OFFSHORE WIND could be as beneficial to Massachusetts economy as life sciences, but not without transmission infrastructure to scale the industry. The life science sector grew by over 60,000 jobs […]
Peter Shattuck
Posted inEnvironment
Ingredients for climate success
MASSACHUSETTS HAS A STRONG RECORD addressing climate-changing pollution. In the early 2000s, Massachusetts was a founding partner in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state, bipartisan cooperative that has […]
Posted inOpinion
What Massachusetts can learn from New York’s solar experience
Over the past several years, Massachusetts has been able to deploy more than 1000 megawatts of solar capacity. This remarkable success is due to an interrelated set of policies that […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
A roadmap for the omnibus energy bill
Final in a series. The first installment focused on natural gas and the second on utilities. A DECADE FROM NOW, electricity mix in Massachusetts could look quite different from what […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Technology upends the utility business model
Second in a three-part series. The first part, on natural gas pipelines, can be found here. IN THE SHARING ECONOMY, new consumer technologies and business models are upending industries from […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
The case against gas pipelines
This is the first in a three-part series of opinion pieces that will appear on consecutive Mondays. ON MARCH 20, 1886, the world’s first alternating current electric grid was powered […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Part 3: Energy rules need to change
Third of three parts OUR ENERGY SYSTEM is evolving and will look very different in years to come from what we have today. Electricity produced by solar, wind, and other […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Part 2: What states are doing on energy
Second of three parts IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, policymakers across New England may commit tens of billions of ratepayers’ dollars to gas pipelines and electric transmission that will shape […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Part 1: We’re not facing an energy crisis in New England
First of a three-part series NEW ENGLAND’S ENERGY SYSTEM is at an important juncture, but we are not facing a crisis. After last year’s winter, many argued for radical action […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Don’t treat natural gas addiction with new pipelines
Massachusetts and New England are dangerously addicted to natural gas. We got addicted because gas burns cleaner than oil and coal and is cheap most of the year. But our […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Don’t forget benefits of green energy use
The August 8 CommonWealth Back Story, “Green energy costs raising concerns,” highlights costs of Massachusetts’ energy policy, but a thorough evaluation also requires consideration of the benefits to determine the […]