STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WARNING ENERGY COSTS WILL RISE as the state aims to meet the 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals of its Global Warming Solutions Act, a new […]
Electricity
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Cape Wind goes to court again
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Cape Wind, the offshore wind project planned for Nantucket Sound, has not given up despite some serious setbacks, and this week appealed to the Supreme Judicial […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Assessing risk in the state’s energy debate
THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL ENERGY POLICY issue pending before the Commonwealth – rivaled perhaps only by the solar debates – has been the proposal to expand natural gas pipelines into New […]
Posted inOpinion
Offshore wind can be price competitive
For years, supporters have made a convincing case that offshore wind power can play a central role in scrubbing the air we breathe of millions of tons of carbon dioxide […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Hydro-wind combo would save customers $171m
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A NEW STUDY ON THE IMPACT large-scale hydro and wind power imports could have on the Massachusetts energy market predicts significant savings for consumers, challenging the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Offshore wind better bet than hydro
IN A FEW WEEKS, the Massachusetts Legislature is likely to vote on a sweeping energy bill that will help determine how, from where, and from whom we get a substantial […]
Posted inPolitics
Time starting to run short for legislative bills
WITH THE STATE BUDGET expected to tie up the House the rest of this month, time is starting to run short for other bills to make it through the legislative […]
Posted inUncategorized
Solar net metering bill moving fast
COMPROMISE SOLAR NET METERING LEGISLATION that allows the industry to resume expansion while reining in some costs borne by ratepayers appears likely to hit the governor’s desk by the end […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Solar negotiators reach a deal
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FIVE MONTHS OF NEGOTIATIONS resulted in a deal Tuesday between House and Senate leaders to raise the cap on the amount of energy that public and […]
Posted inUncategorized
Cape Wind appeals permit extension rejection
CAPE WIND IS URGING A STATE BOARD to overrule its staff and grant an extension of a permit needed to run a power line from the proposed wind farm in […]
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 inOpinion
Solar power is not a zero sum game
MORE BAY STATERS ARE BENEFITTING from solar power than ever before.   Such widespread adoption of the technology represents a growing consumer desire to control and cut their electricity costs while […]
Posted inOpinion
Solar isn’t the cause of high electricity costs
LIKE MANY UTILITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, National Grid blames high electricity costs on net metering while claiming to protect ratepayers. But that’s not the real reason utilities object to this […]
Posted inThe Download
Utilities, environmentalists duke it out on energy policy
While lawmakers on Beacon Hill are debating energy legislation in private, the state’s environmental advocacy groups and utilities are making their respective arguments in public. The Acadia Center today wraps […]
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
Utilities aren’t afraid of solar
IN 2009, MASSACHUSETTS DECOUPLED our electricity rates, eliminating the incentive for us at National Grid to sell more electricity to our customers. This change in the way we do business […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker amenable to offshore wind
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Tuesday that he would support omnibus energy legislation that would spur the development of offshore wind, but he stopped short of backing a special carveout […]
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
Legislature should commit to offshore wind power
THERE’S A CONVERSATION UNDERWAY right now on Beacon Hill that has the potential to unleash the next American energy revolution and create tens of thousands of jobs here in the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Study prices out offshore wind
A UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE STUDY suggests offshore wind off the coast of Massachusetts can yield electricity at much lower prices than previously forecast, but only if policymakers green-light the development […]
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
DeLeo officially backs offshore wind
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO on Wednesday made official what his lieutenants have been saying, that the omnibus energy bill scheduled to come up for a vote in April will include […]
Posted inEnvironment
Beaton offers no commitment on offshore wind
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION’S POINT PERSON on energy told an offshore wind conference on Tuesday that the governor is very interested in the technology, but offered no commitments. Matthew Beaton, the […]
Posted inEnvironment
House leaders: Price key in energy bill
HOUSE LEADERS, OFFERING UP SOME TANTALIZING CLUES about the omnibus energy legislation they are developing, said the bill will emerge sometime around mid-April and deal in some fashion or another […]