ENERGY SOLUTIONS :
Sea Power
For centuries the ocean has defined and sustained Massachusetts,
its vital role captured in the very moniker of the Commonwealth:
The Bay State.
Building on a tradition of cutting-edge ocean research and innovative partnerships with industry, UMass Dartmouth, earlier this year, opened a Marine Renewable Energy Center (MREC) that will help Massachusetts secure a leadership position in the growing field of marine renewable technologies, which transforms rising waves, rushing currents, and flowing tides into electrical power. Their predictability and reliability give these sources an advantage over solar and wind—the tide still goes in and out on a cloudy day. The Center unites industry partnerships at the school’s Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center with the nationally recognized faculty of the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST), Department of Estuarine Ocean Sciences, Department of Fisheries and Oceanography, and the College of Engineering.
By bringing together expertise and capacity across disciplines, the Center is a unique resource. Slated to be the first location in the U.S. for marine renewable testing and demonstration, the Center will provide research, technical assistance, modeling, analysis, permitting assistance, and incubator start-up space for the full portfolio of marine renewable energy—wave, tidal, current, and off-shore wind. Two firms are already taking advantage of the Center’s incubator space and on-hand faculty expertise.
John R. Miller, Director of Operations, Advanced Technology & Manufacturing Center
Future plans call for development of an off-shore test site. Envisioned for Muskeget Channel between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, this site could position Massachusetts as a hub for this industry.
In October 2008, the Center received $250,000 from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Renewable Energy Trust, and, prior to that, $160,000 from the UMass President’s Science and Technology Initiatives fund, which seeds funding for faculty research that contributes to economic development in the Commonwealth.
Supplying renewable energy is not the only demand the future will place on the ocean. To help map the best way to ensure the broadest sustainable use of this resource, the UMass Boston McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies is now home to the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership (MOP). With an $8.2 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and funding from the UMass President’s Office, the MOP will help draft a comprehensive ocean management plan that will balance often-competing priorities of development, fishing, shipping, recreation, conservation, renewable energy, and more.
The promise and the potential of the sea has never been greater for the Commonwealth, and UMass is at the center of optimizing those opportunities into the future.
For more information:
Contact John R. Miller, Director of Operations, Advanced Technology & Manufacturing Center, at
Going Green,
Getting Creative
The adage that the road to economic development runs through UMass is taking on new—and “green”—meaning in Springfield.
The recently launched Greater Springfield–University of Massachusetts Amherst Partnership will establish Springfield as a center of green industry, while also boosting its creative economy. The Partnership will grow these innovative sectors by expanding, strengthening, and strategically aligning the teaching and research efforts of the University, while actively involving area businesses, neighboring communities, and other academic and research centers in the region.
More than 100 years ago, Greater Springfield significantly contributed to the growth of manufacturing, catapulting the industry into a new age. Today, the Partnership combines that regional tradition with the advanced research capabilities of UMass Amherst, placing a particular spotlight on energy conservation and green fuel production. The Partnership will also combine the artistic resources of UMass Amherst with the vast talent found throughout Greater Springfield. The resulting artistic and performance energy will bring community participation and contribute to the vibrant downtown revitalization.
Announced in November 2008, the Partnership received a $150,000 federal grant from the Economic Development Administration and matching funds from the University and the City of Springfield, bringing the total initial funding to more than $320,000.
By August 2009, the Partnership will complete an inventory of strengths, needs, and resources. Next, with the resulting detailed plan in hand, Greater Springfield and the University will, with unprecedented collaboration, create a regional growth center based on two sectors that define economic innovation.
“The Partnership between Greater Springfield and UMass Amherst will help further engage the University and its research, teaching, and outreach capacities with the community of Springfield, which is the chief engine of economic growth and a key cultural center in western Massachusetts,” said Henry M. Thomas III, UMass Trustee and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Urban League of Springfield. “This is the right thing to do for the people of the Commonwealth.”
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