2020 Zero Energy for Commercial Buildings Conference

In Eversource’s continued commitment to helping build the next generation of commercial zero energy buildings, they’re excited to announce their 4th annual conference! Learn from the experts at NREL, AKF, The Stone House Group, and Acton-Boxborough Regional School District about how commercial zero energy buildings have been designed and constructed. Energy Efficiency Consultants from Eversource will also speak about technical and financial support available through energy efficiency programs to support zero energy buildings. This event will be held virtually.

Agenda

Keynote (9:30 AM – 10:20 AM)
Introduction Nick Jones, Eversource

Moving from the Zero Pathway to the Zero Highway
Paul Torcellini, NREL Principal Engineer for Commercial Buildings Research Group
introduced by Nick Jones, Residential New Construction – Program Lead, Eversource

Session 1 – (10:30 AM – 11:20 AM)
AFK Group – Zero Energy Case Study – Verification & Commissioning
Brendan McGrath, PE, CCP, LEED® AP; Shannon Kaplan, PE, LEED® AP-

Session 2 (11:30AM – 12:00 PM)
How Eversource can Support ZE Projects
Jillian Corley, Kimberly Cullinane, and Mike Loughlin, Eversource

Session 3 – (1:00 PM – 01:50 PM)
The Stone House Group – Zero Energy Case Studies
Darren Cassel, The Stone House Group

Session 4 – (02:00 PM – 02:50 PM)
Triple Net Zero Energy Journey
John David Head, Director of School Operation, Acton-Boxborough Regional School District

About Eversource

Eversource is New England’s largest energy delivery company, with approximately 3.7 million electric and natural gas customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Eversource partners with like-minded companies and stakeholders to conduct their business in a responsible and sustainable way, providing the best solutions for their customers and the communities they serve.

Eversource unveils third solar site for Springfield

By Emily Kingston

Eversource is once again turning sunshine into electricity in Springfield, building its third universal solar facility in the city as part of its statewide commitment to renewable energy. Springfield is already home to two Eversource solar plants, one in Indian Orchard and the other on Cottage Street.
 
“At Eversource, our motto, ‘energy brings us together,’ is especially evident with longstanding partnerships like the one we have with the City of Springfield,” said Eversource Vice President of Business Development Mike Ausere. “We thank our community partners for their help and foresight bringing the benefits of solar power to their city. And we applaud state policymakers for the leadership that’s allowing competitively priced renewable energy to reach an increasing number of homes, businesses and communities across Massachusetts.”

“We have a longstanding partnership with Eversource that’s good for the environment and brings substantial benefits for our residents and their customers,” said Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. “Our collaboration on these solar projects helps us meet important renewable energy goals as well.”  

When the new 5.6 megawatt solar facility on Performance Boulevard is complete, this facility along with Eversource’s two other solar plants in Springfield will be capable of producing a total of nearly 12 megawatts of renewable electricity – enough to power approximately 2,000 homes. The energy company’s new facilities across the commonwealth will also represent a significant reduction in greenhouse emissions, equivalent to taking more than 6,000 cars off the road per year. Eversource’s three solar facilities will generate nearly 12 megawatts of clean energy toward the company’s 70 MW statewide goal.

Clean, emission-free energy from the sun also generates significant revenue for host communities. Along with the other benefits the solar facilities bring to Springfield, Eversource estimates it will pay more than $1 million in property taxes to the city annually for its three solar plants. Eversource is already the city’s largest taxpayer, having paid nearly $9 million in 2016 for all of its operations.

Springfield is one of several communities across Massachusetts that will host an Eversource owned and operated universal solar plants, including solar canopies like the one being built at the company’s East Springfield Service Center that, when completed, will be capable of generating close to 2 megawatts of power. Last December, the Department of Public Utilities approved the company’s plan to build on its commitment to clean solar energy, increasing the amount of solar power produced by Eversource in Massachusetts from 8 megawatts currently to a maximum of 70 megawatts statewide. 

The sites where new solar power plants are being built in both Western and Eastern Massachusetts have all undergone thorough inspections and analysis, making sure the property is accessible, environmentally suitable, and located where the facility can be interconnected with the local electricity grid. Members of Eversource’s solar and community relations teams met with city and town officials, as well as abutters, to keep them fully informed during the entire selection and construction process.

Along with the significant environmental benefits of increasing the number of utility-owned universal solar facilities in Massachusetts, there are substantial cost-saving benefits for electricity customers as well. The company estimates it will produce solar power for about 18 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to upwards of 50 cents per kilowatt-hour for some private projects currently operating within the commonwealth.

Eversource will sell the solar energy it produces directly into the regional energy market and customers will benefit from the proceeds. Additionally, the company will receive Solar Renewable Energy Credits for the power it produces and will pass the savings along to customers through electricity rates. As a regulated electric utility in Massachusetts, Eversource will not receive net metering credits, which further reduces the price to customers.

Increasing its commitment to solar energy is one of many steps Eversource is taking to benefit the environment. For more information about the energy company’s environmental sustainability policy and programs, visit www.eversource.com.

The Science of Lab Design

By Bob Laurence, Manager of Energy Efficiency, Eversource


Northeastern University’s new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) features 234,000 square feet of space that houses a vibrant interdisciplinary research community. The six-story complex is mixed with labs and classrooms organized around one central atrium.

It’s also a really cool building. And, you don’t need a microscope to see the state-of-the-art design and energy-efficient technologies. 

The university worked collaboratively with Eversource and the design team to identify energy-saving measures and technical expertise to jump start the project. Then, they explored financial resources available through the Mass Save program. Armed with energy-efficient recommendations, architecture firm Payette, engineering firm Arup, and general contractor Suffolk Construction then worked together to bring this stunning building to life.

In fact, ISEC is designed to use 75 percent less energy than a typical intensive research building. Let’s uncover the science of this innovative lab design and its technologies.


• Climate responsive building envelope – The complex is equipped with triple-glazed windows, which reduce glass condensation and prevent heat loss. ISEC also features sun-shading aluminum “fins” to maximize daylight penetration while minimizing heat gain. This basically means a huge comfort boost for students and faculty inside the building—while the university saves on energy costs.

• Variable Air Volume (VAV) fume hoods – While a fume hood may be the most important safety feature in a lab, it’s also a big energy user. Labs use tremendous volumes of exhaust to flush out potentially hazardous fumes. Northeastern added high-performance VAV hoods, which exhaust the amount of air required to maintain a safe velocity setpoint. They also reduce the hood’s supply fan speed and maintain the desired temperature and humidity. Simply put, VAVs maximize safety while minimizing energy consumption.

• Enhanced airside systems – Many labs have a dedicated HVAC system, which can often be expensive to operate. ISEC boasts a cascade system that recovers conditioned air from its offices and atrium, then transfers the air to the labs to save energy and costs. In fact, an approximate 50 percent reduction in energy use over baseline building standards is expected, thanks to this highefficiency cascade approach to recirculating warm and cooled air.  


• Occupancy-based airflow controls – Many older labs with low fume-hood counts operate at 10 air changes per hour (ACH) or above, 24 hours a day. Northeastern’s new VAV fume hoods and added airflow controls will reduce its lab ventilation rates from 6 ACH to 4 ACH whenever labs and equipment room spaces are detected to be unoccupied.  

As an added bonus, ISEC is also on track for LEED Gold Certification. Visit www.northeastern.edu/isec to learn more about the building.  

To learn more about Eversource’s energy efficiency programs and green building design solutions, contact Bob Laurence via email Robert.Laurence@eversource.com, or visit www.eversource.com.  

 

Pittsfield is first again as Eversource hits a major solar milestone in the Berkshires

By Emily Kingston

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Berkshires, a world- class cultural center renowned for magnificent forests and spacious mountains, also has a rapidly growing reputation as a Massachusetts green-energy hub. The city will soon be home to two universal solar facilities owned and operated by Eversource, together capable of producing more than 3 megawatts of clean, renewable energy.

Also in the Berkshires, the company is currently constructing a 2.3 megawatt site in Lee and conducting a feasibility study for a proposed 6.6 megawatt site in Dalton. If all projects move forward as planned, a total of four Eversource-owned solar plants in the Berkshires would be capable of producing more than 12 megawatts of clean, green power.

“We’re proud to be a leader in the clean energy future of Massachusetts as we bring more competitively priced, zero-emission solar power to customers across the commonwealth,” said Eversource Vice President of Business Development Mike Ausere. “We applaud and share the vision of state policy leaders to make the benefits of green energy available to an increasing number of homes, businesses and communities. We also want to thank our community partners for their help and foresight bringing the benefit of clean power to their communities.”

Last December, the Department of Public Utilities approved Eversource’s plan to increase its commitment to clean solar energy, expanding the amount of solar power produced by the company in Massachusetts from 8 megawatts currently to a maximum of 70 megawatts statewide.

Following months of site reviews, community meetings, engineering reports, and permit requests across Massachusetts, the site on Partridge Road in Pittsfield will be the first completed as part of Eversource’s solar expansion plan. The company built its very first solar installation in 2010 on Silver Lake in Pittsfield, becoming the first energy company in Massachusetts to receive approval from the commonwealth to develop a universal solar facility.

The sites where the solar power plants are being built in both Western and Eastern Massachusetts have all undergone thorough inspections and analysis, making sure the property is accessible, environmentally suitable, and able to accommodate ground-mounted solar panels. Members of Eversource’s solar and community relations teams have met with city and town officials, as well as abutters, to keep them fully informed during the entire site selection process.

Along with the significant environmental benefits of increasing the number of universal solar energy facilities in Massachusetts, there are substantial cost-saving benefits for Eversource customers as well. The company estimates it will produce solar power for about 18 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to upwards of 50 cents per kilowatt-hour for some private projects currently operating within the commonwealth.

Eversource will sell the solar energy it produces directly into the regional energy market and customers will benefit from the proceeds.  Additionally, the company will receive Solar Renewable Energy Credits for the power it produces and will pass the savings along to customers through electricity rates. As a regulated electric utility in Massachusetts Eversource will not receive net metering credits, which will further reduce the price to customers. Eversource also pays local property taxes on all of its solar facilities.

The company’s new facilities will also represent a significant reduction in greenhouse emissions, equivalent to taking more than 6,000 cars off the road per year.

Eversource (NYSE: ES) transmits and delivers electricity and natural gas to 1.7 million customers throughout Massachusetts, including approximately 1.4 million electric customers in 140 communities and 300,000 gas customers in 51 communities. Recognized as the top U.S. utility for its energy efficiency programs by the sustainability advocacy organization Ceres, Eversource harnesses the commitment of its approximately 8,000 employees across three states to build a single, united company around the mission of safely delivering reliable energy and superior customer service. For more information, please visit our website (www.eversource.com) and follow us on Twitter (@eversourceMA) and Facebook (facebook.com/EversourceMA.)

Eversource Massachusetts ranked top energy efficient utility in nation

By Emily Kingston

Eversource Massachusetts is number one in energy efficiency according to ACEEE’s first-ever scorecard of US utilities! The recently released report ranks the 51 largest energy companies nationwide on their energy efficiency programs, practices and innovations. Also placing in the top five is Eversource Connecticut, coming in at fourth place.  

ACEEE scored utilities based on three categories critical to energy efficiency– quantitative savings and spending performance; program diversity and emerging areas; and targets, business models, and evaluation.

Eversource Massachusetts was recognized as one of only a few utilities taking some of the more forward-thinking energy efficiency approaches, such as promoting smart thermostats, residential geo-targeting, zero net energy buildings, and advanced space-heating heat pumps.

“We're honored to have achieved a number one performance ranking for our work in a state that has been first in the nation in energy efficiency for six years in a row,” said Eversource Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Penni Conner. “Our energy efficiency programs in Massachusetts save an estimated three dollars for every dollar spent, so customers truly benefit when they let us help them to use energy more wisely.” 

The company was rated especially strong in the number of high performing energy-saving initiatives they offer. ACEEE also praised the efficiency programs that are in place for low income residents. In total, Eversource Massachusetts saved more than 28 kWh per residential customer with their low income programs.

“As a utility that serves three states in New England, we’re heartened to have also earned a fourth place performance ranking in Connecticut,” added Conner.  “The dedication of our employees to administering effective, cost-efficient programs clearly crosses state lines.” Utilities in the Northeast, the highest-scoring region, earned, on average, 62% of total points, followed closely by those in the West, which earned 57%.


The Northeast average is more than twice that of utilities in the Southeast, the lowest-scoring region, and nearly twice that of utilities in the mid-Atlantic and the Southeast. For US electricity customers, utilities are the primary providers of energy efficiency programs. These programs benefit both households and businesses. Energy efficiency allows utilities to avoid or defer building new power plants, reduces pollutants associated with electricity generation, and can lower customer bills. 

For more information on Eversource Massachusetts’s energy efficiency initiatives, or to learn more about saving energy at home, visit Eversource.comand MassSave.com

Attend A Better City's Landlord-Tenant Forum on April 5th!

By USGBC MA


Next Wednesday, April 5th, A Better City will be holding their Landlord-Tenant Forum, a morning workshop designed to increase communication and planning opportunities between landlords, tenants, and other key stakeholders involved in tenant fit-outs and improvements made to office spaces.

Two of our sponsors will be speaking at this exciting event – Dan Shanahan of Boston Properties, and James Cater & Kimberly Cullinane at Eversource

Dan and Kyle Cahill of Blue Cross Blue Shield will present a case study demonstrating strong landlord-tenant sustainability collaboration with Blue Cross Blue Shield's move into Boston Properties' 101 Huntington Avenue building.

James and Kimberly will present on the utility's two key programmatic and funding resources for supporting office fit-outs or improvements to existing spaces.

The morning will also include:

  • Highlights from the Sustainable Tenant Fit-out and Improvement Guide developed by A Better City as part of our work for the Green Ribbon Commission's Commercial Real Estate Working Group
  • Small group discussions with industry experts to learn from shared experiences about key aspects of commercial office fit-out and retrofit processes

Register here!

Wednesday, April 5th, 8:30am-10:30am
Atlantic Wharf, Fort Point Room
290 Congress Street
Boston, MA, 02210

Renewable Generation

By Ritchie Lafaille, Office Fellow

Today, the majority of New England's electricity is generated using fossil fuels like natural gas, oil, and coal. This balance will shift in the coming years as the state and the region invest in carbon-free and renewable resources to meet environmental policies and consumers' desire for cleaner electricity.

Renewable energy options hold great promise for our future and with rebates and incentives offered through state and federal programs, more customers are becoming interested in getting involved. 

Eversource owns and operates a fleet of renewable generation sources that includes:

Northern Wood Power – a 50 MW biomass facility fueled by wood chips in Portsmouth, NH producing clean, renewable electricity for approximately 50,000 homes. The facility replaced a coal-burning boiler at Schiller Station – reducing air emissions by more than 400,000 tons annually. The facility also created a new wood ship market for New Hampshire's forest industry.

Nine hydroelectric power plants throughout New Hampshire, several of which are over a century old and still operating. These energy resources are 100-percent renewable, and combine to produce a total of 70.5 MW of electricity.

 
A 51 kW solar array at our Energy Park facility in Manchester, NH. The 183 photovoltaic panel array is one of the largest in New Hampshire and offsets more than 100,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

Silver Lake Solar facility – An eight acre, 1.8 MW solar facility located in Pittsfield, MA. Since opening in October 2010, the facility has won two awards: The Photovoltaic Projects of Distinction Award from the Solar Electric Power Association and the John A.S. McGlennon Environmental Award of Corporate Leadership from the Environmental Business Council of New England.

A 12 acre solar facility in the Indian Orchard neighborhood of Springfield, MA. The facility contains 8,200 solar panels producing 2.3 MW of electricity – enough to power about 500 homes.

Eversource's newest solar generation facility is a 3.9 MW facility located on Cottage Street in Springfield, MA. This generation facility occupies 22 acres of land on top of a capped landfill, contains 12,980 solar panels and can supply electricity to 850 average-size homes.

 

Read more about Eversource on their website and in our blog!

Eversource Greens Office Space with Sustainable Office Design Program!

By USGBCMA Communications, More Green Buildings!

Eversource, a Silver Sponsor of USGBC MA, has been working hard on their Sustainable Office Design (SOD) Program! This program provides high-performance lighting solutions to the leased commercial office market. Qualifying projects receive an incentive of $1 per square foot.

Eversource has already worked with ARC (Architectural Resources Cambridge) and Cimpress on improving facilities and reducing energy costs. As a result, the ARC office space will save 34,592 kWh (or 17 tons of CO2 emissions) every year, which is estimated to be about $5,189 annually. The Cimpress office space will save 399,540 kWh (or 196 tons of CO2 emissions) every year, which is estimated to be about $59,931 annually. Read the case studies here and here.

Click here to learn more about the Sustainable Office Design Program!

Sustainable Office Design Benefits

For Building Owners:

  • Saves on operational costs (where lease permits)
  • Improves building values and rents
  • Helps attain LEED® or ENERGY STAR® certification
  • Improves customer service to tenants and enhances sustainability branding in market

For Tenants:

  • Saves on operational costs (where lease permits)
  • Helps achieve corporate sustainability goals and improves brand image
  • Contributes to LEED ID+C: Commercial Interiors credits
  • Improves quality of space and boosts employee comfort and productivity

ICF International's Expertise in Education

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


At our Chapter we love to celebrate and share the wonderful work our members and partners are consistently doing. It is their hard work and dedication to sustainability in what they do which makes our Chapter such an amazing group of people. Our sponsoring partner ICF International certainly exemplifies this.

ICF's mission is to maximize beneficial impact—for people, businesses, and governments—in areas that matter. As trusted partners, they advise, execute, and innovate to provide lasting solutions to their clients' and society's most challenging issues. Their approach is comprised of three components: Passion—They have a passionate commitment to their work and to helping their clients achieve their objectives, Expertise—They bring together technical expertise, including deep program and industry knowledge, with world-class analytics, and Results—They have the capability to support their clients through the entire program lifecycle, from research and analysis through implementation and improvement, thereby helping their clients achieve compelling results.

Mass Save is just one of the programs that ICF implements. Mass Save® is an initiative sponsored by Massachusetts’ gas and electric utilities and energy efficiency service providers, including Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, The Berkshire Gas Company, Cape Light Compact, Eversource, National Grid, Liberty Utilities and Unitil. The Sponsors of Mass Save work closely with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources to provide a wide range of services, incentives, trainings, and information promoting energy efficiency that help residents and businesses manage energy use and related costs.

 

 

 

 

Day of Service – Suffolk University

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager


The Suffolk Environmental Law Society and the Asian Pacific American Law Society led a group of students on a tour of two buildings on the campus 
of Suffolk University in downtown Boston. The purpose of this project was to gain a better understanding of how various energy efficiency practices are implemented into both existing structures and new construction. Through this event, we discovered how our school has already taken steps to improve 


energy efficiency and continues to make energy efficiency an important part of every building on campus. The LEED building tour helped to educate our students on the energy efficiency efforts made on campus, and encourage more students to become involved in an energy solution. 

The first building, located at 73 Tremont Street, is home to the undergraduate library as well as various administrative offices and a cafeteria. This building was awarded LEED Gold certification in April 2015 and is the flagship building of Suffolk University’s campus. It was interesting to learn how the University turned an almost 100 year old building into a high-tech, energy efficient area for students. The next building, located at 20 Somerset Street was recently completed in the summer of 2015 and is currently awaiting LEED certification. Located adjacent to the John Adams Courthouse, this new state-of-the-art building is home to Suffolk’s business and communications programs. Being built with sustainability in mind, the university is anticipating a LEED Silver certification. Touring these two buildings was both informative and encouraging. Knowing our university is taking steps in its new buildings and existing structures 
is encouraging and instills a sense of pride in our school.This LEED Tour was a great opportunity for the SELS and APALSA to get our heads out of our books and look around at what our school is doing to reduce their carbon footprint. 


Thanks to the U.S. Green Building Council – Mass. Chapter and Eversource Energy for their generous sponsorship, we were able to take action in order to strengthen our awareness and education about LEED certified buildings on our University’s campus. We are determined to continue our efforts, both on and off campus, to reduce energy consumption and to educate those around us on how they can do the same!