Below is an edited version of testimony delivered by to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities on contracts to purchase hydro-electricity from Hydro-Quebec via a transmission line being built by […]
Search results
Posted inEnvironment
Another skirmish in the pipeline wars
THE LATEST PIPELINE SKIRMISH centers around the two-week cold snap New England endured at the end of December and early January. Massachusetts businesses groups last week released a study that […]
Posted inOpinion
State should reopen review of East Boston substation
OUR COUNTRY’S CLIMATE story is full of horrors – swelling sea levels, toxic pollution, crushing heat, historic hurricanes, and fires leaving unimaginable wreckage in their wake. But underneath these headlines […]
Posted inOpinion
Save the planet and money at the same time
THE AMERICAN OIL AND GAS industry spends a fortune trying to convince us that renewable, clean power sources like wind, solar, and geothermal are still unreliable and expensive. As mayor […]
Posted inThe Download
Metro Boston, free subway paper, shuts down
Metro Boston, the free daily tabloid known for its provocative front pages, abruptly ceased operations Wednesday after providing commuters with news for nearly two decades. The Boston Business Journal’s Don […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Weymouth gas project gets final state OK
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A CONTROVERSIAL NATURAL GAS PROJECT planned for a densely populated waterfront area cleared the final major permitting hurdle Tuesday, further riling opponents who had hoped state […]
Posted inEnvironment
Feds call for more study on Vineyard Wind
IN A DECISION that could derail Vineyard Wind, federal regulators on Friday put their review of the project on hold temporarily while they seek to better understand the cumulative impact […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Vineyard Wind, backed by Baker, plays power politics
A SHARP-ELBOWED GAME of power politics surfaced publicly on Thursday as it became clear that Vineyard Wind, backed by Gov. Charlie Baker, had sought and failed to participate more fully […]
Posted inOpinion
Debunking the fracked gas fairy tale
IN APRIL, Tom Andrews wrote an opinion piece that appeared in CommonWealth calling for more fracked gas energy, claiming it “plays a critical role when it comes to cost and […]
Posted inOpinion
2 views on Vineyard Wind delay
INITIALLY, MEMBERS of the Massachusetts congressional delegation were harshly critical of the Trump administration for putting off a decision about the environmental impact statement of Vineyard Wind, the 800 megawatt […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Mass. hydro project showers benefits on Maine
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE ROAD HAS BEEN CLEARED of significant hurdles for the New England Clean Energy Connect project to bring clean hydropower from Quebec to Massachusetts, and Maine […]
Posted inEnvironment
Region’s electricity market in trouble
GORDON VAN WELIE is sitting in a conference room in Holyoke. Behind him is a bank of windows that look down on a control room with a massive screen showing […]
Posted inOpinion
Three takes on natural gas
The following three opinion pieces all focus on the great divide in Massachusetts over natural gas and its accompanying infrastructure. Baker’s mixed record on climate change Craig Altemose EARLIER […]
Posted inOpinion
Hydro-Québec’s greenwashing game
IN A RECENT COMMENTARY PIECE, “Sierra Club fires back on Québec hydro,” the Sierra Club explained why electricity imported from Québec is not clean. The focus was on the adverse […]
Posted inEnvironment
R.I. offshore wind price bit higher than Mass.
WHEN MASSACHUSETTS AND Rhode Island began exploring the construction of wind farms off the coast, there was a lot of debate about whether to start big or start small. Those […]
Posted inUncategorized
Afterglow at issue with Pilgrim nuke plant
RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS UNDERGO a chemical decay transforming the matter into a whole different element. Similarly, nuclear power plants receive a second life that extends long after the turbines stop spinning. […]
Posted inEnvironment
Why are electricity prices spiking this winter?
RETAIL ELECTRICITY PRICES are going up this winter in eastern Massachusetts because of the price spike that occurred during an extreme cold spell last winter. The explanation for the rising […]
Posted inThe Download
Afterglow at issue with Pilgrim nuke plant
Radioactive elements undergo a chemical decay transforming the matter into a whole different element. Similarly, nuclear power plants receive a second life that extends long after the turbines stop spinning. […]
Posted inOpinion
Pipeline charges prompt lots of questions
ACCUSATIONS AND INVESTIGATIONS are underway in response to an academic white paper posted by the Environmental Defense Fund concerning artificially created pipeline capacity constraints and resultant spikes in energy prices. […]
Posted inThe Download
R.I. offshore wind price bit higher than Mass.
When Massachusetts and Rhode Island began exploring the construction of wind farms off the coast, there was a lot of debate about whether to start big or start small. Those […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Sorting out our perverse electricity markets
THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT by developers of the Access Northeast natural gas pipeline that they are suspending the project until legislation allows for electric ratepayer financing of pipelines illustrates a major […]
Posted inOpinion
Let’s encourage offshore wind competition
THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR’S Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced last month that it will auction three new wind energy lease areas off the Massachusetts coast, instead of the two […]
Posted inThe Download
Markey leery of McConnell move on Green New Deal
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants to turn the Green New Deal into a new green wedge, and that has rankled US Sen. Ed Markey, a co-sponsor of the policy […]
Posted inEnvironment
Will MA hydro contract increase, or decrease, emissions?
MASSACHUSETTS SIGNED a $16 billion, 20-year contract to import hydro-electricity from Quebec to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but energy advocates and other power generators are saying the deal is unlikely […]