NY, Mass. Offer Funding for Renewable Energy

NY Offers $150M

The New York Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) is offering another round of funds for renewable energy projects, this time $150 million. 

The solicitation applies to projects in wind, solar, hydroelectric, biomass and other clean energy resources that generate power.

As Central Administrator of the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) since 2004, NYSERDA has already awarded funding to 51 large-scale renewable energy projects that are expected to produce 5.3 million MW of electricity per year, enough to power more than 760,000 homes.

These projects include 3 biomass facilities, 8 landfill biogas operations, 23 hydroelectric upgrades, and 17 wind farms.

In large part because of NYSERDA funding, wind capacity in New York has grown 28 times since the start of the RPS program.

Thanks to its RPS program, which started in April 2010, NY is ranked as the largest wind producer in the Northeast and 8th in the US.

The state expects projects built during this time to result in over $2.1 billion in economic benefits over the next 20 years. Benefits include short and long-term renewable energy jobs, property tax payments to local towns, schools, and counties, in-state purchases of goods and services, and land lease payments to landowners.

Because of this success, the Public Service Commission authorized NYSERDA to distribute an additonal $35.5 million for renewable energy projects in 2011.

To encourage solar development, the Commission authorized $900,000 for an awareness and outreach program, and increased the monthy cap on incentive payments by NYSERDA by $8.9 million.

To increase participation in the state’s wind program, the Commission expanded the size of wind turbines eligible for funding. Previously, the largest turbine allowed under the program was 600 kW.  The revised policy allows for turbines of up to 2 MW.

NYSERDA plans to award funding to eligible projects in December. The deadline for applications is October 13.

MassCEC Catalyst Program Solicitation

This is the fourth solicitation for MassCEC Catalyst, aimed at commercializing game-changing clean energy technologies originating in the state’s world-class research institutions. The program propels clean energy technologies from the research lab to the global marketplace. 

The program awards early-stage researchers grants up to $40,000 to help them demonstrate the commercial viability of their clean energy technology: gathering data to demonstrate proof of concept, how the technology compares to existing technologies and competitive advantages of the technology, or to develop a prototype for the technology. 

To be eligible for an award, a researcher must be a principal investigator, the technology must be disclosed to a researcher’s host institution and the host institution must be in Massachusetts.

"For a small research institution like Boston College , external proof of concept funds are important in helping faculty advanced projects.  Many innovations made with basic research support are immature when disclosed to my office and need to be developed into a comprehensive asset to attract significant capital investment," says Catherine Ives, Boston College Director, Office for Technology Transfer and Licensing.

"This funding has been a key component of developing our new battery technology. We have built and tested a prototype separation system at a larger scale and shown that our technology is scalable, says Bart Lipkens, a grantee and Western New England University Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering.

The first deadline for applicants is October 19, 2011. Application instructions are here.    

Here’s more on NYSERDA’s Solicitation: