring the highest rates in the continental United States.

Emissions Footprints: True Costs
During 2004, Cape Cod’s purchases of electricity accounted for the release of more than 40 pounds of air pollution and over 4 tons of greenhouse gases for each Barnstable County resident. Air emissions like these degrade air and water quality and contribute to public health problems and global climate change.

Photovoltaic Systems: Courses of Action
Solar PV systems are helping an increasing number of homeowners, businesses, and institutions reduce their dependence on electricity generated by fossil fuels and, when conditions are right, spin their electric meters backwards and infuse Cape Cod's power grid with green electrons.

Municipal Wind: Signs of Progress
Two 1.65-MW wind turbines were scheduled to begin supplying emissions-free power in Orleans by the end of 2006, but they may be sent elsewhere. Other local communities are at varying stages in the involved process required to capture wind resources on municipal property, with economic and institutional obstacles remaining to be resolved.

Wind & Ocean Energy Development: Paths to Independence
Wind and ocean energy resources remain largely untapped. At maximum capacity, proposed renewables projects would transform the Cape into a net exporter of green power, even during peak demand periods. The regional resource base is sufficient to make Cape Cod electricity independent and, eventually, energy independent.

(Image courtesy Ocean Power Ltd.)

Cape & Islands Renewable Energy News is authored by Chris Powicki, principal of Water Energy & Ecology Information Services and president of Cape & Islands Renewable Energy Collaborative. For old issues, click here. To receive email announcements regarding updated content, sign up here.