PILGRIM STATION, the nuclear power plant in Plymouth, took itself offline Thursday afternoon, adding uncertainty to efforts by the New England power grid operator to meet electricity demand as a […]
Energy
Posted inEnvironment
Cold snap putting squeeze on oil-fired power plants
NEW ENGLAND’S POWER GRID OPERATOR said on Tuesday that the system is “operating under normal conditions,” but warned that the prolonged cold snap is driving up wholesale electricity prices and […]
Posted inOpinion
Businesses want stronger clean energy mandates
FOR CENTURIES, MASSACHUSETTS has been a national hub for innovation. With cutting edge academic institutions, a superb health care sector, and a thriving real estate market, the commonwealth is an […]
Posted inOpinion
The terrible price of inaction
THIS WEEK NEW ENGLAND reached the terrible distinction of having the most expensive natural gas in the world. You read that correctly: Not just the highest natural gas prices in […]
Posted inEnvironment
Frigid weather causing spike in natural gas prices
FRIGID LOW TEMPERATURES are pushing up energy demand across New England, sending the price of natural gas soaring and prompting many of the region’s power generators to switch from gas […]
Posted inEnvironment
Offshore wind: Start big or small?
THE THREE COMPANIES VYING to build the first major offshore wind farm in the United States filed their proposals on Wednesday with Massachusetts officials. Each of the firms kept their […]
Posted inOpinion
Electric vehicle charging gets a jump
MASSACHUSETTS TOOK A MAJOR STEP toward its goal of 300,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2025 when the Department of Public Utilities last week approved the nation’s largest electric […]
Posted inOpinion
S. Coast lawmakers push offshore wind project
The following is a letter sent to Matthew Beaton, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs, on December 12 by Rep. Patricia Haddad of Somerset and cosigned by Sen. Michael […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. should import wind power from Canada
RIGHT NOW, New England’s energy future sits at a crossroads. The New England states have made some of the most ambitious clean energy and carbon emission reduction goals in the […]
Posted inOpinion
Hydro-Quebec power is not what we want
OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, the Baker Administration will be making billion-dollar decisions about the kind of energy that will be powering our homes, businesses, and municipalities for decades to […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker tries to kickstart energy storage business
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION on Thursday handed out $20 million in energy storage grants, an attempt to kickstart an industry that holds promise in reducing peak electricity demand and increasing the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Maine utility: Our hydro project has lowest cost
IN THE PUBLIC JOCKEYING for a multibillion-dollar clean energy contract with Massachusetts, Central Maine Power on Wednesday said its project would deliver the largest amount of hydroelectricity from Quebec at […]
Posted inEnvironment
Who’s behind consumer energy group?
A GROUP CALLED Consumers for Sensible Energy is refusing to say who is bankrolling the operation amid reports that the Newton-based organization is linked to a similar-type outfit in New […]
Posted inEnvironment
Cape Wind calls it quits
THE DEVELOPER BEHIND CAPE WIND, who sought to pioneer offshore wind power in the United States but never managed to shake legal challenges from locals led by billionaire William Koch, […]
Posted inUncategorized
DPU cuts Eversource rate hike by 60%
THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES on Thursday cut Eversource Energy’s overall rate hike request by 60 percent, turning aside the company’s bid for $90.8 million and allowing an increase […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s time for outrage in business community
OVER THE YEARS, the four major groups representing commercial and industrial (C&I)customers in proceedings berfore the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities — Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the Energy Consortium, […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. needs to put a price on carbon
SINCE THE TRUMP administration stands alone as the only national government in the world rejecting the Paris Climate Agreement, states across the U.S. are standing up, saying “We Are still […]
Posted inThe Download
Brayton Point sale in works
Redevelopment of the 300-acre decommissioned Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset is set to begin, but is likely to be a slow process. The owner of the massive facility, which […]
Posted inEnvironment
Natl. Grid finds novel way to lobby clean energy procurement
NATIONAL GRID, which has been raising concerns about the Massachusetts procurement process for clean energy, found a novel way to make its case: enlist the help of the New Hampshire […]
Posted inOpinion
Report raises doubts about gas ‘crisis’
EVERSOURCE AND OTHER REGIONAL UTILITIES have long claimed that New England desperately needs new natural gas pipelines to meet electricity demand, with the “polar vortex” of 2013-14 as a prime […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Baker refuses to disavow new pipeline capacity
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE DEFENDING HIS ADMINISTRATION’S COMMITMENT to developing clean energy sources, Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday responded to activists who are aggressively pressing him to take steps to […]
Posted inEnvironment
Eversource touts N. Pass ‘certainty’
EVERSOURCE ENERGY on Thursday once again insisted its problem-plagued Northern Pass transmission project is on track and the best solution to Massachusetts’ clean energy needs. In a conference call with […]
Posted inOpinion
Paying environmental tribute to neighboring states
THE BIDS ARE IN: Developers of transmission for hydroelectric energy from Canada, wind from Maine, and solar power from all over New England sharpened their pencils, negotiated with property owners, […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, State House News Service
Eversource puts tab for memberships on ratepayers
EVERSOURCE ENERGY is pushing for state approval of a $284 million rate hike, and tucked inside all the documentation is paperwork seeking reimbursement for annual membership fees and dues the company pays to 74 business organizations and trade groups. In […]