"Green" Energy Companies in Massachusetts

From the Boston Globe

There are quite a few environmentally-friendly energy companies based in Massachusetts. These companies cut back on pollution and make strides toward energy independence. They make laptop batteries (right), solar panels, wind turbines, and more.

Here is a look at some green energy companies based in the Bay State.

A123 Systems

Location: Watertown

A123 Systems, which went public with an initial public offering in late Septemberthat proved very successful, makes powerful and quick-charging batteries using lithium-ion technology.

The company has partnership agreements with seven car companies around the world, including Chrysler, that are interested in using the technology for electric vehicles.

Aeronautica Windpower

Location: Plymouth

The manufacturing and marketing company builds midscale wind turbines for commercial and industrial use. Earlier this year, Aeronautica Windpower debuted its Norwin brand, featuring 225 and 750 kilowatt turbines.

Boston-Power Inc.

Location: Westborough

The company, which makes the Sonata battery used in Hewlett-Packard's notebook computers, aims to deliver dependable power. In addition to the Sonata, Boston-Power also produced the Swing battery for electric vehicles, industrial equipment, and electronic applications.

Conservation Services Group

Location: Westborough

Conservation Services Group, a nonprofit organization that runs energy-efficiency programs, serves clients across the country, including National Grid, San Diego Gas & Electric, and the Energy Trust of Oregon. Its goal is raise to energy efficiency for energy program administrators, builders and contractors, and residential and commercial groups.

EnerNOC

Location: Boston

This energy technology company pays its 2,500 commercial, institutional and industrial clients to reduce electricity consumption during times of peak demand. Employees monitor clients through an operations center in Boston, and can essentially flip a switch to shut down non-essential operations when necessary.

Evergreen Solar

Location: Marlborough

Evergreen Solar manufactures solar panels - as well as the wafers, cells, and panels that go into them - all under one roof. After more than 13 years in business, they recently introduced an ES-A Series with black anodized frames to the String Ribbon solar panel line.

GreatPoint Energy

Location: Cambridge

The company turns materials like coal, wood chips, and even trash into natural gas through a process called hydromethanation. The process does not produce nitrogen oxide, sulphur oxide, or other emissions associated with carbon feedstock burning, making pollutant emission significantly less than during typical coal combustion.

IST Energy

Location: Waltham

IST Energy's flagship product, the garbage-guzzling Green Energy Machine system, is a portable waste-to-energy system. It powers a generator by producing small pellets that are burned in a combustion chamber which converts into energy.

Joule Biotechnologies, Inc.

Location: Cambridge

The company's mission: to make energy independence a reality. The 2-year-old company, which just made public news of its possibly revolutionary process, said that one day soon, its SolarFuel could be used to power vehicles. Chief executive Bill Sims and cofounder David Berry have dodged inquiries about the mysterious fuel-making organism.

1366 Technologies

Location: North Lexington

1366 Inc. of Lexington is working on technology to lower the installed cost of solar photovoltaics so that it is competitive with the cost of coal. The company traces its roots to MIT, and 1366 is a reference to the solar constant, or the number of watts of solar radion, on average, hitting each square meter of the Earth.