Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com May 9, 2016 • Worcester Business Journal 11 It's not just what we do to help businesses grow, it's how we do it. $ 9,000,000 Refi nance/ Working Capital Precision Manufacturer Medway, MA $ 6,600,000 Construction Residential Contractor Boston, MA $ 5,000,000 Acquisition/ Working Capital Technology Manufacturer Milford, MA $ 6,500,000 Refi nance Term/ Working Capital Brewery/Restaurant Boston, MA $ 19,200,000 Tax Exempt Bond Health Care Provider Concord, MA $ 11,800,000 Acquisition/Improvement Permanent Financing Offi ce Park Lowell, MA $ 6,000,000 Real Estate Mortgage Retail Plaza Millis, MA $ 15,500,000 Acquisition/Improvement Permanent Financing Offi ce Building Chelmsford, MA $ 20,650,000 Construction to Permanent Financing Hotel Waltham, MA As a bank with no shareholders, our commercial bankers are free to work more collaboratively and proactively with business customers, offering more creative approaches for meeting a company's fi nancial and strategic objectives. With more than $4 billion in assets and a team of experienced bankers offering everything from complex fi nancing to everyday banking services, we're ready, willing and able to help every business grow. And we do. Contact Thomas Farley, Chief Commercial Banking Offi cer at 508-315-5344 or thomas.farley@middlesexbank.com CORPORATE BANKING / INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE / CONSTRUCTION LENDING MEMBER FDIC MEMBER DIF Brayton Point Station Somerset, Mass. 1,535 MW Coal & oil Salem Harbor Station Salem, Mass. 749 MW Coal & oil Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Plymouth, Mass. 677 MW Nuclear Vermont Yankee Station Vernon, Vt. 604 MW Nuclear Norwalk Harbor Station Norwalk, Conn. 342 MW Oil Mount Tom Station Holyoke, Mass. 143 MW Coal Major New England retired/retiring power plants Facility Location Size Fuel Source: ISO New England Massachusetts officials see wind energy as the top producing renewable fuel in the future, but they are looking to hydro to fill out the gaps on days when the wind isn't blowing hard enough. Electricity Outlook says natural gas infrastructure will have to increase over the next few years in order to meet the region's power needs. Yet, pipeline addi- tions have been controversial, with many receiving considerable pushback from the communities they're scheduled to run through. In April, Houston energy giant Kinder Morgan announced it was suspending its $3.3-billion natural gas pipeline proj- ect, citing a lack of binding commit- ments. Spectra Energy, which is also headquartered in Houston, is planning the Access Northeast project in New England as well. Cost implications Keeping the cost of power as low as possible is crucial if the state wants to retain a healthy manufacturing sector, said Jack Healy, president of the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership in Worcester. Manufacturing represents just 9 per- cent of employment statewide, but it is essential to some of the state's most important industries like biopharma- ceuticals, medical devices, and aero- space and defense, according to a 2015 study from MIT Industrial Performance Center. The central region has the state's highest share of manufacturers. Healy said manufacturers feel since utility companies became deregulated, they haven't done their part to lower costs by signing long-term contracts with suppliers and expanding infra- structure. About $4.2 billion will be spent on new transmission investment between 2016 and 2018, according to ISO New England's report. "What we see from utilities, from a manufacturing perspective, is they get a cost, and they pass it on to the custom- er," Healy said. "The reality here is that there is not a lot of communication between the different sectors – the utili- ties and the users." He cited the proposed Cape Wind generation project as an example of a situation where utilities would have had to buy the cost of power for substan- tially more that they would for, say, natural gas, and then pass the cost on to the ratepayer. Manufacturers will see costs go up and consider moving to a state with lower energy costs, Healy said. "Manufacturers, in their opinion, are up against the wall. The cost of power is putting people out of business," Healy said. "I don't see companies growing here because cheap energy doesn't make it attractive for people to come." Both utilities National Grid and Eversource Energy terminated their power-purchase agreements with Cape Wind, rendering the project effectively lifeless, in 2014. Energy storage Something that could make a sub- stantial difference in Massachusetts' power landscape going forward is ener- gy storage. Chang, from the Brattle group, said energy storage can be trans- formative when it comes to improving the electric grid and dropping prices. "I'm a big believer that energy storage will get the cost down. There is large research and development going on around the world – huge companies are making lots of investments in technolo- gy and energy storage," she said. "We've already see lots of progress." These solutions are being looked into at a state level. About a year ago, Judson announced a $10-million initiative for a two-part study that would look at devel- oping energy storage policy options and incentives the commonwealth can use to attract energy storage companies. A study will be released soon. n Brayton Point Station

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