June 20, 2016

Does Massachusetts need more natural gas capacity, including controversial projects like the Access Northeast Pipeline and the Fore River compressor station? Or are there safer, cleaner ways to fill our energy needs? At 7 pm on Monday June 20, Nathan Phillips, a Boston University environmental scientist, and Tyler Soleau, energy and climate outreach director of the Acadia Center, which does energy research and advocacy, will tackle these questions in a lecture at the main branch of the Thomas Crane Public Library, 40 Washington Street in Quincy Center. Continue reading →

January 15, 2016

[Links to videos of the lecture: Video 1 | Video 2 | Video 3]

Opposition by residents and officeholders to the proposed Fore River compressor station stems largely from the idea that emissions from the facility would harm the health of Quincy and Weymouth residents. In a lecture to be held at 7 p.m. at the Thomas Crane Public Library, Quincy Center, on Tuesday January 26, Curtis Nordgaard, M.D., a pediatrician who practices in Dorchester, will back up that idea with some hard numbers.

Spectra Energy, the company proposing the compressor station, has downplayed any health effects that the facility might cause. “Spectra claims that pollution from the compressor station will be insignificant,” said Susan Harden, a board member of Fore River Residents Against Compressor Station, a cosponsor of the lecture. “The lecture will give people a chance to hear that claim debunked by an unbiased researcher with great credentials.” Continue reading →

November 3, 2015

Using technologies like solar panels, wind turbines, and electric cars, the world can get all its energy from renewable sources–not at some point in the future but today. So says Mara Prentiss, a Harvard physics professor who will be speaking on the topic at the Thomas Crane Public Library, 40 Washington Street, at 7:00 p.m. on November 18.

In her talk, cosponsored by the library and Quincy Climate Action Network, Prentiss, the author of the new book Energy Revolution, will argue that the transition to renewables is not only technically feasible but also economically advantageous. For example, she says, “the price of solar panels has dropped enormously.… Bloomberg has reported that in 36 states it will be cheaper next year to produce your own solar electricity than get your power from the grid.” Meanwhile, she says, midwestern US states are already using wind turbines to supply a big chunk of their electric power, with Iowa getting more than 40% of their power from wind in peak months. Continue reading →

http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20151007/NEWS/151006942

On Wednesday, October 7, 2015, Quincy Climate Action Network will sponsor a workshop on a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts: leaks from underground natural gas pipes. In Quincy alone, 613 leaks have been reported. The two-hour workshop, for both municipal workers and the general public, will start at 9:30 a.m. at the main branch of the Thomas Crane Public Library, 300 Washington Street in Quincy Center.

Speakers will include Nathan Phillips, a Boston University professor of earth and environment, who will talk about his ground-breaking research on gas leaks. Also speaking will be state Senator Jamie Eldridge, from Acton, who will discuss legislation he has filed on Beacon Hill to encourage gas utilities to repair leaks more promptly. Continue reading →

August 9, 2015

On July 30 2015, Solarize Quincy, a state- and city-sponsored program that makes discounted solar panels available to city residents, inked its 76^th contract with a city resident, for a total of 400kW of solar installed or in the pipeline. Reaching this milestone insured that Solar Flair, Solarize Quincy’s exclusive installer, will donate a free 5 kW solar installation to a Quincy nonprofit, said Rebecca McWilliams, lead volunteer for Solarize Quincy.

To qualify, nonprofits must own their own facility in Quincy and have a good location for solar power. “We will accept nonprofit nominations until midnight on August 31, 2015. In September we will perform site assessments on the nonprofits to determine which sites are good candidates for solar panels. The winner of the free solar array will be announced in late September.” Continue reading →

June 12, 2015

“My wife and I were pleased to hear that our home and garage may provide a good platform for a solar energy installation,” said Ward 3 City Councilor Kevin Coughlin. Four officeholders, including Coughlin, Sen. John Keenan, Mayor Thomas Koch, and School Committeewoman Anne Mahoney, have signed up for an assessment from Solarize Quincy, a state- and city-sponsored program that provides discounted solar panels to Quincy residents and businesses, but Coughlin is the first to have his property assessed.

The assessment, including satellite imaging and a site visit, determined that Coughlin “has a southern-facing roof, limited shading, and enough room on the roof” for an 18-panel system, said Brian Hession, a residential sales associate with Solar Flair, the exclusive installer for Solarize Quincy. The system would supply 82 percent of Coughlin’s household electricity, according documents provided by Hession, and with discounts and incentives, it would pay for itself in about three years and yield almost $70,000 in savings over its 25-year expected lifetime. By replacing electricity from fossil-fuel-fired generators, the system would also result in 3.8 fewer tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, emitted into the atmosphere yearly. Continue reading →