SOMETHING IS MISSING from our roadmap to net-zero emissions: the input of the people living in communities that will be most impacted by our future energy decisions. Why are their […]
Plugging In
Energy and the Environment
Posted inOpinion
Power grid most important piece of climate puzzle
IN FIVE OR SO YEARS, many of you will drive a car that you plug in at night rather than fill at the pump. You’ll keep your homes warm with […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Healey announces 3-state offshore wind procurement
NERVOUS ABOUT rising prices for offshore wind power, the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut are banding together to solicit larger wind farm projects that hopefully will come with […]
Posted inEnergy
DPU approves termination of SouthCoast wind contract
THE MASSACHUSETTS Department of Public Utilities on Monday gave its blessing to an agreement terminating offshore wind contracts between the state’s three utilities and SouthCoast Wind, even as utilities in […]
Posted inEnergy, Opinion
It makes no sense to eliminate the competitive electricity market
THIS PAST YEAR has not been kind to Massachusetts electric ratepayers—at least some of them. For customers who do not shop and choose their own energy provider, the average residential rate […]
Posted inEnergy
Utilities need to stop building natural gas infrastructure
THIS SUMMER, the Commonwealth and our neighbors across New England have experienced the hottest month on record, historic flooding, and dangerous levels of air pollution. These unprecedented, unnatural disasters have put our […]
Posted inOpinion
Workforce ready to reach clean energy goals
OUR COMMONWEALTH is beginning a revolutionary energy transformation and the steps we take now will dramatically shape our climate and economic future. From strategic and inclusive workforce development, to building […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
SouthCoast Wind agrees to pay $60m to terminate power purchase agreements
THE DEVELOPER of SouthCoast Wind on Tuesday agreed to pay more than $60 million to the state’s three leading utilities to terminate power purchase agreements the company negotiated last year […]
Posted inEnergy
DPU approves termination of offshore wind contract
THE MASSACHUSETTS Department of Public Utilities on Wednesday approved without comment the termination of an offshore wind power purchase agreement negotiated between Eversource and Commonwealth Wind and approved by the […]
Posted inEnergy, Opinion
A game plan for bridging the coming energy divide
WHENEVER THERE IS a major transition, there is often a divide between the haves and the have-nots. Consider the digital divide. To this day, some communities still don’t have broadband […]
Posted inEnergy
Avangrid agrees to pay $48m to terminate offshore wind deal
AVANGRID AND THE STATE’S three major utilities on Monday agreed to terminate a power purchase agreement they signed just last year, with the offshore wind developer agreeing to pay a total […]
Posted inEnergy, State Government
House provision would allow renegotiation of hydro contracts
A SPENDING BILL coming up for action in the Massachusetts House contains a provision that would allow the terms of a massive 2019 contract for hydropower from Quebec to be […]
Posted inEnergy
Shift in thinking on nuclear power
ATTITUDES TOWARD nuclear power are changing in Europe and here in Massachusetts. The Swedish parliament voted recently to change the country’s energy goal from 100 percent renewable to 100 percent […]
Posted inEnergy
Why Barnstable is integral to offshore wind plans
PEOPLE FLOCK TO Barnstable for the beaches, but offshore wind developers are coming to that section of Cape Cod for a different reason. Ken Kimmell, vice president of offshore wind […]
Posted inEnergy
Grid shifts to operating reserves to deal with transmission outage
THE NEW ENGLAND power grid experienced a transmission outage at 6 p.m. Wednesday night and dealt with the electricity shortage by tapping resources it keeps on standby to deal with […]
Posted inEnergy
Mass. solar potential called enormous
THE HEALEY ADMINISTRATION unveiled a new mapping tool on Thursday that suggests the state has the potential to generate an enormous amount of solar power. In a press release, the […]
Posted inEnergy
Campbell at odds with Healey on offshore wind
ATTORNEY GENERAL Andrea Campbell and Gov. Maura Healey are the closest of political allies, but they are staking out very different positions on the state’s next offshore wind procurement. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Oil is not a good bridge fuel to the future
THE FEDERAL ENERGY Regulatory Commission (FERC) came to Portland, Maine, this week to discuss with policymakers from across the region the challenge of keeping the lights on while reducing the […]
Posted inEnergy
R.I. official: Offshore wind regulators facing ‘Hobson’s choice’
A TOP REGULATOR in Rhode Island is raising concerns about the way offshore wind developers are seeking to renegotiate the financial terms of their projects, saying policymakers are facing “a […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Mass. offshore wind developers could forfeit more than $100m
THE TWO wind farms seeking to terminate their Massachusetts power purchase agreements may have to forfeit tens of millions of dollars, according to the House’s energy leader. Rep. Jeffrey Roy of […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
NY offshore wind developers also seek price relief
MAJOR OFFSHORE wind developers in New York say their projects may no longer be financially viable unless regulators amend their power purchase agreements to include adjustments for inflation and interconnection […]
Posted inEnergy
SouthCoast Wind report suggests pricey future for offshore wind
A REPORT COMMISSIONED by SouthCoast Wind indicates the cost of building and operating US offshore wind farms has risen by more than 20 percent since 2019, suggesting the Massachusetts procurement […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
SouthCoast Wind pulling out of its wind farm deal
A clarification has been added to this story. SOUTHCOAST WIND said on Monday that it is moving to terminate its existing offshore wind contracts with Massachusetts and hoping to rebid […]
Posted inEnergy
A new way to connect offshore wind power to the grid
THE OWNER OF the Canal Station power plants in Sandwich is telling state regulators it may have an easier way for offshore wind farms to feed their electricity into the […]