Hydro-Quebec, which is expected to be a major supplier of renewable energy to Massachusetts, outlines its 2035 decarbonization plan.
Electricity
Posted inEnvironment
Quebec-New England transmission line gets Biden backing
THE BIDEN ADMINISTATION on Monday pledged financial support for a two-way transmission line capable of carrying hydroelectricity from Quebec into New England and eventually offshore wind and solar power from New England to Quebec. The transmission line, being developed by National Grid and Citizens Energy, was one of three transmission projects receiving a total of […]
Posted inOpinion
Power grid most important piece of climate puzzle
IN FIVE OR SO YEARS, many of you will drive a car that you plug in at night rather than fill at the pump. You’ll keep your homes warm with electric heat pumps instead of oil or gas furnaces. In ten years, most of you will. In fifteen years, almost everyone will. That means that most […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
Healey announces 3-state offshore wind procurement
NERVOUS ABOUT rising prices for offshore wind power, the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut are banding together to solicit larger wind farm projects that hopefully will come with lower price tags. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced the three-state partnership at an offshore wind conference in Boston Wednesday morning. Individually, the three states were […]
Posted inEnergy
DPU approves termination of SouthCoast wind contract
THE MASSACHUSETTS Department of Public Utilities on Monday gave its blessing to an agreement terminating offshore wind contracts between the state’s three utilities and SouthCoast Wind, even as utilities in Connecticut moved to terminate an offshore wind contract there. The agreement approved by the DPU requires SouthCoast to pay a total of $60 million in […]
Posted inEnergy, Opinion
It makes no sense to eliminate the competitive electricity market
THIS PAST YEAR has not been kind to Massachusetts electric ratepayers—at least some of them. For customers who do not shop and choose their own energy provider, the average residential rate hike in National Grid’s service area was more than $110 per month this past winter, a 64 percent increase. In Eversource’s service area, rates spiked 42 […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment
SouthCoast Wind agrees to pay $60m to terminate power purchase agreements
THE DEVELOPER of SouthCoast Wind on Tuesday agreed to pay more than $60 million to the state’s three leading utilities to terminate power purchase agreements the company negotiated last year to build its wind farm south of Martha’s Vineyard. The SouthCoast proposal, if it is approved by the Department of Public Utilities, would be the […]
Posted inEnergy
DPU approves termination of offshore wind contract
THE MASSACHUSETTS Department of Public Utilities on Wednesday approved without comment the termination of an offshore wind power purchase agreement negotiated between Eversource and Commonwealth Wind and approved by the DPU at the end of last year. Avangrid, the developer behind Commonwealth Wind, sought the termination after it concluded rising inflation, supply chain disruptions, and […]
Posted inOpinion
Three steps for turning the power grid around
THE UTTER DEVASTATION of summer flooding in New England and New York and the Canadian wildfire smoke that shrouded the Northeast in an orange haze in June shouts an inescapable truth louder than any voice: Climate change knows no geographic boundaries. Like it or not, the climate crisis is a global and regional issue. We’re […]
Posted inOpinion
Grid modernization key to meeting climate change goals
IN THE RACE to address a changing climate and transition to a clean energy future, Massachusetts is in an all-out sprint. Massive wind, solar, and battery projects are at various stages of development statewide. Meanwhile, residents, businesses, and governments are embracing electric vehicles, heat pumps, and other technologies that are becoming more affordable, ubiquitous and, […]