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 […]
Energy
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] […]
Posted inEnvironment
February 19 is deadline for new climate change law
IN THE WANING hours of the 2019–2020 legislative session, the Massachusetts House and Senate passed a climate bill that would have taken important steps toward a cleaner, healthier, safer future. […]
Posted inEnvironment
Theoharides explains $6b cost figure
THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE between Gov. Charlie Baker and the Legislature on climate change legislation comes down to an issue where the two sides don’t seem very far apart at all. […]
Posted inOpinion
The best way to use our ‘available’ wood
MASSACHUSETTS GENERATES a lot of wood. Sturbridge, for example, spent more than $300,000 removing trees killed by drought and gypsy moths. Utilities, local and state governments, and private contractors chop […]
Posted inEnvironment
Questions on Baker’s $6b climate change cost estimate
THE SENATE’S POINT person on climate change legislation said he doesn’t know where Gov. Charlie Baker came up with his estimate that the Legislature’s target for emissions reductions in 2030 […]
Posted inOpinion
Debunking Baker’s 6 reasons for climate veto
ON THURSDAY, Gov. Charlie Baker announced he would veto the Next Generation Road Map climate bill, a bill that would take a big step forward in advancing Massachusetts’ response to […]
Posted inEnvironment
In veto letter, Baker objects to a lot in climate change bill
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday “reluctantly” vetoed a sweeping climate change bill sent to him by the Legislature, saying there were a number of provisions in the legislation “to which […]
Posted inOpinion
For Baker, crunch time on climate change
LAST WEEK, a bipartisan climate bill passed with overwhelming majorities in the Massachusetts House and Senate. Gov. Charlie Baker now has to choose – by Thursday at midnight – between cementing his and […]
Posted inEnvironment
Mayflower Wind cutting its price 10%
MAYFLOWER WIND is cutting its price for delivering electricity to Massachusetts customers by roughly 10 percent with the help of a new federal tax credit included in the recent COVID-19 […]
Posted inOpinion
Baker is wrong to subsidize wood burning
GOVS. CHARLIE BAKER of Massachusetts and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan were featured US officials at the fifth anniversary celebration of the Paris Climate Agreement. Their presence demonstrated that state leaders, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Climate bill would clear up solar tax confusion
THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE is set to clarify a confusing and outdated tax law, which had been stymying solar projects around the state. A compromise hammered out between the state’s assessors […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Lawmakers release compromise climate change bill
HOUSE AND SENATE negotiators released a compromise climate change bill on Sunday afternoon that lays out a fairly detailed roadmap for reaching the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 and […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker emissions roadmap sets ambitious targets
This story was updated at 2:30 p.m. THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION on Wednesday rolled out a draft plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade that calls for energy […]
Posted inOpinion
Wait, we’re number 2?
LIKE THE FAMOUS Avis commercial says: when you’re number two, you gotta try harder! When it comes to energy efficiency policy, that is the unfamiliar position Massachusetts now finds itself […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Mass. no longer most energy-efficient state
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER NINE YEARS at the top of a list that state officials regularly tout, Massachusetts is no longer considered to be the most energy-efficient state in […]
Posted inOpinion
Solar revolution is stalled, needs to shift into gear
AFTER FOUR YEARS of denying climate science and downplaying its consequences, the federal government is on the cusp of a new era. Although deep political divides persist on many issues, there is one […]
Posted inUncategorized
Confusion over tax status stymies solar projects
AN OUTDATED LAW and a series of rulings by an obscure tax board are throwing the state’s landscape for solar projects into disarray. The question revolves around whether commercial solar […]
Posted inEnvironment
Top Baker aide says full steam ahead with TCI
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S top environmental official indicated on Monday that the administration is moving full steam ahead with a regional effort to put a price on the carbon contained in […]
Posted inEnvironment
Climate initiative could push gas prices higher than forecast
A REGIONAL EFFORT led by Gov. Charlie Baker to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by putting a price on the carbon in vehicle fuels is likely to drive up the price […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Weymouth settles compressor fight, collects $10m
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE TOWN OF WEYMOUTH will drop its ongoing legal fight against a controversial natural gas project, and energy giant Enbridge will pay the municipality $10 million […]
Posted inEnvironment
DPU orders gas utilities to rethink their future
THE MASSACHUSETTS Department of Public Utilities on Thursday ordered the state’s natural gas utilities to jointly hire consultants and come up with a way to dramatically phase down or eliminate […]
Posted inEnvironment
N.E. governors seek bigger say in power policies
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER and four other New England governors made a push on Friday for a much bigger say in the way the region’s electricity markets are regulated and governed, […]
Posted inEnvironment
5 N.E. governors criticize grid operator
THE GOVERNORS of five of the six New England states, including Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, issued a statement that appeared to criticize the operator of the region’s power grid […]
