AS THE LEGISLATURE RUSHES to embrace offshore wind and Canadian hydroelectricity, the Senate on Thursday voted 39-0 to cut off the chief means of financing new natural gas pipelines coming […]
Plugging In
Energy and the Environment
Posted inEnvironment
Senate energy debate could get heated
THE HOUSE PRECLUDED MOST DEBATE on its energy bill, but the more free-wheeling Senate looks as if it will take on some major policy issues in its deliberations on Thursday. […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Time to put a price on carbon
MASSACHUSETTS HAS BEEN A CASE STUDY for the positive relationship between economic growth, renewable energy procurement, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. As a leading state on climate change policy, […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Long-term energy contracts make sense
The headline of a recent CommonWealth magazine story states, “Clean power will cost more.” Although presented as simple fact, the headline actually begs a more complicated question: “More than what?” […]
Posted inEnvironment
Senate’s ‘aggressive’ energy plan lets Cape Wind bid
THE SENATE UNVEILED an energy bill on Friday that is far more expansive than its House counterpart, increasing utility procurements for offshore wind and Canadian hydroelectricity, doubling the mandated growth […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
New transmission lines, gas pipeline needed
Recent cancellations and delays of proposed large-scale energy infrastructure projects, and results from two regional surveys suggest energy policy and consumer and business concerns in New England are heading in […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Northern Pass is not a green answer
WELL-MEANING POLICYMAKERS in Massachusetts are looking north, seeing in Canadian hydropower a quick solution to the need for more green energy. But one state’s environmental solutions may be another state’s […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Utilities seek cut of hydro, wind contracts
Tucked inside the House energy bill is what industry folks call an adder, a special add-on fee paid by electric ratepayers to their utilities to compensate them for carrying out […]
Posted inEnvironment
Hydro-Quebec officials push Northern Pass
TOP OFFICIALS AT HYDRO-QUEBEC said on Wednesday in Boston that the company’s Northern Pass project represents the best, most complete solution to New England’s need for clean energy. Eric Martel, […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
House energy bill must be scaled up
IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS, Massachusetts has the opportunity to reorient the energy system away from risky over-reliance on fossil fuels and toward a stable clean energy future. The opportunity is […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
SJC decision raises emissions questions
WE ARE FACING the daunting challenge of meeting the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets of the Global Warming Solutions Act. And now the recent Supreme Judicial Court decision, Kain v. […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Clearing the air on natural gas
WANT TO KNOW how Massachusetts can lower electric bills while safeguarding the health of not just our own children but everyone else’s children, too? By following our existing state and […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, State House News Service
House OKs hydro, offshore wind bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE House lawmakers voted near unanimously on Wednesday to diversify the state’s state energy mix by requiring utilities to solicit and enter into long-term contracts for large-scale […]
Posted inEnvironment
Cape Wind sharply attacks House energy bill
CAPE WIND ISSUED a position statement on Tuesday calling the House’s energy bill anticompetitive, unconstitutional, and the result of “a form of legislative bid-rigging.” The unusually harsh statement was issued […]
Posted inEnvironment
New pipe could help curb gas leaks
IN LATE MAY, the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy released its version of draft energy omnibus legislation. Climate Action Business Association, a Boston-based business group, responded by calling […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
No mandate needed for municipal utilities
FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, through changes in the electric industry more revolutionary than the ones we are facing today, Massachusetts municipal utilities have set the standard for excellence in […]
Posted inEnvironment
Beaton: More hydro needed in energy bill
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION’S point person on energy said on Thursday that he would like to see more emphasis on hydroelectricity in the Legislature’s energy bill and indicated he shared House […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker administration mum on emission plans
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION told lawmakers on Tuesday that it would comply with a Supreme Judicial Court decision mandating specific reductions in the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, but said it was […]
Posted inUncategorized
Wholesale electricity prices fell by third in 2015
THE OPERATOR OF THE REGION’S POWER GRID said on Thursday that the wholesale price of electricity fell by more than a third in 2015, primarily because of lower prices for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Electricity consumption on the rise
EVERSOURCE ENERGY says the average monthly electricity usage of its typical customer is now 600 kilowatt hours, up from the 500 kilowatt-hour estimate the company has used for years. The […]
Posted inEnvironment
Energy bill includes offshore wind, hydro
A HOUSE COMMITTEE released a long-awaited energy bill on Monday that calls for the state’s utilities to negotiate long-term contracts for large amounts of offshore wind and Canadian hydroelectricity, although […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Are municipal light firms doing enough?
THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE appears primed to enact legislation that will require large purchases of clean energy resources to address the daunting challenge of meeting our greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Offshore wind, but not Cape Wind
Two recent news headlines should be central to the important debate over legislation that will determine whether or not Massachusetts has access to clean, reliable, and affordable sources of energy […]
Posted inUncategorized
SJC hears arguments on gas pipeline dispute
THE ENERGY DEBATE that is roiling Beacon Hill moved into the Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday as the judges try to decide whether the Baker administration has the legal authority […]