Energy Program News

  • Conway solar radiation

    Solar Planning with the Town of Conway

    CEE staff recently initiated a solar energy planning project with the Town of Conway. Zara Dowling and Barry Fradkin of CEE will work with members of the Conway Sustainability Committee to develop an assessment of existing infrastructure and other resources related to solar photovoltaic (PV) siting, conduct a survey to understand community preferences, and ultimately produce an action plan that will help guide solar PV policy and development in this small Franklin County town. This process will be guided by the Community Planning for Solar Toolkit developed by CEE and other partners.

  • Kira Lawrence headshot

    Welcoming New CEE Director Kira Lawrence

    The UMass Clean Energy Extension (CEE) is thrilled to welcome Dr. Kira Lawrence as our new Director. We are confident Kira's leadership will ensure that CEE continues to build on its strong record of supporting the clean energy economy in Massachusetts. We are indebted to founding CEE Director Dr. Dwayne Breger for his vision and efforts to establish and successfully steward the CEE since its inception.

    Read more here.

  • Kelsey Perry headshot

    Alumna Kelsey Perry Selected to Receive NEWIEE Rising Star Award for Work in Wind Power

    Kelsey Perry MS ’20, alumna of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Master of Science in Sustainability Science (MS3) program and frequent guest speaker for CEE’s Offshore Wind Professional Certificate, was recently selected to receive the 2025 New England Women in Energy and the Environment (NEWIEE) Rising Star Award.

    Read more.

  • Certificate Instructor Ramon Rosquete Peña and Career Access scholar Carlos Avila on the deck of a boat

    CEE Receives $147,000 to Train Diverse Cohort of Offshore Wind Professionals

    A grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) will provide $147,555 in funding to support 13 scholars from diverse backgrounds for CEE's Offshore Wind Professional Certificate Program. The grant will help CEE meet its goals of expanding, broadening and sustaining its three-course graduate certificate program offerings to meet increasing demand for a highly skilled workforce needed to serve the state’s growing offshore wind industry. Read the related article here.

  • Photo of Catherine Coleman Flowers with announcement of event

    Catherine Coleman Flowers Keynote for Black History Month

    UMass Clean Energy Extension (CEE) is proud to sponsor the keynote address by Vice Chair of the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and internationally renowned environmental activist Catherine Coleman Flowers for Black History Month on Thursday, February 29 at 5:30 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom.

  • Offfshore wind turbines

    UMass Launches Academic Center for Reliability and Resilience of Offshore Wind (ARROW)

    The UMass Offshore Wind Professional Certificate is proud and excited to collaborate with the Wind Energy Center at UMass Amherst and other ARROW team members to position this national center of excellence as a vital hub of research and education. We’re thrilled that, working together with ARROW, our Certificate students and alumni will continue to accelerate our nation and the world toward a clean and renewable energy future.

  • EmPower Grant

    State Grant Empowers Arts and Culture Nonprofits to Ignite Clean Energy and Climate Action

    UMass Clean Energy Extension (CEE) is part of a groundbreaking collaboration between Western Mass arts and culture nonprofits and UMass Amherst Extension units; the team has been awarded a substantial grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) to spearhead a transformative climate action project, entitled Clean Energy in the Cultural Sector. This dynamic partnership aims to address pressing environmental challenges, accelerate clean energy adoption, and water the seeds of a resilient, low-carbon arts and cultural sector in Massachusetts.

  • People with photovoltaic panels

    Western Massachusetts Solar Forum - a free, virtual community event

    You are cordially invited to attend the Western Massachusetts Solar Forum, which will be held virtually in September and October 2023.  UMass Clean Energy Extension is currently working with members of the Western Massachusetts state delegation (State Senator Jo Comerford and State Representative Mindy Domb), as well as a planning committee of solar photovoltaic (PV) stakeholders and experts, to plan the Forum.   Please join us for a series of online public discussions and information-sharing sessions regarding the opportunities and challenges associated with solar PV development and installation in western Massachusetts.

  • Professional woman in front of wind turbines

    Making Offshore Wind a More Accessible Career Option

    To bring greater diversity to the workforce in the rapidly growing field of offshore wind, UMass Amherst Clean Energy Extension (CEE) – with support from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center – has established the Offshore Wind Career Access Scholarship. The program is designed to increase accessibility and diversity of CEE’s Offshore Wind Professional Certificate Program. Read more in this Northeast Clean Energy Council article.

  • Offshore Wind Turbines

    Accelerating the Future of Clean Energy

    By the year 2050, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a national leader in climate policy, has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions to combat climate change and protect vulnerable communities. Learn more about CEE's work to achieve the Commonwealth's sustainability goals through assistance to municipalities, applied research, and workforce training.

  • Professional woman in hardhat in front of wind turbine

    CEE Receives Third Offshore Wind Workforce Training Grant Award

    The Baker-Polito Administration and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) recently announced that a team led by UMass Extension professor Dwayne Breger at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been selected to receive $220,000 in grant funding to support the growth of the UMass Clean Energy Extension’s (CEE) Offshore Wind Professional Certificate Program. Learn more here.

  • Event page image

    Municipal Energy Planning Workshop Series

    With the support of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission and the UMass Collins Center are presenting a series of virtual panelist presentations on energy efficiency topics on Wednesdays, May 25th – June 29th at Noon.

    Registration required.

  • Bagels

    CEE Co-hosting Webinar Series on Sustainability in Food & Beverage Businesses

    UMass Clean Energy Extension is co-hosting a webinar series on sustainability in food and beverage businesses.  The interactive webinars will help businesses to increase their sustainability and reduce operating costs by improving energy efficiency, reducing waste, using safer cleaning and sanitizing products, and more.

  • solar PV array with flowers

    Developing a Pollinator-Friendly Certification Program for Solar PV

    In their December newsletter, the Association of Massachusetts Wetland Scientists featured an article by UMass Clean Energy Extension's Zara Dowling, entitled Developing a Pollinator-Friendly Certification Program for Solar Photovoltaic Arrays in Massachusetts. The piece articulates the advantages of including habitat for pollinators in the design of photovoltaic facilities and discusses CEE's Pollinator-Friendly Solar Certification Program.

     

    Photo: https://ccrenew.com/news/cypress-announces-plan-build-new-yorks-first-solar-farms-pollinator-friendly-habitats/

  • Dual-use solar research installation at the UMass Extension farm in South Deerfield.

    UMass Amherst Study Will Assess Impact of Dual-use Solar-agriculture Installations in Massachusetts

    CEE and collaborators study the impact of solar-agriculture co-location on agricultural productivity and farm viability

    AMHERST, Mass. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technology Office announced recently that a team led by extension professor Dwayne Breger at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been selected for a three-year, $1.8 million award to study the effects of co-locating solar energy panels and agriculture operations at up to eight different farms across the Commonwealth. The work will be in partnership with landowners, state agencies, solar developers and a non-profit farmland organization.

    Link to full article here

  • Clean Energy Corps students review architectural plans as part of their energy audit.

    UMass Amherst Highlighted in 2020 Sustainable Campus Index

    CEE'S Clean Energy Corps in the Spotlight as Innovative and High-Impact Sustainability Project

    UMass Amherst Recognized as a top performer in sustainability research

    November 24, 2020

    Contact: Patty Shillington 305-606-9909

    AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst is recognized as a top-performing educational institution in the 2020 Sustainable Campus Index (SCI), a publication of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). It received the 7th highest score among large, public, doctoral-granting universities, based on a UMass analysis of the data.

    Link to full article here

  • dual use PV array in farm field

    UMass Clean Energy Extension Plays Part in First SMART-Approved Dual-Use Solar Project

    UMass Clean Energy Extension is pleased to support the state's SMART solar incentive program. In collaboration with UMass Agricultural Extension, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, and the Department of Energy Resources, CEE provides technical resources and critical review of farm plans for dual-use systems seeking to qualify for an adder through the SMART program. The first of these dual-use agricultural photovoltaic (PV) system has become operational in Monson. Read more about the Million Little Sunbeams project – and learn here about CEE’s dual-use-related resources, research, and outreach. (Photo from article at MorningAgClips.com)