U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond of the United Kingdom will meet Governor Deval Patrick in Charlestown this morning to tour the neighborhood’s Wind Technology Testing Center (WTTC). The group will tour the facility and deliver remarks at 9:15 a.m. at the facility located 100 Terminal Street Building 80.
Secretary Kerry will be on hand to discuss the global threat of climate change and the importance of investing in a clean energy future.
When the Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) released its report in April, Secretary Kerry said low carbon technology like wind can be used to prevent “ catastrophic climate change
“The report makes very clear we face an issue of global willpower, not capacity and shines a light on energy technologies available right now,” said Kerry. “Many of the technologies that will help us fight climate change are far cheaper, more readily available, and better performing than they were when the last IPCC assessment was released.”
The WTTC, operated by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) was established in 2011 and is the first facility in the nation capable of testing large-scale wind turbine blades up to 90 meters in length. The facility acts as independent certifier of wind blade designs, with the goal of helping the industry bring down the costs of wind blade technologies.
The WTTC offers the latest wind turbine blade testing and prototype development methodologies to help the wind industry deploy the next generation of land-based and offshore wind turbine technologies. The WTTC also attracts companies to design, manufacture and test their blades in the United States and helps catalyze growth in the American wind turbine supply chain.