FROED One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722-7700 Tel 508-324-2620 Fax 508-677-2840 info@froed.org		CITY LOOKING FOR ENERGETIC VOLUNTEERS The Herald News, Thursday, April 9, 2009 - Page A1 Fall River — The newly appointed chairman of the Fall River Energy Enterprise Task Force is encouraging volunteers with “practical and professional backgrounds” to join the city’s efforts to become a leader in renewable energy. Mayor Robert Correia named businessman Alan Amaral, president of the Fall River Office of Economic Development, to head the FREE task force. Amaral said at least a half-dozen citizens expressed interest after Tuesday’s presentation. Environmentalists, engineers, historians and those with experience in renewable energy with wind turbines, hydrology, and solar, tidal and geothermal power are encouraged to participate. Two leaders of Green Futures, Al Lima and Everett Castro, have joined a task force that Amaral hopes to announce in about a week. He plans to hold monthly meetings and divide into subcommittees as the group works “in the trenches” to develop plans from what’s solely a conceptual model at this juncture. “What I am focusing on now are hydro studies and engineering assessments to determine what has to be done,” Amaral said. The studies could take up to a year, he said. Determining the renewable hydropower of a redirected and opened Quequechan River is a key to reducing energy costs, officials said this week. The river, which was made up of a series of cascading waterfalls, has the potential to produce at least 25 million gallons a day of water power. Officials want to harness that power with modern technology. Interested volunteers are asked to send resumes/biographies to the FROED office by e-mail at www.fallriver.ma.org. or by mail to the office at 1 Government Center, Fall River, MA 02722, to Amaral’s attention. FROED Executive Vice President Kenneth Fiola will be a key person working with the task force, Amaral said. Fiola said they plan to “identify different areas of opportunity” while compiling different energy studies the city already has in place. Back