massachusetts

Amazon to start charging sales tax in Massachusetts

Amazon buyers in Massachusetts have another 11 months to enjoy before the retail giant starts collecting sales tax on their purchases.

In a deal reached with Massachusetts regulators, Amazon will begin imposing a sales tax on all online purchases made by state residents as of November 1, 2013. The agreement was reached only after several months of negotiations, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Amazon has naturally resisted charging its shoppers state-by-state sales tax. In the past, the company has instead proposed using a national law that would regulate the collection of all online sale tax rather than leaving it … Read more

One-fifth of third-graders own cell phones

Cell phone owners are getting younger and younger. According to a new study, 83 percent of middle schoolers, 39 percent of fifth-graders, and 20 percent of third-graders have a mobile device.

Stephanie Englander of Bridgewater University conducted the study (PDF) for the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center. Her research consisted of interviews with 20,766 Massachusetts students, in third through twelfth grades, with the goal of seeing whether readily available technology plays a role in cyberbullying.

The study shows that not only do younger kids have cell phones but also more than 90 percent of children are online by third grade. … Read more

A smart green home takes root in inner city

BOSTON--Cynthia Loesch and Ivan Liriano built a green home as much for their community as themselves. The high-tech touches inside, though, were just for them.

The couple earlier this month hosted a ribbon cutting for the first LEED Platinum-level green building in Dorchester, the neighborhood in Boston where they both grew up. It's an example of how modern conveniences, such as home automation, fit nicely with green building gear.

When they took on the project to build in an abandoned lot, Loesch and Loriano were eager to build with energy-efficient appliances, good insulation, and solar panels. But the couple … Read more

Boston Power moves ahead by moving to China

Battery maker Boston Power is shifting its operations to China to capitalize on the electric-vehicle market.

The Westborough, Mass.-based company today announced that it has raised $125 million from Chinese venture capital firm GSR Ventures as part of an expansion into China. In addition to the private equity, the company is receiving grants, low-interest loans, and other incentives from the Chinese government, which will lead to construction of a large-scale battery manufacturing plant.

By the end of next year, the 400-megawatt-hour-per-year plant will be capable of making enough lithium ion batteries for about 10,000 all-electric cars a year, … Read more

Evergreen Solar files for bankruptcy

Massachusetts-based Evergreen Solar today filed for bankruptcy protection, following a month-long sales decline of its solar panel business.

The company, which received millions of dollars in state aid, said it intends to sell off assets of the company, including its proprietary solar cell manufacturing process. As part of the reorganization, Evergreen Solar will lay off 65 people, which will include the closure of a facility in Michigan.

The chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is part of the company's efforts to reorganize its business around making silicon wafers that are converted into solar cells and fitted into solar panels. Global competition, … Read more

Clean-tech incubator gets down and dirty

BOSTON--An everyday office building doesn't quite work when you need to hammer out a prototype of a solar-powered chiller or an inflatable wind turbine. So a group of entrepreneurs here have created a hands-on workshop to bring their clean-energy ideas to life.

Greentown Labs held its official opening last week, bringing fellow entrepreneurs, city officials including Boston Mayor Tom Menino, and investors looking to plug into the active clean-energy technology scene.

About 40 people from 10 fledgling companies have moved into this former baker and confectioner's supply warehouse in South Boston with the hopes of finding more like-minded … Read more

City power plant waste heat fuels district heating

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--To modernize a 1940s power plant for better efficiency, its owner turned to an underground steam pipe system designed in the 19th century.

Operators of the Kendall Station power plant here are planning to construct a pipeline to ship excess steam from the plant to heat buildings in Boston and Cambridge. The pipeline, which will cross the river near the mouth of the Charles River, will add capacity to the existing underground district heating system and lighten the plant's environmental impact.

During a tour of the facility last week, the companies involved said they hope to get … Read more

Five tips from a budding green-tech cluster

WALTHAM, Mass.--Most of the action in consumer Internet technology is firmly rooted in Silicon Valley. But when it comes to green technologies, it's much more dispersed, with pockets of activity in different regions.

Massachusetts is one area that has run with clean-energy technologies with some success. A number of companies from the state received grants from the Department of Energy's ARPA-E agency to pursue promising research, including 1366 Technologies, Sun Catalytix, FloDesign Wind Turbines, and Agrivida. Battery maker A123 Systems and efficiency company EnerNoc are among the few energy start-ups of the past decade to become public … Read more

Low-income apartments to have high efficiency

BOSTON--Green building professionals can point to dozens of houses that are so efficient they consume less than half the energy of an average American home. A low-income housing development here is bringing those same efficiency techniques to a block-long apartment building.

The Castle Square Apartments in Boston's South End neighborhood is in the midst of a project organizers say will be one of the largest deep-energy retrofits done in the U.S., with a projected 72 percent cut in energy use. Last Thursday, the state- and federally-funded development held a groundbreaking attended by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, U.S. … Read more