Remarks and Speeches
» back to Remarks and Speeches
Clean Energy Connections Conference & Opportunity Fair
-
November 22, 2008
Good morning. On behalf of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, I am pleased to welcome you to this first annual Clean Energy Connections Conference and Opportunity Fair, and delighted to be with you in Springfield this Saturday morning.
As many of you know, I am still new to the Pioneer Valley. My family and I moved here this past summer. But one of the things I noticed immediately was that it is a very green area – and I don’t mean just the beautiful landscapes.
You probably know that UMass Amherst is the flagship campus of Massachusetts’ state university system. Tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents are UMass Amherst alumni. We are the “home team” of Massachusetts higher education. What you may not know is that UMass Amherst is renowned as a research extensive university, in fact the only public research extensive university in the state: campus faculty are awarded more than $100 million in sponsored research awards annually, and this past year that figure exceeded $135 million. In recent years, over $20 million dollars of research awards have gone toward funding research related to clean energy, and we are poised to do much more. So you can understand why I believe that the valley and the campus are “green” in more than one way.
Our clean energy research touches on all areas – wind, fuel cells, biofuels, solar, batteries, nano, and economics – you name it, we’ve got it. The campus’s researchers are creating the new knowledge in these critical areas that will shape our future and create millions of jobs nationwide.
The campus has also embraced significant sustainability initiatives from installing a state-of-the-art combined heat and power plant, implementing campus-wide recycling and energy savings programs, and building LEED or near-LEED certified buildings whenever possible. Since 2002 we have reduced our use of electricity by 9%, of steam by 24%, and of water by 43% in spite of adding 860 beds to our stock of student housing. Since 2004 our carbon footprint has shrunk by 30%. On the Amherst campus there are several programs available in which students can enroll to become part of the green workforce, including many options within traditional majors, a new masters degree in Green Building, and a wind-energy training program, which also happens to be the longest running wind-energy training and education program in the country.
But, I’m not here to give you a detailed account of what the campus is doing. There are plenty of individuals among the more than 400 people in attendance today who can provide you additional information about the fantastic efforts of the UMass Amherst campus in green initiatives.
My main purpose in these brief remarks is to reinforce the message that New England is faced with a huge opportunity to play a leadership role in our nation’s and, indeed, our world’s clean energy future. Just as the region was among the dominant players in the computer revolution of the 1980s, our innovators and entrepreneurs, business operators and financiers can blaze the path toward a clean energy future. The Commonwealth, backed by the clean energy leadership already demonstrated in our state government, has the capacity and assets, like UMass Amherst, to make that goal a reality.
Finally, I just want to tell you how pleased I am that UMass Amherst is the convener of this conference in Springfield today. Planning for this event started well before my arrival on the campus and is an example of how UMass Amherst values engagement with the Commonwealth and the city of Springfield. This conference is a symbol of the many ways the campus can contribute to the rejuvenation of this great city, a city whose future is decidedly “green.”
Thank you and have a great day today.
