National Grid moving forward with $5M local investment

REVERE-National Grid?s solar energy facility proposed for Wharf Street and Railroad Avenue could provide power for one, even two, local schools.That prospect and the $5 million investment the utility wants to make in a corner of the city won praise from City Council President Daniel Rizzo.?I?m very excited. It brings flare to Revere,” Rizzo said, adding National Grid?s plan helps bolster the city?s reputation as an innovative, development friendly community.He anticipates Mayor Thomas Ambrosino will submit an alternative energy ordinance aimed at helping National Grid make its project possible to the council in a month or so.Two power substations, one classified as abandoned by the utility, are located on the site. National Grid plans to install solar panels on the site beginning in about three months.The solar industry, while still in the early stages of development, was by far the favorite of venture capitalists in 2008, accounting for nearly half of the money investments in the clean energy projects tracked by the report.Solar projects attracted nearly $1.9 billion in venture capital in 2008 in 53 deals nearly tripled the amount of such investments a year earlier.Eight of the top 10 venture-backed investments in clean energy technology involved solar, according to the report. The other two projects were related to the “smart” electric transmission grid and developing cellulosic ethanol. Ironically, wind energy which recorded a record 50 percent growth last year in terms of how much electricity is being produced from turbines, was shunned by venture-capitalists. Investments in wind technology as a share of total clean energy venture-backed investments fell by 40 percent in 2008, according to the report.Tim Carey, clean energy technology leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said help from the economic recovery plan recently approved by Congress may be needed within the next four months to “inject a dose of adrenaline” and keep some of the cash-starved clean energy and smart grid projects from folding. The $787 billion stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama on Feb. 17 includes about $83 billion for clean technology spending, tax relief and loan guarantees, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers analysis.The report includes findings from the MoneyTree Report, a quarterly survey produced by Price WaterhouseCoopers, and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data from Thomson Reuters.