The Ay's Have It - Clean Energy A Must

Clean Energy Connections, hosted at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, MA on Tuesday, November 10th, was well-attended and optimistic in nature, with over five hundred clean energy organizations, business owners, and job seekers listening attentively to keynote addresses and plenary sessions. More than 60 universities, colleges, businesses, and organizations exhibited at the conference, providing ample opportunities to exchange ideas and information, to learn about the ever-evolving renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, and to prospect for jobs and new employees.

According to keynote speakers, Dr. Robert Pollin and Mr. Truman Semans, approximately $120 billion in government spending will boost the U.S. “green” economy over the span of several years. Seventy percent will fund energy efficiency projects with 30% funding renewable energy technology. Additionally, Massachusetts’ total share of the funds is $2.3 billion, which will result in roughly 42,530 “green” jobs with renewable energy “poised to become” the tenth largest job cluster in the state. Though success in the green economy is predicted to skyrocket and greatly contribute to the nation’s financial recovery , it alone will not revive the U.S. economy. Moreover, it will take persistent policy overhauls to improve the flow of money from government to private organizations.

Anne Perkins of Rural Development Inc. (RDI) and Bill Austin and Jacqui McCreanor of Austin Design Inc. (ADi) manned our integrated display. As folks stopped at our table to chat, we shared with them RDI’s affordable housing enterprises and our ecological designs for single family homes, communities, and remodels. And in turn, we learned about an increasing interest, on the parts of both individuals and private organizations, in retrofitting existing buildings, adding renewable energy technology to new and existing buildings, and investing in strong local community centers dedicated to the health and robustness of its citizens and economies.

Great contacts were made and a good time was had by all. On the whole, it was a great and educational day.

Cool Photography

Doug Mason, local professional photographer, captured inciting frames of nearby Austin Design projects, including Katywil Eco-Village, Wisdom Way Solar Village, and a private client's renovated home and newly constructed poolhouse! Check out additional Austin Design photographs on Flickr.

Austin Design in Green Business Quarterly

A nice article on Austin Design appears in the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Green Building Quarterly. There is even a picture of all of us! You'll have to buy a physical copy of the magazine if you want to get a better idea of what we actually look like, but you get the gist. The magazine is free to those in the industry so check it out.

Re-Design of Greenfield Savings Bank Drive-Up Building

We are pleased to be working with the great folks at Greenfield Savings Bank to re-design their drive-up building and surrounding areas to faciliate pedestrian access and improve traffic flow.

Read the story as published in The Recorder.

Clean Energy Connections

Tomorrow Jacqui and Bill will be at the Clean Energy Connections Conference at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. Stop by, say hello, and learn about plenty of other clean energy and green resources in Western Mass.

Zero Energy Challenge

Wisdom Way Solar Village recently placed third in the Zero Energy Challenge. The Challenge was presented by Massachusetts’ investor-owned electric utility companies. The idea was to build a home which would use as little energy as possible. Bill traveled to the State House back in June for the award ceremony with Anne Perkins and Robin Sherman of RDI, check out the video above to see the action.