WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Senator John F. Kerry, and Representative Stephen F. Lynch announced today that the final budget for the Department of Energy contains $800,000 for the expansion of the Brockton Solar Brightfield project. The funding is included in the Fiscal Year 2006 Energy and Water Appropriations bill that is expect to pass both the House and Senate shortly and be signed into law.
 
"Mayor Yunits and Brockton have shown enormous leadership with the Brightfield project, and I’m excited we’ve been able to help this extraordinary project,” Senator Kennedy said.  "In the years ahead, cities across the country will be looking for solutions that revitalize industrial properties and help meet the needs of the future, and they’ll be looking to Brockton because of the innovative work being done right here.”
 
"During this time of sky rocketing energy prices, it's crucial that we expand Brockton’s Solar Brightfield.  We need to reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, and we can do that by tapping America’s invention and innovation with these projects which help pioneer renewable, clean energies for the future," Senator Kerry said.

Congressman Stephen F. Lynch said, "This $800,000 is a real shot in the arm for the City of Brockton.  Because of the hard work of Mayor Jack Yunits and Mayor-Elect Jim Harrington and the entire Brockton delegation, the City is poised to become a nationwide leader in developing and promoting alternative energy sources.  At a time of instability in the worldwide oil markets and rising gas and oil prices, Brockton's Brightfield project is precisely the kind of investment we should be supporting."
 
"The funding for this new solar power project is great news for the City of Brockton as we continue to build a clean, healthy and safe city for our residents,” said Mayor Jack Yunits. "Renewable energy is the way of the future and I'm proud that Brockton is leading the way.  ”
 
Construction on the Brockton Brightfield project, New England’s largest solar array at a remediated brownfield site, began this summer.   Located on the urban Grove Street location of the former Brockton Gas Works, the project currently consists of a 500-kilowat photovoltaic array and interpretive displays on an otherwise unusable 27-acre industrial site.  Ultimately, more than 6,750 solar panels are planned as the Brightfield will grow incrementally to produce 1 full MW of power.
 
Expansion of the project – which will extend the Brightfield to another property across the street -- will be financed mainly through a creative and innovative plan based on the sale of renewable energy credits (RECs) through long-term contracts.
 
The City of Brockton has developed this Brightfield project in close collaboration with the State of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the US Department of Energy.  In addition, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, has awarded the project more than $1 million to initiate construction.

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