NSTAR

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Snapshot: Environmental League of Massachusetts Corporate Council meeting with Governor Patrick

elm_with_wordingAs a member of the Environmental League of Massachusetts Corporate Council, I had the privilege of participating in a private meeting with Governor Patrick and his environmental team last Friday to discuss a wide range of issues.

I was struck by the willingness, openness and accessibility of the Governor and his Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Ian Bowles, to new, fresh and bold ideas, and their commitment to making Massachusetts a state in which there will be incentives, rewards and opportunities for companies and organizations to do the right thing from an environmental standpoint.

I was especially encouraged, despite the tough economic times, by the Governor’s commitment to make the necessary investments to enable Massachusetts to become a national and international “green” hub for sustainability, cleantech and other environmental innovations.

Here’s a list of the other members of the corporate council (in addition to Grossman Marketing Group):

To read more about the council:

  1. Please see the December 2008 Boston Globe article
  2. Please see the council’s member page on the ELM site
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NSTAR To Offer Renewable Energy Option To Customers

NSTAR, the Massachusetts-based electric utility, announced this month that starting in July 2008, its customers will be able to purchase wind power. The program, NSTAR Green, will allow customers to either power 50% or 100% of their homes/businesses with wind power.

According to NSTAR, there will be a slight premium charged to basic home customers who enroll in the program (NSTAR estimates that this will add from $4-$7 per month to a customer’s bill). The wind power will be generated at Maple Ridge Wind Farm in upstate New York, before traveling into the New England power grid.

I’m pleased to see NSTAR announce this program, although I’m surprised it took them so long to do so. I met with a member of their senior management last fall to discuss my firm’s wind power initiatives, and explained that I believed NSTAR customers were hungry for green energy options. However, as the saying goes, better late than never.

Although wind energy from other states has just as positive an impact on the environment, it’s too bad that bureaucratic and political issues have delayed the development of wind farms in Massachusetts. Please see my previous post on the subject.

Nevertheless, NSTAR should be congratulated for getting this program off the ground. My hope is that programs like this will spur further wind farm development across the United States, with the overall goal of weaning our country off oil, most of which comes from foreign sources.