MBTA officials said US Customs is trying to verify CRRC, the Chinese rail car manufacturer, is complying with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl oversees the production of content and edits reports, along with carrying out his own reporting with a particular focus on transportation, energy, and climate issues.
He previously worked at the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper.
Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.
Posted inEnergy
Grid operator forecasting 11% increase in electricity consumption by 2034
The operator of the New England power grid released a study saying a 10-year downturn in consumption of electricity from the region’s generating plants is coming to an end and giving way to the need for more electricity production over the next decade.
Posted inTransportation
Federal funding for I-90 Allston project in jeopardy
The massive package of tax and spending cuts President Trump signed into law on July 4 contains a provision that eliminates a federal transportation grant program that set aside $335 million last year for the nearly $2 billion I-90 Allston highway project in Boston.
Posted inEnergy
Healey again puts offshore wind on back burner
Bowing to opposition from President Trump, the Healey administration on Monday put its offshore wind plans on hold yet again and said it is committed to an “all-of-the-above approach to energy.”
Posted inTransportation
MBTA caught in tariff crossfire between Trump and China
The MBTA is “actively assessing the impacts — potential or otherwise — on existing and future contracts,” after the news that President Trump will hike tariffs on Chinese goods to 104 percent.
Posted inPolitics
Trump’s shadow looms as offshore wind price negotiation deadline missed
The latest delay was the second time since Trump was elected that the two sides have failed to meet a deadline and contract negotiations had to be extended.
Posted inEnergy
Days before Trump takes office, Brayton Point loses $300 million offshore wind cable plant development project
The Italian company’s decision to abandon the $300 million project is “a major blow” to Somerset and raises questions about Massachusetts’ efforts to make offshore wind the centerpiece of a climate change policy.
Posted inOpinion
Transportation funding task force nears finish line
The governor’s task force on transportation funding is scheduled to hold its final meeting with both Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll in attendance.
Posted inTransportation
Healey task force on transportation funding will miss its December 31 deadline
The task force Gov. Maura Healey created to propose a new funding model for transportation in Massachusetts is going to miss its end-of-2024 deadline.
Posted inEnergy
Wellesley battery expected to save town residents $8m over 20 years
The batteries will charge up during overnight hours when the price of electricity is generally low and then discharge their power into the town’s electric grid during peak demand periods, typically from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., when electricity prices are high.
Posted inBallot Questions
The voters have spoken on Questions 1, 2 – or have they?
With most votes counted, the legislative audit question was approved by a margin of 71.5 percent to 28.5 percent. The MCAS question’s margin was 59-41.
Posted inBallot Questions
Voters demand audit of Legislature, hurdles remain
In a brief interview on Tuesday night, DiZoglio said she is prepared to take on the Legislature either in court or on Beacon Hill. She said she is enlisting the support of supportive lawmakers to block any action in the Legislature that would undermine Tuesday’s vote. If that fails, DiZoglio said, she is urging the governor to side with the state’s voters.
Posted inTransportation
Unions representing MBTA’s commuter rail workers feeling left out
Of the 14 Keolis unions, only one has agreed to new contract amendments. The rest have all been without new language since their contracts could be updated in July 2022. Under federal laws, railroad contracts technically never expire and remain in place until they are amended.
Posted inEnergy
2 developers purchase 4 New England offshore wind leases
BOEM sells 2 lease areas east of Cape Cod to Avangrid
Posted inEnergy
Prysmian coy about plans for plant at Brayton Point
Some speculate that Prysmian is waiting until after the election before making any announcement about the project. Republican Donald Trump has vowed to shut down the offshore wind industry if he is elected.
Posted inEnergy
Mass. ratepayers to pay $521m more for hydroelectricity because of Maine political delays
The project has never received as much attention as the state’s forays into offshore wind, but in many ways it is more important. It offers 1,200 megawatts of firm capacity, power that could be particularly valuable during winter months when New England electricity prices tend to skyrocket as natural gas for use by electric power generators is often diverted for home heating.
Posted inTransportation
MBTA backs away from commuter rail fare loss estimate
The MBTA is backing away from a statement made last Thursday by the agency’s senior manager of fare policy and analysis, who estimated 25 percent of fares on the south side of the commuter rail system are not being collected.
Posted inState Government
Mariano sets legislative game plan for rest of year
The speaker also indicated he is very open to changing the Legislature’s rules in the future to provide more flexibility in approving legislation. “The Joint Rules and associated legislative timeline are both due for updates. That, however, is a discussion for the 194th General Court after the New Year,” he said.
Posted inTransportation
MBTA estimates 25% of south-side commuter rail fares not being collected
“That’s a lot – 25 percent,” Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt said. “That’s a really big loss of revenue.”
Posted inState Government
Senate goes different law-making route to pass climate bill
Tarr, a Republican, said he saw the Senate’s new standing order for this session as a one-time event. “We should never let this practice be part of the everyday operations of this body,” he told his colleagues during a speech.
Posted inEnergy
Vineyard Wind to remove already installed blades, strengthen others
The wind farm and its wind turbine supplier, GE Vernova, said the decision to remove some blades and strengthen others followed a review of 8,300 ultrasound images of each installed blade and physical blade inspections using “crawler drones.”
Posted inEnergy
Decision time for offshore wind cable plant at Brayton Point
THE ITALIAN COMPANY seeking to build an offshore wind cable manufacturing plant at Brayton Point in Somerset has a big decision to make. Prysmian Group has nearly all of the […]
Posted inTransportation
McGee to lead MBTA board as Glynn steps aside
McGee, a former state lawmaker and mayor of Lynn, is very similar to Glynn in a policy sense. But the two men have very different leadership styles.
Posted inBallot Questions
DiZoglio releases audit of Legislature 2 weeks before ballot question vote
Polls indicate DiZoglio’s ballot question is expected to pass overwhelmingly, but any victory is likely only the beginning of a legal struggle over what operations of the Legislature the auditor can audit without infringing on the authority of a separate branch of government.