Business Facilities - June 2008 - (Page 23)

lion gallons of biodiesel produced in the U.S. in 2007 offset nearly 12 million barrels of oil. The impact on greenhouse gases was said to be equivalent to the removal of 700,000 passenger vehicles from America’s roadways. WOOL AS A FUEL SOURCE Also planned for the site is a 50megawatt biomass plant that exclusively will use clean wool as a fuel source. Berkshire Renewable Power, a subsidiary of Tamarack, owned by Halley and Aldrich, is spearheading the biomass project, which will be situated less than a mile from high-voltage transmission lines that will permit interconnection to the regional power grid. Effluent from the Crane property will be converted to cooling water for use in the biomass facility. The biomass and biodiesel projects are part of a planned “mixeduse energy campus” that Crane is creating to facilitate additional economic development at the Ashuelot site. Crane also is considering reinstalling hydro generation at two dams it owns on the nearby Housatonic River, and the company is working with the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to access the feasibility of a hydropower installation at its Byron Weston facility in Dalton, MA. The focus on energy conservation has long been a priority for Crane. The company, which has been established in the DaltonPittsfield area since 1801, is one of the largest single consumers of electricity in Berkshire County, and the development of cost-effective power generation is considered critical to its ongoing viability, company officials said. Since 1981, Crane has been purchasing steam from a trash-toenergy facility now operated by Covanta Corp. The Zephyr wind turbine at Jiminy Peak has won the National Ski Areas Association’s Golden Eagle Award, a national honor for environmental achievement. Massachusetts law currently prohibits the sale of electricity across public ways and land boundaries of different owners, so the establishment of alternative energy resources on property it owns will permit Crane to purchase electricity without transmission or distribution fees. At the same time, the biomass facility and/or the biodiesel plant should be able to sell electricity to Crane without going to the grid. However, the state still needs to address how large industrial users can access such power without paying penalties which could be applied to make the electrical distribution provider whole—known as “decoupling,” this will determine who will pay what portion of the revenue for local utility companies that provide electrical service. Recently, the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce announced that it has entered into an agreement with CQI Associates, a non-commissionbased company, to form an energy consortium for Berkshire County that will permit Chamber members to pool their resources to purchase electricity in a deregulated market. Jack Filiault, vice president and CFO of the Jiminy Peak resort, sums up the “green mentality” that has taken hold in the Berkshires: “There is no project we’re working on in which we don’t think about whether what we are doing is environmentally responsible,” he says. BUSINESS FACILITIES 23 PHOTO CREDIT: GARY SEARS

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Business Facilities - June 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots Metro Spotlight: Austin, TX The Greening of America Winds of Change in the Berkshires Hot Logistics Locales Metro Spotlight: New Mexico Borderplex Hollywood on the Louisiana Bayou Idaho: Gem State's Economy is Glittering Mayor's Reports New Brunswick, Canada's Export Leader Virginia: Where Business and Fun Come Together How Green Is Your Site? Maine's New Maritime Marketing Message Corporate Moves: Alabama Advertiser Index Ask the Expert

Business Facilities - June 2008

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