SmartPress

Matt Ray Joins SmartPower As Rhode Island Outreach Coordinator

Wed, 01 May 2013 09:27:00 -0400

Ocean State Attorney will lead The Rhode Island Energy Challenge

Providence, RI: SmartPower, the nation’s leading non-profit marketing firm dedicated to promoting clean energy and energy efficiency today announced the hire of Matthew Ray, Esq as their Rhode Island Outreach Coordinator.

“We’re excited to have Matt join the SmartPower team,” said Brian F. Keane, President of SmartPower. “Matt brings local knowledge, community organizing expertise, strong problem solving and negotiating skills, as well as event planning and volunteer recruitment experience to the SmartPower team. Plus he’s just a great guy to work with! We’re lucky to have him!”

Matt began his campaign experience while in college at UNLV, where he worked on the U.S. Senate campaign for President Jimmy Carter’s son Jack. Upon graduation, Matt returned to Rhode Island and enrolled at Roger Williams University School of Law. While in law school, Matt worked for the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office as well as several Providence law firms.

During this past election cycle, Matt was Deputy Organizer for Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s re-election campaign where he was instrumental in community outreach and event planning.

Matt is an attorney licensed to practice in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Federal Court. Matt is truly happiest bringing his skills to the clean energy sector where he is committed to making a positive impact as SmartPower’s Community Outreach Manager for the Rhode Island Energy Challenge. This campaign is a partnership with National Grid to help Rhode Islanders reduce energy use.

“Rhode Island residents have a chance to lead the nation in energy efficiency,” said Ray. “I consider myself lucky to be a part of this exciting campaign for Rhode Island and our energy future!”

Solar becomes single largest source of new grid capacity in the USA

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:00:15 -0400

Solar becomes single largest source of new grid capacity in the USA:

Washington DC (SPX) Apr 16, 2013 - For the first time, solar energy accounted for all new utility electricity generation capacity added to the U.S. grid last month, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) Mar

Wind Energy Opponents

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:00:14 -0400

Very often there are complaints that wind power negatively effects the health of those living around the wind power plants. According to EcoWatch, this viewpoint could be fabricated by opponents of wind power.

“With the costs of renewable energy coming down, and the technology improving, more and more research shows that switching from fossil fuels to clean energy is feasible.”

-David Suzuki of EcoWatch

Congratulations to American University for making the Princeton...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:18:56 -0400

Congratulations to American University for making the Princeton Review’s 2013 Green College Honor Roll! American University is living up to it’s motto, “the American dream is green!” by carrying out the implementation of zero waste, sustainable purchasing, and green building policies. More than 25 buildings on campus are participating in a LEED Volume Existing Building certification project. On top of that, AU installed more than 2,150 solar photovoltaic panels on six American University buildings, resulting in the largest solar power system in the District of Columbia. Way to go AU!

http://www.princetonreview.com/green-honor-roll.aspx

Iceland produces 100 percent of its electricity from renewables...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:00:34 -0400

Iceland produces 100 percent of its electricity from renewables compared to the U.S. at 13 percent. Check out the graphic comparison on the New York Times website: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/03/24/sunday-review/how-much-electricity-comes-from-renewable-sources.html?smid=fb-share&_r=4&?cid=social-facebook-ww14&

If you follow us on our Tumblr make sure you follow us on...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:00:30 -0400

If you follow us on our Tumblr make sure you follow us on Facebook as well to get all of the updates!

https://www.facebook.com/TheNewEnglandSolarChallenge?ref=tn_tnmn

Stay up to date on your Earth Month activities with the Cherry...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 14:32:47 -0400

Stay up to date on your Earth Month activities with the Cherry Blossom Festival! This year, Union Station in Washington, D.C. is hosting Earth Month 2013 from April 1 through April 30. Earth Month will feature a film festival, a farmers’ market, alternative energy demonstrations, a green fashion show and a science fair with local schools!

http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/2013/01/21/earth-month-at-union-station-washington-d-c/

Check out Brian Keane's new site!

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:00:17 -0400

Check out Brian Keane's new site!:

Check out the new website of Brian Keane, President of SmartPower, for the latest information about his work and what he is doing!

ecowatchorg: Northeast States Prove Renewables Work in Reducing...

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:35:41 -0400

ecowatchorg:

Northeast States Prove Renewables Work in Reducing Carbon Emissions While Growing the Economy

The success that these states are having in limiting pollution, promoting energy efficiency and shifting to renewables should give us the confidence that they can continue to show the nation and the world that it can be done.

Our Work: Pennsylvania Clean Energy Communities

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:04:00 -0400

In 2006, SmartPower and TRF Sustainable Development Fund offered 10 communities in southeast Pennsylvania a free 1kW solar energy system if they could meet specific, and ambitious, clean energy purchasing goals. As of today, 20 communities have met that challenge, and are purchasing at least 20 percent of their municipal energy from clean, renewable sources.

SmartPower helped these communities reach their goals by building a strong coalition of local stakeholders from municipal environmental advisory councils, schools, faith-based groups and the business community. Meanwhile, a partnership among several key clean energy stakeholders, including PECO Energy, Community Energy, the Clean Air Council, Solardelphia and Native Energy, lent valuable resources to this program and helped see it to fruition.

To learn more about the Pennsylvania Clean Energy Communities Campaign contact Jonathan Edwards.

Meet the President of SmartPower

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 10:00:23 -0400

Brian F. Keane is President of SmartPower and author of Green Is Good: Save Money, Make Money, and Help Your Community Profit From Clean Energy. (Lyons Press, 2012). He is a leading voice on clean energy, energy efficiency and the environment. As President of SmartPower, a Washington, DC-based marketing agency dedicated to promoting clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency, Keane has helped shape the energy debate in the United States and brought clean energy and energy efficiency to the American consumer.

Hailed as Mad Men for an eco-conscious generation, SmartPower’s award-winning marketing campaigns have engaged hundreds of thousands of people across the country drawing credit for inspiring our nation’s renewed interested in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

For their efforts, Keane and SmartPower have been recognized with numerous awards, including a 2010 Clean Air Excellence Award from the Environmental Protection Agency, recognizing SmartPower’s “America’s Greenest Campus” energy efficiency campaign. Other accolades include the coveted Green Power Pilot Award presented by the EPA and the US Department of Energy; four Gold Awards from the Service Industry Advertising Awards (SIAA); and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Circle Award. In 2005 Keane was recognized as one of Connecticut’s “Outstanding Forty Under 40.”

A former advisor to the late Senator Paul Tsongas (D-MA) and congressional aide to Representative Les Aspin (D-WI), Keane has an extensive and cutting edge background in nonprofit management, political organizing and communications. He has used this experience to create organizations that challenge conventional wisdom and help to set the national agenda. To be sure, before there was a “Tea Party”, Keane was one of the architects of The Concord Coalition, a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating the federal budget deficit. Keane combines his passion for major policy issues with a marketer’s commitment to creating compelling messages that resonate with the general public, not just the converted. As such, Keane is a much sought-after interview and presenter on a host of issues – including clean energy and energy efficiency. He has spoken extensively across the nation, internationally and with local and national media.

Keane is a 1989 graduate of The American University in Washington, DC, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science. The tenth in a family of eleven children, Keane served as the chairman of his eldest brother’s successful campaign for the Boston City Council and his brother’s subsequent race for the U.S. Congress in Massachusetts’ eighth congressional district in 1998.

Keane is the immediate past-president of the American University Alumni Association and sits on the board of directors of the Vermont-based Clean Energy Group. He is also a member of the Solar Foundation’s board of directors, where he serves as Treasurer. He serves as Chair of the Advisor Council to Franeo, a PR and Communications firm founded by a fellow AU Alum.

ecowatchorg: U.S. Solar Market Grows 76 Percent in 2012 With...

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:24:44 -0400

ecowatchorg:

U.S. Solar Market Grows 76 Percent in 2012

With another record-breaking year, solar is the fastest growing energy source in the U.S., powering homes, businesses and utility grids across the nation.

Green is Good

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:11:30 -0400

Brian F. Keane’s book, Green Is Good, is a no-nonsense guide to how you, the average American, can easily make clean energy and energy efficiency part of your daily life, saving money, making money, and weaning your community off fossil fuels in the process.

Keane walks readers through the cost-benefit trade-offs of the exciting new technologies and introduces you to revolutionary clean-energy products on the horizon, making the ins and outs of renewable energy easily accessible. Featuring compelling, real-life stories that bring clean-energy problems and solutions from 30,000 feet to street level, Green Is Good walks you that last mile from awareness to adoption. It demonstrates how all of us can seize the opportunity and profit from it. Keane also discusses the challenges that clean energy faces, laying out time-tested strategies to overcome them. A renewable energy future isn’t just good for the environment; it’s good for the economy, and Green Is Good will show you how—before it’s too late.

Green Is Good is available at Barnes & Noble, Powell’s, Indie Bound, Politics & Prose andAmazon.

One of the world’s largest solar power plants opened this...

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 14:58:14 -0400

One of the world’s largest solar power plants opened this weekend in Abu Dhabi. This plant is part of the country’s plan to make seven percent of Abu Dhabi’s energy resources renewable.

It is a pretty impressive structure, not because it is the largest solar plant, but because it holds the title of the largest single concentrated solar energy plant.

Watch this quick informational video about the New England Solar...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 12:53:26 -0400

Watch this quick informational video about the New England Solar Challenge to learn how you can help reach our goal of $200,000 http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/338510/x/2427021

The New England Solar Challenge

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:58:38 -0500

The New England Solar Challenge:

The Associated Press reports that a high school in Georgia will be installing 4,000 solar panels that will reduce energy costs by approximately 40 percent. Learn more about the benefits of solar through our New England Solar Challenge.

Residents speak out about why they chose to use solar technology...

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:50:04 -0500

Residents speak out about why they chose to use solar technology on their homes.

Solarize Mass-Boston Engages Students, Teachers & Parents

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 10:59:40 -0400

SmartPower President Brian F. Keane engages a group of student leaders at Catholic Memorial School after presenting on solar and the Solarize Mass-Boston program to more than 400 students.

Solarize Mass-Boston visited Catholic Memorial School and Boston Latin School, the oldest public high school in the country, to educate students about the benefits of solar power.

The Solarize Team presented to more than 400 boys from Catholic Memorial School, spanning several grades, asking students to complete an Energy Efficiency/Solar Quiz and providing them take-home information on the Solarize Mass-Boston program. Students were so engaged in the discussion that there were dozens and dozens of questions on everything from the basics of solar to the details of the Solarize program. Several teachers and the school’s Head Master also took part in the solar discussion, assigning the students homework to go home and talk about solar at dinner with their families. One teacher even decided to incorporate solar into her lesson plan for the following week!

The Solarize Team had just as much success engaging students and teachers at Boston Latin School. One teacher, Cate Arnold, runs the Youth Climate Action Network (YOUTHCAN) and was able to introduce the Solarize Team to more than 40 students who were very eager to learn more about the benefits of solar as a clean energy source. All of these students were highly motivated to share what they learned about the Solarize Mass-Boston program with their parents, since they saw it as a perfect opportunity to play their part in the greening of their home and combatting climate change.

Perhaps the most exciting outcome of the visit to Boston Latin School was that Mrs. Arnold expressed interest in hosting a Solarize house party at her home in West Roxbury. Mrs. Arnold does not have solar, but that isn’t stopping her from creating an opportunity to introduce her neighbors to the unique Solarize program. Mrs. Arnold is also photo copying the Solarize handout to be placed in all of the science classrooms throughout the school.

A couple of students have already followed up with the Solarize Team as a result of these two school visits. One young woman lives in an attached town house in Roxbury and said that Solarize “is what we’ve been waiting for!” It was so wonderful to have the opportunity to go beyond traditional outreach to homeowners and really engage children in how they can play a significant role in how their family views and uses energy. The Solarize Mass-Program expects several site visit signups as a result of these two exciting visits!

SEIA Reports Solar Is Going Strong

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 12:05:00 -0400

Two reports released last week by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) illustrate the ever-growing reach and scope of the solar industry across the United States. Currently, the U.S. has enough solar capacity to power more than 940,000 households. The reduced cost of solar has certainly played a part in this increase, but so has the onset of ‘solar sense’ in big business.

In SEIA’s Top 20 Commercial Solar Users report released last Wednesday, more and more national corporations like Wal-Mart, Costco and Kohl’s Department Stores are choosing to make the investment in solar because they’ve found it not only stabilizes their electricity costs over the lifetime of their systems, but they also experience an improved bottom line, freeing up more time and funds to focus on their core business strategies.

As SEIA’s U.S. Solar Market Insight: 2nd Quarter 2012 report reveals, the 116 percent growth in the solar market since the second quarter of 2011 is a result of both big business and residential installations, as well as another key player — the utilities market. With so many markets going solar, it’s no surprise that the second quarter of 2012 saw 742 megawatts of solar installed, making it the second best quarter in the history of the solar market.

With the price of solar continuing to drop, demand for solar is likely to continue rising. SmartPower is working with SEIA to help spread awareness of this industry growth so that more corporations, utility companies and residents can start reaping the benefits of solar.

Homeowners participating in unique solar group purchasing models like that of SmartPower’s Solarize Mass-Boston and Solarize Connecticut programs are receiving extra incentives to purchase solar systems for their homes. The tiered pricing structure is proving to be extremely effective in increasing solar purchases, so we expect even more growth in the industry as similar residential programs spread across the country.

Mayor Menino Signs Up for Solarize Boston

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:24:00 -0400

Last week it was announced that Boston’s Mayor Menino is all set to install solar. This is big news for the city, which is currently running an innovative discount solar program called Solarize Mass-Boston.

Solarize Mass-Boston encourages the adoption of small scale solar PV by deploying a coordinated education, marketing and outreach effort, combined with a tiered pricing structure that provides increased savings as more people in the community go solar. SolarCity is the selected local installer for this discount solar program.

It’s exactly because of this refer-a-friend incentive that the Mayor’s decision to participate in the program, leading by example, can have such a profound impact on the Solarize program in Boston. As the Solarize model is replicated in other cities and states, it’s exciting to see the attention and participation from municipal leaders that solar so deserves. Well done, Mayor Menino!

SmartPower is continuing to work with the Mass Clean Energy Center and The John Merck Fund to support solar outreach throughout Boston. To learn more about the Solarize Massachusetts model, visit the About Solarize page of the program’s website.