Region Pushes For Green Growth | State looks to fund coordinator to help green cluster
Photo/Edd Cote
William Henrickson, vice president and general manger of Vestas Power Systems, says MetroWest offers a talented workforce for renewable energy companies like his.
Central Massachusetts, particularly Worcester and MetroWest, have already succeeded in forming a burgeoning cluster of clean energy companies led by firms like Marlborough-based solar panel maker Evergreen Solar.
And now, the state is considering funding a coordinator that would work with academics, government officials and the private sector to help grow the cluster by attracting more green energy companies to the area, according to Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray.
Murray spoke of the new coordinator position during a recent meeting of the Central Massachusetts Green Technology Cluster, which has been trying to find ways to grow such a cluster in Worcester and Central Mass. The meeting was held at WPI and was also attended by Rep. James McGovern, D-Worcester, who said that Worcester can become a green city and that Central Massachusetts can revive its manufacturing base with green industries.
Already, the region and the state have seen a “green” spurt. In fact in August, the state released a survey of renewable energy companies and consultants, saying that the clean energy sector was about to overtake textiles as the 10th largest industry in the state.
And that cluster effect does appear to be encouraging existing energy businesses in the region to stay put and even expand.
Gravitational Pull
One example is electric motor manufacturer ePower LLC, with offices in Lunenburg and engineering space in Hudson, which was bought late last year by Vestas Wind Systems, one of the biggest wind energy companies in the world.
Vestas plans to make ePower’s center a research and development hub. A variety of reasons led Vestas to stay in MetroWest as the division grows, according to William Henrickson, who headed ePower and is now the vice president and general manger of Vestas Power Systems.
“MetroWest puts us smack dab in the middle between the fine educational institutions in Boston, Worcester and Western Mass.,” Henrickson said. Vestas maintains close relationships with a number of universities, he said, both for funding research and attracting highly qualified graduates.
“The wide range of technology businesses in MetroWest provides us with easy access to highly skilled fabricators, machining centers and test facilities,” he said.
Brookfield Renewable Power, which moved its American headquarters to Donald Lynch Boulevard in Marlborough, also cited the region’s workforce as a powerful draw.
“Marlborough came up a winner because of the skills sets of its workers,” said Kim Osmars, Brookfield Power’s chief operation officer.
“The demographic analysis we did showed that the people with the educational background we needed were living in this area...”
While Brookfield Renewable Power did not locate to Marlborough because of any local or state incentives, the company did like the idea of locating with other clean energy companies.
“I think Massachusetts has quickly become a dream state with its focus on renewable energy. We were very cognizant of others in the renewable energy sector. It’s a hotbed of what is happening in clean energy and we liked the state’s thought process and supporting policies for renewable energy,” Osmars said.
And like Osmars, Henrickson said the governor and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative in Westborough have been very supportive of Vestas’ expansion in the state.
State Incentives
There are a number of reasons why the state is becoming a clean energy center, not the least of which is a focus by Gov. Deval Patrick and the state legislature on encouraging clean energy research, development and commercialization through a number of new laws and executive orders.
In just the last two years the state has passed the following energy-related legislation: the Global Warming Solutions Act, the Green Jobs Act, the Green Communities Act, the Oceans Act and the Clean Energy Biofuels Act.
The new regulations are building on a foundation of high tech and manufacturing knowledge in Worcester and the Framingham-Natick areas, as well as ongoing academic research at local universities.
“We’ve been leaders in fuel cell technology in this area for quite a few years, and I think that state government’s establishment of the Massachusetts Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Institute here is an acknowledgement of that,” said Ravi Datta, director of the center focused on clean energy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Ian Bowles, secretary of the state office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, agreed that schools such as WPI and its fuel cell institute play a big part in the continued growth of clean energy companies in this area, but it is just one of a number of contributing factors.
“I think the greater Worcester and MetroWest areas now have somewhere around a quarter or a third of the clean energy companies in the state,” Bowles said.
Availability of industrial properties, lower rents than Boston and Cambridge, as well as good schools that are focused on clean energy research such as WPI, all play a role, he said.
It also follows in the tradition of the area along Interstate 495 and Route 128 being a hub of technology innovations, he said.
Market Benefits
This area also has one other outstanding factor.
“Historically, this has been a manufacturing region. Unlike some of the other high tech areas, there is a strong manufacturing process component to clean energy. You’re building things, not just building labs,” Bowles said.
Both Worcester and MetroWest, like communities all across the country, have seen a decline in manufacturing in general, but the work that has remained is mostly more complex, more technical manufacturing.
Bowles also said that with President Barack Obama’s election, clean energy will receive nationwide emphasis with Massachusetts as a national example of what can be accomplished if clean energy is a priority.
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