Since the Shippingport Atomic Power Plant in Pennsylvania went online nearly 60 years ago, becoming the first peacetime use of nuclear power in the world, proponents have touted the low […]
Energy
Posted inOpinion
Inaction is driving solar firm out of Mass
THERE ARE 400 SOLAR COMPANIES working throughout the value chain in Massachusetts and I’m proud to own one of them. When I started my business, Sustainable Energy Professionals (SEP), our […]
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 inThe Back Story
Inside the solar negotiations
A legislative conference committee trying to bridge a philosophical gap between the House and Senate on solar power is making progress, but some new stumbling blocks are emerging. Sources familiar […]
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
100 reps break ranks on solar
A GROUP OF 100 state representatives broke ranks with House leadership on Tuesday, urging six lawmakers trying to broker a legislative compromise on solar energy to hew more closely to […]
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 […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Building an electric vehicle charging network
THE GOVERNORS OF 17 STATES, including Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, came together recently to forge an agreement to develop cleaner energy and transportation solutions for our nation. The pact, known […]
Posted inOpinion
Solar industry favors incentive reductions
The CommonWealth Back Story on Thursday (“Listen to what’s not said about solar” by Bruce Mohl) sheds important light on the heated debate over net metering and the fate of […]
Posted inEnvironment
Healey pushes for delay on pipeline contracts
ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY on Thursday sought to delay action on a bid by Eversource Energy to tap its electric ratepayers for money to finance a natural gas pipeline expansion […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Listen to what’s not said about solar
In the increasingly contentious debate over solar energy, listen to what’s not said as much as what is said. The state’s utilities and their business allies talk about the high […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion, Politics
DeLeo is the reason solar on hold
THERE IS A GROWING SENTIMENT of frustration among the business community in Massachusetts. As businesses from manufacturing to service, small to large, and from all corners of Massachusetts met with […]
Posted inEnvironment
Moody’s raises concerns in wake of power auction
MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE on Tuesday issued a negative outlook for the region’s power generators in the wake of a very successful auction held last week to secure electricity supplies for […]
Posted inEnvironment
Auction yields plenty of power for 2019-2020
NEW ENGLAND POWER GRID OFFICIALS appear to be having little problem meeting future electricity demand, but most of the new power plants coming on line run primarily on natural gas, […]