Ron Gerwatowski

NEWS ITEM: Large-scale hydro-electricity from Hydro-Quebec may cost more than the average wholesale price of energy.  Should we be alarmed by this?  Not quite. But why not? First, some background.  Unless you have been living in Antarctica watching melting ice during the last year, you probably already know that the Massachusetts Legislature passed important energy […]

THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE just enacted some of the most ambitious clean energy procurement legislation in the nation.  It is a significant step to meet the Commonwealth’s emissions reduction goals and a major victory for the environmental community and offshore wind industry.  It also was an important accomplishment for the Baker-Polito Administration to bring large-scale hydro […]

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. DEP, has confirmed those targets are legally binding.  But, unfortunately, the court’s decision may have established a principle of law that should cause serious concern […]

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. Given the magnitude of these initiatives, should we be reconsidering the exemption for municipal electric utilities that allows them to avoid contributing toward initiatives like […]

THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL ENERGY POLICY issue pending before the Commonwealth – rivaled perhaps only by the solar debates – has been the proposal to expand natural gas pipelines into New England to serve electric generators.  Resolving this policy question is not clear-cut.  It is a complex issue about comparative risk assessment and risk tolerance.  The […]