OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, the New Hampshire Legislature has debated and killed repeated efforts to require that transmission line be buried in New Hampshire. Fueled by opposition to the Northern Pass, these proposals have been studied in depth by the legislature, state agencies, and other key stakeholders. Ultimately, the negative impacts of this mandate […]
Plugging In
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Mass. on verge of energy greatness
IN CASE YOU MISSED THE NEWS, the Massachusetts House and Senate just did something big that we should all celebrate. By passing major energy bills, they have set the Bay State on a path of reduced reliance on fossil fuels while propelling our state towards a clean, affordable, and reliable energy future in which up […]
Posted inEnvironment
Pipeline tariff is not a tax
SEVEN OF THE TOP 10 most expensive states for electricity costs are in the Northeast, including Massachusetts. We pay the sixth-highest retail electricity prices in the nation – almost 50 percent above the national average. With ample natural gas supplies only a day’s drive away in Pennsylvania, why are Massachusetts and our New England neighbors […]
Posted inEnvironment
What will Brad Jones do?
REP. BRADLEY JONES JR. of North Reading is caught in a tug-of-war between the House and Senate as the two branches try to find common ground on energy legislation. Jones is the Republican member of the three-person House team working to resolve differences with the Senate on energy bills passed by the two branches. On […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Prohibit the ‘pipeline tax’
What is the proposed “pipeline tax” on our electric bills, and why is there a bipartisan effort to ban it? The so-called “pipeline tax” is a scheme under which consumers across New England would be charged on their electric bills to finance construction of new gas pipelines – as well as above-ground gas infrastructure, such […]
Posted inEnvironment
Pipeline firm makes case for more natural gas
THE COMPANY TRYING TO EXPAND a major natural gas pipeline coming into New England said on Friday that the growing opposition in the Legislature is failing to recognize that more gas is needed to bring down electricity prices, to avoid brownouts and blackouts, and to help develop renewable forms of energy. Top officials from Access […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Mass. should insist on burial of NH power line
AS MASSACHUSETTS WORKS to reduce reliance on carbon-generated electricity, neighboring New Hampshire is fearful of becoming a muddy doormat between Quebec and Boston. Hydro-Quebec wants to export more of its big hydro to southern New England, and Eversource desperately wants to build a new transmission line for that purpose. There is already one overhead, 2,000-megawatt […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Advice for Beacon Hill energy conferees
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE AND SENATE are to be commended for passing important energy legislation in recent weeks. Both bills represent the most important steps forward to date to further the landmark 2008 Green Communities (GCA) and Global Warming Solutions Acts (GWSA). As a conference committee of House and Senate lawmakers moves to develop consensus legislation, […]
Posted inEnvironment
Court: 2 Cape Wind approvals flawed
A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that the US Department of Interior erred twice in granting a key environmental approval for Cape Wind, but the judges decided not to revoke the wind farm’s lease or its other regulatory approvals. Cape Wind, which is fighting on Beacon Hill for the right to bid on offshore […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Senate approves energy legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AN ENERGY BILL PASSED 30-0 by the Senate Thursday evening would require the solicitation of long-term contracts for at least 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2027 as part of an effort to diversify the state’s energy mix and comply with greenhouse gas emissions reduction requirements. Under the bill, energy distribution […]