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A $150,000 loan was awarded to Commonwealth New Bedford Energy for predevelopment activities related to the siting of a 3.3 MW landfill gas facility in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
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Massachusetts
Renewable Energy Trust Fund
The Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust was created following the restructuring of the state’s utility industry in 1997. The Trust funds five categories of projects and studies: clean energy, green buildings and infrastructure, industry support, policy, and unsolicited proposals. It receives approximately $25 million per year through a monthly charge on customer electric bills, known as a systems benefit charge. For residential customers, this charge is about $0.50 a month or $6 a year. The Trust is managed by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC), an economic development organization whose mission is to foster sustainable economic growth by promoting and strengthening Massachusetts’s economy through partnerships among businesses, academia, and government.
The following technologies are eligible for support:
- Solar photovoltaic and solar thermal electric energy
- Wind energy
- Landfill gas
- Naturally flowing water and hydroelectric
- Low emission, advanced biomass power conversion technologies
- Storage conversion technologies connected to qualifying generation projects
- Fuel cells
The type of funding provided varies widely from one program to another and within program areas, as specified by program guidelines. According to the law that established the Trust, funds may be provided “to make grants, contracts, loans, equity investments, energy production credits, bill credits, or rebates to customers, to provide financial or debt service obligation assistance or to take any other actions, in such forms, under such terms and conditions and pursuant to such selection procedures as the Board deems appropriate and otherwise in a manner consistent with good business practices.”
The Trust periodically issues solicitations and requests for proposals, which can be reviewed on the Trust’s Web site. Specific eligibility for funds varies from solicitation to solicitation, and each has its own application. General criteria for funding include:
An example of a landfill gas energy project that received Trust financing is a $150,000 loan awarded to Commonwealth New Bedford Energy for predevelopment activities related to the siting of a 3.3 MW landfill gas facility in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The Trust has also entered into a long-term contract to purchase renewable energy certificates from the project. The long-term contract was necessary for the project to secure development financing from private parties.
The Trust also funds unsolicited proposals, which are applications for financial or technical assistance support of projects, ideas, methods, or approaches submitted by individuals, businesses, and organizations solely by proposers, without prompting from the Trust. Guidelines for submitting unsolicited proposals are available on the Web site listed below.
For More Information
Contact:
Marybeth Campbell
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative
Renewable Energy Trust
75 North Drive
Westborough, MA 01581
508-870-0312 x312
Fax: 508-898-9226
E-mail: campbell@masstech.org
Web site: www.masstech.org
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