THE STATE’S UTILITIES on Monday set in motion a first-of-its-kind procurement for 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind power by asking Massachusetts regulators to approve a bid process that gives companies […]
Plugging In
Energy and the Environment
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Eversource electric vehicle proposal worth pursuing
RECENT ACCOUNTS OF THE EVERSOURCE rate case have understandably focused on the utility’s request for a controversial rate increase. However, at risk of getting lost in the shuffle is a […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
MA should finance climate change projects abroad
BY PROPOSING TO SLASH FEDERAL SPENDING to combat climate change, President Trump has declared war on our ability to deal with a very real, existential global problem that cannot be […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Natural gas shouldn’t be the boogie man
IT’S IRONIC THAT SEVERAL DAYS after Emily Norton’s op-ed in CommonWealth (“Kill the Northeast pipeline”), the Department of Environmental Protectiion announced that greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts decreased from 2013 to […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
MA emissions continue decline
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS in Massachusetts decreased from 2013 to 2014, continuing a decade-long trend, according to the latest state data. State law requires emissions by 2020 […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Kill the Access Northeast pipeline
LAST MONTH, 74 conservation commissions across Massachusetts sent Gov. Charlie Baker a letter asking him to drop his support for new natural gas pipelines, and over 450 small business owners […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Don’t forget about transmission
EARLIER THIS MONTH my company, Anbaric, announced a new partnership with the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan that enables funding to create up to $2 billion in renewable energy transmission and […]
Posted inEnvironment
Offshore wind firms split on size of initial contract
THE THREE COMPANIES vying for Massachusetts offshore wind contracts sharply disagree on how big the initial procurement should be, but they are united in their belief that electricity generation and […]
Posted inEnvironment
US planning more offshore wind leases off MA coast
IN ANOTHER SIGN the offshore wind market is heating up, the federal government indicated on Friday that it intends to lease more ocean tracts off the coast of Massachusetts after […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Trump’s puzzling clean energy stance
Celebrate or despise his politics, it is hard not to acknowledge the brilliance of President Trump as a competitive opportunist. His business and political success is a long history of […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Sparks fly on electric vehicle provision
A FIGHT IS BREWING on Beacon Hill over how far the state should go in promoting the adoption of zero emission vehicles. Environmental advocates and many state lawmakers want new […]
Posted inEnvironment
Wholesale electricity prices drop to 13-year low
New England’s wholesale electricity prices plunged to their lowest level in 13 years in 2016, propelled by cheap natural gas and lower consumer demand for power. The operator of the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Utility raises concerns on emission targets
A TOP OFFICIAL WITH EVERSOURCE ENERGY said on Wednesday that Massachusetts was in danger of not meeting its carbon emission reduction targets for 2020. In a conference call with financial […]
Posted inEnvironment
Eversource facing big Beacon Hill challenge
EVERSOURCE ENERGY FACES a monumental lobbying challenge this year – convincing Beacon Hill lawmakers to pass legislation allowing electric ratepayers to finance the construction of a natural gas pipeline into […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Eversource solar hikes unwarranted
I READ WITH INTEREST the story entitled “Eversource seeks higher fees on customers with solar.” In several instances, the utility’s stated reasons for its proposed fee hikes for customers with […]
Posted inUncategorized
Power auction goes smoothly for 2020-2021
NEW ENGLAND POWER GRID OFFICIALS said on Thursday that they easily secured enough electricity to meet the region’s energy needs three years from now. ISO-New England, the region’s power grid […]
Posted inEnvironment
New solar plan cuts subsidies in half
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION UNVEILED a next-generation solar incentive plan on Tuesday that is expected to cut in half the subsidies paid by the state’s electric ratepayers while giving developers more […]
Posted inEnvironment
Governors can wield influence over pipelines
WITH NEW FEDERAL ENERGY POLICIES evolving to be starkly at odds with our priorities in Massachusetts, it is vital that we understand what authority our state has to influence controversial […]
Posted inEnvironment
Eversource seeks big distribution rate hike
EVERSOURCE ON TUESDAY SOUGHT regulatory approval for a hefty increase in its distribution rates, a move that has the potential to sharply increase monthly utility bills in its service areas […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Three cheers for natural gas
NATURAL GAS HAS BEEN a resounding environmental success story for Massachusetts that has delivered every benefit environmentalists predicted it would back in the 1990s. Continued access to reliable supplies of […]
Posted inEnvironment
Renewables not cheap
IN DECEMBER, A company called CleanChoice Energy mailed out a sales pitch to electricity customers in eastern Massachusetts. The letter acknowledged that 100 percent renewable energy from solar and wind […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Boost the Renewable Portfolio Standard
AT THE SAME TIME president-elect Donald Trump has loudly promised job creation measures, he has also vowed to invest in fossil fuel expansion, including the coal industry. These two promises […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker sets emission reduction targets
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is taking aim at power plants and using a lighter touch with private vehicles as it seeks to comply with a court order requiring the state to […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Eversource finds a loophole
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF AN EVERSOURCE/DONG Energy joint venture for offshore wind development should send shivers up the spine of anyone who recalls the strategy behind restructuring the Massachusetts electric industry […]