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
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 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.
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.
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 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
