MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE SPEAKER Ron Mariano on Thursday pledged to make major investments to turn the South Coast into “a hub of wind energy for the region.” Mariano, in a virtual speech […]
Environment
Posted inEnvironment
Somerset struggles amid slow rollout of offshore wind
WHEN A ST. LOUIS company bought the massive coal-fired Brayton Point power plant in Somerset in 2018, the firm was viewed far and wide as a white knight riding to […]
Posted inOpinion
Despite his claims, science is not on Vic Gatto’s side
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 […]
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 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 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 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
Baker moves on quickly from Ismay
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER quickly moved on Wednesday after the resignation of his top climate change advisor, declining to even thank him for his service. At a press conference at the […]
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] […]
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. […]
