ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
CommonWealth Beacon breaks down the latest energy and environmental policy news in Massachusetts, including moves in renewable energy, conservation, and innovation.
Energy policy pressure points reflected in amendments
The Senate on Wednesday takes up a sweeping energy bill aimed at affordability, one that boosters say will save ratepayers more than $14 billion over a decade. But first, senators have more than 180 ideas to reshape it.
When the heat doesn’t stop
The loss of funds has disrupted a network of heat-related initiatives across Massachusetts, many supported through EPA environmental justice grants.
In New Bedford, Healey celebrates completion of Vineyard Wind project as the company faces financial disputes
Gov. Maura Healey along with Massachusetts labor and energy leaders celebrated the completion of the country’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project, which concluded construction in March. She touted its benefits while shrugging off the wind development company’s recent financial disputes that have made headlines and threatened the project.
Senate energy bill seeks to end contentious gas pipe replacement program
The bill reveals just how deep a chasm has formed between the Legislature’s two Democratic-controlled branches over energy policy after the House passed its version in February
A climate chief in an era of Trump and energy affordability: Does Melissa Hoffer still get a say?
Given how dramatically the landscape has changed around climate change since Hoffer took office, an obvious question emerges: What exactly is her job? And what kind of influence does she hold within the Healey administration?
House committee strips Senate policy plans from environmental bond
The House Ways and Means Committee slimmed the Senate’s bond authorizations (S 3064) down by more than 20 percent, advancing a new draft Tuesday that would authorize $3.078 billion in borrowing compared to the Senate-supported $3.94 billion.
At Massport’s urging, Healey signs tax break for sustainable aviation fuel
Authorizing a pilot program like this is inviting a larger debate about how Massachusetts should weigh the complicated tradeoffs associated with reaching ambitious climate targets, especially for hard-to-decarbonize sectors like air travel.
Two-week pause of Canadian hydropower exposes frailty of Mass. plan to wean off natural gas
The two setbacks signal the continued challenges ahead for how to bring on new clean energy sources to move off fossil fuels and meet growing power needs while maintaining reliability.
Massachusetts’s slow adoption of EV chargers through federal program is ‘mystifying’ to transit advocates
While Massachusetts ranks fourth in the country for charging ports per capita after a sharp increase in installments over the past few years, the state is still about 2,000 charging ports short of what it estimates it needs.
Political Notebook: A notable absence in the ‘Nature for Massachusetts’ coalition
The Environmental League of Massachusetts, one of the state’s oldest advocacy organizations, is sitting out a ballot campaign backed by some of the bigger names in environmental advocacy.
State regulators are weighing how much to crack down on leaky gas pipes
DEP’s program review is one slice of the central debate animating the dynamic between regulators and the gas companies: whether and how fast the utilities should shift away from delivering gas to customers — their current business model.
Controversial private jet expansion proposal at Hanscom faces setbacks as developers look to move project ahead
The proposed hangar expansion has roiled activists and officials alike. Critics fear that a spike in air traffic will bring extra noise and emissions, as private flights are widely considered to be the most polluting source of transportation.
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
