Since the Shippingport Atomic Power Plant in Pennsylvania went online nearly 60 years ago, becoming the first peacetime use of nuclear power in the world, proponents have touted the low cost and clean output of nukes, which can supply energy for generations. More than 130 nuclear plants were built in the ensuing years, including two […]
Plugging In
Posted inOpinion
Inaction is driving solar firm out of Mass
THERE ARE 400 SOLAR COMPANIES working throughout the value chain in Massachusetts and I’m proud to own one of them. When I started my business, Sustainable Energy Professionals (SEP), our state had good policies that made starting a business here in my home state the right move for me. In the summer of 2013, realizing […]
Posted inOpinion
Solar power is not a zero sum game
MORE BAY STATERS ARE BENEFITTING from solar power than ever before.   Such widespread adoption of the technology represents a growing consumer desire to control and cut their electricity costs while reducing their environmental impact. It is the result of thoughtful, stable policies that have cultivated a solar workforce boasting 15,000 jobs and – at nearly […]
Posted inOpinion
Solar isn’t the cause of high electricity costs
LIKE MANY UTILITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, National Grid blames high electricity costs on net metering while claiming to protect ratepayers. But that’s not the real reason utilities object to this highly successful policy that enables ratepayers to take control of their own energy future and use independently owned electricity generation to reduce and stabilize their […]
Posted inThe Download
Utilities, environmentalists duke it out on energy policy
While lawmakers on Beacon Hill are debating energy legislation in private, the state’s environmental advocacy groups and utilities are making their respective arguments in public. The Acadia Center today wraps up a three-part series in CommonWealth that calls for no new natural gas pipelines into the region, continued price supports for solar power, and an […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Utilities aren’t afraid of solar
IN 2009, MASSACHUSETTS DECOUPLED our electricity rates, eliminating the incentive for us at National Grid to sell more electricity to our customers. This change in the way we do business enabled us to throw our support behind intensive energy efficiency programs for our customers. This fact is noticeably missing from the Acadia Center’s lengthy argument […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Inside the solar negotiations
A legislative conference committee trying to bridge a philosophical gap between the House and Senate on solar power is making progress, but some new stumbling blocks are emerging. Sources familiar with the discussions say the two sides are starting to bridge their differences over how much solar developers should be paid for the electricity they […]
Posted inEnvironment
Baker amenable to offshore wind
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Tuesday that he would support omnibus energy legislation that would spur the development of offshore wind, but he stopped short of backing a special carveout for the industry. Baker said his primary focus in the upcoming energy debate is legislation he filed that would allow the state’s utilities to solicit […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Technology upends the utility business model
Second in a three-part series. The first part, on natural gas pipelines, can be found here. IN THE SHARING ECONOMY, new consumer technologies and business models are upending industries from transportation to accommodation, opening up markets previously dominated by established players. Similar forces are sweeping over the energy sector. A homeowner who feeds surplus electricity […]
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Legislature should commit to offshore wind power
THERE’S A CONVERSATION UNDERWAY right now on Beacon Hill that has the potential to unleash the next American energy revolution and create tens of thousands of jobs here in the Commonwealth and across the country. As communities up and down the eastern seaboard search for clean, reliable, and affordable sources of energy, offshore wind presents […]