Energy

Sorting out our perverse electricity markets

Plugging In/ Opinion

Sorting out our perverse electricity markets

Natural gas is getting a bum rap in renewables debate

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THE RECENT ANNOUNCEMENT by developers of the Access Northeast natural gas pipeline that they are suspending the project until legislation allows for electric ratepayer financing of pipelines illustrates a major flaw in our electricity markets. A market structure that doesn’t incentivize natural gas power generators to subscribe to firm pipeline capacity, and federal open access(...)

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Price shouldn’t be sole focus of clean energy buys

Plugging In/ Opinion

Price shouldn’t be sole focus of clean energy buys

Procurements are about reducing greenhouse gas emissions

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NEWS ITEM: Large-scale hydro-electricity from Hydro-Quebec may cost more than the average wholesale price of energy.  Should we be alarmed by this?  Not quite. But why not? First, some background.  Unless you have been living in Antarctica watching melting ice during the last year, you probably already know that the Massachusetts Legislature passed important energy(...)

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Northern Pass clears federal hurdle

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Northern Pass clears federal hurdle

Environmental statement calls route ‘preferred alternative’

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FEDERAL REGULATORS CLEARED THE WAY on Thursday for Eversource’s Northern Pass transmission project to receive one of the two permits necessary to begin construction of a line carrying hydroelectricity from Quebec to southern New Hampshire. The US Department of Energy issued a final environmental impact statement for Northern Pass, setting the stage for the award(...)

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Pricing hints on Hydro-Quebec power

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Pricing hints on Hydro-Quebec power

Leaked Ontario contract indicates cost could be high

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A LEAKED POWER CONTRACT between Hydro-Quebec and the province of Ontario may offer some insight into what kind of deal the utility is currently offering Massachusetts for hydro-electricity. The proposed contract, obtained by the French language publication La Presse, indicated Hydro-Quebec was offering Ontario a 20-year contract for 8 terawatt hours a year of electricity(...)

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Pick up the pace on clean energy

Plugging In/ Opinion

Pick up the pace on clean energy

State’s track record on contracting less than stellar

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LOOK AND LISTEN, and you’ll see progress. Solar and wind power farms are cropping up across the landscape. Private sector investments are following good public policy, speeding the transition of our energy system from old, polluting fossil fuel power plants, to clean, renewable, job-creating sources like wind and solar. Momentum is building. Given the urgency(...)

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Offshore wind farm bids against hydro, onshore wind firms

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Offshore wind farm bids against hydro, onshore wind firms

Deepwater Wind also proposes 40 megawatt Tesla storage

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DEEPWATER WIND, one of a handful of companies expected to bid on an upcoming offshore wind power contract, revealed on Monday that it has also submitted three bids on a separate, massive clean energy contract. The bids are a shocker because no one expected an offshore wind company to compete for a contract against hydro-electric,(...)

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Cities and states must take lead on climate change

Cities and states must take lead on climate change

Policies can yield substantial health dividends

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CLIMATE CHANGE CREATES risks that scientists have been warning about for decades. Fortunately, many actions that reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change and hedge against longer-term risks can also benefit public health right now. Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions often go hand in hand with reductions in air pollutants with well-established relationships(...)

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Ingredients for climate success

Opinion

Ingredients for climate success

We have the technology to meet our emissions goals

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MASSACHUSETTS HAS A STRONG RECORD addressing climate-changing pollution. In the early 2000s, Massachusetts was a founding partner in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state, bipartisan cooperative that has contributed to a 50 percent drop in power plant emissions.  Passage of the Green Communities Act in 2008 led to nation-leading energy efficiency policies that(...)

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Hydro-Quebec partners up

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Hydro-Quebec partners up

Seeking Mass. contract, utility giant works with 3 transmission firms

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HYDRO-QUEBEC, a utility giant that fashions itself the electric battery of the Northeast, is partnering with three different transmission companies in competing for a massive clean energy contract with Massachusetts. The multiple partners were a bit of a surprise because Hydro-Quebec has had a long-standing relationship with Eversource Energy on the Northern Pass project, which(...)

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3 takeaways on the offshore wind RFP

Plugging In/ Opinion

3 takeaways on the offshore wind RFP

Getting the $8 billion procurement right

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IMAGINE WIND POWER delivering electricity at prices well below today’s rates. It’s not the fantasy of some wildly idealistic environmentalist: In fact, it’s happening today in Texas, and the potential exists in Massachusetts for abundant and cheap wind power if only we are bold enough to imagine a future largely devoid of fossil fuel energy(...)

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