MAJOR OFFSHORE wind developers in New York say their projects may no longer be financially viable unless regulators amend their power purchase agreements to include adjustments for inflation and interconnection costs. In petitions filed with state regulators on Wednesday, the New York wind farm operators followed the same script as developers in Massachusetts, who say […]
Environment
Posted inOpinion
Lawmakers should back Make Polluters Pay bill
IN MAY, the Massachusetts House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources heard testimony from a large number of voters who had descended on the State House to urge the committee to move forward what is being called the Make Polluters Pay bill. The legislation would generate $75 billion over 25 years from the biggest greenhouse […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
SouthCoast Wind pulling out of its wind farm deal
A clarification has been added to this story. SOUTHCOAST WIND said on Monday that it is moving to terminate its existing offshore wind contracts with Massachusetts and hoping to rebid them at higher prices in the state’s next procurement. The announcement ended months of vacillation by SouthCoast. The company, a joint venture of Shell New […]
Posted inOpinion
Wildlands, the natural answer to climate change
NEW ENGLAND is not immune to the global ecological crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, which both threaten human health and safety. With little time to act, we are racing to make up for decades of inaction and are leaning heavily on technology and intervention, from industrial-scale wind generation on mountain ridgelines and off […]
Posted inEnvironment
Proposed Cape Cod machine gun range draws fire
CAPE COD may be known for ocean breezes, waterbirds, and maybe some raucous seaside vacationers rolling through. But along one stretch, that could include the sound of more than a million bullets fired each year. A years-long dust-up between Cape residents, local government officials, environmental advocacy groups, and the Massachusetts Army National Guard spun into […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, Opinion
We must pursue a real plan for net-zero emissions by 2050
AS THE COMMONWEALTH moves forward with its ambitious mandate to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, it’s essential that we have a real plan for implementing a real solution. Failure to adopt a concrete plan at best means piecemeal, uncoordinated and inefficient action. At worst, it could mean major disruption and harm to workers and ratepayers. A full […]
Posted inEnvironment
Coastal flood maps leave homeowners in the lurch
MASSACHUSETTS IS ONE of 15 states that has no flood disclosure requirements for a potential homebuyer, so residents usually turn to maps developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to see if their houses are vulnerable. A new report from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council suggests those maps, which tend to focus on coastal and […]
Posted inEnvironment
Cities, towns are frontline in addressing climate change
OUR HEALTH as a community is tied to the health of our environment and our planet. The stark reality however is that our future is not guaranteed. Climate change is no longer some far-off crisis we’re buckling up for – it’s here. And it’s an emergency. We don’t have time to be timid. A large […]
Posted inOpinion
Weymouth compressor fight has implications for Pilgrim
IN THE 1940s, the Fore River Basin of Weymouth, Quincy, and Braintree was home to major factories, supplied hundreds of good paying jobs, and set the stage to create the industrialized area we see today. What we didn’t know at the time was the long-term impact the cancer producing byproducts of these companies would have […]
Posted inOpinion
End the DPU’s stall on municipal electricity aggregation
AS FOLKS ACROSS Massachusetts confront the consequences of a changing climate and emerge from a winter of extraordinarily high energy costs, it’s clear that we need cleaner, more affordable power. Expanding municipal aggregation programs would increase demand for clean energy, reduce fossil fuel emissions, and lower energy costs for ratepayers – yet the Department of […]