Energy official looks to UMass
BYLINE: NANCY H. GONTER, STAFF
A top state official said UMass can help as the nation makes a transition away from dependency on energy from oil.
AMHERST - State Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian A. Bowles told University of Massachusetts faculty members studying clean energy that Gov. Deval M. Patrick wants to create a partnership with them.
"You guys are the home team. We are every day waking up and thinking what can we be doing more with UMass. It's a natural for us," Bowles told members of the UMass System Clean Energy Working Group and others yesterday morning during a visit to the campus.
Bowles discussed the energy policies of the Patrick administration and the work of the group, then went on a tour of UMass laboratories to talk to professors who are working with the latest technology.
The Clean Energy Working Group was created earlier this year to inventory clean-energy related research on the different UMass campuses. They will also work to leverage system-wide strengths in areas such as solar and geothermal energy, fuel cells and batteries, and efficiency and emissions.
Paul T. Kostecki, vice provost for research, said Bowles' meeting with the group, which also included as state Rep. Ellen Storey, D-Amherst, and state Rep. John W. Scibak, D-South Hadley, comes at a critical time when the state and country are engaged in intense debate about energy policy, alternative energy sources and dependence on foreign oil.
"Many are looking for answers and they've come to the right place. UMass has been doing clean energy research for decades. Faculty members from the Amherst campus essentially wrote the book on wind energy," Kostecki said.
Kostecki also cited the work of UMass researchers on polymers and nanomaterials which are atomic and molecular-sized materials.
"We are watching new companies form based on technology developed at UMass. Now, the Commonwealth is taking a good hard look at clean energy technologies and policies, we can be the source and the research for new knowledge, new technology," he said.
Bowles agreed, saying there is a "huge amount of talent" at UMass that will allow the state to take advantage of the transition to clean energy from oil dependence.
"In the decades and generations ahead, all that infrastructure will change. We'll have a lot more renewable energy. We'll see a huge transition here. I think UMass and the Commonwealth are in a position to capitalize on that," Bowles said.
While on campus, Bowles met with faculty from the Environmental Biotechnology Center, the Renewable Energy Research Group, the Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing, the Massachusetts Center for Renewable Energy Science and Technology and the Institute for Massachusetts Biofuels Research.