Environment

SK ecoplant, the environmental division of Korean holding company SK Inc., has made a $50 million investment in Westborough’s Ascend Elements to help commercialize the firm’s trademarked Hydro-to-Cathode direct precursor synthesis process technology, Ascend announced on Thursday.

The Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority replaced 300 light fixtures with LEDs at its business center, Putnam Place in Fitchburg, which along with other changes will save 113,000 kilowatt hours annually.

Two researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have been awarded $347,843 by the U.S. Navy to develop a computational model that processes data from underwater drones to estimate the source and concentration of contaminants in oceans.

Gov. Charlie Baker was able to overcome his agita and on Thursday signed the Legislature's compromise offshore wind and climate policy bill, but he aired "deep misgivings" with some parts of the law and the way the House and Senate addressed his suggestions.

Under a sweeping clean energy and climate bill lawmakers returned to his desk, 10 cities and towns would have the ability to restrict or prohibit the use of fossil fuels in most construction or major renovation projects.

Elected officials and environmental activists are still waiting to see what Gov. Charlie Baker will do with a reshaped clean energy bill on his desk, and they hope major legislation that cleared the U.S. Senate on Sunday will give the governor a bit of extra motivation.

Polar Beverages, the venerable Worcester manufacturer of sparkling water beverages, has joined a nationwide movement aimed at reducing food waste and promoting recycling. 

A Westborough manufacturing company plans to invest up to $1 billion for a new, 500,000-square-foot production facility it plans to open in Kentucky.

Lawmakers were unable to find agreement on a bill aimed at maintaining open spaces across Massachusetts in a marathon final formal session Sunday into Monday, but one top negotiator said he remains hopeful the measure can still pass in the coming months.

Aquarion Water Co., a subsidiary of Eversource Energy of Boston, will pay a penalty of $13,500 for violating drinking water regulations in the Town of Oxford, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said on Tuesday.