THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT’S Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, the agency that issues permits for offshore wind projects in federal waters, has called a timeout on the rapidly expanding offshore wind industry in the US. The bureaucratic delay poses an unwelcome challenge for the Vineyard Wind project, the wider offshore wind industry, and states […]
Edward N. Krapels
Posted inUncategorized
It’s time for power grid to look at benefits of offshore wind
The New England region is home to policies aimed at significant reductions in greenhouse gases. Each of the six New England states has renewable portfolio standards that set targets for how much energy should be procured from renewable sources by a given year. These have grown in recent years as the impacts of climate change […]
Posted inOpinion
ISO should call for offshore wind transmission discussion
NEW ENGLAND is in the midst of an energy sea change. Brought about by the people of the region acting through their elected officials, states in the region have passed legislation directing the procurement of large sources of renewable energy, including up to 3,200 megawatts of offshore wind in Massachusetts. The federal government is a […]
Posted inOpinion
We need more, not less, competition for offshore wind
THE OFFSHORE WIND ERA in the United States is here. With no need to burn fossil fuel, to enrich uranium, to dam rivers, or to build thousands of acres of solar panels, offshore wind is the most benign form of bulk power available to mankind. Plans to seize the potential of offshore wind already have […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. puts wind power in gear
TWO MAJOR EVENTS LAST WEEK have augured a new era for offshore wind in Massachusetts. The Legislature passed the Clean Energy Future Act on July 31, officially laying out a path to doubling Massachusetts’ procurement of offshore wind to 3,200 MW. The next day, Gov. Charlie Baker’s Department of Energy Resources publicly released the pricing […]
Posted inOpinion
Planned transmission key to offshore wind race
THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE – in the 14 days it has until adjournment – is continuing to lead the nation in its careful deliberation over “what’s next” in the Commonwealth’s determined push for a cleaner energy economy. The State is fresh off its first procurement of the first 800 megawatts out of 1,600 megawatts of procurement […]
Posted inOpinion
My recipe for embracing renewables
WE’VE COME TO EXPECT the miracle of Moore’s Law from our computer technology – exponential progress in speed, power and efficiency, all while prices drop. Until recently, the world of electric power has been a laggard, but that’s quickly changing: At last, the relentless forces of innovation are now bearing down on electric power, with […]
Posted inOpinion
Forget Quebec, look offshore for power
THE SELECTION AND THEN REJECTION of the Northern Pass project is proving to be a remarkably important moment of reckoning about Massachusetts’ energy future. For beyond the desirability of Northern Pass looms much larger questions: How much more energy will we need from across the border in the North, especially in the form of hydropower, […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. needs to think bigger on offshore wind
MASSACHUSETTS HAS A ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION opportunity to build a world-class offshore wind industry. The Commonwealth has embarked on a series of procurements to develop at least 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind, enough to power 600,000 homes over the next 10 years, and will likely build much more than that. Millions of Bay State consumers will depend on […]
Posted inOpinion
Paying environmental tribute to neighboring states
THE BIDS ARE IN: Developers of transmission for hydroelectric energy from Canada, wind from Maine, and solar power from all over New England sharpened their pencils, negotiated with property owners, conducted environmental assessments, and lobbied political leaders for years in anticipation of Massachusetts’ biggest renewable energy RFP. When the cost of energy and the transmission […]