A BATTLE FOR A SEAT on the Somerset Select Board is shaping up as a referendum on the board’s oversight of Brayton Point, which many in town hope will become the epicenter of the state’s emerging offshore wind industry. The race in the South Coast community centers around many typical Select Board issues. Are taxes […]
Plugging In
Posted inOpinion
We can’t afford to ban offshore wind developers
THE CONSTRUCTION OF VINEYARD WIND this year is a turning point for the Commonwealth and the country. By this fall, energy from the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind project will begin to flow to the New England grid. It’s a big win for our climate targets, but we need many more offshore turbines spinning to […]
Posted inOpinion
Talking about decarbonization? Think nuclear
AN INTERESTING DEBATE is taking place on the pages of CommonWealth about decarbonization. One commentary by Arnold Wallenstein suggested Massachusetts should scale back its decarbonization efforts, which prompted a sharp response from Joseph Curtatone, Daniel Sosland, and Larry Chretien that the state must move aggressively to decarbonize by eliminating its reliance on fossil fuels. We at […]
Posted inOpinion
Criticism of green hydrogen misses the mark
A YEAR AGO,  President Biden signed into law the single most sweeping climate bill in American history. Supported by virtually the entire Democratic Party and environmental leaders like the Environmental Defense Fund, the Sierra Club and 350.org, the Inflation Reduction Act will lower carbon emissions and help us get closer to “net zero” by 2050. […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t let utilities hijack offshore wind
RECENT DISPUTES between offshore wind operators and Massachusetts regulators highlight how our clean energy future is far from guaranteed. The two projects in dispute, Commonwealth Wind and SouthCoast Wind (formerly Mayflower Wind), together with Vineyard Wind Project 1, make up 3.2 gigawatts of offshore wind energy Massachusetts has planned for 2030. These offshore wind projects […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
New England’s last coal-fired power plant loses key revenue source
AN AUCTION for commitments to deliver electricity to the New England power grid three years from now provides two interesting clues about the region’s energy future. First, New England’s last active coal-fired generator, Merrimack Station in Bow, New Hampshire, failed to qualify in the auction, suggesting its days may be numbered. The other big takeaway […]
Posted inEnergy
Electricity prices falling, but remain high
NATIONAL GRID said its price for basic service will plummet starting May 1 but still remain above levels from a year ago. Basic service is electricity National Grid buys on behalf of customers who choose not to select their own supplier. National Grid procures the electricity through a competitive bidding process and collects no markup […]
Posted inEnergy
​​SouthCoast Wind keeps hedging on its viability
IS SOUTHCOAST WIND, the proposed wind farm off the Massachusetts coast previously known as MayFlower Wind, fully committed to the power purchase contract it agreed to with the state’s utilities? A review of SouthCoast’s regulatory history suggests its owners – Shell New Energies and Ocean Winds North America – are worried the project is no […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Offshore wind industry united on pricing adjustments
MASSACHUSETTS POLICYMAKERS  may be split on whether offshore wind developers should be allowed to adjust the pricing in their existing power purchase agreements to cope with changing economic conditions, but there is no disagreement – within the industry at least – that adjustments should be permitted on future contracts. In filings with the Department of […]
Posted inOpinion
More renewables, not more gas, is our future
At 4:30 p.m. on a bitter, cold Christmas Eve 2022, New England’s power grid operator ISO-NE declared a capacity deficiency after gas and oil generators used during times of peak demand failed to provide sufficient energy. The failure pushed our regional power grid to the brink and put residents at risk of blackouts. Over two […]