BOSTON AREA SOLAR ENERGY ASSOCIATION

Thursday November 10, 2016

There is a fascinating solar power project underway at Roxbury Community College. Nearly 3,000 panels strong (approx. 1 MW capacity), this solar canopy will cover a parking lot adjacent to the school. Below the parking lot, a geothermal heat pump system (115 wells, approx. 400 ton capacity) will provide heating and cooling to the campus.

Ameresco, Inc., of Framingham, MA, has partnered with the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) in an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) to deliver the project by year-end 2017, predicted to save the school nearly $860,000 annually in energy costs. LED lighting and a complete upgrade of the Energy Management System are included in the ESPC. Funding comes from a mix of grants, bonds, incentives and the Clean Energy Investment Program, plus savings from energy generation.

As the first of its kind in Massachusetts, and highly visible to the public (inbound Columbus Avenue, approaching Roxbury Crossing), this project should serve as a shining example of the potential for on-site renewable energy to integrate successfully and upgrade existing facilities toward sustainability goals.

Jim Walker, of Ameresco, will be on hand to introduce the project and answer our questions at the upcoming BASEA Forum, Thursday, November 13th.

About Roxbury Community College

Founded in 1973, Roxbury Community College (RCC) is a comprehensive, multicultural, urban, student-centered, open-access community college. An Achieving the Dream college, RCC offers associates degree and certificate programs, online courses, corporate community education programs, and lifelong learning programs. The 16-acre, 6 building campus houses classrooms, specialized science and computer laboratories, the Library and Learning Center, the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center and the Media Arts Center. For more information, visit

http://www.rcc.mass.edu/

Location: First Parish in Cambridge Unitarian Universalist

3 Church Street, Harvard Square

Time: Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Presentation begins at 7:30 p.m.

Presenter: James J. Walker, P.E. of Ameresco

Jim Walker is Vice President, Solar PV for Ameresco, where he is responsible for leading and building Ameresco's solar PV business in the East Region. Jim brings 40 years of diverse energy experience focused on energy efficiency projects, energy supply management contracts and strategies, and solar PV project development for large manufacturing corporations and municipalities. Jim's early career was a Corporate Energy Manager for GTE Corporation. Following GTE, Jim started the Corporate Supply Management Services business unit for XENERGY, Inc.

As a volunteer, Jim created and co-founded the Ignite Clean Energy Business Plan Competition for the MIT Enterprise Forum. He was a Board Member of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge for six years. MIT awarded Jim two honors, including a 2006 Presidential Citation.

Jim earned an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Sloan School of Management and a BS in mechanical engineering degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.