GOV. CHARLIE BAKER signaled a major shift in his thinking on offshore wind Wednesday, unveiling legislation that would entice developers to put down roots in Massachusetts by spending $750 million […]
Plugging In
Energy and the Environment
Posted inOpinion
Neal should broaden tax breaks for solar
IN RECENT MONTHS, communities across Massachusetts have been reeling from the effects of extreme weather. In response, state officials recently announced a series of grants and policy initiatives aimed at combating climate change and […]
Posted inOpinion
Plotting the future of the region’s power grid
DRIVE AROUND MASSACHUSETTS and you’d be hard pressed not to see a home with solar panels. Wind turbines are spinning over the Berkshires and coastal communities, with more planned for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Vineyard Wind signs port deal with Salem
SALEM, A LATECOMER to the scramble for offshore wind business, snagged a deal on Thursday with Vineyard Wind, which promised to help make the North Shore community the state’s second […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t get carried away with fusion talk
Commonwealth Fusion System’s breakthrough in superconducting electromagnets is impressive and represents a significant step forward in fusion research. However, as is always the case when a start-up trumpets its latest achievement, […]
Posted inEnergy
Fusion energy nears Kitty Hawk moment
IN TRYING TO EXPLAIN their recent fusion energy breakthrough, Dennis Whyte of MIT and Bob Mumgaard of Commonwealth Fusion Systems reached back to the dawn of aviation. Fusion could be […]
Posted inUncategorized
2 offshore wind developers submit bids
THE HEADLINES detailing the emergence of a US offshore wind supply chain in its infancy are starting to pop up in all sorts of places – a $250 million monopile […]
Posted inEnvironment
What’s behind one lawsuit against Vineyard Wind
ANNIE HAWKINS has a message you don’t hear very often in Massachusetts these days. The executive director of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a national group of fishing interests, Hawkins […]
Posted inEnvironment
Vineyard Wind completes $2.3b bank financing
VINEYARD WIND said it will begin construction of the nation’s first commercial-scale wind farm as soon as Thursday now that nine banks have agreed to put up $2.3 billion in […]
Posted inEnvironment
A 2d lawsuit in works against Vineyard Wind
A GROUP REPRESENTING US fishing interests is suing to block the federal government’s approval of Vineyard Wind, becoming the second organization to file a legal challenge to the nation’s first […]
Posted inEnvironment
Key breakthrough in fusion energy production
A CAMBRIDGE STARTUP working with officials at MIT said on Wednesday that it has achieved a major breakthrough in fusion technology that could begin revolutionizing the way energy is produced […]
Posted inEnvironment
Ida renews calls for decentralizing grid
HURRICANE IDA delivered a knockout punch to the power grid in New Orleans on Sunday, plunging the city into darkness and renewing a long-running national debate about the best way […]
Posted inEnvironment
Is it Cape Wind all over again?
TWO NANTUCKET RESIDENTS, backed by a network of think tanks and beachfront property owners along the East Coast, set in motion what appears to be a Cape Wind strategy for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Clean Energy Center offers help on Brayton Point
THE MASSACHUSETTS Clean Energy Center is putting up some grant money to help the town of Somerset build consensus around the development of offshore wind at Brayton Point, but the […]
Posted inOpinion
Taking a new approach to solar grid connections
IT’S CLEAR that our current electric grid interconnection model is unsustainable if Massachusetts is to build the amount of renewable energy that will be required for the coming years and […]
Posted inOpinion
Lessons from early days of EV charging
ELECTRIC VEHICLES are crucial to reducing carbon emissions and fighting climate change. That’s why governors from coast to coast have announced that they will ban the sale of new gas-powered […]
Posted inEnvironment, Race/Racism
Proposed biomass limits restrict new plants in 90 percent of state
MONTHS AFTER THE Baker administration pulled the plug on plans for a controversial new biomass plant in Springfield, state environmental officials proposed new regulations that would drastically limit where biomass […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Emissions pact opponents predict fuel shortages by 2023
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE OPPONENTS OF THE regional effort to wring carbon emission reductions from cars, trucks and other forms of transportation predicted Thursday that Massachusetts residents could face fuel […]
Posted inEnvironment
Salem newcomer to offshore wind conversation
SALEM IS NOW in the conversation as one of a handful of Massachusetts communities that could be key players as the state vies to become a hub for offshore wind […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker seeks $100m for offshore wind port infrastructure
AS THE OFFSHORE wind business is ramping up in Massachusetts and along the East Coast, Gov. Charlie Baker is proposing spending $100 million in federal money on marine port infrastructure to support the emerging industry. […]
Posted inOpinion
Stop sweetheart deals with state utilities
Electrifying buildings and appliances that now run on gas, oil, and other fossil fuels will be a key piece of meeting Massachusetts’ climate targets. The region’s investor-owned utilities will be […]
Posted inOpinion
No justification for proposed Peabody gas plant
THE MASSACHUSETTS Municipal Wholesale Electric Company and the staff at some participating municipal light plants say that building a new, 60-megawatt combined natural gas and oil peaker power plant in […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Environmental League targets muni light plants
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WHEN MARBLEHEAD voters get to the polls June 22, they’ll have their pick of candidates: 14 options for the Select Board, two choices for the School […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. should set 100% clean energy mandate
WITH LAST MONTH’S approval of the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts, a clean energy future is within our grasp in the United States. Nowhere […]