VIC GATTO has been a tireless campaigner for the 42-megawatt biomass power plant in East Springfield that his company wants to build over widespread community opposition. But in his effort to ostensibly […]
Energy
Posted inEnvironment
Baker administration ‘very pleased’ with climate change bill
WITH BOTH BRANCHES of the Legislature approving climate change legislation by veto-proof majorities, the Baker administration on Thursday declared victory and signaled that the governor will sign the bill into […]
Posted inEconomy
Mass. gasoline prices up 28 cents in last month
JUST A LITTLE over a year ago wholesale crude oil prices went into negative territory, meaning demand was so low and storage space so scarce that for the first time […]
Posted inEnvironment
Boston’s next mayor must be bold on climate
“I WANT TO see a mandatory recycling ordinance,” the city councilor and mayoral candidate said to an audience of 40 environmentalists, “[with] 50 percent recycling in Boston in four years.” It would be […]
Posted inEnvironment
Senate passes climate change bill 39-1
THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE passed climate change legislation on Monday by an overwhelming vote of 39-1, signaling the Legislature is unwilling to go along with several amendments sought by Gov. Charlie […]
Posted inOpinion
3 Massachusetts myths about offshore wind
MASSACHUSETTS MADE headlines a few years ago when it secured the nation’s first large-scale procurement of offshore wind, the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project. The Commonwealth was leading the way, planning […]
Posted inEnvironment
Republican delays action on climate change bill
THE SENATE REPUBLICAN leader, raising concerns about an attempt by Democrats to push climate change legislation through the chamber quickly on Thursday, used a parliamentary maneuver to delay action until […]
Posted inEnvironment
Senate stands pat on climate change legislation
THE SENATE is preparing to pass new climate change legislation that accepts some minor technical changes proposed by Gov. Charlie Baker but rejects compromise language the governor proposed on several […]
Posted inEnvironment
Biden administration moves forward on Vineyard Wind
THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION on Monday released its final environmental impact statement on the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project and indicated the analysis could gain final approval soon, paving the way […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Poll: Home energy upgrades could be challenge
THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE has once again sent a comprehensive climate bill to Gov. Charlie Baker, and this time Baker has sent it back with a series of amendments. While the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Biden accused of playing politics on Vineyard Wind
WHEN THE TRUMP administration dragged its feet on the environmental permitting of Vineyard Wind, wind energy proponents in Massachusetts and across the country cried foul, claiming politics was driving the […]
Posted inOpinion
Biomass plant COO says science on his side
THE PALMER RENEWABLE Energy biomass plant in Springfield will generate 42 megawatts of firm, clean green power. We have stayed silent during the on-going debate about our project in the hope that the multiyear permitting process and seven years of unsuccessful litigation […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t view Texas as an isolated event
THE RECENT MAJOR power outages in Texas can be viewed as isolated to the particular political and electric power system design in that state, but that would be a mistake. […]
Posted inOpinion
Baker’s $175m regulatory gift to biomass
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION and much of the Legislature is trying hard to give the developer of a controversial proposed wood-fired “biomass” power plant in Springfield everything it wants—especially a regulatory change […]
Posted inTransportation
State offers rebates on electric trucks
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is expanding the eligibility for an electric vehicle rebate program to include medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, hoping to capture some immediate environmental benefits […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Will developers block clean energy standards?
LATE IN THE last session, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a landmark climate bill targeting zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and mandating several mechanisms to achieve the goal. Gov. Baker vetoed […]
Posted inEnvironment
State environmental official resigns over climate comments
THE STATE’S UNDERSECRETARY of environmental affairs for climate change, who has come under fire for comments made to an environmental panel last month, resigned his post Wednesday night. David Ismay, […]
Posted inEnvironment
Did state enviro official say anything that outlandish?
STATE ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS undersecretary David Ismay has made outrageously reckless claims, and is in serious hot water. At least if you read the Boston Herald. The paper has been pummeling […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker takes more conciliatory tone on climate change bill
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER sent the Legislature’s twice-passed climate change bill back on Sunday with new, compromise language that strikes a more conciliatory tone and dials back some of his earlier […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker irked by undersecretary’s climate remarks
DAVID ISMAY, the Baker administration’s undersecretary for climate change, got into hot water with the governor on Friday after a video surfaced in which he appeared to say Massachusetts residents […]
Posted inOpinion
Baker take note: Net zero buildings make sense
THERE HAS BEEN a lot of misinformation flying around regarding Gov. Baker’s veto of groundbreaking climate legislation this month, but nothing has been more egregious than claims that provisions related […]
Posted inEnvironment
Let’s try this (climate change bill) again
WITH LITTLE FANFARE and no drama, the House and Senate on Thursday enacted and sent to the governor the same climate change bill he vetoed on January 14. The Senate […]
Posted inOpinion
No rules? No problem on Beacon Hill
THE VERY IMPORTANT rules debate is soon to be upon us, where lawmakers set forth the framework under which the entirety of the two-year legislative session will take place. Just […]
Posted inOpinion
Pass the climate change bill again
IN VETOING An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy,Gov, Charlie Baker contradicted his stated commitment to climate leadership, undermined the state’s clean energy sector, and dealt a[nother] […]