A correction has been added to the story. OVER THE CHRISTMAS holiday, the New England power grid relied heavily on oil to meet the region’s electricity needs and for a 2 ½-hour period on December 24 had to scramble to cover a temporary shortfall in power supplies. The shortfall on the afternoon of December 24 […]
Plugging In
Posted inEnergy, State House News Service
Mass. shows interest in financing Maine wind project
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A 1,000 MEGAWATT onshore wind project planned for northern Maine and an associated transmission build-out “would provide benefits to Massachusetts and the region,” the Mass. Department of Energy Resources said as it determined that it makes sense to have Bay State ratepayers cover 40 percent of the project costs as part […]
Posted inOpinion
Sky is not falling with offshore wind
MASSACHUSETTS’ INEVITABLE march toward becoming a wind energy powerhouse suffered a setback recently when the news broke that Avangrid had filed to terminate its contracts to build the 1.2-gigawatt Commonwealth Wind farm off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. This past week the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities rejected Avangrid’s bid and it’s claim that it […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
DPU approves wind farm contracts despite financing concerns
A correction has been added to this story. THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES  on Friday approved 20-year power purchase agreements between the state’s three major utilities and the offshore wind developers behind Commonwealth Wind and Mayflower Wind, rejecting claims and concerns raised by the developers that the contracts are no longer adequate to finance their […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, State Government, State House News Service
Healey plucks AG aide as energy, environment secretary
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE REBECCA TEPPER, currently the chief of the energy and environment bureau in the attorney general’s office, will continue working under Maura Healey in the new year, joining the incoming governor’s Cabinet as secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. As EEA secretary, Tepper will oversee the state’s six […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, State Government
Utilities urge DPU to force wind developer’s hand
EVERSOURCE, NATIONAL GRID, and Unitil are urging state regulators to require Avangrid to push ahead with its 1,200-megawatt Commonwealth Wind project even though the company says the price it would receive for the power is not enough to secure financing for the wind farm. The move by the state’s utilities is the latest twist in […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Baker administration fleshes out 2050 climate plan
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION on Wednesday released a 168-page climate plan for 2050 that follows the same general playbook that’s been outlined in the past – increase production of clean electricity; use that electricity to electrify the energy-intensive transportation, building, and industrial sectors; and achieve net-zero emissions by removing additional carbon from the atmosphere using natural […]
Posted inEnergy, State Government
Santa comes early for offshore wind businesses
CHRISTMAS CAME early for the fledgling offshore wind industry in Massachusetts, as the Baker administration handed out $180 million on Tuesday for infrastructure improvements and businesses in New Bedford, Somerset, and Salem. The money flowed, even though the wind farms the state is counting on to spur the industry are having difficulty financing their projects. […]
Posted inEnergy
With Commonwealth Wind out, focus turns to Mayflower
AVANGRID PULLED ITS Commonwealth Wind project out of the latest Massachusetts offshore wind procurement on Friday, and now many are wondering what the lone remaining participant, Mayflower Wind, will do. When Avangrid on October 20 asked the Department of Public Utilities for a one-month delay to negotiate adjustments to its power purchase agreement in the […]
Posted inEnergy
Avangrid pulls out of major Mass. offshore wind procurement
AVANGRID PULLED OUT of a major Massachusetts offshore wind procurement at the final stage on Friday, saying its previously negotiated power purchase contract was no longer adequate to secure financing for the project given current economic conditions. The company said it intends to resubmit the project with new pricing requirements when the state begins its […]