EVERY YEAR, as countless endangered sea turtles migrate south along the Massachusetts shore to escape the cold, they become trapped in Cape Cod Bay’s freezing waters. Dedicated staff and volunteers with Mass Audubon carefully walk along the Cape’s beaches to rescue the stranded turtles and deliver them to the New England Aquarium to receive treatment, […]
Environment
Posted inEnergy, Environment, State Government
Green bank to target building decarbonization
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH AN EYE on the state’s mid-century greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments, Gov. Maura Healey announced Tuesday the launch of a “green bank” that she hopes will attract private investment and federal money to pay for building retrofits and new construction of decarbonized buildings in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Community Climate Bank […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Mass. offshore wind developers could forfeit more than $100m
THE TWO wind farms seeking to terminate their Massachusetts power purchase agreements may have to forfeit tens of millions of dollars, according to the House’s energy leader. Rep. Jeffrey Roy of Franklin, the House chair of the Legislature’s Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy Committee, said Commonwealth Wind would forfeit $48 million and SouthCoast Wind would lose $60 […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
NY offshore wind developers also seek price relief
MAJOR OFFSHORE wind developers in New York say their projects may no longer be financially viable unless regulators amend their power purchase agreements to include adjustments for inflation and interconnection costs. In petitions filed with state regulators on Wednesday, the New York wind farm operators followed the same script as developers in Massachusetts, who say […]
Posted inOpinion
Lawmakers should back Make Polluters Pay bill
IN MAY, the Massachusetts House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources heard testimony from a large number of voters who had descended on the State House to urge the committee to move forward what is being called the Make Polluters Pay bill. The legislation would generate $75 billion over 25 years from the biggest greenhouse […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
SouthCoast Wind pulling out of its wind farm deal
A clarification has been added to this story. SOUTHCOAST WIND said on Monday that it is moving to terminate its existing offshore wind contracts with Massachusetts and hoping to rebid them at higher prices in the state’s next procurement. The announcement ended months of vacillation by SouthCoast. The company, a joint venture of Shell New […]
Posted inOpinion
Wildlands, the natural answer to climate change
NEW ENGLAND is not immune to the global ecological crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, which both threaten human health and safety. With little time to act, we are racing to make up for decades of inaction and are leaning heavily on technology and intervention, from industrial-scale wind generation on mountain ridgelines and off […]
Posted inEnvironment
Proposed Cape Cod machine gun range draws fire
CAPE COD may be known for ocean breezes, waterbirds, and maybe some raucous seaside vacationers rolling through. But along one stretch, that could include the sound of more than a million bullets fired each year. A years-long dust-up between Cape residents, local government officials, environmental advocacy groups, and the Massachusetts Army National Guard spun into […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, Opinion
We must pursue a real plan for net-zero emissions by 2050
AS THE COMMONWEALTH moves forward with its ambitious mandate to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, it’s essential that we have a real plan for implementing a real solution. Failure to adopt a concrete plan at best means piecemeal, uncoordinated and inefficient action. At worst, it could mean major disruption and harm to workers and ratepayers. A full […]
Posted inEnvironment
Coastal flood maps leave homeowners in the lurch
MASSACHUSETTS IS ONE of 15 states that has no flood disclosure requirements for a potential homebuyer, so residents usually turn to maps developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to see if their houses are vulnerable. A new report from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council suggests those maps, which tend to focus on coastal and […]