Avangrid’s Ken Kimmell said his company can get its Commonwealth Wind project back on track with “a very modest increase” in the price state ratepayers would pay for the electricity. […]
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Posted inEnergy
Lawmakers walk tightrope on wind power contracts
THE LEGISLATURE’S ENERGY experts say it makes sense to penalize CommonWealth Wind and Mayflower Wind if they default on their recently approved power purchase contracts, but the lawmakers don’t want […]
Posted inEnvironment
Grid operator urges slower transition on renewables
THE NEW ENGLAND power grid operator filed a proposal with federal regulators on Monday seeking more time to come up with a system for incorporating clean energy into the region’s […]
Posted inThe Download
Rules feud leads to 2 takes on committee hearing
A correction has been added to this story. The joint in the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy has gone missing. On Wednesday morning, for example, House members […]
Posted inThe Download
Lawmakers walk tightrope on wind power contracts
The Legislature’s energy experts say it makes sense to penalize CommonWealth Wind and Mayflower Wind if they default on their recently approved power purchase contracts, but the lawmakers don’t want […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Senate leader calls for banning Avangrid from future projects
THE SENATE’S top budget official is calling for Avangrid to be banned from bidding on any future projects in the state if it terminates its current offshore wind contract. Avangrid […]
Posted inOpinion
Getting to yes on climate change response
CLIMATE CHANGE is real. So too is a massive transformation underway of electric power generation markets and transmission networks. That transformation is largely driven by public policies focused on electrification […]
Posted inThe Download
Black redistricting plaintiff doesn’t mind ruffling feathers
THE LAWSUIT CHALLENGING Boston’s city council redistricting map has often been portrayed as a showdown pitting the council’s four White, more moderate members, who objected to its boundaries, against its […]
Posted inThe Download
What’s behind the pipeline debate in governor’s race?
Q: Why are the two candidates running for governor, Democrat Maura Healey and Republican Geoff Diehl, arguing about natural gas pipelines that never got built? A: It’s actually a very […]
Posted inOpinion
Repurpose, don’t scrap, existing pipeline infrastructure
THE RACE to net zero emissions is on, and we have a lot of work to do to get there and not a lot of time to do it. Nowhere […]
Posted inThe Download
Grid operator urges slower transition on renewables
The New England power grid operator filed a proposal with federal regulators on Monday seeking more time to come up with a system for incorporating clean energy into the region’s […]
Posted inOpinion
We need to move away from reliance on natural gas
OUR REGIONAL grid operator seems ready to admit that overdependence on gas is the main reason our region’s power grid can be unreliable in cold weather, yet it remains to […]
Posted inThe Download
Team Wu pushes back on rent control alarms
NO, THE SKY is not falling. That was the message on Wednesday from Wu administration officials who sought to counter the alarms being sounded by Boston’s real estate industry, which […]
Posted inThe Download
With Commonwealth Wind out, focus turns to Mayflower
AVANGRID PULLED ITS Commonwealth Wind project out of the latest Massachusetts offshore wind procurement on Friday, and now many are wondering what the lone remaining participant, Mayflower Wind, will do. When […]
Posted inOpinion
Natural gas bottleneck hurting New England
FOR ALMOST THREE decades, natural gas use has continued to grow in New England, while the number of pipelines feeding the region has remained stagnant. Demand has increased while supply […]
Posted inEnvironment
Close calls as region’s power grid walks a tightrope
This story has been updated. THE OVERSEER of the New England power grid warned on Monday that the region is walking a tightrope this winter, flirting with emergency situations that […]
Posted inThe Download
Lantern closure shakes marijuana delivery market
There’s another major shakeup coming in the already-struggling marijuana delivery industry, with the impending closure of one of the largest marketing websites in Massachusetts. Lantern, a website where consumers can […]
Posted inEnvironment
Mass.-financed power line in Maine is a mess
AFTER A DAY-LONG Zoom hearing Monday on the proposed transmission line carrying hydroelectricity from Quebec into Maine, there is only one conclusion: What a mess. The transmission line, designed to […]
Posted inOpinion
Plotting the future of the region’s power grid
DRIVE AROUND MASSACHUSETTS and you’d be hard pressed not to see a home with solar panels. Wind turbines are spinning over the Berkshires and coastal communities, with more planned for […]
Posted inEnvironment
Grid operator nervous about energy constraints
THE HEAD OF THE New England power grid said on Monday that energy supply constraints in the region continue to make him nervous, and he said the situation has been […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker calls Maine ballot fight ‘a big deal’
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER indicated he will be closely watching what happens in Maine on Tuesday, where voters will decide the fate of a ballot question that could block construction of […]
Posted inUncategorized
2 key hurdles face Mass. power line to Quebec
A PROPOSED power line bringing hydroelectricity from Quebec into New England via Maine faces two key hurdles in the coming months that could make or break climate change efforts in […]
Posted inEnvironment
Power politics in Maine
MASSACHUSETTS OFFICIALS are counting on a Maine court to overturn a law passed in early November by 59 percent of Maine voters so a power line carrying hydroelectricity from Quebec […]
Posted inEnvironment
Maine voters tell Mass. to stick its transmission line
MAINE VOTERS delivered a shock to Massachusetts on Tuesday, overwhelmingly approving a ballot question that would block the Bay State’s bid to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels by building […]