THE LEGISLATURE’S energy committee approved a bill Wednesday evening that would give the state’s Clean Energy Center a major role in the development of the offshore wind industry and tap consumer electricity and natural gas bills to pay for tax credits, grants, and investments to make it happen. Rep. Jeffrey Roy of Franklin, the House […]
Plugging In
Posted inEnvironment, Politics
Offshore wind policy fight takes center stage
A LONG-BREWING fight over state energy policy moved into the spotlight on Tuesday as key players laid out their positions in what promises to be an interesting debate over the best way to propel the state’s offshore wind industry into the future. The starting point is a bill filed by Gov. Charlie Baker that would […]
Posted inEnvironment
Power grid copes with cold by burning oil, coal
THE NEW ENGLAND power grid on Tuesday coped with unusually cold temperatures and outages at several power plants and transmission lines by bringing additional power plants online and relying on oil and coal to generate roughly a fifth of the region’s electricity. ISO-New England, the operator of the region’s power grid, said it issued an […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Baker approves solar, truck emission initiatives
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE With two of its key climate change policies dead or near-dead, the Baker administration approved two initiatives last week to incentivize the development of solar power and expand the use of zero emission vehicles. The Department of Public Utilities finalized on Thursday a long-delayed regulatory process for a solar incentive program […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker: US offshore wind supply chain gaining traction
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said the state’s latest offshore wind procurement shows the industry is moving into a new phase geared toward building an American supply chain. “It speaks to two things,” Baker said. “One is there is a belief at this point that the federal administration is rowing in the same direction as the rest […]
Posted inOpinion
A better way to pay for power grid infrastructure
MASSACHUSETTS HAS SET realistic goals for reducing carbon emissions by 2030, but it will be necessary to make regulatory and policy updates to achieve those benchmarks. Fortunately, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) recognizes this imperative and advanced a provisional program that will explore new ways to upgrade our electric grid to accommodate the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Brayton Pt. manufacturing facility part of wind farm procurement
MASSACHUSETTS’ THIRD and largest offshore wind procurement brought with it some significant and unexpected onshore benefits, including a subsea transmission cable manufacturing facility at beleaguered Brayton Point in Somerset and a new staging facility in Salem. Two projects totaling 1,600 megawatts were selected on Friday to move forward to the contract stage — a 1,200 […]
Posted inEnvironment
Maine judge to rule quickly on transmission line injunction
MAINE DISTRICT Court Judge Michael Duddy said on Wednesday that he would rule in the next two days on whether to grant a preliminary injunction putting on hold a law passed overwhelmingly by the state’s voters blocking construction of a Massachusetts-financed transmission line bringing hydroelectricity into the region from Quebec. The law was approved by […]
Posted inEnvironment
Grid operator nervous about energy constraints
THE HEAD OF THE New England power grid said on Monday that energy supply constraints in the region continue to make him nervous, and he said the situation has been aggravated by passage of a law by Maine voters blocking a Massachusetts-financed power line importing hydroelectricity from Quebec. At a briefing with reporters, Gordon van […]
Posted inOpinion
Every electron is not neutral
WE NEW ENGLANDERS have a spectacular opportunity to move rapidly from polluting fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. This transition will benefit us all: It will slow climate change, reduce pollution, save lives, and preserve New England’s beautiful environment for our children and their children. A wholesale transition to renewable energy will also save us […]