AS RESIDENTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH of Massachusetts, we live in a state where we spend more than over $22 billion a year on energy, about $18 billion of which we […]
Energy
Posted inEnvironment
Subsidize hydro
AS MASSACHUSETTS POLICYMAKERS seek to move today’s economy beyond the legacy of fossil fuel combustion, we’re forgetting our heritage. New England was a world-class industrial power in the early 19th […]
Posted inEnvironment
William Koch
CommonWealth’s Bruce Mohl interviewed William Koch by phone from his office in West Palm Beach on Feb. 20. Koch was with Brad Goldstein, his media representative. What follows is a […]
Posted inEnvironment
Jim Gordon
This slightly edited interview with Cape Wind’s James Gordon took place at his office at the Park Plaza Office Building in Boston on Feb. 28 at 10 a.m. in the […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Goodbye coal
The Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset was sold at a fire sale this week, another indicator of just how quickly the energy market is changing in New England.Brayton runs […]
Posted inEnvironment
Gordon: Cape Wind launches this year
CAPE WIND HONCHO James Gordon on Tuesday invited outgoing US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to the groundbreaking of his proposed wind farm off of Cape Cod later […]
Posted inEnvironment
Mass., 8 other states get serious on emissions
MASSACHUSETTS AND EIGHT OTHER STATES in the Northeast are starting to get serious about using regulation to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released by the region’s power plants. The […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
New England needs to expand gas pipelines
NEW ENGLAND’S STRONG and increasing reliance on natural gas is well documented, with almost half of electricity currently generated by natural gas, up from just 15 percent in 2000, according […]
Posted inEnvironment
Solar state
ON APRIL 17, 2007, Gov. Deval Patrick traveled to Marlborough to make two announcements. One was that Evergreen Solar was going to stay in Massachusetts and open a $150 million […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Boston ranks 9th in clean tech
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICEBuoyed by its academic research centers, Boston ranks among the top 10 metro regions in the country for its use and development of clean technology, though it […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Download
Drill, baby, drill
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney unveiled a “drill, baby, drill” energy plan yesterday that he says will make North America energy independent within eight years. The plan would open up […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Coal-fired power in state down to embers
Environmental activists rallied outside coal-fired power plants in Somerset and Holyoke this week, calling on Gov. Deval Patrick to shut the plants down. The activists don’t necessarily need political pressure […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Download
A blow to Cape Wind opponents
The never-ending Cape Wind battle has been somewhat like the fight between King Arthur and the Black Knight in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” with the Alliance to Protect […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Wind fall
Update: Gamesa, Mary O’Donnell’s turbine supplier, offers a comment. See below. Kingston was one of the first towns in the state to figure out a way to go green and […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, The Download
A123 looks to China
A Chinese company’s plan to invest in A123 Systems may save the Waltham battery maker, but the deal is another blow to the US economy and the country’s efforts to […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment
Solarize Massachusetts spreads to 17 towns
Massachusetts is rolling out a bulk-purchasing solar program to more than a dozen communities this summer that will allow homeowners to save as much as 30 percent on installations. Patterned […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Back Story
Keenan bends the rules
Rep. John Keenan is bending the rules on the construction of new power plants to benefit his home town of Salem, but he’s doing it in a very clever way. […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Download
Is going rural the key to opposition-free wind development?
Putting wind turbines in places where most people won’t come across them might be the key to easier wind development in Massachusetts. Monday’s Boston Globe featured a piece by Erin […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Natural gas: Good news and bad news
in january 2011, extremely cold temperatures enveloped New England, and demand for natural gas soared. Why does demand for natural gas matter to ISO New England, which operates the regional […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Out front on climate change
massinc’s recent research report, Rising to the Challenge: Assessing the Massachusetts Response to Climate Change, was billed as “the first independent assessment of state action on climate change.” We, at […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Environment, Politics
Murray rips NRC, Entergy
As the lockout of workers at the Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Plymouth continues amid stalled contract negotiations, Senate President Therese Murray had some harsh words Thursday for the Nuclear […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Back Story
Newton’s green gambit
Newton received a lot of favorable publicity earlier this month when it announced that the city would be the first in the state to purchase all of its electricity from […]
Posted inEconomy, Environment, The Download
Pilgrim relicensing reaches critical mass
Nuclear power plants are a lot like baseball umpires: It’s far better for everyone when you don’t hear their names. But the Pilgrim power plant in Plymouth is receiving a […]
Posted inEnvironment, The Download
Mass. energy innovation is heard loud and clear
Massachusetts is living up to its reputation as a center of clean energy innovation and entrepreneurship, but it’s also showing that in the zeal to go green there’s a danger […]