THE ASSERTIONS IN THE RECENT ARTICLE “Hydro-Québec, Central Maine Power respond to critics” by John Carroll and Lynne St-Laurent are not correct. Of course, one must consider the source of […]
Plugging In
Posted inOpinion
Hydro-Québec, Central Maine Power respond to critics
MASSACHUSETTS’ LEADERSHIP on energy policy has created a once-in-a-generation opportunity to move the needle on clean energy. According to the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, the proposal from Hydro-Québec and Central […]
Posted inOpinion
Lawmakers have more work to do on energy
AS IT ALWAYS DOES, the summer’s legislative session on Beacon Hill concluded with a flurry of activity, ending with a number of bills sent to Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk on […]
Posted inEnvironment
Mass. makes unsteady progress on emissions
MASSACHUSETTS GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS increased for the fourth year in a row in 2015, but state officials are forecasting a downturn when numbers are crunched for 2016, according to an […]
Posted inEnvironment
Will MA hydro contract increase, or decrease, emissions?
MASSACHUSETTS SIGNED a $16 billion, 20-year contract to import hydro-electricity from Quebec to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but energy advocates and other power generators are saying the deal is unlikely […]
Posted inOpinion
Quebec hydro isn’t a good fit for Mass.
MASSACHUSETTS ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES submitted long-term hydro electricity supply contracts to the Department of Public Utilities for review recently. The Massachusetts Sierra Club believes strongly that these contracts are not […]
Posted inUncategorized
NE Power Pool seeks to ban press
THE NEW ENGLAND POWER POOL, an organization that helps develop policies and procedures governing the region’s wholesale electricity markets, is seeking federal regulatory approval to bar reporters from its meetings. […]
Posted inOpinion
Enviro group: Hydro contract bad for Maine, Mass.
Below is an edited version of testimony delivered by to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities on contracts to purchase hydro-electricity from Hydro-Quebec via a transmission line being built by […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. puts wind power in gear
TWO MAJOR EVENTS LAST WEEK have augured a new era for offshore wind in Massachusetts. The Legislature passed the Clean Energy Future Act on July 31, officially laying out a […]
Posted inEnvironment
Eversource offered to drop out of offshore wind procurement team
EVERSOURCE ENERGY in February offered to withdraw from the team evaluating the bids of companies seeking to supply electricity from wind farms off the coast of Massachusetts because the utility […]
Posted inEnvironment
Offshore wind prices look competitive
THE DEVELOPER OF THE NATION’S first major offshore wind farm is promising to deliver wholesale power to Massachusetts at prices that are far below what Cape Wind was offering nearly […]
Posted inPolitics
Breaking down the new clean energy bill
THE CLEAN ENERGY BILL approved by the Legislature on Tuesday adopted the go-slow approach favored by many of the state’s business groups and utilities, leaving a price on carbon and […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, State House News Service
Energy legislation makes it out of conference
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE .Just like two years ago, the Legislature is poised to consider a substantial piece of clean energy legislation on the final day of formal sessions. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Lawmakers should embrace clean energy
STARK NEW ESTIMATES of the potential cost of climate change to Massachusetts’ homeowners should make the Legislature act more urgently than it already has to halt the state’s consumption of […]
Posted inOpinion
Inaction on environmental justice has consequences
THERE’S AN OLD SAYING in politics: elections have consequences. Well, inaction has consequences, too. And every day that Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez, Sen. Karen Spilka, and their Ways and Means colleagues […]
Posted inOpinion
MA solar hurting, needs legislative help
AT THE END OF THIS MONTH, Massachusetts legislators will break for the remainder of the summer. That leaves just a couple days for them to act on key bills that […]
Posted inEnvironment
3 utilities seek $426m for negotiating hydro contracts
THE THREE UTILITIES that negotiated hydro-electricity contracts on behalf of the state are seeking compensation equal to 2.75 percent of the deal, a total of nearly $426 million over 20 […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker officials tout hydro contract benefits
BAKER ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS said a massive purchase of hydro-electricity from the Canadian province of Quebec will be priced at a levelized flat rate of 5.9 cents a kilowatt hour for […]
Posted inOpinion
Planned transmission key to offshore wind race
THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE – in the 14 days it has until adjournment – is continuing to lead the nation in its careful deliberation over “what’s next” in the Commonwealth’s determined […]
Posted inOpinion
A fracking ban is hypocritical
MEANINGLESS, hypocritical political grandstanding. Those are words no one should ever use lightly – but they are words that accurately describe a provision of Massachusetts energy legislation now pending on […]
Posted inOpinion
Raise the Renewable Portfolio Standard
AS THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION draws to an end, state lawmakers are considering bills that would increase the annual growth rate of the Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). As these proposals move ahead, […]
Posted inOpinion
Raise the Renewable Portfolio Standard II
WIND HAS POWERED Massachusetts’ economic prosperity before, and it is poised to do so again. Two hundred years ago, whalers harnessed wind off the coasts of New Bedford, Cape Cod, […]
Posted inEnvironment
FERC OKs help for Mystic plants
THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION has given New England’s power grid operator until the end of August to come up with a plan to prop up a pair of uneconomic […]
Posted inEnvironment
Pacheco: Putting price on carbon is not a tax
SEN. MARC PACHECO wants to make clear that the energy bill the Senate passed on Thursday night did not include a carbon tax. Under the state’s constitution, he said, the […]
