Listen to “Jim Gordon, Pioneer for Wind Energy and caring for Mother Earth” on Spreaker.
Jim founded Energy Management, Inc. in 1975 to focus on developing energy conservation and pollution control projects. In 1984, the company transitioned to developing electric generation projects and the company successfully developed, owned, and operated natural gas fired cogeneration plants and some of the first gas fired Merchant electric facilities in the United States. In 2000, the company sold its portfolio of natural gas fired power plants and began to focus on developing renewable energy facilities. Jim’s company developed the two largest biomass electric generation facilities in the US each producing over 100 Megawatts of renewable electricity utilizing forest residues and clean municipal wood waste.
Energy Management, Inc. also develops large energy storage battery projects and ground mounted and roof top solar energy projects. The company successfully developed and operates the first energy storage systems providing energy and ancillary services to ISO New England as well as Behind the Meter energy storage projects for Municipal electric companies. Its affiliated company, SmartFlower Solar, manufactures and distributes the world’s first patented dual axis tracking solar energy system for commercial, institutional, and residential clients searching for iconic design, superior performance, and ease of installation. The product line consists of the Smartflower, Smartflower Plus with integrated battery storage and the Smartflower EV for charging electric vehicles with solar energy.
In 2001, Jim began the development of Cape Wind, America’s first proposed offshore wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod. His company worked with seventeen federal and state agencies through a comprehensive permitting process and helped evolve the regulatory framework for offshore wind. A wealthy and politically influential NIMBY group fought the project every step of the way through serial and relentless litigation and political lobbying. After 14 years, Cape Wind finally obtained its permits, but the opposition group’s continuous delaying tactics ran the clock out on Cape Wind’s Power Purchase Agreements. Jim’s battle to develop Cape Wind and call attention to America’s enormous and harvestable offshore wind potential became the subject of a book and a theatrically released documentary film.
From CNN: Boston, Massachusetts (CNN) — Jim Gordon struggles to lift a book. It’s 4,000 pages, more than a foot thick and one of the dozens of government reports over the last decade assessing the nation’s first offshore wind farm.
“It’s thicker than the health care bill,” chuckles Gordon, the 56-year-old CEO of Cape Wind.
Gordon’s laugh has now turned into a celebratory smile. After a vicious nine-year fight on Cape Cod, Gordon has finally won approval of his wind farm to be built in the iconic waters of Nantucket Sound. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday signed off on the project.
“We’re trying to pioneer a new path to move America forward in obtaining cleaner energy, a healthier environment and putting people to work to harness the inexhaustible winds that we’re blessed with off the Cape,” he said.
It has been anything but easy. Cape Wind has spent more than $45 million — most of it from Gordon’s own pockets — since 2001, when the project first sought a permit.
His opponents have vilified him over the years as a greedy corporate energy man pillaging the pristine waters of the Sound. They say he’s interested, not in green energy, but the green of the U.S. dollar.
Gordon has refused to disclose potential earnings for his company; critics say Cape Wind stands to gain hundreds of millions in tax credits and subsidies.
Gordon’s hair has gone from black to gray since the fight began. And while the Cape has debated the project, countries like China have built their own offshore wind farms, forging ahead of the U.S. in wind energy.
Gordon’s opponents have come from the left and right. They have ranged from one of the most powerful senators in the nation’s history — the late Sen. Ted Kennedy — to billionaire fossil fuel heavyweight William Koch. “I’m for wind energy,” Kennedy famously said. “But we ought to do it right.” The Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port will have a view of the 130 wind turbines, located several miles from the shore.
See how the views on the Cape will change
Koch, founder of the Oxbow Group and a resident of the Cape, sits on the board of Gordon’s nemesis, the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound. He’s reportedly contributed more than $1.5 million to try to stop Cape Wind. Koch and his Oxbow Group have accused Gordon of duping the region, saying the Cape had better prepare for skyrocketing electricity prices. The price per kilowatt hour offshore is far higher than on land.
“This will only benefit one individual, and that’s the developer himself, Jim Gordon,” said Brad Goldstein, Koch’s chief spokesman. “Jim Gordon can try to wrap himself around wind all he wants. That dog will not hunt here.”
Who is this wind man who challenged the nation’s biggest power players — and won?
The son of a Boston grocer, Gordon says he decided to get into the energy business while waiting in line to get gas during the OPEC energy crisis of the 1970s.
It was a wise decision: He consulted for power plants and made tens of millions of dollars by converting old power plants to natural gas facilities. He won over communities and brought in hundreds of jobs. In all, his group, Energy Management Inc., had seven New England power facilities; six of them were natural gas plants. He sold out in 2001 and with his millions turned his focus, and energy, to wind.
“He didn’t buy an island in the Caribbean. He didn’t sit on his money,” said the Rev. William Eddy, a co-founder of Clean Power Now, a Cape Cod-based organization that has supported the wind farm. “He decided to do something noble with it. You have to admire him for that.”
Added Kert Davies, the research director for Greenpeace: “He’s amazingly tenacious and knows that it’s a good project in the right place and a good thing for the economy and the planet. … We’re going to throw a party and toast Gordon.”
Gorden’s website: www.smartflower.com
