Romney backs clean energy

Research on sources of renewable energy is growing rapidly, and many developments in the global industry are happening in Massachusetts, Gov. Mitt Romney said in a speech at Monday’s 2005 Conference on Clean Energy.

According to Romney, the numerous institutions and private companies in Massachusetts have the potential to put the state at the forefront of the nationwide clean energy movement.

“We want to be your partner,” Romney said, addressing the audience of engineers and business entrepreneurs at the Park Plaza Hotel. “Let us know what we can do to help promote renewable energy technology, making us more efficient, so that we can make you more efficient.”

Technology companies from all over the country, as well as representatives from Boston University, Tufts University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, presented their latest findings in power alternatives, which included hydrogen-powered cars and high-efficiency solar panels.

This year’s conference focused on generating communication between these emerging technologies and the investor markets that sell new products and provide funding for further research.

Alan Seligman, sales manager at Norki Energy Systems, Inc., promoted a device that collects oil waste from cars and reuses it, increasing engine efficiency. He said he came to the conference to check out what other innovative products his company might be interested in selling.

“It’s all cutting edge,” Seligman said. “It’s where the future is going.”

Engineers and product entrepreneurs said they benefit from market interest in new technology.

One of the main concerns is taking new knowledge about resource efficiency and applying it to everyday use, said John Rossi, head designer for Powerhouse Enterprises. Rossi said his company aims to address this issue by building homes that use more efficient measures to slash homeowners’ energy bill prices.

“We are taking all the stuff these guys are designing and putting it into a package that we can hand to the consumer,” Rossi said.

New environmentally friendly products are intimidating to the average consumer, Rossi said, which is why his “designer-style” homes aim to show how technology can be paired with traditional aesthetic appeals.

“If it’s a steak with no sizzle, big deal,” Rossi said. “These homes have to … make you happy every day.”

Vendors exhibited new studies and products ranging from how to extract ethanol from agricultural waste to how to use engine exhaust to heat your car.

One of this year’s sponsors, UK Trade and Investment, presented England’s market-based approach to new resource technology, encouraging local Boston companies to take advantage of the growing markets abroad.

Romney reiterated this idea, saying companies should not limit themselves to Massachusetts, but rather look to grow and share information globally.

Romney reinforced his administration’s dedication to promoting renewable energy research, citing the need to enforce legislation, such as the Clean Air Act, which protects the environment at a time when large energy companies are lobbying to loosen emissions standards.

The conference is one of a series around the country that promotes the advancement of renewable energy technology.

STUDENTS RALLY FOR CLEAN AIR INITIATIVES

Hours after Romney’s speech, a small group of college students and representatives from environmental groups rallied in front of the State House, criticizing the governor and state legislators for being “silent” on the issue of clean air and calling on them to approve a measure to create wind-powered energy.

Students held signs with messages like “Put Mass. to work, build Cape Wind” and “No to oil, yes to wind.”

Students have been very active in working to pass the Cape Wind project as well as other clean air initiatives, according to Adi Nuchur, a Tufts University graduate and a member of the climate campaign.

“They have written postcards, letters and collected signatures to show support for the implementation of the Cape Wind project,” he said.

Nuchur called the clean air issue “quite possibly the biggest challenge our generation is going to face.”

With Massachusetts having the highest occurrence of asthma in the country, the issue over clean air is becoming more and more important, protesters said, adding that the Cape Wind project, combined with other environmentally-friendly measures, will reduce carbon emissions and global warming.

Janna Cohen-Rosenthal, a representative from Mass Energy, a consumer alliance nonprofit organization, called student efforts “really important.

“[Students have] enough innovation to make things happen,” she said.

“Elected officials aren’t doing enough,” Cohen-Rosenthal said. Not acting on the issue will leave us “vulnerable to environmental and political disasters.”

Protesters said their main concern was the Cape Wind project — the controversial proposal to construct turbines in Nantucket Sound, which proponents claim would reduce carbon emissions by nearly 880 kilotons. It would greatly improve air quality in the area and would also create jobs, they said.

But some residents on Cape Cod who argue that the turbines would be a form of “visual pollution” and do not want their ocean views to be ruined by the turbines.

Boston College sophomore Catherine Welsh said Cape residents who support construction of the turbines do not have a voice. She believes Massachusetts should work toward making this a global issue.

“It just makes sense,” she said. “Everybody could help.”

Students said Gov. Mitt Romney, who has publicly declared his support for clean energy, has contradicted himself by voting against the Cape Wind project. They called on state legislators to support the project.

Dave Boris, a representative from the union Local 56 said the governor is blocking efforts to build a “real viable enterprise.”

Matt Palmer, executive director of Clean Power Now, also emphasized the “need for leadership at the state level.”

Palmer said support for the Cape Wind project and for other clean air initiatives could serve as a “gateway” to other renewal energies and will eventually result in cleaner air.

According to Kalman Gacs, a College of Fine Arts senior, the state has an opportunity “to set an example for the rest of the country to reduce carbon emissions.”

Boston College senior Jessica Young also agreed that the Cape Wind project would be a positive model for future clean air policy breakthroughs.

“We can’t just live in the now, we have to think about the future,” she said.