THE TIME HAS COME to meet the promise of new jobs from the offshore wind industry. The main driver in my legislative support for offshore wind was the potential for […]
Plugging In
Energy and the Environment
Posted inOpinion
Solar gone wrong
JESSICA ROBERTSON and Daniel Berwick would be well-advised to take the advice they offer in their recent opinion piece that we should “shift the conversation from where solar shouldn’t go […]
Posted inOpinion
The municipal solution to climate change
AROUND THE WORLD, in the White House, and at our State House, leaders are finally beginning to respond to the climate challenge. Here in Massachusetts, we can take pride in […]
Posted inOpinion
Proposed Peabody gas plant, now on hold, makes sense
IT SHOULD COME as no surprise that people have questions and concerns when one of the leaders in clean energy in Massachusetts proposes building a new gas-fired power plant in […]
Posted inUncategorized
Mayflower Wind strikes Brayton Point deal
MAYFLOWER WIND, which is planning to bring ashore on Cape Cod the electricity generated by its first wind farm, said on Thursday that it intends to shift the landing point […]
Posted inOpinion
Without grid investments, clean power goals may not be met
AT A TIME our nation and the New England area faces the challenge of fostering economic recovery in the wake of a global pandemic, investment in our electricity transmission system […]
Posted inOpinion
Biomass is false solution to climate change
FOR TOO LONG, burning wood has been wrongly considered “clean” energy, when in fact it is bad for both the climate and human health. With two recent decisions, Massachusetts seems poised […]
Posted inEnvironment
Offshore wind gets a green light
AFTER YEARS of federal delays, Vineyard Wind on Tuesday gained approval from the Biden administration to construct the nation’s first industrial-scale wind farm 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. The […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker administration, Vineyard Wind schedule announcement
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION scheduled a press conference for Tuesday with top officials from Vineyard Wind “to discuss the future of offshore wind in Massachusetts,” prompting speculation that the offshore wind […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
State begins 3d procurement for offshore wind
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE’S ELECTRIC utilities and the Baker administration are back in the market for another offshore wind contract, this time seeking up to twice as much […]
Posted inOpinion
In dealing with climate change, don’t forget solar, storage
LAST MONTH, Gov. Charlie Baker signed landmark climate change legislation. Press coverage that focused on the sparring between the governor and the Legislature over the details obscured the bigger story, […]
Posted inEnvironment
Throwing up roadblocks to Quebec hydroelectricity
OFFSHORE WIND appears to be slowly getting back on track, but Massachusetts’ other big bet on clean energy – hydroelectricity from Quebec – is far from a sure thing. A […]
Posted inOpinion
The real work begins now on climate change
THIS SPRING, as flowers and trees begin to bloom in New England, our clean energy industry is also ready to blossom after decades of delays and setbacks. Last month Gov. […]
Posted inEnvironment
Angry Somerset residents elect ally to select board
SOMERSET VOTERS, angry about noisy and dirty businesses operating out of an industrial site that was supposed to be a staging ground for the state’s offshore wind industry, elected an […]
Posted inUncategorized
New Bedford mayor calls offshore wind ‘generational opportunity’
NEW BEDFORD MAYOR Jon Mitchell is of two minds about Vineyard Wind, which after lengthy regulatory delays seems poised to finally get underway. The mayor is excited about the potential […]
Posted inOpinion
Municipal Light Plant elections loom large
WHEN GOV. CHARLIE BAKER signed the Next Generation Roadmap bill, Massachusetts became legally required to reduce its emissions 50 percent by 2030, and be net-zero by 2050. The backbone of […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker pulls plug on Springfield biomass power plant
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION pulled the plug on a controversial biomass power plant in Springfield on Friday amid growing pushback from opponents who viewed the burning of wood to produce electricity […]
Posted inOpinion
Climate change already causing power grid issues
IN THE WAKE of the Texas tragedy, when the extreme cold weather literally froze the power grid, took out electricity and fuel supplies, and wreaked havoc on millions of lives, […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Biden sets big goal for offshore wind
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE PIPELINE of offshore wind developments that will follow the first-in-the-nation Vineyard Wind I project came into clearer view Monday when the Biden administration announced a […]
Posted inEnvironment
How to build an industry to support offshore wind
AFTER SIGNING the climate change bill into law on Friday, Gov. Charlie Baker and House Speaker Ron Mariano began an interesting discussion about how the state should go about building […]
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
3 Massachusetts myths about offshore wind
MASSACHUSETTS MADE headlines a few years ago when it secured the nation’s first large-scale procurement of offshore wind, the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project. The Commonwealth was leading the way, planning […]
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 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 […]