FRIGID CONDITIONS led the region’s power generators to use more oil and coal than usual over the last few days, but as temperatures edged up Tuesday the fuel mix is […]
Plugging In
Posted inOpinion
ISO should call for offshore wind transmission discussion
NEW ENGLAND is in the midst of an energy sea change. Brought about by the people of the region acting through their elected officials, states in the region have passed […]
Posted inOpinion
Electricity aggregation success extends beyond Newton
THE METROPOLITAN AREA PLANNING COUNCIL applauds Newton for taking the next great leap in green aggregation (“Municipal electricity aggregation really works”), and we feel it is important to highlight the […]
Posted inOpinion
Municipal electricity aggregation really works
ONE DOWN, 350 to go. That’s how many cities and towns in Massachusetts do not yet have so-called “municipal aggregation” electricity programs with an ambitious amount of renewable power from […]
Posted inOpinion
Has the Mass. solar gamble paid off?
HOW MUCH SHOULD we pay to promote solar energy in Massachusetts? Recent state government programs have resulted in the commitment of at least $10 billion of consumer funds—well over $1,500 […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Wind firms pay $135m each for offshore tracts
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THREE LEASE WINNERS have each agreed to pay $135 million to gain access to ocean tracts off the coast of Massachusetts where they may someday build […]
Posted inEnvironment
Why are electricity prices spiking this winter?
RETAIL ELECTRICITY PRICES are going up this winter in eastern Massachusetts because of the price spike that occurred during an extreme cold spell last winter. The explanation for the rising […]
Posted inUncategorized
Price of electricity going up in E. Mass.
THE PRICE OF ELECTRICITY in eastern Massachusetts is going up this winter to its highest level since 2015. Eversource Energy said its price for so-called basic service will be nearly […]
Posted inEnvironment
Region’s electricity market in trouble
GORDON VAN WELIE is sitting in a conference room in Holyoke. Behind him is a bank of windows that look down on a control room with a massive screen showing […]
Posted inOpinion
Boston, too, needs to do more on climate change
CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL and it is here. In Boston, the impacts of climate change are already tangible. In January of this year a massive nor’easter brought a devastating storm […]
Posted inOpinion
We need a Green New Deal in Massachusetts
THE LATEST CLIMATE SCIENCE has come in, and it’s time to update our state’s climate laws. As a graduate student working on climate change in 2008, I was proud to […]
Posted inOpinion
Let’s encourage offshore wind competition
THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR’S Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced last month that it will auction three new wind energy lease areas off the Massachusetts coast, instead of the two […]
Posted inEnvironment
Cautionary offshore wind tale out of Va.
MASSACHUSETTS EARNED PLAUDITS earlier this year for its handling of an offshore wind procurement, but not every state’s pursuit of renewable energy is getting rave reviews. Reports out of Virginia […]
Posted inOpinion
Merrimack Valley tragedy offers climate change opportunity
IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS, we have once again witnessed the human and financial impact of the world’s addiction to fossil fuels: forest fires in the Arctic; devastated communities and […]
Posted inOpinion
Regional grid operator too protective of industry
THIS SUMMER, governors from five of the six New England states joined together to issue a statement acknowledging the challenges the region faces in maintaining reliable, affordable electricity. The governors […]
Posted inUncategorized
Vineyard Wind signs $9m lease with New Bedford facility
THE STATE’S STAGING TERMINAL for offshore wind development got its first major customer on Monday, nearly four years after it opened for business in New Bedford. Vineyard Wind, with power […]
Posted inOpinion
On climate change, more than RGGI is needed
YOU MAY HAVE CAUGHT wind of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s disturbing new report on climate change. The message is clear––keep man-made global warming impacts to 1.5 degrees Celsius […]
Posted inEnvironment
Utility to run line under Kennebec Gorge
THE UTILITY UNDER CONTRACT with Massachusetts to import Quebec hydro-electricity into New England said on Thursday that it now plans to run the transmission lines under rather than over the […]
Posted inTransportation
Sizing up Baker, Gonzalez on T, energy, environment
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER and his Democratic challenger Jay Gonzalez have a lot in common. Baker grew up in Needham and Gonzalez lives there now. Both ran health insurance companies and […]
Posted inOpinion
We need more, not less, competition for offshore wind
THE OFFSHORE WIND ERA in the United States is here. With no need to burn fossil fuel, to enrich uranium, to dam rivers, or to build thousands of acres of […]
Posted inUncategorized
Ørsted to buy Deepwater Wind for $510m
TWO OF THE BIGGER PLAYERS in the emerging US offshore wind industry are combining forces, as the Denmark-based Ørsted announced an agreement on Monday to purchase Deepwater Wind of Rhode […]
Posted inOpinion
Gas explosions show how dangerous the fuel is
THE CONSERVATION LAW FOUNDATION in late September held a meeting in Lawrence to highlight the work of our community partners there. Just as these groups began their presentations, natural gas-fueled […]
Posted inOpinion
Hydro-Québec’s greenwashing game
IN A RECENT COMMENTARY PIECE, “Sierra Club fires back on Québec hydro,” the Sierra Club explained why electricity imported from Québec is not clean. The focus was on the adverse […]
Posted inOpinion
Consumers overlooked amid ISO power politics
THE FUEL SECURITY CONTROVERSY in New England, particularly as it relates to the availability of natural gas in the winter, escalated dramatically with the issuance of a fuel security study […]
