Worcester Business Journal

30 2023 Economic Forecast • Worcester Business Journal • www.wbjournal.com E N E R G Y & E N V I R O N M E N T Better sources of power e energy industry is moving quickly toward development of environmentally friendly technologies M assachusetts has put into place some of the country's most ambitious climate and energy laws. Massachusetts ranked second, again, in the 2022 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. Even with that ranking, there's still a long way to go to becoming more energy efficient and less reliant on outside forces. The electric vehicle market will grow e number of alternative fuel vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles models has risen steadily for years and hit 261 in 2021, and that trend doesn't seem to be slowing down. With all the new models, it's giving people a choice, and they're beginning to switch from gas-powered vehicles to electric ones. A new record of more than 200,000 EVs were sold in the third quarter of 2022 in the U.S., and that trend will continue as more EV infrastructure is built thanks to the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Geothermal energy will become more commonplace While geothermal heat pumps have been available for homes for years, utility companies are now trying to BY KEVIN KOCZWARA WBJ Staff Writer harness the Earth's energy to create a grid of renewable energy. Eversource Energy has piloted a program in Framingham to complement or replace delivered fuels and natural gas service for heating and cooling. Nation- al Grid has plans for its own pilot programs. Fusion is the new frontier In December, officials at the U.S. Department of Energy announced a major scientific breakthrough: For the first time, a nuclear fusion reaction had created more power than it needed to start and sustain it. Fusion, which generates energy using the same process as the sun, has the potential for being an emissions-free form of electricity, with zero waste products. One of the main private companies pursuing this work is based in Central Massachusetts: Commonwealth Fusion Systems. is company backed by Bill Gates and spun out of technology developed at MIT is building a $300-million, 47-acre facility in Devens, with the goal of developing and building a power plant that can be hooked up to the electric grid in the early 2030s. Top energy & environment stories from 2022 Conn. businessman plans $18M electric vehicle education center in Sturbridge Michael Frisbie has big plans for the former truck stop on Route 20 in Sturbridge. e owner of 12 convenience stores and gas stations in Connecticut plans to build a $17.5-million electric vehicle discovery center and travel stop to include a convention center, electric vehicle showroom, restaurant, electric vehicle driving range, a charging station, and gas station to the seven-acre parcel of land he purchased in 2020. In addition, the facility will host a classroom for management students from Nichols College. Frisbie told WBJ plans for construction of the two-floor, 16,000-square-foot building at 201 Charlton Road are being held up as he waits on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to approve a stop-light at the location, so traffic and safety issues will be mitigated. Frisbie hopes for more than 150 events a year and said the traffic signals are vital for that to happen. Frisbie has partnered with Canadian nonprofit Plug'n Drive, which promotes the adoption of electric vehicles. It opened a similar EV showroom in Toronto to the planned one in Sturbridge. e Sturbridge center will not be a salesroom for cars, but a learning center where people can test drive electric cars being donated to the showroom by some of the makers, Frisbie said. He can't confirm which makers have contributed until construction begins, but according to Plug'n Drive's website, it is offering test drive experiences across Toronto in Volvo XC40 and the Kia EV6. Sturbridge's location was a major factor in selecting the site for the center's location, Frisbie said, citing Strubridge's proximity to Boston and New York City as well as Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. People from across New England can easily access the location from across the region. "Massachusetts is progressive, and the location is in the center of New England," he said. Frisbie wants the location to serve as a place where people can learn about electric vehicles. He said it will give people a chance to see the opportunity the vehicles offer environmentally and economically. Another component to the convention center is a partnership with Nichols College in Dudley, where Frisbie graduated from in 1990. e convention center will have a classroom dedicated to a pathway to management school, where students will learn to W Yan Wang has developed technologies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute used to start a company recycling electric vehicle batteries. PHOTO | COURTESY OF WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE Bob Mumgaard, CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems PHOTO | COURTESY OF COMMONWEALTH FUSION SYSTEMS A rendering of the proposed EV education center in Sturbridge

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